🎄 Double Xmas fatty | Psycho nuns | Ski shindig | Bathtub jazz | NYE shebangs | Hula chickens | Bucket wizard
DAMN, NOW I know how Santa must feel on Christmas Day after spamming the globe with gifts – quivery-legged and nubby with hernias from hefting all that weight. See, me and the rest of the elves at The List hit the workshop extra hard, sourcing two weeks' worth of things to do, from fun faux ski parties to swingin' jazz nights to shocky, schlocky variety shows – plus a fat raft of curated New Year's Eve picks.
Programming note: Enjoy unwrapping this double issue, and have the raddest holiday. We're taking time off to recharge with plenty of industrially fortified egg nog and deliciously bad Hallmark movies. We'll be back in your inbox on Jan. 8! – Andrew Kiraly 🤍
➤ Also: Catch a jingle buzz with cosplay queen Nicole Marie Jean at Mrs. Claus' Tipsy Elf Cocktail Hour Dec. 19 at The Golden Tiki ✦ Tell all your amigas about Secretos Latin dance party Dec. 20 at Moonlight ✦ Don you now your cringe apparel at the Ugly Christmas Sweater Cabaret Dec. 21 at Majestic Repertory Theatre ✦ Bass drops nipping at your nose at AfroVibe's Holiday House Dec. 21 at Hola Habibi ✦ Pop that collar and get prepped for The Yuppiest Brunch on Earth Dec. 28 at The Lexi ✦ Bubblicious babes pop tops at Savour: A Champagne Burlesque Brunch Dec. 29 at Jackpot Bar & Grill.▼
Amanda King
Vegas' queen of swing belts out classics with the Prohibition Three.
Dec. 21 ✦ The Mob Museum➤ Also: Horn up the holidays with DV8 Big Band at the Fat Cat Swingin' Christmas Special Dec. 19 ✦ Get chorally pleasured when MO5AIC voxes out Dec. 19-20 at Vegas Theatre Company ✦ And a very Happy Funkin' Holidays to you too Dec. 21 at Area 15 ✦ It's hip to worship with the Temple of Swing at Sleigh Bell Stomp Dec. 21 ✦ Feel the beat with rising Chicano soul stars Thee Heart Tones Dec. 21 at Swan Dive ✦ Take a waltz to remember at Las Vegas Sinfonietta's Night in Vienna Dec. 22 at Clark County Library.▼
➤ Also: Get a glow-up at the Candlelight Holiday Special Dec. 18, 19, and 23 at The Industrial ✦ Catch All the Feels Dec. 21 at Taverna Costera with LV's best local pop artists ✦ Get ready, Freddie, for funk-ska-metal legends Fishbone Dec. 22 at Swan Dive ✦ Calling all le freaks to The Boogie Knights Holiday Disco Party Dec. 27 at Count's Vamp'd ✦ Bass drops and wub wub are the prizes at Jackpot Dec. 27-28 at Downtown Las Vegas Events Center ✦ Time-travel through The Eras of Taylor tribute show Dec. 29 at The Space.▼
Patrick Warburton
The nichey sitcom actor breaks out with a new standup show.
Dec. 20-21 ✦ Wiseguys Town Square➤ Also: Laughter hits high notes at HaHa Comedy Night Dec. 18 at Dazed Consumption Lounge ✦ You'll be rolling (your own) with laughter when Gabe Lopez fires up the NuWu Comedy Club Dec. 20 ✦ Everyone's on the naughty list at the Bad Karma drag show Dec. 20 at Majestic Repertory Theatre ✦ Family matters are laughing matters with Carlos Rodriguez Dec. 18-22 at L.A. Comedy Club ✦ The laughs are larger than life at Big Boys' Funny Muthafruckas Dec. 30 at Lee's Family Forum.▼
➤ Also: You'll be trippin' (disco) balls at DiscoShow Dec. 18-21 at The Linq ✦ Deck the halls with improv at Holiday Hijinks Dec. 21 at Mom's Basement Theatre ✦ Lace up your skates and tug on your winter worst for Ugly Sweater Roll Out Dec. 21 at Fresa's Skate Shop ✦ Nerds Never Say Die Dec. 27 at Vegas Theatre Company sounds like a critical hit ✦ Get behind the curves at The Jiggle Room Dec. 27 at Cheapshot ✦ Up that 'do for a roaring night of Las Vegas Punk & Rockabilly Dec. 28 at The Double Down Saloon.▼
Buckethead
The masked master of mind-melting guitar shreddery emerges for a rare gig.
