91.5-FM cans another favorite

The longest running electronica-based DJ mix show in Las Vegas has been canceled. Legendary "Dimensional Dance" aired its final three-hour show on KUNV 91.5-FM Feb. 15, but the program's masterminds are taking strides to stay on Vegas airwaves.

Program creator Matthew Tuttle, aka DJ Shoe, and host Eric "Big E" Robello are asking fans and club owners to help in a plea to KUNV management to keep the weekend program on the air.

Club or business owners interested in underwriting the show (a 30-second ad costs $30) should contact Shoe or co-host Big E. Also, Shoe asks fans to write the station explaining the show's importance or to simply phone KUNV at 702-798-9115 saying you're a Dimensional Dance fan. The two deejays plan to have a meeting with KUNV management March 4 to convince them the show is worth keeping as part of their weekend programming.

DJ Shoe can be reached at dj_shoe@yahoo.com and Big E can be reached at djbige420@yahoo.com.

-Mike Zigler

zigler@lvpress.com

Ketchup popsicles

Burnin' up the Billboard charts, local rapper, producer and label CEO, Revenue, watched his single "Up In Da Club 2Nite" climb to #3 in the R&B/Hip-Hop category in February. Giving Vegas a stiff plug, Revenue banks on its sizzling club scene where the toughest, hottest and most fly badasses set the standard.

In an attack on hip hop imitations, Revenue's debut label release, due out on Tuesday, Earth Wind & Firearms contains 17 tracks of testimony to his inspirations: Snoop Dogg, Tupac, Scarface, Run DMC and Busta Rhymes, but as far as his cognac is concerned, Revenue is a Hennessey man, so Rhymes can keep his Courvoisier.

Self-proclaimed as "Mr. Las Vegas," Revenue is braced for success. Said to be able to "sell a ketchup popsicle to a lady in white gloves," the New Orleans born rapper brought his Stack A Grip Entertainment empire to Vegas about two years ago after stints in L.A., Miami and the Aloha state. He's currently working with other rap artists (Yung Roux and the female hip hop outfit, Juene Fille) out of a studio inside his humble three-story, 7,000 square-foot home.

"There are so many successful artists in the rap business," he says. "It's all about stayin' hungry and aiming high. For me personally, I'm aiming at having 10 times more than I have now."

-Holly Kintz

kintz@lvpress.com

Spanish tourism

Aladdin leaves the Middle East and takes a trip to Spain with Sevilla, Desert Passage's newest nightlife offering. Indeed, Sevilla offers an environment of pure, Latin-themed eye candy.

Latinos now have a place to strut their stuff and salsa the night away. And these folks aren't amateurs. It's as much fun to watch the dancing as it is to dance.

Aladdin has done a good job recreating this quaint, tourist city in Spain. Once you enter, the Spanish-speaking emcee is heard, razzing the crowd on the first level. Guests pull out their best threads, with traditional frilly dresses and Spanish attire. A staircase leads you to a more low-key habitat on the second floor. An intimate lounge-setting gives you the opportunity to reserve tables - or even beds - with the utmost class and sophistication. Think Ethan Allan meets crushed red velvet, stone and mahogany.

The third and final level of Sevilla offers a more hip, countercultural setting, with a DJ playing house music on a small patio. Several couches crammed together and lining the walls of this outdoor-like area allows for relaxing, drinking and conversing with friends - or beautiful strangers.

Beginning in March, Sevilla will offer a Sunday night after-hours club minus the salsa music. A steakhouse by day, Sevilla offers dining into the wee hours with a less exaggerated menu.

-Amber Tyrrell

amberltyrrell@msn.com

Dark side of the boom

Breakbeat royalty rolls into Ra (inside the Luxor) Friday, Feb. 28, when Baby Anne, regarded by her dancefloor subjects as the Bass Queen, takes over the turntables in tandem with fellow Floridian and King of the Funky Breaks, DJ Icey. But there will be more than booty shaking going on. Baby Anne, whose style infuses breakbeat with Miami bass, electro-flavored synth lines and speeded-up vocal samples, will record her fifth mix-CD at the club. The CD, tentatively titled Mixed Live: Ra Las Vegas, is the latest in a series produced by pre-eminent dance music label Moonshine Music and is due out May 20. Doors open at 10:30 p.m. Cover: $20 for men; $10 for women. Info: 702-262-4400.

-Matt Kelemen

klmn@earthlink.net

The Beastie Boys? Really?

Last year, Coachella, an increasingly popular annual music festival in Indio, Calif., showcased a cornucopia of up-and-coming acts, including Citizen Cope, the Strokes, the Vines, Pete Yorn, the Chemical Brothers and Saves the Day. Old favorites Cake, Siouxsie & the Banshees, KRS One and Foo Fighters. Bjork headlined Feb. 22, and Oasis was the last act to play on Sunday. Empire Polo Field was filled with indie kids wearing black rimmed glasses and button-down shirts.

This year's headliners, Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Beastie Boys, may attract more of the Lollapalooza crowd. Queens of the Stone Age, Groove Armada and G Love and Special Sauce will play the event this year for the second time in a row.

