Do Tell Your Friends About
Don’t Tell Mama

Posted by Ash on October 5, 2009

Saturday night after we finished at NCOD, Ash and I decided we weren’t quite ready to go home. We were energized and wanted to go out. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much money to spend, so we were racking our brains on where to go, get cheap drinks and have a good time. We ended up downtown at Don’t Tell Mama a piano bar adjacent to Beauty Bar on Fremont Street here in Las Vegas. The piano bar didn’t have too many customers, but those that were there, were having a great time.

When we walked in, we were instantly reminded of our favorite bar in New York City called Cleopatra’s Needle. We visited that bar a few winters back and were dazzled by the smooth, sophisticated jazz and blues from the musicians, most of whom were students. We sipped sangria and moved our bodies with the music until last call.

Don’t Tell Mama could fit right in the New York City scene, and there’s good reason for it. Don’t Tell Mama is originally a Manhattan bar. But Minh and Joanna Pham, one-time owners of the original, opened the Vegas Don’t Tell Mama and apparently brought a few singers and entertainers with them as well as true New York city charm.

The place isn’t big – maybe ten small tables and a dozen seats at the bar. A white baby grand piano and shelves of sheet music occupied the little corner stage. The lighting was dark, and I felt like the perfect compliment to the atmosphere would have been a dirty martini and a cigarette.

A lone pianist named Rebecca played under half a dozen spot lights and sang her little heart out. She was very impressive. Rebecca played a few numbers by herself, then others started taking over on lead vocals. A man, sitting just down the bar from us, was the first taker. We were informed by one of the bartenders that he was just a regular patron who frequented the bar and occasionally got up to sing. Rick was probably in his mid-to-late 60s, was missing a couple teeth and was drinking his bourbon straight. He was a very funny little man, with a great voice.

After his debut for the night, one of the bartenders made her way on stage. Bianca had soul to her voice. She sang “I’ll be there,” and I think she gave everyone in the place goose bumps. She was fabulous. Later in the night, another patron got up. He was visiting from Hawaii and also had an amazing voice.

It seemed like everyone in the place, except Ash and I, were singers. The three bartenders each got up and sang a few songs (and each had exceptional voices), did back up for each other (including back up for the pianist) and every once in a while added a bit of the bongos or tambourine from behind the bar. Bianca told us that in order to work here, “you have to be a singer,” or at least musical.

There wasn’t a distinct genre or type of music. It was whatever anyone wanted to sing and whatever the pianist could play. But the songs were ballads most people have heard a few times and could sing and dance along to.

There was a couple visiting from Ontario, Canada, who was at the bar, and they were definitely enjoying themselves. They had been a bit drunk and were introducing themselves to everyone in the place. They were dancing around and singing along with the musicians. The girl even sang a song, probably the worst part of the night, but everyone understood that they were from out of town and were living it up in Las Vegas. At one point in the evening, the guy leaned over and told Bianca her and her voice are a hidden jewel in Las Vegas. We were all giggling about it, but, in reality that’s exactly what Don’t Tell Mama is, it’s a hidden jewel in Las Vegas.

Don’t Tell Mama details:

No cover; Full Bar; No Food; No gaming; Live Music starts at 5pm and 8pm on Sunday; Open mic every night all night

Visit Don’t Tell Mama at 517 Fremont Street, Las Vegas, NV 89101

Phone 702-207-0788

Check out the other singers of the night on the Sin City Sex Blog YouTube channel.
Check out photos of the night via our Facebook or Flicker account.

xoxo Lilith Diana

Sin City Sex Blog