Dec. 29 ✦ Area 15➤ Also: Studio Scarlet gives voice to holiday hits Dec. 18 at The Composers Room ✦ Surf's up with Professor Rex Dart and The New Waves Dec. 20 at The Golden Tiki ✦ Dave Perrico and The Raiders House Band deliver a horn blast from the past Dec. 20 at Ellis Island ✦ You're in for a Euro treat when Bulgarian Christmas Magic Dec. 20 enchants West Las Vegas Library ✦ Catch a lo-fi high from electrochill artist Flamingosis Dec. 29 at Swan Dive.▼
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THE CH33SE 🧀
🥂 Auld Lang Sane
Lemme guess: You want to celebrate New Year's Eve in Las Vegas memorably and meaningfully. However! You're pretty much over epic club blowouts and crowded street parties, but you'd also feel like a grouchy lump just staying home and watching the action on TV. I know your plight; I, too, am an adult. (Mostly.) In no particular order, here's a list of still-fun-but-lower-key NYE events that won't overclock your processors.
- Seth MacFarlane is one of those Swiss Army knife entertainers with an infuriatingly enviable range of talents. Among those talents: The ability to emcee a schmancy New Year's Eve show. 730p, The Smith Center
- Just across the street, Dave Damiani presides over a jazzy NYE party with bottomless bubbly. 7p and 930p, Vic's Las Vegas
- Catch an NYE screening of When Harry Met Sally complemented with jazz and charcuterie. Yes, you are encouraged to act along with the infamous diner orgasm scene. 9p, The Beverly Theater
- Frankie's Uptown rewinds to the 19th century at its Wild West-themed FU Saloon party, complete with old-timey poker, roulette, and craps. 9p, Frankie's Uptown
- Elegant Deception is a themed dinner party that might seem somewhat precious and overwrought, but then it wrangles in burlesque dancers and tarot readers, awesome! 9p, The Lexi
- Every Las Vegan should visit The Double Down Saloon as a rite of passage but also – bonus – you'll get inoculated against pretty much every known disease. Go ham and do it on NYE as Freak-O-Rama erupts in a volcano of mascara, music, and Ass Nog. One of the burlesque dancers is named Clit Eats Wood. That is all. 9p, The Double Down Saloon
- This one sounds just cute and fun and eminently enjoyable: New Year's Eve Disco Ball at a cozy wine bar. 9p, Crush Pad
- The Toast Behind the Mask: a convivial masquerade party and a four-course dinner at one of my favorite wine spots. 6p, Ada's
- I know, this admittedly tilts hard toward "epic club blowout," but Legacy Club New Year's Eve earns my pick for the luxe decor and un-look-awayable views. 9p, Circa
🍝 The Dish List
Murder is on the menu at Mezzo Bistro's Ho Ho Homicide Dec. 18 ✦ Aw, shucks, it's The Cork & Pearl Oyster & Wine Pairing Seafood Extravaganza Dec. 18 at Vegas Valley Winery ✦ Save room for shrooms at the White Truffle Dinner Dec. 19 at Don's Prime Steakhouse ✦ The forecast calls for ugly sweater weather at Crush Pad's Holiday Hoedown Dec. 19 ✦ I crumbled when I heard about Co-Op & Cookies Dec. 20 at Vegas Valley Winery ✦ Eataly embarks on a sippy Tour of Toscana Dec. 20 ✦ Wake up and smell the mimosas at El Dorado Cantina's Xmas Pajama Brunch Dec. 22 ✦ Patriotism has mild tannins and notes of dried cherry at Pioneering in American Wine Dec. 28 at Crush Pad ✦ Get insane in the champagne at Bubbles and Bright Lights Dec. 28 at The Rio.
🎨 Seeing is Relieving
Amid the holiday rush, who has time to stop and look at art? Ah, that's actually the best time for a reflective recharge. On Dec. 19, Sahara West Library hosts a reception for three exceptional artists whose work meditates on history and futurity. Robert Beckmann, best known for his arrestingly stark "Body of a House" series, exhibits more muted, subtle oil works in "Minutes to Moments." In "Uncharted Territories," multimedia artist Cida de Aragon continues her investigation into the texture of our shared technoscape with expansive pieces that seem to ripple eerily to their own logic and rhythm. Lastly, the black-and-white "Recollections" of photographer Hayk Adamyan deploy striking contrasts and unusual compositions for their almost mystic impact.
Hey! Got a brand, service, org, or company you want to promote in The List? We offer Supporting Sponsorships as well as hella inexpensive display ads priced for small businesses and indie creators. Hit me up at [email protected]! - AK
🤪 Balls be Dropping
Sure, the social, shouty energy of bingo pairs well with drag queens and glambilly dancers, but Bingo Loco blows the game up beyond all recognition into a mushroom cloud of confetti, bass drops, and dance-offs. (And sometimes also lawnmowers and dildos.) Sound like your cup of chaos? Grab tix now for the Jan. 25 show at Area 15 – the Dec. 27 installment of the wildly popular bingo rave is long sold out.
🥁 Sound by the Pound
Is it a gigantic drum circle? An immersive percussion workshop? A community gathering based on the unifying power of rhythm? The multifaceted Let Us Play MiniFest Dec. 28 at West Las Vegas Arts Center looks to be all that and more. Performers including Bunny "Drum Nasty" Brooks, Molodi, and Olabisi African Drum & Dance Circle will lead drumming and stepping workshops, fortified with poetry readings, craft tables, and refreshments.
