Club to See a Live Show
House of Blues
No place offers as wide a range of acts as House of Blues. But in addition to covering all genres and offering more shows than almost anyplace else in town, House of Blues, with its folk-art ambience and comfortable balcony, is foremost a great venue for concerts. It boasts a fantastic sound system and, even on a packed night, provides plenty of sight lines to the stage. Inside Mandalay Bay, 623-7600.
Jazz/Blues Club
House of Blues
Through its outreach program, the House of Blues has made a crusade of educating the young about the blues. Despite all of the other acts that pass through the House of Blues each month, the events listings are always sure to include some top blues musicians. Among the legends scheduled to play in the next few months: Taj Mahal, James Brown, Bo Diddley and Al Green. Inside Mandalay Bay, 632-7600.
Strip Club
Spearmint Rhino
Maybe it's the fact that admission is always free for locals; it could be the lunch specials. Also, you gotta love the 8 a.m.-8 p.m. happy hour. Of course, the most likely reason the Spearmint Rhino is your favorite are the dancers. Newly expanded and remodeled, the new and improved Rhino has never displayed these lovely ladies so well. 3344 S. Highland Drive,796-3600.
Gay/Lesbian Bar
Gipsy
With a sizable dance floor and plentiful hot 'n' hard bodies by the bewitching hour, the Gipsy is a go-to spot for the young and painfully splendid. Dance, drink and be merry. And dance. Did we say dance? 4605 Paradise Rd., 731-1919.
Hotel Bar
Circle Bar at Hard Rock
Where else can you grab a drink, play some single-deck blackjack and watch sports on one of four plasma-screen TVs? Well, this is Vegas, so likely a lot of places, but the best by far is the Hard Rock's Circle Bar. Keep turning in your stool as the bar's unique acoustics throw people's voices behind you. Watch as bachelor and bachelorette parties accidentally collide and fiance´ and fiance´e eye each other a little too lasciviously. Like the sign overhead says, it truly is "One Love, One World." Inside the Hard Rock Hotel, 4455 Paradise Road, 800-HRD-ROCK (473-7625).
Non-Hotel Bar
Double Down
Ass juice. Bacon martinis. "You puke; you clean." Old porn and old cartoons on the TV. Punk bands from Canada you've never heard of. A "stage" that fits half the band, if they're a three-piece. Girls who look like Betty Page, or wish they did. Guys who look like Mick Jagger, circa 1968, and wish the girls looked like Betty Page. Punk bands from Vegas you may have heard of. Art styles clashing on the walls. Bikers, fighting. Bikers, not fighting. A couple from Ohio wondering just what the hell they've gotten themselves into. Jukebox with Social Distortion and the Cramps. More ass juice, please. 4640 Paradise Road, 791-5775.
Local Rock Band
The Pervz
Formed last year the Pervz have quickly become your favorite local band. Mixing old-school punk with plenty of hooks, the trio's seven-song CD really does offer all killer, no filler. The live show is even better. www.thepervz.com
Radio Station
X-treme 107.5-FM
Talk about the right place at the right time. X-treme Radio went on the air just as the nu-metal craze was beginning to take hold. By focusing on hard-edged alternative acts like Korn and Tool, X-treme managed to become one of the most influential rock stations in the country. Even as nu-metal has declined, X-treme has kept on the cutting edge, throwing pop-punk, garage rock and neo-grunge into the mix, all while staying true to the heavy music that got them where they are. And, hey, they even support local music, do their damnedest to bring all the bands they spin to town and have stuck to their guns in a feud with Limp Bizkit.
Dance Club
Ice
A testimony from someone we know named Victoria: "I liked the place because it was upscale, not sleazy at all. Drinks seemed to be a good pour, and the music was good. The place attracted a crowd, but wasn't so packed (like Rain) that you couldn't dance or walk around. Oh, and the special effects with the dry ice blasting were something." 200 E. Harmon Ave., VIP reservations 699-5528.
Best Comedy Club
Riviera
A double sawbuck minus a quarter ($19.75 for you math savants) buys a night of life's best medicine at the Riviera Comedy Club, scoring twin wins in this category after last year's rib-tickling coronation.
"They say the dog is man's best friend. I don't believe that. How many of your friends have you neutered?"
What elevates the club's twice-nightly shows are its Whitman's Sampler of wits—a policy of alternating a headliner paired with a couple of comic comers, and one of four lesser-knowns.
Larry Reeb, Shayma Tash, Carla Rae and Bruce Baum are among the chuckle-meisters who take to the semicircular stage in the basement-style, Manhattan-knockoff venue, where the craft of comedy is stripped to its barest essence—a comic, a microphone and a spotlight. In the Riviera Hotel.