[New City V]

Has anyone seen any shows or bands at the Thunderbird Lounge? How big is it? What kind of vibe?

One of the new members of our local Las Vegas Singers and Songwriters group is going to perform there Monday night (March 3rd).

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How far is the Aruba Hotel from the Stratosphere?

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[dynimagelv]

Originally Posted by New City V

Has anyone seen any shows or bands at the Thunderbird Lounge? How big is it? What kind of vibe?

One of the new members of our local Las Vegas Singers and Songwriters group is going to perform there Monday night (March 3rd).

link removed

How far is the Aruba Hotel from the Stratosphere?

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should be about 4 blocks......its the joint tha bob Stupak name the "Historic Thunderbird"....it's been several other unsucessful things also.....

[Chest Rockwell]

The do some really good parties in there, especially on First Friday.

It has a cool, old-school Vegas lounge vibe, with brass and mirrors and what not. There's also a second room in the back. On a packed night, they fit a good 300-400 people in there. Parking is tough when it's busy. You can park across the street at Talk of the Town, but they charge $5

[SHEPNYC]

Stayed at the original Thunderbird back in the 1970's.

I can still remember the huge Thunderbird sign, not much of a hotel even back than.

Vegas has come a long way since than. I'll take the Bellagio!

[ackackack]

I saw a show there about two years ago (Heavy Trash, a sort of new-style of rockabilly I guess). I had a blast and liked the showroom. From what I remember, it was clean, looked like it would hold at least a few hundred, and thought that they had a good thing. The stage and equipment was nice, and the bar was fun. I haven't been back since though. At the time, the Aruba's promoter claimed that we could expect more of this sort of thing, but that was several years ago. Until I read your post, I thought the Aruba suffered the fate of the countless other venues that failed before they ever really got off the ground.

[New City V]

Originally Posted by Chest Rockwell

It has a cool, old-school Vegas lounge vibe, with brass and mirrors and what not. There's also a second room in the back. On a packed night, they fit a good 300-400 people in there.

That sounds good. I had been wondering about the size of the venue and the potential crowd capacity. Sharon Paquette, one of the performers there tonight sent an email saying that the Thunderbird Lounge plans to start reserving each Monday late night to "hot bands of tomorrow before they hit it big" - no open mic stuff or cover bands, just original local music.

Regarding the Thunderbird's plans, over on the VegasRex site, the guy who runs it wrote: "I haven't been around long enough to experience the 'Local Vegas Music Scene', but every city desperately needs a venue that supports local acts. In a town of 2 million people, there is no doubt a thriving music scene somewhere in the Valley."

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[ackackack]

Originally Posted by New City V

That sounds good. I had been wondering about the size of the venue and the potential crowd capacity. Sharon Paquette, one of the performers there tonight sent an email saying that the Thunderbird Lounge plans to start reserving each Monday late night to "hot bands of tomorrow before they hit it big" - no open mic stuff or cover bands, just original local music.

Regarding the Thunderbird's plans, over on the VegasRex site, the guy who runs it wrote: "I haven't been around long enough to experience the 'Local Vegas Music Scene', but every city desperately needs a venue that supports local acts. In a town of 2 million people, there is no doubt a thriving music scene somewhere in the Valley."

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I hope that the Aruba's plan to showcase local music works. However, there have been countless "flavor of the month" venues like the Aruba that have had great intentions, but just fail to establish themselves for any real lenght of time. I've always wondered why they tend to fail at a much higher rate than they succeed. I've always suspected that the smaller clubs like the Hard Rock and the House of Blues are hurting the local scene. It seemed like the Huntridge, for example, was unstoppable until those venues showed up and started stealing attention and acts. There seems to be a pretty decent amount of local bars showcasing local and regional acts now. More now than I have noticed in recent years, so maybe happy times are here again.

[Chest Rockwell]

Speaking of the Huntridge, its owner plans to repay the gov't any money used for renovations in return for having it's "historical" tag removed, then bulldoze it to build office space.

From the LV Sun

The problem with local venues that don't provide gaming is that they can't compete with showrooms inside hotels. Then they end up fighting over the scraps - all-ages shows or low profile independent artists, that don't earn enough money to sustain the venue. The Aruba is making itself a vital part of the Arts District and offers a variety of entertainment, from swing dancing, to electronic music, to art exhibits - which sets it apart from other venues in the city.

The Huntridge needs a bailout from the gov't, which I don't think will happen. Saving it from the wrecking ball may be possible, but getting it renovated and re-opened is a very daunting task.

[ackackack]

Originally Posted by Chest Rockwell

Speaking of the Huntridge, its owner plans to repay the gov't any money used for renovations in return for having it's "historical" tag removed, then bulldoze it to build office space.

From the LV Sun

The problem with local venues that don't provide gaming is that they can't compete with showrooms inside hotels. Then they end up fighting over the scraps - all-ages shows or low profile independent artists, that don't earn enough money to sustain the venue. The Aruba is making itself a vital part of the Arts District and offers a variety of entertainment, from swing dancing, to electronic music, to art exhibits - which sets it apart from other venues in the city.

The Huntridge needs a bailout from the gov't, which I don't think will happen. Saving it from the wrecking ball may be possible, but getting it renovated and re-opened is a very daunting task.

Thanks for the sad update about the Huntridge. I'm disappointed (but not suprised) to hear that it may be knocked down. My friends and I practically lived there during our high school years and the few that followed. The remodel was a nice improvement, but I'll always like the days before the remodel when you could hang out in back before and after the shows and watch my favorite bands unload and load their equipment. I didn't know that the Historical status could be removed.

[thethunderbird]

The Aruba Hotel and Thunderbird Lounge are still open and still doing shows, events, parties, etc. Live theater, Dj's, bands, variety shows, etc. I have worked at the aruba since the beginning- some bands that have played here: the Radiators, Heavy trash, the living dolls, the Untouchables, every rockabilly band in vegas- we haven't shut our doors once in the four years I've been here and there are only plans to expand- with expanded parking as a main short term goal. check out [URL="http://www.arubalasvegas.com"]www.arubalasvegas.com[/URL] our motto is "old vegas is gone, but you can still see the stain at the Thunderbird Lounge."