The night started with a pair of dancers spinning acrobatically through Mayfair Supper Club. It ended at Bruno Mars’ club, The Pinky Ring, with Mars and The Hooligans blasting through such rock anthems as The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army.”
Those were the New Year’s Eve tent posts on the Strip, a party that stretched until 3:30 a.m. at TPR. We walked out feeling Mayfair is developing a game-changer in the supper-club space, and Mars will be adding more dates at Dolby Live this year, just a matter of time.
Notes, moments from our NYE spree:
The partnership: Mayfair Supper Club is unveiling and unshackling its new production-dinner pairing. The project is a partnership between MGM Resorts International and Outside The Box Amusements. That company is known around Vegas as the creative visionaries behind Usher’s productions at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace (including the wonderful, below-theater “Backstory Pass” pre-show) and Dolby Live (including Usher’s after-party at On The Record nightclub).
Not “Boxed” in: Outside The Box is a metaphor, of course, for unconstrained vision. It is also a message (at least from here) that it is NOT The Box in New York. That’s the club on the Lower East Side founded by OTBA principal Randy Weiner, partner Richard Kimmel and Simon Hammerstein (grandson of legendary lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II).
The Box is known for its explicit, ribald acts. “Naughtiness at all costs,” is among the its unofficial mottos. We well remember more than a decade ago the attempt at a Box-like venue, The Act, at The Venetian, which unraveled for myriad business and content concerns. But at Bellagio, Weiner and Kimmel, along with and creative and business teammate Andrew Katz, are working effectively with MGM Resorts Chief Content, Hospitality and Development Officer Ari Kastrati for a concept that works for everyone.
It helps that MGM Resorts has already hosted the No Ceilings Entertainment-conceived dinner show at Mayfair for six years. From our first visit to the new production, we’re confident the respective officials will produce a show that is unique to Vegas, smart, chic, edgy and for the grown-up crowd.
Those acts: Mayfair’s new show brings in 16 full-time artists and several swings, or “wild cards,” as the producers describe. A quartet of vocalists (two men, two women) power through a set list that includes Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,” Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love,” jazz sax virtuoso Pharoah Sanders’ “Love is Everywhere,” and “Gimme All You’ve Got” by Jodeci.
The music hits from all sides. The tracks were recorded in the international entertainment destination of Teaneck, N.J., led by trumpet great Brian Newman, who curates The Pinky Ring’s music lineup and is also still Lady Gaga’s bandleader, as he is a musical unicorn.
We have a tightly choreographed dance team, hand balancers, a model posing behind a multicolored-projection dress, and a couple of artists who meander throughout the show snapping photos. One of these gents will sneak a rose to your date, so watch for that.
A full photo shoot was performed near the end of the program, which might seem a tedious exercise but came off very stylish. And this show was topped by a “hair-ialist,” aerial number in a Lyra hoop.
We counted in ‘26 with this very act, spinning while suspended by long locks clipped to the ring. The Lake Bellagio water show and fireworks going off in the distance. An amazing scene, maximized with this show.
The new menu: To complement the show, Mayfair has updated its menu, or “refreshed the culinary experience,” in company-speak. Not that there was anything wrong with the old menu. But we have several new dishes and drinks. The Surf-‘n’-Turf, short rib with butter-poached Maine lobster, is mouth-watering. I always love a Chocolate Disco Ball (a dessert, not a gala). The pistachio ice cream, caramelized Katmai and candied orange is deconstructed into a delicious glob by a cupful of warm chocolate. It was so hypnotically delicious that I almost forgot to take video of the hair-ialist.
Over to you, Bruno: At about 12:30 a.m., we cut into The Pinky Ring, carried by the horns of the Hooligans and some obviously advanced bongo-artistry. It was Mars, having just counted in the new year. After that jam ended, it was a break for the spinning stylings of DJ Velvet Hoss.
When the curtain opened again at 1:15 a.m., Mars was leading the band with his gold Fender Stratocaster. Having earlier played a two-hour show at Dolby Live, Mars raged through a set highlighted by “Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin, Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” and “Seven Nation Army.”
Mars played these songs last month at a corporate party for investment company Eldridge Industries, held at New York’s Capitol Theatre. Eddie Vedder, Anthony Kiedis, Brandi Carlile and Yungblud were also hired guns for that affair.
The “24 Karat Magic” superstar could build a rock band today, just to play classic-rock covers, and sell out arenas around the world. As the crowd bounced to “Whole Lotta Love,” I thought a live recording, “Bruno Mars at The Pinky Ring” would shoot to No. 1. Capturing the energy of New Year’s Eve, or any other Mars performance in TPR, is an idea whose time has come.
Of course, there is scant social-media of this performance, as Mars’ team is militant about no-phones policy (those wielding the pen lights mean business). But this energy needs to be bottled and delivered to the general public. Make it a goal in the new year.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.