Audi 2008 Annual Report Download - page 94

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I drive on through the night. Suddenly, the lights of Las
Vegas appear in the distance. They say you can see the
lights of Sin City, as they call this desert beauty, from
space. Where else could Liberace – who began his career
as a classical child prodigy and finished it as a flamboy-
ant entertainer – and his theatrical persona have been
so at home? I head to the old part of the Las Vegas Strip,
down East Tropicana Avenue to a deceptively unflamboy-
ant building. It’s no more pink neon than your average
Chinese take-away. Liberace’s legacy is preserved here –
mainly behind glass.
Leaving Vegas for California, the next must-see is in Lake
Tahoe. The Cal Neva Lodge & Casino used to belong to
one of the most important singers and entertainers in
U.S. history. Lake Tahoe runs second only to his birth-
place of Hoboken, New Jersey, as the greatest place of
cult worship of Ol’ Blue Eyes. There are dozens of sou-
venir stores here and, of course, the casino.
Built in 1926, the place later acquired true celebrity sta-
tus. Among its regulars were Hollywood stars and a U.S.
President. Being a nerd from Long Island, staring across
Crystal Bay in a pair of vintage sunglasses, I realize that
I am in a place that defines the collective memory of the
United States.
The final leg of my journey takes me from the mountains
encircling Lake Tahoe to the Pacific Ocean. You can’t talk
about California without mentioning the beach culture.
Countless bands have tried to put their stamp on the up-
beat songs and polyphonic choruses that belong to the
refrains of the Sunshine State’s laid-back California Feel-
ing. The melodies even make me smile reflexively. As I
cross the desert on my way into L.A., I think about all the
raves that were held out here in the 1980s and early
1990s. Before rave and gangsta rap, there was of course
L.A. punk.
When I arrive in L.A., I park my car on Hollywood Boule-
vard and walk down North Cherokee Avenue, which used
to house the entrance to The Masque – one of the first
underground punk clubs in L.A. “It was a bomb shelter
during the nuke scares in the 1950s,” recounts Brendan
Mullen, the club’s founder. The entrance is now closed off
by a chain-link fence. If you want to search for the mile-
stones of American music history in this country, you will
have to drive from ghost to ghost. So you should have a
really good car.
Classical child
prodigy and flashy
Las Vegas show-
man: Liberace.