Hey, there! If you too want to see U2 when their Super Big Very Important Show opens in The Sphere this September, you have until 7 a.m. tomorrow to register for the verified fan presale.

Urban Almanac: Owls

🦉 Unless they have an unusual story or a good recipe, I mostly ignore birds. But I love owls. Several species live in Southern Nevada, including the burrowing owl, the long-eared owl, and the plastic species that don’t frighten pigeons. But I’m partial to the great horned variety, which live primarily around the edges of town, in Red Rock Canyon, Calico Basin. Despite the name, those aren’t actual horns — but they also aren’t ears; they’re just tufts. The ears are on the sides of its head, at offset levels, so it can more precisely triangulate the location of something making delicious noises — rodents, rabbits, the occasional Summerlin pet. It helps that owls can swivel their heads an “Exorcist”-worthy 270 degrees. And those eyes! They can see great distances, though they can’t move in their sockets.
 

🦉 It's probably because their eyes seem so expressive that owls are often presented as symbols of wisdom — but their brains are actually smaller than their eyes. You can see why I like ’em: so much in common!

3 Questions

With Comic Lindsay Glazer

A trial attorney-turned-comedian, Lindsay Glazer moved to Las Vegas in 2020 to ride out the pandemic. Her new album, “Thanks, Dad,” was recorded in December in the Wiseguys Comedy Club on Main Street.

You are a trial attorney as well as a comic. Were there unexpected similarities between the two?

"They’re both performance skills. Even before I got to comedy, I did some stuff with jury selection. There were studies done that the more laughs you get per minute in a jury — even if it’s a murder case — the more likely you are to win the case. Making people laugh is what connects them to you. Everything’s a sales job, right? You sell a not-guilty verdict to a jury, you sell laughs to an audience — everything’s about getting someone on your side and being likable."

In 2023, when one hopes inroads would have been made, what’s it like for a woman in comedy?

"I’d say law was harder, actually, from a male-dominated standpoint. Well, I shouldn’t say law is male-dominated — criminal-defense law is male-dominated. There you had to fight much harder as a woman to get pleas and verdicts. Yes, being a female comic, some people think it’s easier, some people think it’s harder. It's getting better in 2023, but, like everything, we want more. “Women always want more.” (Laughs.) ... I think we should have all-female lineups — but we shouldn't call them 'all-female lineups.' We should call them 'comedy shows.'"

Do you find Las Vegas a good place to live for someone in your line of work?

"Yeah, Las Vegas has lots of regional oddities and things you can write about. It’s the only place where I’ve ever had a Michael Jackson impersonator, a talking parrot, and a zombie little person open for me. I mean, Las Vegas is basically like New Orleans mixed with Florida Man.

"But Vegas is a very hard place to work out new material. Because you're either in an A club, where you're only gonna do your A stuff, or it's open mics. There are not a lot of, let's call them 'curated bar shows,' or medium B and C clubs where you can get more than 10 minutes. To really develop new material, you have to stay on the road."

Edited for length and clarity.

Today On City Cast Las Vegas

How to (Finally) Do Your Damn Taxes 🧾 

Las Vegas reportedly ranks No. 2 in tax procrastination. So lead producer Sonja Cho Swanson talks to Jodi Mobley, executive director of Nevada Free Taxes Coalition, a nonprofit that helps low- and middle-income people file their taxes, about why it doesn’t have to be all that complicated.

Lastly today, a hearty good morning to Mojave Max, who's finally up and at 'em after a historically long hibernation. ☕ 🐢 See you tomorrow!