Young the Giant Check Into the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas

This autumn, Los Angeles indie rockers Young the Giant are set to open for Incubus on a tour of some of the nation's largest sheds. But this past week, the band settled into a different kind of gig, as the house band at a casino bar located in the brand new Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.

It's all part of the Cosmopolitan's new plan to attract the kind of bands that don't usually include Vegas on their tour itinerary -- you know, like indie rockers, electronic acts and other stars of the blogosphere. Once they bring them in and put them up, the hotel then showcases many of the artists in several venues right off the casino floor -- for free. Meaning, no ticket necessary. The venue where Young the Giant set up is called the Book & Stage and doubles as the Cosmopolitan's sports book by day. The band settled into the strange environs to perform two shows nightly this week, in true Vegas style.

"We're used to the audience being right up at our feet, and right now, it's just bottles of liquor at our feet," guitarist Jacob Tilley tells Spinner, humorously. "It's really interesting to watch people walk by and turn their heads and sometimes they stay and sometimes they don't, but I did catch people dancing in the back this time."

Sounds kinda like a music festival crowd except, of course, the audience at the Book & Stage doesn't smell like they've been in a hot, dusty field for three days. And they tend to be a lot better dressed. "This whole hotel is amazing," says Tilley. "It's kinda overwhelming."

But if the idea of a Vegas residency recalls the image of a cheesy hotel lobby cover band, a Vegas lounge act, or something a band might do around the time they sink to the amusement park circuit, well, think again: upcoming non-ticketed residency shows at the Cosmopolitan include Foster the People, Nikka Costa and J. Roddy Walston and the Business. No joke.

As for Young the Giant's week in Vegas, Tilley says that the downtime not usually afforded to the band while on tour will be well spent. He intends to take his parents out to celebrate his dad's birthday on Saturday and, while he's considering indoor skydiving, he might opt to save his money and enjoy some of the amenities offered right at the hotel, like wading in tropically-landscaped rooftop pools which overlook the strip, drinks in hand. Of course, he could always go to the roulette table and bet it all on red 7 -- it is Vegas after all, so we'd never tell.

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