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A&E Fall Preview!

We’ve got your next three months planned

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9.17-9.19 CONCERT Neon Reverb, various venues What’s better than a stacked night of music Downtown? Three stacked nights. Neon Reverb, Vegas’ very own cityfest, returns this month for its second fall installment, and third overall. The Warlocks, Themselves and The Most Serene Republic highlight the out-of-town schedule, but NR’s true strength once again is its local schedule, bringing out most of the scene’s big guns. Afghan Raiders? Check. The Clydesdale? Of course. The Skooners? Back, too. Plus Halloween Town, Black Camaro, A Crowd of Small Adventures, Kid Meets Cougar, The Lazystars, Imagine Dragons, Hungry Cloud and tons more. Be there or be, well, a lot less musically informed. (neonreverb.com) -Spencer Patterson
Photo: Beverly Poppe

SEPTEMBER

Through 9.25 ART Sush Machida Gaikotsu, Trifecta Gallery Eye candy! In a rare treat, Machida Gaikotsu fills the Trifecta with his Floating World-meets-Willy Wonka paintings. Exhibiting alongside the work of MFA student Brian Porray, this one’s a no-brainer.

Through 10.11 ART twentytwenty, Contemporary Arts Center It’s the CAC’s 20th birthday! Kicking off a fall season full of commemorative events and exhibitions: a show featuring the edgy efforts of some of UNLV’s brightest MFA art stars.

Through 10.23 ART Michelle Rodriguez’s Dead or Alive, You’re Coming With Me, Winchester Center Gallery The 2009 Nevada Arts Council Artist Fellowship sculptor promises to mix He-Man, Robocop and Tron with old-fashioned psychological struggle. Good times!

9.4–11.19 ART Measure Twice, Cut Once, Charleston Heights Arts Center Colorado-based artist Brenda Jones skews gender and domesticity in garments constructed with household ephemera: coffee filters, dryer sheets and the occasional clothing iron.

Melrose Place

9.8 TV Melrose Place (The CW, Tuesdays, 9 p.m.) Yes, this remake of the ’90s nighttime soap is kind of awful, but it’s also got enough self-aware camp value that it could end up delivering the same brand of entertaining trash as its predecessor (plus Laura Leighton returns as the delightfully devious Sydney).

9.8 CD Phish, Joy Phans would much rather see a Vegas date, but the jam band’s first new album in five years should hold them over, temporarily.

9.9 CD The Beatles, remastered U.K. catalog

In 1987, the advent of the CD was still new enough that we were enthralled by the release of The Beatles’ British albums in the digital format. The downside? Flaws from the original recordings could suddenly be heard more clearly. The desire to hear the tracks digitally upgraded—coupled with 22 years of advances in audio technology—is what makes the release of the remastered U.K. catalog such a major event. Longtime and newer fans will revel in the increased levels and sharpness of the stereo albums, while audiophiles are flipping out over the simultaneous release of a mono box set. That’s the audio format The Beatles and their producer preferred; George Martin once said the only reason he recorded stereo versions of the songs was to create the perfect mono mix. In other words, the last CD set you might ever buy just could be perfect. –Dennis Mitchell

9.9 TV Glee (Fox, Wednesdays, 9 p.m.) After a preview of the pilot in May, Fox’s heavily hyped teen musical drama-comedy returns in all its exuberant weirdness, complete with black humor, giddy production numbers and thick irony. It’ll either go down in flames or be TV’s next brilliant sensation.

9.11 CD Jay-Z, The Blueprint 3 It would have been so much cooler had this Blueprint-trilogy completer been the Jigga man’s “retirement” bust-out set. But then, we wouldn’t have Kingdom Come or American Gangster, and where would the world be then?

9.11–9.27 THEATER Las Vegas Little Theatre, Deathtrap

9.11–9.12 CONCERT Mariah Carey at the Pearl There’s no telling exactly when Carey’s latest album, the awesomely titled Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, will actually be released (it’s been pushed back twice already), but right now, it’s scheduled to happen smack-dab between these two shows and her Pearl return October 9 and 10.

