Satire, Songs & Sensational Entertainers

Monday night, Kelly Clinton’s Open Mic Cabaret got off to a magnificent start with a hilarious opening act!!! Kelly added one more character to her satirical take on the star characters from the Wizard of Oz.  Kelly Clinton played Dorothy, Lena Prima portrayed Scarecrow, and the latest addition to the ensemble cast, Mark O’Toole played Lion. The very original --and very funny-- skit is based on each character’s tale of  “life after Oz.’ Mark O’Toole’s intro performance of Lion was hysterical. The costumes were magnificient!  The skit is a collaborative writing effort by the cast with the newest song lyrics for Lion written by Clint Holmes. The audience was bursting with laughter and applauding with glee during the entire performance. What a great opening for one more fabulous night of Cabaret entertainment.!!!!
Note:  The house was even more packed than ever, so much so that in the main dining room, the tables flowed onto the edge of the stage area and the standing room only crowd  filled the rest of the Bootlegger!!

Newsflash: Clint Holmes is being honored by the Friars Club this Monday, August 9, in NYC.
Kelly Clinton-Holmes is being honored with the 9th Annual Bella Award as “Las Vegas Female Star Entertainer” on that very same evening here in town.
However, Kelly will be performing at the Friars Club event with Leigh Zimmerman who is currently starring on Broadway as ‘Velma” in Chicago: The Musical.  Kelly will play ‘Mama’ to Leigh’s ‘Velma’ in a duet performance of the show tune "Class."
A group of Kelly’s fans will be at the Bella Award event before heading over to the Cabaret on Monday night.



The Skye’s the Limit!!! Just in case you are wondering who will be hosting Kelly Clinton Open Mic Cabaret on August 9th,  here's the scoop:  The guest host will be the sensational Skye Dee Miles, star of Menopause the Musical at the Luxor !!! That should be a fun night!! When it comes to entertainers, Skye truly is the LIMIT!!!

On to the Cabaret:

The phenomenal singer Lannie Counts kicked off the Cabaret line up with his awesome performance of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You.” The packed-house crowd demanded MORE and Lannie went into a soft, then really powerful rendition of “Summer Wind.” Lannie Counts is one of the greatest singers ever to perform at Kelly’s Cabaret!!

Lannie Counts just released a beautiful new CD. Check it out at http://reverbnation.com/lannie

With a whole new look about her, the terrific singer Laurie Cook was back with her fantastic drummer, L.J. to give us a hot performance of the 1960’s tune, "New Orleans."

Laurie Cook and her band will be performing along with 28 other bands over the three-day fundraising event, Hot August Nights in Las Vegas at Town Square.  Proceeds go to the “For Kids Now” Charity. The dates are August 20, 21, 22. For more details go to  http://www.hotaugustnightsinlasvegas.com/

Aside from his love of singing, Michael Cagle seems to be driven by the three 'Ds' that could 'make it happen big' in the music world:  Determination, Development and Desire. The buzz going around says Michael is heading in the right direction. It seemed so very apropos Monday night when Michael gave us a really powerful and fantastic performance of “Go the Distance.”

Michael Cagle was overjoyed to “let the cat out of the bag” Monday night when he announced some really big career news. Michael has been offered the opportunity to sing on the soundtrack of George Clooney’s upcoming movie. Get this now-- music giants Burt Bacharach and Quincy Jones are involved in the project!!!!

One of Kelly’s favorite singers to work with is Elisa Fiorillo. The sensational singer has been touring the world for the past couple of months with the artist, Prince. When she is in town, Elisa frequently performs at the exclusive Stirling Club with Kelly Clinton. This night Elisa Fiorillo graced the Cabaret stage with an original tune she wrote while on tour. She titled her very meaningful and beautiful song “Be There.” Wow.! She is such a super talented singer!!!

