And there we were, supposedly more than a thousand of us waiting for a handful of signs to be lit up on the newly christened Fremont East Entertainment District. It was past 8 p.m. on Aug. 24, and Mayor McCheese — aka Oscar Goodman — and some City Council members weren’t finished patting each other on the back. We waited impatiently, passing snarky comments as the podium occupiers engaged in verbal mutual fellatio.

And then finally, there appeared to be a gesture to the first sign, a huge martini glass, naturally to be lit up by the Mayor (who of course couldn’t pass up a reiteration of his gin preference). And just when we thought this long non-countdown was about to end, signaling our return to the bars or our homes … the mayor fell on his ass.

Well, what did you expect from the Town Drunk?

The mayor’s people claim he lost his footing, or was exhausted, depending on whose article you’re reading. Nevertheless, the stalwart champion of arts-district-dismantling sports arenas and imprisoned homeless advocates rose above his unspecific malady, stood up and hit the switch, lighting up that blue, vermouth-less martini glass and signaling the Official Birth of the Fremont East Entertainment District. The crowd cheered. A showgirl, a shoe and retro space-age "Vegas" signs were also lit up. And people filed into the nearby bars, a new graffiti gallery called United or just went home. Oh, there was a rap performance on the east end of the District, too.

For some people, this was a special occasion. For others, it was sorta confounding. Did downtown really need additional, uncreative, Vegas-specific iconography to appeal to residents and tourists who have so far stayed away from Fremont Street? Might the $5.5 million spent on these dubious beacons — and really, another "Vegas" sign? How much more self-absorbed can this city get? — been used for other purposes? Is this Entertainment District Visual Improvement Program — where business owners can score up to $95,000 to spiff up their facades — enough for an area that could use more than just some additional neon and a fresh coat of paint?

Before you write your nasty comments or letters, let me disclose that I frequent downtown almost every weekend. East Fremont is one of the best hangouts in town, even as it currently exists, if only for the quality barhopping one can enjoy with Beauty Bar, The Griffin and the Downtown Cocktail Room. Can you name another non-Strip/non-resort location where you can bounce from bar to bar, hear great music, run into old friends and make some more? The Fruit Loop and the Commercial Center are pretty much gay-specific and are not without their shortcomings, and let’s not depress ourselves by bringing up the University District.

And, for all the questionable pomp and circumstance of last week’s unveiling, it was nice to see so many people — from demographics beyond the hip and the vagrant — eagerly come down to East Fremont and finally check out newbie places like The Griffin and Downtown Cocktail Room, bars the city has long deserved. We need more of those — not charmless, corporate signs in the middle of the street. And when those bars — and hopefully more music venues, restaurants and independent urban retail outlets — finally arrive, a celebration will be truly appropriate.

And Oscar will have earned the right to over-exert himself.