More CD releases

They’re still making music?
Lita Ford, Wicked Wonderland (10.6)
Foreigner, Can’t Slow Down (9.29)
Carly Simon, Never Been Gone (10.27)
Simple Minds, Graffiti Soul (10.6)
Ace Frehley, Anomaly (9.15)
Uncle Kracker, Happy Hour (9.15)

9.12 CLASSICAL Las Vegas Philharmonic, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven at Artemus Ham Hall The season’s opening night hits the audience with the heavyweights—“Finlandia,” Tchaikovsky’s “Violin Concerto” and Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 7.” Maestro David Itkin leads the group as it tackles these challenging and familiar pieces; violinist Gloria Schmidt guests.

9.14 BOOK True Compass: A Memoir, by Edward M. Kennedy With Kennedy’s recent death, this book takes on the added weight of being a last statement by a major—and controversial—statesman.

9.15 BOOK The Good Soldiers, by Michael Finkel A gripping, humane portrait of a group of American soldiers in Iraq.

9.15 BOOK The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown Not that you need us to remind you that Brown’s follow-up to The Da Vinci Code is coming out. This thriller about Freemasonry—again starring protagonist Robert Langdon—is reportedly getting the largest printing in the history of its publisher, Random House.

Muse, The Resistance

9.15 CD Muse, The Resistance

After the release of 2006’s genre-melding Black Holes and Revelations, Muse became elite global superstars. So naturally, the trio’s follow-up to that LP tends toward the grandiose. Judging by iTunes snippets, Resistance takes its cues from prog-rock, classical piano and electro—from the title track’s biting of Styx’s “Mr. Roboto” to the album-closing three-part symphony. The jury’s still out on whether these influences will completely cohere, but killer first single “The Uprising” seamlessly mixes new-wave synths, scribbling sound effects and a T. Rex-swaggering glam groove. –Annie Zaleski

9.16 CONCERT Umphrey’s McGee at House of Blues

Community

9.15 CD Shadows Fall, Retribution The groundbreaking metalcore band’s latest takes it back to heavier roots after a flirtation with the major-label world. Not that 2007’s Threads of Life was a sellout, but Retribution promises to be even darker and more brutal.

9.15 CD Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson, Break Up

9.17 TV Community (NBC, Thursdays, 9:30 p.m.) Joel McHale of The Soup brings just the right degree of smarm to his portrayal of a shady lawyer forced to go back to community college, and the oddball supporting cast fleshes out the sitcom’s insular world.

9.18-April 2010 ART 12 + 7: Artists and Architects of CityCenter, Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art

12 + 7

You have watched her grow over the last few years, slowly and steadily commanding the Las Vegas skyline. CityCenter, the architectural event of our young city’s new century, is scheduled to open very, very soon. But not quite yet—not before the Bellagio Gallery sneaks in one final tasty treat. 12 + 7 will present a cross-section of work by artists selected for permanent installations at the complex. As if that weren’t enough, the exhibition will also include architectural models and conceptual renderings by the designers of CityCenter’s fancy-pants buildings. A conversation of sorts between artist and architect. Other thoughts crop up as well: public space versus private space and the changing face of Las Vegas’ vernacular architecture. Also up for consideration: Just how public is that public art?

Jenny Holzer. Nancy Rubins. Maya Lin. Richard Long. Daniel Libeskind. Pelli Clarke Pelli. Oh yes. -Danielle Kelly

Reefer Madness: The Musical

9.18-10.4 THEATER Reefer Madness: The Musical, BackStage Theater, CSN

With Reefer Madness: The Musical, Atlas Theatre Ensemble takes a surreal look at the ’30s anti-pot propaganda film—at one point Jesus Himself warns against the evils of “marihuana” in a Tom Jones-style song-and-dance routine. With the extra resources available from CSN and a top-notch cast, design staff and live band, director Chris Mayse looks to keep the camp and the “love-gone-wrong” elements of the original movie, but also examine the deeper themes of how much freedom we’re willing to give up in the name of safety. Snark, songs and snacks provided—you bring the munchies. –Jacob Coakley

9.18 FILM The Informant! The chameleon-like Steven Soderbergh offers a satirical take on the true story of a whistleblower at an agricultural conglomerate in the 1990s. Matt Damon leads a cast filled with comedic actors, for an off-kilter approach to the standard docudrama.

