Harry Connick Jr. at Encore Theater
Harry Connick Jr. is particularly excited to get onstage at Wynn this weekend. He’s been so focused on TV—presenting his year-old syndicated daytime talk show and reprising his role on Will & Grace for that series’ reboot—he hasn’t had much time for touring. “I didn’t have a lot of time to do much else, because we were figuring a lot of stuff out,” he says. “Now I have time to play, and I’m thrilled. I play with my band every day on the show, but there’s nothing like taking it on the road. I love Vegas and I love that room. I’ve always had a terrific time out there. What I love most is, you can do nothing or you can do tons of things. There are so many choices.” November 17 & 18, 8 p.m., $60-$300. –Brock Radke
Tellabration storytelling at West Charleston Library
The art of storytelling encompasses a wide range of styles, from traditional folktales to humorous personal anecdotes. Listen to some of Nevada’s best storytellers spin all types of yarns as part of this annual worldwide event organized by the National Storytelling Network. November 18, 1 p.m., Free, 6301 W. Charleston Boulevard. –C. Moon Reed
Sin City Rollergirls: Princesses vs. Villains Exhibition Match
Ariel and Maleficent—the former with her brand-new legs and the latter with her ability to transform into an angry pinwheel of sparks—would make excellent jammers. But they’d have to get around Moana and Mother Gothel, both natural-born pivots, and Rapunzel and Ursula, whose appendages make them formidable blockers. And we may well see these contests happen when the Sin City Rollergirls skate as your favorite Disney characters in an exhibition roller derby bout. Bring something to sit on, and bring the family, too—kids under 10 get in free. November 18, 6:30 p.m., $10, 4405 E. Colton Ave., sincityrollergirls.com. –Geoff Carter
The Bodyguard at Reynolds Hall
Celebrate the 25th anniversary of Whitney Houston’s hit film by seeing the musical version at the Smith Center. Grammy-nominated R&B singer Deborah Cox will play the lead role and sing the songs (“Queen of the Night,” “I Will Always Love You,” “I Have Nothing”) that helped make The Bodyguard the best-selling soundtrack of all time. November 21-26, $49-$127, 702-749-2000. –C. Moon Reed
Vegas Golden Knights vs. LA Kings at T-Mobile Arena
Now it’s getting real. The mettle of the Vegas Golden Knights—currently stunning the sports world with a 10-6-1 record in their first-ever 17 games—will be tested on Sunday when they take on for the first time in the regular season the team hovering just above them in the Western Conference Pacific Division standings: the Los Angeles Kings.
The Golden Knights haven’t necessarily coasted since their debut—they’ve already seen three goalies land on the injured reserve list—though their schedule thus far has largely included lower-ranked teams. At 11-4-2, the Kings are no joke, with a strong defense in front of ace goalie Jonathan Quick. But the Knights have been scoring more—and allowing fewer—goals per game than the Kings, who will be playing in what’s shaping up to be one of the most unforgiving cities for visiting teams. Vegas Flu or not, maybe it’s the Kings who should worry. November 19, 5 p.m., Sold out, $112+ at press time on Ticketmaster resale site. –Mike Prevatt
3 concerts to catch this week
Propagandhi released its seventh full-length, Victory Lap, in September, but the Canadian punk activists have been using their platform to speak out against human-rights violations, sexism, racism, nationalism, capitalism, homophobia and the meat industry since the ’90s—see “Apparently I’m a P.C. Fascist (Because I Care About Both Human and Non-Human Animals)” from the 1996 LP Less Talk, More Rock. If you’ve been feeling the weight of the current administration, Propagandhi’s Thursday set at Vinyl is bound to provide some much-needed catharsis. November 16, 8 p.m., $21-$45.
If there was ever a time to show Philadelphia punks Beach Slang some extra support, it’s now. The band recently lost all of its gear when its tour van was stolen, but the group is powering ahead. Originally slated to play the Emerge Impact + Music Conference (now rescheduled for April), the Pennsylvanians will instead perform Friday at Brooklyn Bowl. Fans of alt-punk pioneers The Replacements won’t want to miss charismatic frontman James Alex and his mates as they pluck songs ranging from this year’s Here, I Made This for You: Volume 2 EP all the way back to their emo-rattled early work (and maybe a Mats song or two). Show up early for Vegas’ own Mercy Music. November 17, 7 p.m., $10-$15.
Still have energy? Nashville garage-rockers Diarrhea Planet round out the loud weekend with a Saturday show at Backstage Bar and Billiards, joined by with trippy California three-piece L.A. Witch and locals The Quitters and Wax Pig Melting. November 18, 8 p.m., $10-$12. –Leslie Ventura
