This week’s 5 best bets for live music in Las Vegas

Devin Townsend Project

Bald badass Devin Townsend is the hard-rock equivalent of baseball’s ever-elusive five-tool player: An accomplished singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer and slinger of sardonic stage banter, Townsend is one of the genre’s more inimitable characters. “Transcendence,” the new album from the band that bears his name, is a majestic-sounding prog-rock labyrinth meant to get lost in. See The Devin Townsend Project at 6 p.m. Saturday at Brooklyn Bowl at The Linq. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 day of show; call 702-862-2695.

Steve Vai

Speaking of Devin Townsend, his big break came when he was recruited to front Steve Vai’s solo band in the early ’90s. Nowadays, Vai mostly lets his guitar do the talking at his live gigs, and it’s got plenty to say: Vai’s 1990 masterwork “Passion and Warfare” ranks high on the list of greatest instrumental guitar records. Vai’s celebrating the album’s 25th anniversary at 7 p.m. Sunday at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay. Tickets start at $35; call 702-632-7600.

ZZ Top

Over the past five decades, Texas boogie-rock luminaries ZZ Top have made innumerable contributions to the betterment of music, chief among them, perhaps the greatest song ever penned about gettin’ it on inside a sleeping bag. See them, salute them at 8 p.m. Friday at The Pearl at the Palms. Tickets start at $86.24; call 702-944-3200.

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan is to compromise what Criss Angel is to shirts with sleeves: just not havin’ it. He does things his way, resolutely, and always has. This goes double at his live gigs, where Dylan neither caters to the crowd nor plays the role of human jukebox, cranking out the fan favorites. And so if you’re looking to hear all his hits, better look to your record collection instead. See him at 8 p.m. Oct. 13 at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Tickets start at $49; call 800-745-3000.

Death Valley Girls

They call it “dystopian doom boogie.” We call the Death Valley Girls’ howlin’, hellbent garage rock a damn fine reason to stay up way too late on a school night. See them at 9 p.m. Oct. 13 at The Griffin. The show is free; call 702-382-0577.