9.19 CONCERT The Killers at Mandalay Bay Events Center

9.19 SPORTS Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Juan Manuel Marquez, MGM Grand Garden Arena Money Mayweather has been cleared of involvement in a roller-rink shooting. Now he’ll put on the gloves for the first time since 2007. Expect celebrities, soap-opera drama and a good scrap.

9.19 CONCERT Yeah Yeah Yeahs at the Pearl The last time Karen O, Nick Zinner and Brian Chase played Las Vegas (October 2002), their first full-length album had yet to be released. Let’s fill the Pearl, so it’s not another seven years before the indie rockers’ next visit.

9.21 BOOK Cheerful Money: Me, My Family and the Last Days of Wasp Splendor, by Tad Friend This memoir by a New Yorker writer recalls the frayed gentility of his old-money family.

9.22 TV The Good Wife (CBS, Tuesdays, 10 p.m.) Part staid legal procedural, part astute domestic drama, this show about the wife of a philandering politician picking up the pieces and going back to work as a lawyer could stand to focus more on the latter, but it’s well-anchored by a solid performance from Julianna Margulies.

9.22 CD Monsters of Folk, Monsters of Folk Conor Oberst, Jim James, M. Ward … sounds monstrously folky to us.

9.22 CD Pearl Jam, Backspacer Eighteen years since Ten, does a Pearl Jam album still qualify as a significant event? When its predecessor was as solid as 2006’s self-titled affair, sure.

9.22 CONCERT The Psychedelic Furs, Happy Mondays at House of Blues Word has it both British ’80s luminaries are sounding a bit ragged in their current incarnations, but we’d still like to hear “Dumb Waiters” and “Kinky Afro” live and judge for ourselves, thank you very much.

9.22 BOOK A Fiery Peace in a Cold War: Bernard Schriver and the Ultimate Weapon, by Neil Sheehan The author of the best-selling doorstop about Vietnam, A Bright Shining Lie, returns with another big history—this one about the development of ICBMs in the 1950s and ’60s.

Look out for...

Direct-to-DVD movies about vapid sexpots:
The Anna Nicole Smith Story (9.22)
Paparazzi Princess: The Paris Hilton Story (10.20)
Concerts we’re oddly tempted to check out:
Peter Frampton (The Pearl, 9.18)
Alice Cooper (Orleans, 10.23-10.25)
The Australian Pink Floyd Show (The Joint, 9.20)
The Turtles (The Cannery, 9.26)
Davy Jones (Silverton, 11.21)
Liza Minnelli (MGM Grand, 9.25-9.30)
TV series that could be canceled by the time you read this:
Brothers (Fox, 9.25)
The Forgotten (ABC, 9.22)
The Jay Leno Show (NBC, 9.14)
Books we’re anticipating based on title alone:
Mentally Incontinent: That Time I Burned Down a Hooters, That Time My Stalker Crashed on My Couch and Nine Other Stories From My Weird Life, by Joe Peacock (11.3)
Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog, by Lisa Scottoline (11.24)
Sweet Jesus, I Hate Rush Limbaugh, by Joseph Minton Amann (11.24)
Flow: The Cultural History of Menstruation, by Elissa Stein, Susan Kim (11.10)
Medical Analogy in Latin Satire, by Sari Kivisto (10.13)

9.22 BOOK Generosity: An Enhancement, by Richard Powers From the National Book Award-winning novelist, a tale of intrigue, genetics—specifically, a “happiness gene”—and humanity.

9.22 BOOK Blood’s a Rover, by James Ellroy Completes the trilogy begun with American Tabloid and The Cold Six Thousand. Plenty of Vegas material.

9.23 TV Cougar Town (ABC, Wednesdays, 9:30 p.m.) Courteney Cox is vivacious and likeable in this genuinely funny sitcom from Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence, about a divorced single mother headed back into the dating pool. It’s more clever and more insightful than its gimmicky title implies.

