Dec 6-9,
10:30 p.m. - 3 a.m.
(COUNTRY)
ROCK THE BOAT
The Clydesdale -- Las Vegas' best alt.country band -- have corraled themselves a gig at Caesars Palace, and the resort's legendary floating lounge, Cleopatra's Barge, will never be the same. Booked as a complement to the annual National Finals Rodeo (in town through Dec. 15), the tight and talented group -- accustomed to playing Downtown dive bars -- might very well use this high-profile gig to launch into the big time. From Vegas native Paige Overton's Patsy Cline-style voice to the band's ferocious playing skills, the Clydesdale are the closest remaining thing to classic cowtown Vegas. See them now, and don't say we didn't tell you.

Cleopatra's Barge / Caesars Palace


DOWNTEMPO UPTOWN
One of our favorite reasons to go to the Strip is to drink in the scene at the lobby bar of the sophisticated THEhotel. Now Mix -- the fabulous French eatery atop the hotel's tower -- offers another. Eighteenth Street Lounge, the music label that gave us Thievery Corporation and essentially spearheaded the downtempo/lounge movement, is booking DJs and bands every Friday and Saturday (except Dec. 7). Expect mod breakbeats and new Eastern rhythms to complement the groovy downtempo jams of Nikodemus, Brasilian Girls and more.

Mix Lounge at THEhotel 3950 Las Vegas Boulevard South (702) 632-9500.


HALF-CENTURY HISTORY
In a city barely 100 years young, that the University of Nevada Las Vegas is celebrating 50 years is significant. Long the beacon of urbanity in our far-flung desert outpost, UNLV has done more than its share of bringing to Southern Nevada an experience in education, culture, architecture and discourse more readily found in established cities. The 50th Anniversary Exhibition includes UNLV memorabilia as well as more than 200 archival photographs -- a remarkable look back at history in a city purported to have none.

UNLV's Barrick Museum through Jan. 4
(702) 895-4712