Go: Where to Go, What to Do & Why

By James P. Reza

As much as the Maloof family has tried to capture the It Crowd with its Palms hotel-casino, the fact remains that when it comes to mingling in a wall-to-wall, rip-roaring stable of partying hotties (of both sexes), Peter Morton's Hard Rock hotel-casino cannot be surpassed. It's been said here before, but it bears repeating: Yes, we enjoy the scene at the Ghostbar, Rain, N9NE and Little Buddha, but once you take a few steps beyond the Palms' east end nightlife stew, you take your party credentials into your own hands. Wading through a disconcerting sea of bargain-hunting tourists (and locals) who seemingly cannot prevent alternating looks of surprise and disgust from flushing their faces, the result for the "Real World" crowd is the kind of discomfort one feels when they unknowingly dress for a party and find themselves at a funeral.

Things at the Hard Rock Hotel are rather different. There, the party starts at the curb and never ends, thanks in part to the Hard Rock's intimate, circular design--a characteristic that many thought would inhibit the venue's growth, but has instead become the primary waterwheel energizing its ability to maintain a property-wide party grind for nearly a decade. Saturday night, loud crowds packed the place again, finding many diversions: Beacher's Comedy Madhouse, the Animal House-meets-Stand Up-meets-Girls Gone Wild comedy/variety show, has returned for a few months; the subterranean bump-and-grind Body English remains a huge draw; and the scene in the lounge at Simon Kitchen & Bar hasn't devolved one bit.

Add that Nicky Hilton held a weekend's worth of 21st birthday celebrations at the hotel, and there's no doubt where the party at. On Saturday, Hilton had a black-tie celebration in a private area at Simon. Kerry Simon's fabulous food was followed by a birthday cake crafted to resemble a pricey handbag, and so accurate was the edible re-creation that, as it was wheeled through the lounge, many thought it was actually a gift for the hot heiress. Shortly thereafter, the party moved to Body English, where things only got better, the club packed only moments after opening. Sure, a lot of celebs are mixing it up at the Palms, but, for our money, the Hard Rock seems better equipped to handle the Hollywood players without compromising itself for nickel slot players.

Culture, revisited

Thanks to the annual fall onslaught, we'll continue last week's overwrought culture theme with a few choice events this week. You can make it a UNLV weekend, mixing and matching your Friday and Saturday with two events: the dance and music performance "Kinetic Metaphors" at the Judy Bayley Theatre (Oct. 22-23; 895-2787), and the final two days of the university theater department's MFA One Act Play Festival (through Oct. 24; 895-2787). "Kinetic Metaphors" will feature guest artists Charmaine Hunter of Cirque du Soleil and New York-based Jackie Bird of the Broadway Dance Center, while the One Acts follow a season-appropriate theme of the macabre. Ross Howard's "I Morti" follows a British couple as they visit an ancient Tuscan graveyard, and Jayme McGhan's absurdist "The Methuselah Tree" features a man obsessed with trying to create a solution to death in his basement laboratory.

Also Saturday, in the first performance of the university's annual New York Stage series, Broadway star (and former EFX principal) Tommy Tune and the Manhattan Rhythm Kings come to Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall (Oct. 23; 895-2787), while off-campus, the New City Theatre presents Stephen King's Misery (through Nov. 7; 795-0487).

Music madness

There's plenty of rock to roll around in this week, most of which will be profiled in depth elsewhere in the Mercury, so here's a quick rundown of our faves: Aaron Lewis returns Friday after a series of successful solo acoustic shows at the Golden Nugget, this time with the entire crew of Staind at Whiskey Beach (Oct. 22; 547-5300). Fab L.A.-Irish (?) punk band Flogging Molly joins the Street Dogs and The Briggs Saturday at the House of Blues (Oct. 23; 632-7600), while legendary alt.bass player Les Claypool (of Primus) brings Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains to the House with Gabby La La on Monday (Oct. 25; 632-7600). The House continues its domination of the concert scene Tuesday with Jimmy Eat World (Oct. 26; 632-7600) and Wednesday with the much-more-intelligent-than-you-think goth theatrics of Marilyn Manson (Oct. 27; 632-7600). Log on to npr.org to hear Manson's brilliant "Fresh Air" interview with Terry Gross.

Potpourri for $100, Alex

What? More back-slapping awards shows? On Monday at the Aladdin, the 2004 Radio Music Awards welcomes Janet Jackson, Jessica Simpson, Elton John, Tim McGraw, Usher, Gretchen Wilson, Destiny's Child, Big and Rich, Clay Aiken, Black Eyed Peas, Kelly and Ozzy Osbourne (Oct. 25; 785-5555).

But even in the midst of all this pop madness, we cannot help but take us back to the middle, and close with more culture, just to rub it in. First Friday's raucous Chicks for Charity Bachelorette Auction returns to downtown's Ice House Lounge on Thursday (Oct. 21; 384-0092). Tickets ($25 advance) include an open bar, hors d'oeuvres, mixing and mingling with the movers and shakers of First Friday, and a chance to bid on dates with artsy girls and boys, plus a nosh (not mosh) with the mayor. Nothing's funnier than a room full of drunk creatives.

The Vegas Valley Book Festival returns with three days of citywide book fairs, guest speakers from authors to playwrights to journalists, and, yes, parties (Oct. 21-23; 895-1878). Click to vegasvalleybookfest.org to read all about it. And finally, the family-friendly Bite of Las Vegas food and music festival returns to Desert Breeze Park this Saturday (Oct. 23; 889-5100), with food sampling from 50 valley restaurants, as well as live entertainment from Bowling for Soup, Blue Man Group, Franky Perez and others. The weather forecast looks good, so get out of the house and stop yer bitchin'.

E-mail the author at jpreza@cox.net.