9.24 TV Flash Forward (ABC, Thursdays, 8 p.m.)

Flash Forward

With Lost set to end after this coming season, the folks at ABC are doing everything they can to find a new complex sci-fi epic to take its place. The top contender is Flash Forward (ABC, Thursdays, 8 p.m.), based on the novel by Robert J. Sawyer and developed for TV by screenwriter David S. Goyer (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, the Blade movies) and longtime Star Trek producer Brannon Braga. Like Lost, Flash Forward opens with a slam-bang pilot full of impressive effects and stunt sequences, and sets up a dense mythology spiraling out of one central event. That event sees everyone on Earth black out for about two minutes and experience a vision of their lives six months in the future. The premise sets a ticking clock for a wide-ranging cast of characters to figure out what happened, although it also gives the show a potential expiration date. Long-term concerns aside, Flash Forward starts strong, with a heck of a cliffhanger at the end of its opener, and certainly feels like the beginning of something grand and mysterious. –Josh Bell

9.25 CONCERT Van Morrison at the Joint

9.25 CONCERT Dead Meadow at the Bunkhouse Last time the D.C. psych-rockers dropped into the ’house, they took their instruments onto the floor and became part of their own crowd (or maybe it was the other way around). Even if they play it straight this time, their tunes are plenty to carry the day.

9.25 FILM Surrogates Based on the cult graphic novel, this sci-fi film posits a future where everyone interacts via lifelike robots (the surrogates of the title). Bruce Willis is a detective who has to venture out in his real body to find out who is killing people via their surrogates.

9.26 CONCERT The Get Up Kids at House of Blues Get outta bed, ya emo heads. The Kids are back, for their first shows since their 2005 breakup. If that’s not a reason to smile, what is?

9.26 CONCERT Miley Cyrus at Thomas & Mack Center So you try as hard as you can to prevent early exposure to Hannah Montana ... and then a day-care worker takes it upon herself to start putting Cyrus stickers on your daughter’s hands every day for a week. Have fun at the T&M, and don’t forget your earplugs—little girls really know how to scream.

9.26 CONCERT Pet Shop Boys at the Joint It’s been 20-plus years since “West End Girls” and “Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money)” soared up the charts, but Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe have never stopped churning out danceable U.K. pop ditties. What better way to get caught up than in person?

9.27 CONCERT Creed at the Joint

9.29 BOOK Juliet, Naked, by Nick Hornby A love story, featuring a reclusive, Dylan-like singer-songwriter.

9.29 BOOK The Clinton Tapes, by Taylor Branch Based on transcripts of 79 often-intense conversations between the controversial president and the Pulitzer-winning historian during Clinton’s two terms.

9.29 CD Miranda Lambert, Revolution Country outlaw Lambert always does her own thing; even though she’s had a bunch of hit singles now, she’s still writing her own songs and packing them with attitude, embracing the alt side of country and defying Nashville stereotypes.

9.29 CD Paramore, Brand New Eyes After nearly breaking up last year, the energetic pop-punkers roared back with a hit song on the Twilight soundtrack, and their third album promises a more mature sound without giving up the catchy verve of earlier material.

OCTOBER

10.1–11.14 THEATER Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Insurgo Theater Movement This twisted love story is perfectly suited to Insurgo’s style and follows the last show of a never-was rock star (played by John Beane) living with a botched sex-change operation and a broken heart.

10.2 FILM Capitalism: A Love Story Michael Moore’s latest documentary screed (allegedly his last) takes on the economic crisis with his typical mix of trenchant insight and annoying self-aggrandizement. The question, which way will the balance tip this time?

10.2-10.11 THEATER Nevada Conservatory Theatre, Company NCT plays it straight with one of the hardest musicals in Sondheim’s canon, a show about a single man examining marriage and deciding whether to commit. Subtext, sex and a high hurdle for NCT.

Boo!

Horror remakes or sequels guaranteed not to scare you:
Sorority Row (9.11)
Night of the Demons (October)
The Stepfather (10.16)
Saw VI (10.23)

Drag your feet

Shouldn’t need advance tickets for:
UNLV football vs. Sacramento State (9.5)

10.3 CONCERT AC/DC at MGM Grand Garden Arena “For Those About to Rock.” “Highway to Hell.” “Moneytalks.” “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.” “Hells Bells.” “Whole Lotta Rosie.” “T.N.T.” ’Nuff said.

10.3 CONCERT Kylie Minogue at the Pearl First-ever North American tour? Six cities total? And Las Vegas is one of them? And the show’s on the same night as fellow Aussies AC/DC? Kylie, why must you hurt us like this?

