Janis Joplin, B.B. King, The Youngbloods, County Joe and the Fish, Cashman Field, July 26, 1970
2.
The Who, The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel, June 28, 2002
Bassist John Entwistle dies of an apparent drug-induced heart attack in a Hard Rock Hotel room the night before his band is set to kick off its tour downstairs. The Who makes up the show on Sept. 14, minus the Ox.
3.
Talking Heads, Aladdin Theatre for Performing Arts, September, 1982
Tom Tom Club plays Artemus Ham, but the Heads never make up this cancelled date, thus never appearing on a Vegas stage. (To those shouting, "But wait! I have the Stardust Ballroom bootleg," which circulates with a Las Vegas dateline, we're sad to say the Stardust Ballroom in question was actually an LA punk club, a fact confirmed by Heads drummer Chris Frantz himself.)
4.
Pixies, Cox Pavilion, September 28, 2004
Las Vegas' stop on this long-awaited reunion swing gets nixed, due to slow ticket sales. "They sold 19,000 in Chicago, 16,000 in Atlanta in under seven minutes. With the Pixies, you've got seven minutes or you're out of there," the band's publicist boasts at the time. (On an odd side note: Pixies frontman Frank Black canceled two separate solo dates here in 2000 ... could it be he's actually allergic to our fair city?)
5.
Lauryn Hill, 3121 at the Rio, February 3, 2007
She came, she soundchecked, she ... went up to her room and went to sleep? We might never know what happened to the reclusive Ms. Hill as a packed club anxiously awaited her arrival, but we do know this: you probably won't catch a lot of repeat customers at her June 30 Red Rock performance, err, scheduled performance.