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A Michael Jackson celebration, a vinyl giveaway and other stuff to do this week

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Here’s One way to celebrate the King of Pop’s birthday.
    • Kid, You’re No Fighter at Bunkhouse Saloon

      We’ve been waiting to get our hands on a recording from this Las Vegas duo since we caught them stirring things up on a living-room dancefloor at a Halloween party last year—and the time’s finally here. Head Downtown to catch Kyle Munro (vocals/guitar) and Blue Ramirez (drums, bass, keys) celebrating the release of their debut EP, Bullfight. Blending indie, pop and post-rock influences like Modest Mouse, Weezer and Explosions in the Sky, Kid, You’re No Fighter sounds like all of your house show dreams, rolled into one. With Dogyear, Bad Girls Smoking Lounge, August 24, 7 p.m., $5. –Leslie Ventura

    • Super Summer Bash at Orleans Arena

      First thing’s first: Boy George is headlining this pop nostalgia show Friday night, with support from The Romantics, Tiffany, Tommy Tutone, Nu Shooz and more. But this could mark the beginning of George spending a lot more time in Las Vegas. He’s working with Caesars Entertainment on establishing a residency of some sort for 2018. “We’re throwing around ideas,” the pop icon says. “It will be exciting to be in one place for some time. We are talking about having some guests, too, a show that has the ability to adapt and have different people appear. That’s one thing about live music—things can change, you know.” August 25, 8 p.m., $35-$195. –Brock Radke

    • The Drowsy Chaperone at Summerlin Library

      The New York Times calls this comedy musical a “happy exercise in escapism, adorned with just enough postmodern footnotes to make you feel all insiderly.” Theater program Broadway Bound offers its take on the classic starting Friday. August 25-September 9, $15, 702-838-5131. –C. Moon Reed

    • Moondog Records sidewalk giveaway

      It’s exactly what you think: 7,000 free records and an open invitation to “bring boxes/bags and take as many as you like.” The event begins promptly at 10 and ends when the last vinyl vulture has picked the carcass clean. August 26, 10 a.m., 4440 S. Maryland Parkway #112. –Geoff Carter

    • Michael Jackson One Birthday Bash at Mandalay Bay

      Cirque du Soleil’s popular Michael Jackson One production just celebrated its fourth year at Mandalay Bay, but that’s not the birthday in this bash. It’s the King of Pop’s b-day on August 29—he would have been 58 this year—and the show will once again team with his estate for a daylong celebration that includes a free peek behind the curtain during the show’s rehearsal; a Q&A sesh with some of the acrobatic performers from the show; games and prizes and other commemorative giveaways; an exclusive performance of a cast-produced number to “Blood on the Dance Floor” (created specifically for this year’s birthday event); a book signing with MJ’s longtime designer and dresser Michael Bush in the gift shop; and a meet-the-cast, birthday cake reception in the theater lobby. All this stuff is free and open to the public, and if that’s still not enough moonwalking and whatnot packed into one day, the show goes on at 7 and 9:30 p.m. August 29, 3 p.m., Cirquedusoleil.com/michael-jackson-one. –Brock Radke

    • 3 reasons to rewatch Terminator 2 in theaters

      The visual effects are still legit, 26 years on. And it’s not just because James Cameron and Industrial Light and Magic forced huge advances in computer-generated imagery to create the shape-shifting T-1000. It’s because they knew enough to use CGI sparingly, augmenting it with practical effects courtesy of Stan Winston. The T-1000’s “liquid metal” freak-outs amount to roughly five minutes of screen time; the rest is prosthetics, makeup and Robert Patrick’s unblinking scowl. Even the terrifying nuclear holocaust scene was done with scale models. That’s the stuff that will benefit most from a 3D conversion.

      It stands alone. Even though it’s a sequel—and the cornerstone of a franchise that’s never quite caught on—Terminator 2 feels like a complete thought. There’s no “world-building,” no annoying cliffhanger ending, no after-credits scenes teasing the next installment. Everything you’d want from a Terminator movie is neatly packed inside T2. It’s a lesson that Cameron himself has forgotten: There is no earthly reason that the pretty but sleight Avatar should have four sequels.

      It’s peak Cameron and peak Arnold Schwarzenegger, too. After T2, Cameron succumbed to bloat (Titanic is three hours plus) and mawkish sentiment (again, Titanic). And Schwarzenegger made one junker after the next: End of Days, Junior, Cameron’s own True Lies. (No wonder he ran for governor of California.) But in the realm of T2, both men remain kings of the world. Begins August 24, various times, $11-$14, AMC Town Square. –Geoff Carter

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