10.6 CD Air, Love 2

10.6 CD Kraftwerk, 12345678 Box set gathering the German electronic innovators’ genre-defining albums Autobahn, Radio-Activity, Trans Europe Express, The Man Machine, Computer World, Techno Pop (aka Electric Café), The Mix and Tour de France. Perfect for both the youngster convinced Daft Punk started it all, or the long-timer who already knows better.

10.9 FILM Couples Retreat Four couples head to an idyllic resort that doubles as a counseling center so they can resolve all their issues in 90 minutes. Look out for several instances of Fat Guy With Hot Wife Syndrome.

10.9 FILM Good Hair Chris Rock’s documentary takes on the surprisingly thorny topic of black women’s hair, and how the straightening, weaving and extending thereof has become a multimillion-dollar industry and a hot-button issue of racial identity.

10.12 COMEDY Frank Caliendo, Monte Carlo Rich Little’s not around much; Danny Gans is gone for good. With heir-to-the-throne impressionist Frank Caliendo kicking off an astounding 10 years at the Monte Carlo, consider this the official dawning of the Madden Decade.

10.13 BOOK Chronic City, by Jonathan Lethem In this novel by the author of Fortress of Solitude, an alternative New York unravels, but, as the title suggests, at least you can still get stoned.

10.13 BOOK 9 Dragons, by Michael Connolly Connolly’s detective, Harry Bosch, returns.

10.16–1.2 ART Altered States: Artists Re-Imagine the Book, Reed Whipple Cultural Center Coinciding with the Vegas Valley Book Festival, various national and international artists are invited to demonstrate why books aren’t just for reading anymore.

10.16 CONCERT Dusty Rhodes and the River Band at Club Aruba

10.16 CONCERT Moby at House of Blues

The Road

10.16 FILM The Road This long-delayed adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s bleak, postapocalyptic novel about a man and his son evading marauders and cannibals is either an action-packed desecration of McCarthy’s somber book or a harrowing, faithful adaptation, depending on whether you believe the trailers or the early screening reports.

Where the Wild Things Are

10.16 FILM Where the Wild Things Are

Ordinarily, the prospect of a feature-length movie adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s book Where the Wild Things Are would fill me with dread, not anticipation, as I’d be convinced that Hollywood could only screw it up. With Spike Jonze at the helm, however, it’s another story. Seven years have passed since he last directed, and there’s no denying that screenwriter Charlie Kaufman got most of the credit for the brilliance of Jonze’s first two films, Being John Malkovich (1999) and Adaptation (2002). In a sense, Where the Wild Things Are will be Jonze’s first solo project—even though he co-wrote the script with novelist Dave Eggers, it’s still his first opportunity to show the world he can kick ass divorced from Kaufman’s genius. Images from the trailer look wonderfully like Sendak’s illustrations come to life; I can’t wait to see whether they succeeded in fashioning an equally compelling narrative. –Mike D’Angelo

Nevada Ballet Theatre

Nevada Ballet Theatre

10.17-10.18 DANCE Timeless Innovation, Nevada Ballet Theatre, Artemus Ham Hall

Timeless Innovation includes a reprise of Balanchine’s Rubies and two Las Vegas premieres—Coco and Jungle—choreographed in the 1990s by Artistic Director James Canfield. Rubies is a lively, jazzy ballet that shows Balanchine and Stravinsky at their wittiest. With one foot in Paris and the other in New York, it exudes a good-humored stylishness that consistently captivates. Coco is set to songs performed by Edith Piaf and is part of Canfield’s “tragic women” trilogy based on the lives of Coco Chanel, Edie Sedgwick and Anaïs Nin. The energetic Jungle, performed to music by U.K. electronic group The Future Sound of London, has its origins in the musical subgenre jungle, which originated in London in the early ’90s. The 2009–2010 season is the first season for which Canfield bears full responsibility—his repertory choices, his dancer picks. This year, audiences will get a clear picture of where he wishes to take the company. –Geri Jeter

10.18 CONCERT Bob Dylan at the Joint

10.20 CD Rickie Lee Jones, Balm in Gilead

10.23 FILM Amelia Hilary Swank angles for yet another Academy Award in Mira Nair’s sweeping, glossy biopic about legendary lost aviator Amelia Earhart; Richard Gere and Ewan McGregor pick up the scraps.

