Las Vegas city guideLas Vegas holidaysReviewThe music and clubbing scene in Vegas attracts the world's very biggest names to its dive bars, outrageous clubs and chillaxin' venues, say Chuckmonster and Spencer PattersonAs featured in our Las Vegas city guide
The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel
We'll admit it, we weren't too thrilled when Las Vegas's most iconic rock room announced it would double in size. After all, this was the place where the Stones stripped down, where Neil Young ditched Greendale, where Metallica and the Chili Peppers rang in the New Year, where Jack White's guitar spontaneously burst into flames. OK, that last tale's not true, but you get the picture: the old Joint was legendary. Two-plus years in, the 4,000-capacity new Joint's not there yet, but it's had its share of great shows, from an opening weekend highlighted by the Killers and Paul McCartney to sets by the Pixies and Weezer. Plus, every music fan needs to check out the epic memorabilia collection. SP
4455 Paradise Road, +1 702 393 5000, hardrockhotel.com. Open daily, performance times and ticket prices vary
Beauty Bar
No matter how much fun you're having, sometimes you just have to get away from the Strip. That's where Fremont Street comes in. And we don't mean the glowing canopy running tributes to Kiss and playing Viva Las Vegas on a seemingly endless loop. We're talking Fremont East, home to downtown's growing entertainment district. For local music fans, the Beauty Bar is the centrepiece, housing one small stage inside and a slightly larger one on its "back patio" that's played host to the likes of The Hold Steady, The Walkmen and the Brian Jonestown Massacre. Covers are cheap, music starts late and they've got PBR beer on tap – what more do you want? SP
517 Fremont Street, +1 702 598 1965, thebeautybar.com. Open nightly 9pm-2am, performance times and ticket prices vary
Pearl Concert Theater
Experience just one song inside the Palms' 4-year-old concert venue and you'll understand why Matador Records choose Vegas for its big birthday bash last year. Sure, turning 21 in Vegas can make for a wild time, but the Pearl—home to primo acoustics and unspoiled sightlines from any seat in the 2,500-capacity room—would be the No. 1 venue in many American towns. Jay-Z, Bob Dylan, Tool, Björk, LCD Soundsystem … This is where arena-sized artists get intimate when they visit the Strip. SP
Inside the Palms, 4321 W. Flamingo Road, 702-942-7777, palms.com
The Cosmopolitan
Las Vegas Boulevard's hippest new hangout has shown some serious musical muscle in Year 1, bringing the likes of Adele, The Strokes and Queens of the Stone Age to its centre-Strip property. Though the hotel's large indoor space, a boxy ballroom called The Chelsea isn't our favourite spot to see a show, but the Cosmo's two other main music spaces are well-worth your attention. The Boulevard Pool stages bands such as Bright Eyes and Smashing Pumpkins with the Vegas skyline as its backdrop, while Book & Stage revives Las Vegas's old-school lounge concept, presenting free mini-residencies by acts including Foster the People, Robert Randolph and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – in the heart of the bustling casino. SP
3708 Las Vegas Boulevard South, +1 702 698 7000, cosmopolitanlasvegas.com. Open daily, performance times and ticket prices vary
Double Down Saloon
You say you want to experience a real Las Vegas dive? Well, this is the Las Vegas dive – so authentic, in fact, that New York just had to have one, too. Unlike the Manhattan version, the original's got live music, for free, every night of the week. Punk, mostly, and sometimes the sound's so rough you can't tell whether the singer's a chick or a dude without looking, but it's fun and it's real. And – did we mention this already? – it's free. SP
4640 Paradise Road, +1 702 791 5775, doubledownsaloon.com. Open daily, 24hrs, performance times and ticket prices vary
House of Blues
If you're wandering through Mandalay Bay, be sure to scope out the House of Blues marquee near the entrance to the Mandalay Place escalator – your favourite band's name might just be on it. Anyone who has toured during the past decade or so has probably played this room, which holds 1,200 downstairs and 600 more in its seated balcony. Metal, punk, hip-hop, tributes – the House of Blues's calendar is the most varied in town, and tickets can often be scooped up on the night for $30 or less. Added bonus: acoustic sets and solid eats inside the venue's adjacent Courtyard area. SP
3950 Las Vegas Boulevard South, +1 702 632 7600, houseofblues.com/lasvegas. Open daily, performance times and ticket prices vary
XS @ Encore
In the last few years, Las Vegas has grown to become one of the global epicentres of live electronic music. The current king of the hill is XS at Encore Las Vegas. The XS adrenaline surge hits as you make your way past designer Roger Thomas's breathtaking, Matisse-inspired frescoes of nudes trapped mid-thrust in gold foil, as rafter-rocking beats rattle your bones. By the time you reach the top of the grand staircase entry, revelling in the sight of pulsating humanity on a dancefloor that spills deliciously through the proscenium onto the pool deck, you'll be certifiably breathless. It's gonna be a long night … get used to it. C
Wynn Las Vegas and Encore, 3131 Las Vegas Boulevard South, XS Nightclub, +1 702 770 7000, xslasvegas.com. Open Fri-Mon 10pm-4am
Mandarin Bar @ Mandarin Oriental
Not all nights out require bombastic beats and demonstrative feats of hip-jiggling stamina. For some, a sultry cocktail, a whispered conversation and breathtaking views are where parties of a completely different type begin. Enter the Mandarin Bar: perched on the 23rd floor lobby of CityCenter's Mandarin Oriental hotel it offers a 270°-view and respite from the neon storm, and the hustle and bustle of the Strip below. C
3752 Las Vegas Boulevard South, +1 702 590 8888, mandarinoriental.com/mandarinbar. Open Mon-Thurs 5pm-1am, Fri-Sat 5pm-2am
O'Sheas
Imagine your favourite Irish pub. Now add a casino with blackjack, dice, poker and slots. Then throw some beer pong tables in the back and a tattoo shop owned by Mötley Crüe frontman Vince Neil. Throw in a leprechaun or two. Next, put the Las Vegas Strip right outside the front door. Welcome to O'Sheas, one of the most unpretentious casino/bar hangouts in town and the closest thing this city has to a certified frathouse bar. If you're looking for the opposite of glitz and glamour, O'Sheas has it in spades. But don't hang around – O'Sheas is scheduled to close in mid-2012 and move to a brand new top-secret location. C
3555 Las Vegas Boulevard South, +1 702 697 2711, caesars.com/osheas. Open daily, 24hrs
Surrender/Encore Beach Club @ Encore
The Encore Beach Club, decked out like a French Quarter bordello for the St Tropez-tripping jet set, is the home to the Surrender nightclub, the sexy sister of XS (above). Featuring three bars that are watched over by a gigantic gold-skinned, green-eyed snake and a dancefloor accented by sexy-not-slutty pole dancers (!), the party at Surrender is as much about the surroundings – throngs of beautiful people – as it is about dancing into oblivion to a brain melting set by a superstar DJ. C
Las Vegas Boulevard South, +1 702 770 7300, surrendernightclub.com. Open Wed-Sat 10.30pm-open end
Chuckmonster is editor-in-chief of VegasTripping.com, a guide to Las Vegas written. Spencer Patterson writes for Las Vegas Weekly
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