Las Vegas favorites Blue Man Group will perform both days of the festival (April 26 and 27). Other acts scheduled to perform include Badly Drawn Boy, N*E*R*D, The White Stripes, The Donnas, Ben Folds, Particle and Hot Hot Heat. Tickets are $75 per day or $140 plus $2 for charity for both days. For more info and the complete lineup, go to www.coachella.com.

-Megan Capehart

meganc@lvpress.com

Sweet tarts

Fabulous Disaster is kinda like dirty candy: sticky-sweet harmonies laced with the sourness of heartbreak and a seen-it-all attitude. Constant touring has made this all-girl band rock-solid and on Feb. 21 at the Double Down Saloon, its music was fast and loud, simple and catchy, and delivered with reckless abandon. The "Fab Four" are lead by Laura Litter, who bounced and sneered her way through the hyperactive set. Next, "Big Joyride" from the new album Panty Raid! was an outstanding set closer, and when it was announced that the Briefs wouldn't be able to play because their guitarist was suffering from food poisoning, the ladies came back for a few more songs, which was marred only by a drunk spraying his beer on them. When asked why the band is so loyal to the Double Down, bass player Mr. Nancy replied, "It's our favorite place in Vegas. It's always fun, and we'll be back."

-Poizen Ivy

poizenivy@sincitysounds.com

Queens for a night

Real rock 'n' roll ain't dead, and New Jersey's Rye Coalition caught a big break by being invited to open for the most buzzed band of 2002, the Grammy-nominated Queens of the Stone Age. When the "Hard Luck Five" headlined at the Rock in November, there were 100 people present. On Feb. 22, the Joint was packed with a crowd ranging from wallet-chain-sporting twentysomethings to middle-aged, buttoned-up business-types. Rye's slightly off-kilter '70s-influenced sound, replete with jagged guitars, received a decent response from the teeming masses waiting for the headliners. Rye's cover of AC/DC's "Whole Lot Of Rosie" connected with the audience, the intense Cuseglio growled and paced the stage during "ZZ Topless" (dedicated to the ladies in the house) and "Hot Strikes," and the band's balls-to-the-wall finale was delivered with frantic, stadium-rock frenzy. Queens delivered a lengthy, and almost album-perfect set that was heavy on material from Songs for the Deaf - just what the crowd seemed to want.

-P.I.

Nut-kickin' fun

On Feb. 22, Hollywood glam-punks the White Trash Debuntantes caused quite a commotion at the Double Down Saloon. Its members may be gender-bending pop-culture fanatics - bassist Gabriel Hammond (the Fuzztones, Lords of Altamont) wore a leopard-print dress and a black wig - but that doesn't mean the band isn't punk. The bar was packed, but the Double Down staff was unprepared for the moshing that ensued (they didn't even bother to move the pool tables completely out of the way and patrons were still attempting to finish their games when the set started). The result was unbridled chaos of flying mic stands, spilled beer and people getting knocked out of their shoes. After getting dragged to the floor, frontwoman Ginger Coyote took control of the rowdies who failed to keep their distance by kicking them squarely in the nuts. Between odes to celebrities and songs about whips and chains, the Debs also paid tribute to the Misfits and Betty Blowtorch with covers of "Skulls" and "Part-Time Hooker," respectively, before winding things down with The Rocky Horror Picture Show audience-participation number "The Time Warp."

-P.I.

120 seconds of fame

From Melissa Etheridge covers, original rap tunes, ukulele ballads and the utmost in Argentinean flair bartending, the first annual Red Bull Center Stage on Monday, Feb. 24 was a crude yet entertaining spectacle to behold. It featured 120-second exhibitions by 17 of Las Vegas' club staff in a talent show described by the host, Wayne Brady, as "'American Idol' without a Budget."

Staged at the Lance Burton Theatre inside the Monte Carlo, contestants competed for cash prizes for the gold, silver and bronze, winning $5,000, $2,500 and $1,000, respectively.

If you got past the Red Bull-buzzed crowd that was wholly obnoxious, spouting interludes of seemingly endless whistles and cheers, the show actually made for some decent Monday night entertainment.

The performers were rated by a judging panel of seven, scoring on a scale from 1 to 5. (I found myself consistently disagreeing with their scores, but of course that wouldn't be the first time.) They included agents from the William Morris talent agency, Ginny Murphy, the entertainment director of the Tropicana, Chris Coaley of the MGM Grand, entertainers Kristine W. and Rick Thomas, Wild Morning Joint DJs from 101.9-FM, and Carrie Carter Henderson from the Best Models Agency.

Underrated highlights included Richelle Rivera of Club Fortune performing an Aretha Franklin medley (that won an "18" of a possible "35") and the Rain's own Adam Hunt singing a super pop ditty which, while totally in the vein of Justin Timberlake, was actually well done, but he received a mere "14." Meanwhile, some of the most excruciating acts did surprisingly well, like Mario Varmaxidis of Ventano Restaurant singing an endearingly sappy ballad punctuated by exaggerated gestures of emotion. He scored a "23."

The final, lucky winners were: Robyn Michele of Nana B's in first with a score of "30" for her rendition of Avril Lavigne's "I'm With You;" Shayne Unea from Fleming's in second for his super-freestyle rap improv; and Kelly Blakemore from Stadium Saloon in third for singing "Angel" by Sarah McLachlan.

-Holly Kintz