10.23 CLASSICAL Henderson Symphony, Master Series II, Henderson Pavilion An accessible contemporary work by a living American composer (John Adams), a jazzy American clarinet concerto (Aaron Copland) and a lush, rarely scheduled symphony (Robert Schumann). Conductor Taras Krysa mixes up the repertoire for the orchestra’s 23rd season. Good enough reason to check out the Henderson Pavilion.

10.23 CONCERT Tim McGraw at M Resort

10.23 CONCERT U2 at Sam Boyd Stadium Quick, what was the last show at Sam Boyd? No, not the Grateful Dead, but there haven’t been all that many out there since Jerry died, either. Anyway, we’re mostly opposed to giant-ass stadium shows on principal ... unless the band is as tailor-made for giant-ass environs as U2.

10.27 BOOK Last Night in Twisted River, by John Irving Irving’s 12th novel, a violent story of a father and son on the lam, spreads across 50 years of American history.

10.27 CD Weezer, Raditude

Wolfmother, Cosmic Egg

10.27 CD Wolfmother, Cosmic Egg The prog-licious cover art alone warrants a listen.

10.31 CONCERT Jamey Johnson at House of Blues This country singer-songwriter has been a slow-burn comeback story since self-releasing his third album in 2007, and now he’s got two hit singles (including the bleak “High Cost of Living”) to show for it.

10.31 CONCERT Fear at Wasted Space

A Serious Man

October release date TBD FILM A Serious Man

Always unpredictable, the Coen brothers follow up their star-studded satire Burn After Reading with A Serious Man, a period drama featuring virtually no recognizable faces. Set in the Coens’ native Minnesota during the 1960s, A Serious Man is said to draw heavily from the brothers’ childhood, and features Broadway actor Michael Stuhlbarg as a Jewish professor who feels that his life is falling apart. The movie’s trailer hints at the kind of dark existential themes that marked the Coens’ 1991 film Barton Fink, but in a milieu that’s new for them. Always adept at creating a sense of place, the Coens have effectively envisioned Los Angeles, Texas, Arizona and Washington, D.C., but only headed to their home turf once before, in Fargo.

A Serious Man looks to trade Fargo’s dry farce for something more somber and personal, an unexpected turn from the Coens, who tend to be less than forthcoming about themselves in the press. And even if the movie isn’t strictly autobiographical, it’s bound to be as insightful and evocative as their other work. –Josh Bell

11.2 BOOK The Humbling, by Philip Roth We’re pretty sure an old guy has sex with a young chick—this is Roth, after all.

11.3 BOOK The Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver Art and revolutionary politics—in the persons of real historical figures Frida Kahlo and Leon Trotsky—are the subject of this sprawling fiction, set in prewar Mexico and the U.S.

11.3 CD Carrie Underwood, Play On

11.3 TV V (ABC, Tuesdays, 8 p.m.) ABC’s second great sci-fi hope to replace Lost (after Flash Forward) is a little awkward and exposition-heavy, but it has a juicy premise based on the 1980s series about lizard-like alien invaders disguised as helpful human-like benefactors, and a creepy performance from Morena Baccarin as their evil, seductive leader.

11.4–11.8 BOOKS Vegas Valley Book Festival Held mostly at Downtown’s Fifth Street School (401 S. Fourth St.), this year the event features novelist E.L. Doctorow and poet Kay Ryan.

11.4–11.22 THEATER Nevada Conservatory Theatre, New Play Festival

11.5–11.8 DANCE Las Vegas Contemporary Dance Theater, Fall Concert Series, West Las Vegas Library The company is gorgeous to look at, whisper-quiet on stage, and boy can they dance! The year’s opening program features works by Jamal Story, N.Y. choreographer Elisa Monte and company co-founder Bernard Gaddis.

11.6 CONCERT Kelly Clarkson at the Joint America’s greatest Idol has been covering Janet Jackson, Rod Stewart and Patsy Cline in concert lately, which should give you an idea of the kind of gleeful pop melting pot you can find in her original music as well.

