Vegas is a hot spot for all types of party goers and socialites, but it’s always good to wind down with a drink and just relax. If you’re one of those party animals that is just looking for a cold glass of your favorite drink, a welcoming atmosphere, and a good time, then Yard House is the place to be. Good food and affordability are definitely attractive factors, but Yard House draws the crowd with its huge selection of prime beers that will please anyone. Here, the food is served alongside the drinks rather than the other way around. While you’re waiting for your food you can also check out the back where all the brews are being held in the restaurant.

This is one of my favorite places to visit.  I am always in the mood for Yard House.  Exiting appetizers, awesome entrees, great beer on tap and good music keep me coming back.  This a great place to get flame grilled, blackened or macadamia nut crusted fish.  I’m addicted to the pure flavor of the flame grilled Monchong, when available, accompanied by that delicious mango/papaya chutney.  Reminds me of the seafood I love back home. – Frank M.

For a great time and even better beer, check out Yard House especially during happy hour!

Yard House is located at 6593 Las Vegas Blvd S.  Las Vegas, NV 89119 and can be contacted at 702-734-9273. Find them online at http://www.yardhouse.com/NV/las__vegas/

Discover the world all over again through the eyes of a child. Las Vegas may be the City of Sin, but for every casino that is built for adults there is a family exhibit just around the corner.
The Lied Discovery Children’s Museum located in Downtown Las Vegas is a real treat for families. Bring your kids, bring your nieces and nephews, and bring out your inner child as you walk through rooms filled with things to learn and play with. From magnets to machines, boats to bubbles, there’s enough to keep children entertained for hours as they play with the exhibits and learn about how the world works. Even your littlest ones will smile as they play in the toddlers’ area filled with foam blocks and a padded play area. And all the while they’ll be learning about science, nutrition, and everything in between!

“I don’t know why they call this a children’s museum because I am 22 years old and still am obsessed with the place. It should be the Lied Discovery All ages museum, but I guess the mock grocery store where kids can buy plastic fruit and bread for paper money forces this into the “kid’s only” category. Huh. I don’t believe it. Anyway…if you have a child, or can borrow one for an afternoon, you HAVE to go to the Lied Museum. Not only will you blow bubble the size of a motorcycle and play with all sort of funny instruments, you will learn a thing or two in the process. Don’t believe me? Put your hand on the electric globe thingy and tell you have never felt anything like that before. On your way out, stop by the aforementioned grocery store, and learn a thing or two about saving and spending money (God knows I need to learn this lesson again and again.) As you walk out, stop by the gift shop and pick up some space ice cream bars, you know, the dehydrated ones that activate with the saliva in your mouth. They are great! Seriously, I am petitioning for a name change. Al l the goodness of this museum cannot be reserved for the tykes.

Recommended company: For your own pride, you have to bring someone twelve or under. If not, you just look silly. This reminds me, does anyone need a babysitter? I need a kid for my next visit…No need to pay me…” -Stephany S.

For only $8.50 per adult and $7.50 for kids, this is a great place for kids to have fun and learn at the same time without breaking the bank. Pack a snack, grab your family, and head on over to the Lied Discovery Children’s Museum where you’ll be sure to have a great time learning and being with your family. And who knows, maybe the child in you will come out to play, too!

Lied Discovery Children’s Museum is located at 833 North Las Vegas Blvd Las Vegas, Nevada 89101 and their phone number is (702) 382-3445. Also check them out at http://www.ldcm.org for all their great exhibits and discounts!

For all those Filipinos who like to go crazy, there’s a hot spot for you to check out! Cafe Moda is another late night club that provides a variety of services. They have karaoke for all those singers willing to show off their skills, a big dance floor for people to rock their socks off, and great food and drinks. Besides going to Goldilocks or Jollibee, this is definitely a good place to grab some great quality Filipino food. Just because you’re not Filipino doesn’t mean you can’t join in on the action. The club has many events depending the schedule. Make sure to check on their website to watch out for updates on great local events. Everybody enjoys a little fun, and most people agree that Cafe Moda is the place to go for all the action.

“Cafe Moda is the most fun place to sing, dance, laugh, drink and eat the best Sisig and yes, extra Jalapenos please! Crispy Pata is as delicious as it should be with a crisp at each bite! The lumpia’s are pretty good, garlic fried rice is tasty and as Filipino as it can get and the sinigang is delectable!

This place is also a Filipino Karaoke bar folks, so be prepared to be in a very loud, entertaining venue and with the Nanay’s and Tatay’s doing the cha-cha and bringing sexy back! You never know, you might just catch a drunken girl trying to do a stage dive into the dance floor after singing or screaming her heart out!!

And here is a big tip….don’t let the little Filipino guys or girls intimidate you if you are not Filipino and walking in alone. Yes, Filipinos do stare but mostly because they want to eat you! Just kidding….we stare because we want to know what you are wearing, so smile back and if the stares don’t go away….offer them a drink and they just might be your best companion or compadre for life!”

