Go: Where to Go, What to Do & Why

By James P. Reza

If you survived last weekend without getting something singed, then you weren't hanging in the right places. Outdoor concerts, naughty nightclub (or is that underthing ultralounge?) openings and poolside pleasures, pyrotechnics galore, plus the monthly installment of our downtown cultural lollapalooza...despite the sizzling heat of what is essentially "our winter," Independence Day has, over the past two years, evolved into an unusually busy time for visitors.

That does not hold nearly as true for the local nightlife scene. Blame it on the sun, the proliferation of alternative events, the fact that so many of us head out of town or the backyard barbecues and block parties that keep so many residents close to home, but local events suffer summer slumps. Resident hipster hangouts like the Hookah Lounge are busy one moment, quiet the next, as locals spread themselves thinly across the landscape. First Friday was well-attended, considering the circumstances, but not as hopping as it was two months ago (nor, we suspect, as it will be in the fall, Southern Nevada's cultural, and seasonal, apex). That's understandable.

What is not so understandable is the slowing in attendance at one of First Friday's signature afterparties, the Get Back (currently at the Ice House). What was just a few months ago the most painfully oversuccessful downtown event--a bustling bash featuring old skool soul downstairs and classic alternative in an upstairs lounge accessible only after waiting for someone to descend--has slowed considerably since an incident featuring some hothead with an itchy trigger finger outside the venue. The downtown cheerleader in us bristles at the idea that one unfortunate event can scare the suburbanites, but safety is an issue that sits squarely at the heart of any successful downtown renaissance, and something everyone should take seriously. That said, we do wonder when all the urban hepcats will get back to the Get Back.

The real deal

Historically speaking, the Huntridge Theater, at Maryland Parkway and Charleston Boulevard, is hardly downtown. In fact, it's rather suburban, in the way that all of Las Vegas is suburban. But we're sure there's some of you recent arrivals, having never been east of Rainbow Boulevard or west of Eastern Avenue, who would say the Huntridge is downtown. And that's just fine, because in a few weeks, the Huntridge will close for a spiffy remodel that without question will be linked to the downtown renaissance. Before that, however, SoCal ska fiends the Aquabats will skank themselves silly at the theater on Saturday (July 9; 678-6800). It's hard to believe, but this is almost exactly 12 years after the band first played the venue.

Not scheduled for a remodel anytime soon is the Double Down Saloon, Vegas' very own hepcat dive, shoehorned--physically if not metaphorically--between the University District and the Gay Triangle. It's not a "personality bar," but it boasts loads of personality, from its infamous jukebox (Sinatra to Sex Pistols) to the crowd it draws (Bettie Page to booty call), to the always free live music of the kinds you'll never see anywhere else in Vegas. Thursday, check out the rockin' garage/country of hillbilly punks Country Willie & The Cosmic Debris (July 8; 791-5775).

Triple play Saturday

We've been razzing the whole nightclub/rock 'n' roll trend for a while now. It's only fitting that we tell all of you folks out there--you know, you Bacardi-and-Diet drinkers who woo-hoo every time some "DJ" spins a few minutes of "Sweet Home Alabama"--that unless you can present us with your Lynyrd Skynyrd ticket stub from that band's Saturday show at the Aladdin (July 10; 785-5555), you will be bitch-slapped by our very own Poseur Police. Metaphorically, of course.

That same night, the Cannery (North Las Vegas's first new casino in decades) re-ups its Hawaiian Da-Kine Reggae Concert Series (July 10; 507-5700). This week features reggae and island sounds from Baba B, Bonafide, HHB, Fiji, New Flavor, Mr. Tripp and The Judge.

And, Mandalay Bay's popular Beach Concert Series continues this weekend with Smash Mouth (yes, two words), also on Saturday (July 10; 632-7777). You can think of the band as--and this is not meant as an insult by any means--the ultimate party band that somehow made the big time as a party band. Like Huey Lewis & The News, only for modern rock. Like Oingo Boingo, but with ska influences (and without Danny Elfman). Hey, they put on a great show, and you can have a blast without feeling guilty when they cover the Monkees. And, yes, crank out their big hit, "All Star."

Something else

Our job is almost done here, and we're sweating like Larry Flynt at Michael Powell's bachelor party. But not before we tell you about a few alternatives to the alternatives. On the comedy tip, we're not afraid to admit we like both Pauly Shore and Bob Newhart. They are like comedic matter and antimatter, with Shore's stoner-surfer delivery somehow strangely akin to Newhart's dry deadpan. Newhart is joined by singer Denise Clemente through Saturday at the Stardust's Wayne Newton Theatre (to July 10; 732-6325), while Shore is warmed up by comedians Bobby Lee and John Caprulo at the House of Blues (July 10; 632-7600).

And, as if you needed encouragement, you can still get outside and check out Super Summer Theatre's second show of the season, Kiss Me Kate, at the Spring Mountain Ranch State Park (July 14-31; 594-7529). It's not very hip, we know, but at least there is no velvet rope.

Native Las Vegan James P. Reza thinks that if it was just a few degrees hotter here, we'd all leave. E-mail him at jpreza@cox.net.