>11.7 COMEDY Anjelah Johnson at House of Blues Don’t hold being a former cheerleader, viral-video star and MADtv cast member against her. Fresh from taping a Comedy Central hour special, the Comedy Festival vet continues stripping down to the stand-up comic at her core.

11.9 BOOK Open: An Autobiography, by Andre Agassi

You know the gist: Local boy makes bad (skipping Wimbledon because of its dress code—Wimbledon!), then good (the surging ’90s) then, finally, great (the career Slam; the incredible philanthropy). Yes, Andre Agassi has lived a big life, on-court and off. Headlines. Tantrums. Tabloid romance. Championships. Shocking losses. “Image is everything.” Steffi. Charity. Classy tennis statesmanhood.

That’s material.

I met Agassi once, shortly before he retired; he was low-key, utterly earnest—he mentioned the potential of the human spirit, like, 20 times. So I’m curious how that Agassi will treat his younger, more freewheeling self in his book. Will he retroactively rue Young Agassi’s antics or give the kid his due? Will he talk shit about former opponents? Will he dish about Barbra, Brooke? The look on his face (above) promises a measured performance. The memory of his fiery play gives me hope he might just let it rip. –Scott Dickensheets

11.10 BOOK Under the Dome, by Stephen King A Maine town—is there any other kind in King’s fiction?—is suddenly closed off from the world by a deadly force field. Madness ensues.

11.11 SPORTS UNLV vs. UNR men’s basketball

The Runnin’ Rebels face hated in-state rival Nevada in the second men’s basketball game of the season. There will be plenty of intoxicated undergrads. It won’t be as nasty as when the two schools get together on the gridiron in Reno on October 3 to battle for the Fremont Cannon. But it’s still a chance to hurl insults at the northern half of the state for electing Jim Gibbons. –Mike Trask

11.12 CONCERT Leonard Cohen at Caesars Colosseum

Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen

Few recordings offered the shock and excitement of Leonard Cohen’s Live in London, released earlier this year. Most thought Cohen was done with concerts after more than a dozen years off the road, including a new life as a monk at a Buddhist monastery. But Cohen left his sanctuary to perform after it was widely reported that he’d been left destitute by a dishonest manager. Live in London captures a show electric with the passion and joy Cohen infused into even his darkest material. In his 70s, Cohen sounded as hard-lived and as wise as his lyrics have always been. These vastly improved versions of his classics found Cohen, rather than gathering laurels, offering up definitive performances of his catalog of classics. His surprise success has meant a final victory-lap tour. This will be Cohen’s first and likely only appearance in Las Vegas. Don’t miss it. –Richard Abowitz

11.18 CONCERT Dethklok, Mastodon, Converge, High on Fire at House of Blues Ask anyone who saw cartoon metal band-turned-real-life stage performers Dethklok here last year and you’ll wish you could build a time machine. Now you don’t have to. Not to mention, that’s one serious support bill.

11.18 CLASSICAL William Kanengiser classical guitar recital, Artemus Ham Hall

11.21 SPORTS UFC 106, Mandalay Bay Events Center The UFC returns home as Brock Lesnar defends his heavyweight title. Plus, Tito Ortiz returns. His wife, Jenna Jameson, should be there, along with 10,000 dudes in $60 T-shirts.

11.25 FILM The Fantastic Mr. Fox Wes Anderson takes his obsession with the minutiae of production design to the logical next step by making a stop-motion animated film, based on Roald Dahl’s classic children’s novel about a devious fox and his family.

11.25 FILM Nine Rob Marshall (Chicago) returns to the large-scale movie musical with this adaptation of the Broadway hit about a film director undergoing a midlife crisis. A big-name cast including Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Penelope Cruz, Judi Dench, Sophia Loren and more will bring the material to life.

11.29 CONCERT The Black Crowes at House of Blues

November TBD FILM An Education Newcomer Carey Mulligan was acclaimed at Sundance for her lead performance in this British coming-of-age drama about a teenager whose world opens up when she has an affair with an older man.

November TBD FILM Precious Both Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry endorse this intense drama (previously titled Push, and based on the novel by Sapphire) about a pregnant 16-year-old inner-city girl struggling to put her life back together.

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