Next it was Kelly Clinton and Elisa Fiorillo performing the satiral duet “Class” from the musical Chicago. ...If that wasn’t enough to blow us away, the two phenomenal chick singers performed a counterpoint duet recorded by Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand. Kelly sang "Get Happy" while Elisa sang "Happy Days Are Here Again." This was truly a great performance!!!!

M Resort headliner, Mark O’Toole was up next with his absolutely fantastic performance of the Michael Buble` arrangement of “Cry Me a River.” Wow, can this fellow croon a tune!!!! ---And,  from what we saw earlier in the show, he’s a really funny guy.

Mark O’Toole headlines in the Ravello Theater at the M Resort in Henderson on Saturdays from 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM. He also appears frequently at the Stirling Club in Las Vegas and other venues in Laughlin, Nevada.

We were in for a real treat when the former star of the Lido De Paris, Jim Hodge, stepped up to the mic. For many of us it was the first time we’ve ever seen Jim perform, but for others it was one of the many times Jim has given them a show. At 83 years old, and still looking like ‘a Fox,’ Jim Hodge gave a wonderful performance of "Come Fly With Me."
Aside from starring in the Lido show Jim has appeared in many Las Vegas big room show productions. Here’s a tidbit we learned Monday night: Jim Hodges didn’t get into show business until he was about 30 years old. His first time out he landed a job with Betty Grable in her Las Vegas show. Nice work Jim.
P.S. If you recall a few weeks back Sheri and Mel Myers celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary with us. As it turns out this week, Sheri was very excited to announce it was Jim Hodge who sang at their wedding!!!






We had a triple show of comedians, each one performing their own act last Monday night.

Starting off the laughs was Barbara Bailey who gave her take on Phyllis Diller as "the Lady Gaga of the Geratol set." .....Later in the show came Shelley Fisher with her comedic take on life as a menopausal women..... Last of the comics standing at the mic was the dapper looking Derrick Stroman with his tale of the astonishing revelations of a newcomer to Las Vegas.

Las Vegas headliner Clint Holmes stepped on stage --and as he always does-- he blew us away with his incredible performance of “Since I Fell For You.” The band, with Mike Clark on keys, Billy Adams on drums, and sitting in for the night, Tony Drake on guitar, was so awesome. Tony Drake did a knock out solo, then he and Clint did a vocal and guitar scat run that absolutely killed!!! It’s always a very special moment when Clint Holmes performs at Kelly Clinton’s Open Mic Cabaret!!!!

Just as Clint was stepping off stage we heard a voice from behind the scenes sending out a few notes. It was the fabulous voice of Skye Dee Miles who appeared on stage as Kelly introduced her. Skye was sending out those hot and sexy vibes sounds we all love to hear from her --that’s when she caught the eye of Clint Holmes who just couldn’t resist getting back on stage to exchange a few vocal adlibs with Skye. There was some 'hot stuff ' going on vocally --then moments later a 'freaked out wife' named Kelly Clinton stepped in between the two with a ‘no way’ arm motion ---but that didn’t stop anything. So Kelly ran off in a huff and grabbed herself a good looking guy to make Clint jealous!! Of course it was all in fun and the crowd enjoyed every moment of this crazy stuff.

The fans go wild whenever Skye Dee Miles performs and this night she really got into the Blues with Got “My Mojo Working.” 

Skye is a sensational entertainer and we are all looking forward to her guest hosting Kelly Clinton’s Open Mic Cabaret this upcoming Monday night.
Skye is one hot babe!!!

We love to see seasoned entertainers come in to perform at this Cabaret show when they just  happen to be in Vegas on a Monday night. The next act, singer/songwriter and guitarist, Andrew James Hughes took his place on stage to play and sing his own original alternative/rock tune.
Andrew is from Asbury Park, New Jersey. He has a really great voice and there’s no mistaking that Jersey/ Springsteen vibe he sends out with his cool sound. Andrew’s been working the East Coast music circuit for many years. Thanks for dropping by Andrew James Hughes --and for giving us a great show. www.myspace.com/andrewjameshughes

Lisa Gay and Tony Drake took over the stage next with a couple of really hot tunes,“Let’s Get Together” followed by “You Make Me feel Brand New.” Nobody plays the guitar better than Tony Drake!! ..Lisa Gay has it all on the vocals and this time her moves were 'extra hot' as she played that tambourine like nobody’s business! With Tony leading, the band was awesome.  Check out the photos to see Lisa's cool new look as she shakes it playing hot tampourine .