For more information, please visit their website http://www.cafemodalv.com/

They are located 3400 S Jones Blvd Las Vegas, NV 89146
Phone number: (702) 220-4488

Karaoke is always a fun event for a group of friends to hang out. Being able to sing some of your favorite songs and enjoy the company of friends and family is a great experience. Karaoke Q Studio is a great place to check out. The place is literally bangin when you get there. Upon entering the studio, you notice the place is decorated with lights that gives off that essence of Las Vegas’ night life and great music is playing throughout the building. The servers are extremely polite and provide excellent service. Also, the music selection is vast. They vary from new and old popular American songs, Korean hits, Japanese favorites, and songs in other languages. Each individual room is very spacious and specifically designed to accommodate a certain number of people. There are 11 rooms which include big comfy couches, a projector to display the screen, a great sound system,  and is very private. The prices vary from $20 to $50 an hour depending the size of the room. What’s great about Karaoke Q Studio is that the group is charged rather than each individual unlike some other karaoke locations. It is suggested that you reserve a room so that you won’t have to wait just in case they don’t have one readily available for you which then you will have to wait. Happy hours are from Monday to Wednesday, all night half off. From Thursday to Sunday, only from 7 PM to 10 PM is half off. The dress code is typically casual and they accept credit cards for payment (AMEX, Mastercard, Visa, Discover). Also, if your hungry, they have a wide variety of food you can order! Just request for the menu. Overall, this is an amazing place to check out!

Karaoke Q Studio is locate on 3400 S Jones Blvd #11 Las Vegas, NV 89146
Phone number: 702-823-1448

It’s always ridiculously hot during the summer of Vegas. With global warming, the temperature is only going to keep rising! So why not stop by a place that’s entirely chilled, fun for the family, and a great time to pass the time? The Las Vegas Ice Center is the place to go! They have two huge ice skating rinks that’s spacious enough for you to glide through and have a store just for those skaters who are interested in going pro. Also, they have plenty of services to offer such as skating lessons for hockey and figure skating, hockey competitions, and freestyle skating.  If you happen to want to grab a quick snack or drink, they have a little snack bar for you and provide a locker to secure all your personal belongings. Prices are really affordable and they include skates. This is definitely a place to set up a party or an event. Visit their website here: http://lasvegasice.com/

The Blue Man Group is a critically acclaimed theatrical group that has garnered international fame. Even many of those not familiar with the production itself have heard of the group from word-of-mouth or media exposure. I recently had a chance to finally see this production live, and although the show wasn’t a straight musical concert, it was very amusing to hear the music they play combined with their on-stage antics. The Blue Man Group has released 2 albums to date, Audio and The Complex. The group doesn’t focus on making lyrics since their on-stage personas are supposed to be silent, and as such, their music is fully instrumental. It was impressive to see how they utilized random objects such as a Hammered Dulcimer, Paint Drums, Sword Air Poles, and different types of Pipes and Tubes as instruments. The Blue Man Group currently produces shows in Las Vegas, New York, Tokyo, Chicago, Boston, Orlando, and Berlin.  So if you’re in one of these hot spots and are interested in some first-rate entertainment, I highly suggest you go see their show. For those still not familiar with the group or what they do, I strongly recommend checking them out on youtube!

by Oron B.
Las Vegas, NV

Published with permission from Sketchtunes
http://www.sketchtunes.com/

I was at Gemini Arcade Palace the other day when I found a “Love” pin for the eponymous show at the Mirage Resort based on the music of the Beatles. It instantly brought back good memories of the show (one of my favorites) as well as sitting in MUS 133: History of the Beatles class. This December will mark 40 years since the band’s dissolution and 30 years since the death of member John Lennon, and yet the band’s popularity, even amongst today’s youth, remains strong. When I got to thinking about it, clear signs of the Beatles’ ongoing legacy are present all over Las Vegas. First off, THERE IS A HISTORY OF THE BEATLES CLASS! I am constantly amazed at the number of people attending UNLV who are oblivious of this fact, particularly those who are seeking elective courses to take. It is rare to find this class at any school and is something that sets UNLV apart. While arguably lacking in academic practicality, it should be taken for what it is: an ELECTIVE course. The other visible signs across the valley are the numerous shows that are produced based on the band’s music. There is the wildly popular “Love” which combines Beatles favorites with the acrobatics of Cirque Du Soleil, the newly created Sgt. Pepper Live! by rock band Cheap Trick, in reference to the band’s claim that the album could never be reproduced live [at least with 1960s technology], and the various tribute shows such as B: BeatleShow (previously the Fab Four) at Planet Hollywood.

After I found the pin, I went home and revisited my old notes from when I took MUS 133. It was fun to come across some old trivia:

-Paul chose his Hofner bass because he was left handed and it was symmetrical. Thus, he could easily reverse it when he played, and it would look the same.

-Please Please Me, the band’s debut album released in 1963, was recorded in 1 day because the band could not afford to rent out the studio longer.

-Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) was the first album not promoted with a live tour by the band. (They had decided to stop touring in August 1966)

-”Hey Jude,” our contributor Simon’s favorite song, was written in 1968 by Paul McCartney for Julian Lennon, John Lennon’s son, to help him cope with his parents’ divorce.

-Being a valley resident, it’s always good to know that the Beatles came in 1964 and played 2 sold out shows at the Las Vegas Convention Center : )

I encourage any Beatles fans or anyone who has never been exposed to the music of the Beatles to take History of the Beatles at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. I know many others who have also taken it and no one can honestly say they regret doing so. Also, I highly recommend Love for any Beatles fans; it is one of the better Cirque shows in my opinion, and of course, the music is amazing!

by Gørdø L.
Las Vegas, NV

Published with permission from Sketchtunes
http://www.sketchtunes.com/