1.
Buy Xania. Las Vegas Weekly’s fabulous and beautiful nightclub goddess Xania Woodman goes up for sale at the Adam & Eve Charity Love Fling at Empire Ballroom from 6-11 p.m. on Thursday, July 12. Sponsored by Las Vegas Life magazine, Fox 5 TV, The Point 97.1-FM, Party Gals, Clear Channel and Skyy Vodka, the event raises funds and awareness for New Vista Community, a local charity which is committed to providing the intellectually challenged of all ages with equal opportunities and support. Other single local men and women, who are surely fabulous but not quite as fabulous as Xania, will be auctioned off along with valuable date packages including dinner, golf, getaways and spa packages. General admission tickets are $20 each. www.NewVistaCommunity.com.
2.
Escape through theater. 110 in the Shade, opening July 11 at the Super Summer Theater inside Spring Mountain Ranch, and Urinetown: The Musical, opening July 7 at the Las Vegas Little Theater, seem, outside of the typical scatological joke, to have nothing in common. But for those eager to slip away from the oppressing heat, the two plays represent an escape from both the scorching temperatures and the confines of home, but sadly, not from reality: 110 in the Shade is about a con man who swindles a small town into believing he is a rainmaker who will end a horrible drought. Urinetown: The Musical is an opus about the horrors and complexities of small-town politics, corporations and endless bureaucracy. Sounds familiar, huh? 110 in the Shade runs July 11-28 at 8 p.m. Wed.-Sat. Tickets are $10-$15. Call 895-2787 for info. Urinetown runs July 6-22 at 8 p.m. Thu.-Sat. and 2 p.m. Sun. Tickets are $20-$25. Visit lvlt.org for info.
3.
Be amused. Widely regarded as the foremost successor to Richard Pryor, Katt Williams brings a fierce intellectualism and refreshing spontaneity to the multitude of characters that inhabit his live shows. He’s dignified, always politically and socially charged and never pandering, hallmarks that saw him rise from amassing a large following with his own room at the Hollywood Park Casino to hosting the first annual BET Hip-Hop Awards and appearing in films alongside Ice Cube, Eddie Murphy, Queen Latifah and Terrence Howard. Williams and his fearless Katt Pack bring their “Pimp Chronicles Tour: Part 2” to the Joint July 6 at 11 p.m. and July 7 at 8 p.m. $62.50-$96.50, 693-5000.
4.
Bang your head. Longevity is hardly the hallmark of the Vegas rock scene, which may be why longtime local heavy metallers Hemlock prefer to think of the road as their “real home,” according to their website bio. Hey, whatever keeps a band going—and sharing bills with the likes of Slayer, Slipknot, Sepultura, Drowning Pool, Lamb of God and Hatebreed—for 14 years and counting, right? This time they’re back in their home-away-from-home to headline Warfest, with support from Total Chaos, Sixstitch and Gabriel’s Fallen. July 7, 6:30 p.m., $15. House of Blues, 632-7600.
5.
¡Compre los libros! There aren’t too many places in Las Vegas to peruse books from Neruda, Fuentes, Vargas Llosa, García Márquez—and all the other literary giants from Latin America—in their native tongue, and even fewer places where you can purchase them. And that’s why Aztlan Books y Más, a Spanish bookstore which also sells apparel, stationary and teacher supplies, is a treasure in the desert too valuable to pass up. Especially when they’re offering a sale of 10 percent off purchases over $10, as they are now. 1014 East Charleston Blvd., Suite 102; 242-2626; www.aztlanbooks.com.
6.
Imagine dead people. Las Vegas artist Mark Brandvik’s exhibit at Dust Gallery manages to enliven death. Primer is a bracing tour through the locations of some of Las Vegas’ more famous/infamous celebrity deaths. While not depicting any actual taped-off crime scenes, the series powerfully depicts only the locales where such newsmakers as Tupac Shakur, Ted Binion, Stu Ungar, Joe Williams and David Strickland met their makers. The show runs through August 5 at Dust (1221 Main St., 880-3878).
Illustration by Dan Sipple