Lisa Gay and Tony Drake have just recorded a new CD called, “Life, Love & Music.” It should be available right now on Amazon.com and My Space. Check under Lisa Gay and the Gentlemen of Thrill.

The powerful singer, Irma Kaye was next on stage giving her fantastic performance of that incredible tune, “At Last.” She’s sexy, she's got a super voice --and,  she has quite a number of videos linked to her Facebook page so you can check out more performances by the talented Irma Kaye.

The fabulous singer, Skip Mercier was back to perform for the second week in a row and the crowd gave him a really big welcome back. Skip gave us a extraordinary performance of the 1969 hit by Tom Jones, I’ll “ Never Fall In Love Again.”

Skip Mercier retired about 10 years ago following a professional career in the music business that spanned over four decades. Just to mention one highlight of his early career, Skip appeared in the 1964 movie, “Bikini Beach” starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. Last November, Skip made a decision to get back to performing and immediately started working on his vocals. Now, Skip Mercier performs live from 3 PM - 6 PM on the second Wednesday of every month in the Cerveza Cantina at the Fiesta Henderson.

The lovely and talented Julie Pajuheshfar took her place at the grand piano to play and sing her beautiful original tune, “Your Eyes.” She has a wonderful voice and her performance was superb.

Julie is only 19 years old and she just completed her first year of college.  As Kelly put it, 'Julie is beautiful, talented --and she's smart too!!' 

Another gorgeous young woman, Yvonne Silva was back this week with her guitar in hand to give us a wonderful performance of the rock ballad version of “Love Hurts.”

A few years ago, Yvonne left entertainment for a career in the hotel/casino industry. She missed performing so much she decided to get back to the Las Vegas music scene starting right here at the Cabaret. Good luck Yvonne Silva.

Trace Taylor was back this week performing in her unique, offbeat style of delivering a tune. This week she presented her version of that popular standard, “I’m In the Mood for Love.”

Last to perform was a newcomer to Las Vegas, singer/musician Aaron Stevens. The 23 year-old performer had no idea what a special request he was making when he asked the master guitarist Tony Drake to lend him his guitar. Tony was gracious enough to do it!!! Aaron Stevens went on to give a terrific performance of the Otis Redding tune, "Dock of the Bay."  He rocked!!!
Little does Aaron know that Tony Drake has recorded and performed with some of the biggest names in the business while playing that very same guitar!!!
P.S., Aaron Stevens said he’s been to many open mic nights up and down the East Coast but this one is 'the best ever!'

That wraps up one more fantastic evening of entertainment at Kelly Clinton’s Open Mic Cabaret. Before her final goodnight, Kelly gave another intro and expressed a big thank you to her A-team members, musical director, Mike Clark, drummer Billy Adams, DJ, Jake Klein filling in for Kevin Cordova, plus special thanks to Tony Drake for sitting in with the band and to everyone with the Bootlegger Bistro.

Kelly also thanked Billy Adams sister, Darlene for coming to the show -- then she sent out a very special thank-you to Kaci Machacyk and and Kaci's Dad, Tommy Vinci, for their great help with the opening number and for keeping the long line-up of entertainers going smoothly all night long.

Don’t forget,  Skye Dee Miles will guest host for Kelly this coming Monday, August 9th,!!!
Come on Down!!
Perform, Promote Your Gig
Dine In, Chill Out
It’s Always a Blast!!!

Kelly Clinton’s Open Mic Cabaret, Monday Night Show -  9 PM
Bootlegger Bistro,
7700 Las Vegas Blvd. So.
Dining room reservations: 702-736-4939