1.
Question sanity. Jean Lowe’s exhibit The Loneliness Clinic presents a full-size, handmade replica of a therapist’s office, from furniture to plants to wall-mounted diplomas. Look closely. This stuff is all made of papier-mache. (Even the diplomas are fake.) The point? To undermine the blithe gloss of authority imparted by the sleek modernist design, and therefore ask you to question the assumptions, judgments and “healing” that take place in such an environment. September 5-October 21 in Dust Gallery, 1221 S. Main St. dustgallery.com.
2.
Watch women play. No, it’s not football as in the international term for soccer. But real—American—football. Yes, sir: helmets, pads, cleats, full-contact quarterback sacks, butt-pats—the whole nine yards.
And when your only other option is the UNLV Rebels, who’ve won a combined four games in the past two seasons, these women are surely worth watching. The Las Vegas Showgirlz play the New Mexico Burn on Friday, September 1, at 7 p.m., at Desert Pines High School. Kids free, teens pay $3 and adults, $8. lvshowgirlz.com.
3.
Escape reality. First Celine, then Prince; now ... Escape the Fate? Okay, so the Vegas fivesome has a ways to go before it starts booking 200 gigs a year on the Strip, but back-to-back nights at Jillian’s is a start. Even if metallic screamo isn’t your bag, why not support the boys as they kick off a six-week headlining tour that takes them to the East Coast and back again. Can Club ETF be far behind?
With Bless the Fall, Love Hate Hero, A Smile From the Trenches. September 1, 6:30 p.m., $12. With Bless the Fall, Love Hate Hero, YouInSeries, Away Station, No Bragging Rights, Last Year’s Forecast. September 2, 2 p.m., $12. Jillian’s, 759-0450.
4.
Rock retro. What do you get when you combine a bunch of old, muddy-sounding garage groups, some classic soul, a ’60s pool party, burlesque and go-go dancing contests? A big mess of retroactive-rock fun; and the Bullet Soul Garage Weekender (Aruba Hotel, August 31 through September 2, $20 per night, $50 for the weekend; www.bullet.eventbrite.com) features more than 10 original garage-rock and soul groups from around the country, along with a shit-ton of olden-rock DJs, spinning the best of the ’60s underground.
Fuzzheads, soul freaks and everyone else, if you miss this, you truly will be a total freakin’ square.
5.
Jazz it up. Theo knows jazz. Who knew? Ex-Cosby kid Malcolm-Jamal Warner is the most recognizable pop-culture name/face in the 2nd Annual Summerlin Jazz and Soul Series, but he’s probably not the most talented starter in a line-up that includes contemporary jazzman Marcus Coleman, local jazz bigwigs trumpeter Rick Jones and smooth jazz artist David Van Such and soul acts Sy Smith (a former Whitney Houston back-up singer) and the Prince-esqe Rahbi. No matter. You’ll hear it all during this all-day affair at Hills Park, from neo-soul to funk jazz. It should be fun.
Saturday, September 1, 2-10 p.m. Hills Park in Summerlin, 9100 Hillpointe Road. General admission is $52; VIP tickets are $104; youth ages 13-18 pay $15 (tickets only available at the door) and children under 12 are free. Tickets may be purchased online at www.labordayjazz.com or at all Lee’s Discount Liquor locations.