A/E Highlights

You're fired! Ha! Made you flinch

Remember when political dissent was viewed as healthy and thought-provoking television wasn't considered giving comfort and aid to the enemy? Bill Maher will do his shtick 8 p.m. Saturday at the House of Blues. Tickets are $32 to $52. Info: 632-7600.

Yeah, but what did Simon Cowell say?

Grant Griffin has been performing in Las Vegas off and on for almost 50 years. He's one of the best lyric baritones and he's performed for presidents, royalty and other heads of state. But does he have the moxie to go head to head with Fantasia? Grant Griffin's performance, which also features Patricia Welch, Michaelina Bellamy, Jeneane Marie and a 26-piece orchestra, starts at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Orleans. Tickets are $37.95. Info: 365-7111.

Happy joy riding of water music

Japanese surf music? Well, okay, but when they do "Miserlou" they better not change the words. The Surf Coasters (and Jupiter Shifter) play at 10 p.m. Sunday at the Double Down Saloon, 4640 Paradise Rd. Admission is free but you must be 21 or older. Info: 791-5775.

Dead men DO wear plaid

Forever Plaid, which features the spirits of four dead close-harmony singers, is interesting on several levels. You can go to hear the music that rock 'n' roll finally kicked to death in the early '60s. You can go to enjoy the extremely cheesy comedy. As an added bonus, if you're feeling old, you can go to feel young again...mainly because you'll be the youngest person there by about 40 years. The show is at 7:30 p.m. Saturday through Thursday at the Gold Coast at 4000 W. Flamingo Road. Tickets are $24.95 to $34.95. Info: 251-3574.

Pregnant pause. Man, do we crack us up

We'll just rely on the press release for this one: "Alone on a street corner, a pregnant woman in the rain watches car headlights sliding by, until the moon stops to give her a ride, and time fails to keep on flowing." Whoa. Cloud Tectonics, written by Jose Rivera (who wrote the screenplay for The Motorcycle Diaries) is performed by Cockroach Theatre at 11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Studio Open at 5115 S. Industrial Road, Suite 107. Admission is $12. Info: 651-6736.

Dance dance revolution

Who needs staid stages and acoustically perfect auditoriums? The Collage Dance Theatre takes over spaces and builds performance around the challenges presented by them. As part of First Friday, they take over the courtroom made famous by Estes Kefauver's hearings on organized crime for a performance titled Huh. Performances are at 7, 7:45, 8:30 and 9:15 p.m. Friday at the old downtown post office and courthouse at 301 E. Stewart Ave. Admission is free.