Go: Where to Go, What to Do & Why

By James P. Reza

Of the myriad rewards to visiting downtown Las Vegas during First Friday festivities, one of our favorites would be witnessing local public defender/judge/poet Dayvid Figler go random at Dino's (382-3894) with an off-the-cuff spoken word accompaniment to the groovy instrumental sounds of the recently reunited pub band, the Nines. The place was packed with old-school scenesters (remember them?) who pounded tables, screamed obscenities and generally had a rowdy good time as the Nines barreled through a set of favorites, promising to return Nov. 25 at the Double Down Saloon (791-5775) as part of the Double-D's anniversary weekend celebration.

The next evening, we traded Jet haircuts and indie chix for babes in Bebe as we patrolled the Hard Rock Hotel, desperately searching for the reportedly grumpy duo of Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson. Along with a cadre of pals, the two checked out the raucous stage antics common at Beacher's Comedy Madhouse, which just ended its 2004 season at the Rock with a celeb-stuffed audience. The party also celebrated Lachey's birthday in a private area at Simon Kitchen & Bar decorated, we are told, with stuffed teddy bears. Mmmkay. Dude, I totally gave up teddy bears when I started collecting 98Ľ action figures.

Boys in 'da decades

Ah, the 1990s. They were a zoot suit riot, weren't they? Cool cats and beautiful babies swirling though a martini dream, doing the Lindy Hop and partying at the Hard Rock pool. In the 21st century, swing nights are swingers nights, kids can't dance and beer is back. Despite the changes, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy hasn't hung up its fedoras, remaining one of the few retro-swing bands still slapping the bass (if you know what we mean). The band is joined by Waxapples Thursday at the House of Blues (Nov. 11; 632-7600).

Ah, the 1980s. Punk grips America, and Southern California steals the New York thunder with dozens--nay, hundreds!--of beach teens slinging a trio of chords and a truckload of attitude. Sure, most kids today are enamored of the hard knock life of hip hop, but with both Green Day and Bad Religion releasing new politically charged albums, and both bands visiting the Hard Rock's Joint (Green Day arrives in December), punk may yet not be dead. Again. See Bad Religion Thursday (Nov. 11; 693-5000).

Ah, the 1970s. Oh, forget it. With very few exceptions--George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic among 'em--the 1970s were a morass of ass. Thankfully, George was around to turn this mother out. We saw him jam at Lollapalooza at the Sam Boyd Stadium, and while the rest of us were dying of heat stroke in cutoffs and tie-dye, George rocked the stage in full Clinton garb. This time around, he's at Rain at the Palms on Sunday (Nov. 14; 942-7777).

You go, girls

Welcome to paragraph six, a testosterone-free zone that's a much kinder, gentler Go than the previous five paragraphs, brought to you by old-school R&B balladeer Etta James. As manly as things can get here at Mercury headquarters, one way to get everyone's eyes all misty (other than fumigating the ancient post office we claimed as an office) is to drop the needle on "At Last." Ah, see that? You're smiling too. The velvet voice of Etta James will stroke your ears at the Hilton Theater Friday and Saturday (Nov. 12-13; 732-5111).

We have to admit that as much as we'd love to, we cannot get involved in the Internet chat room flame wars discussing whether Avril Lavigne is a cheap, mass-market sell-out or a genuine rock 'n' roll wild child. Such ridiculous, empty crap debases her as an artist and ultimately distracts us from what's really important: Her cover shoot for Maxim! Crap. Here comes that testosterone again. Anyway, Avril tours in support of her second release, Under My Skin, and appears at UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center Tuesday (Nov. 16; 739-3267).

DJ, hangman

True, Morrissey penned a Smiths song ("Panic") that implored us to "hang the DJ," but surely he couldn't have intended that to apply to legendary acid jazz/house DJ Mark Farina, could he? After all, Farina--a founding father of the San Frandisco house music scene--essentially invented "mushroom jazz," a downtempo form of house that would go on to define an entire electronica movement. And Morrissey, the spokesman for a generation (or three) of disaffected youth, was aiming those lyrics at pop music radio announcers, wasn't he? Well, as much as we'd like to arrange a celebrity grudge match involving hair products, the two already have previous Saturday engagements: Farina at Ice Las Vegas (Nov. 13; 699-5528) and Morrissey at the Hard Rock Joint (Nov. 13; 693-5000).

Bittersweet symphony

And finally, there are bound to be some cranky Volvo drivers gritting their teeth in Vegas this weekend, as two major symphonic performances have been booked to overlap--a serious scheduling faux pas for the relatively shallow Southern Nevada audience for such things. In one corner stands the Goliath of pop-opera singer Andrea Bocelli (the Bellagio commercial, remember?) backed by the Las Vegas Philharmonic at the Mandalay Bay Events Center (Nov. 13; 632-7777). In the other stands UNLV's David: the 95-member Warsaw Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra of Poland performing at the Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall (Nov. 13; 895-2787). Seriously, what's a classical music lover supposed to do, move to Portland?

Native Las Vegan James P. Reza faced a similar problem when Def Leppard and Missing Persons played the same night in 1983. E-mail the author at jpreza@cox.net.