It takes a Crüe to close a venue

This weekend, Mötley Crüe will be the last band to play the Hard Rock Hotel's Joint, which is going away to make way for a bigger Joint.

Sound familiar?

"The last time we closed out a place here in Vegas was the Aladdin theater. When people left the concert, they took the chairs with them," singer and Las Vegan Vince Neil says.

He's not kidding. It was a scene in 1997. But why is the Crüe a venue-closing band?

"They figure if you're gonna do the damage, you might as well do the damage when Mötley's leaving."

Neil says the band's strong personalities, himself, Tommy Lee, Nikki Sixx and Mick Mars, are getting along.

Really?

"Oh yeah, absolutely," he says. "We've been touring and rockin' out. We just took the holidays off, so we're ready ... to tour till January."

By the way, "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)" and another classic hit were written about Neil by other bands. Check out my blog for more on that and Neil's hope to see breastages at the Joint.

CAREY HART DOES PETA

Carey Hart, a dog owner, was an advocate for animal protections before he married Pink. But Pink, an activist, made him more aware of animal cruelty and causes, he says. So today, Hart is paying it forward by hosting a 1 p.m. PETA event at his Wasted Space club at the Hard Rock.

The tattooed motocross hero and owner of Hart & Huntington Tattoo Co. made a new ad called "Ink, Not Mink." He unveils it at the free event today.

Hart and PETA2.com want to bring attention to the ways fur-cut animals are crushed, bludgeoned, poisoned, gassed, anally electrocuted and skinned alive.

"For some reason in society, it's OK to skin a mink alive and wear it as your coat," Hart says. "But you wouldn't do that to your shepherd or your Lab running around your backyard. Why is it OK for one and not for the other?

"Spend a half-hour on the computer and peek around PETA2.com. They show you up close and personal what happens."

Hart says he was enlightened into more animal causes by "my ex."

"It's not just about what you eat and what you're consuming. There's humane ways of dealing with certain situations. I mean, people have to survive. But I don't see any survival tactics in the fact that some girl needs to wear a mink coat on a red carpet. I can't wrap my head around that."

HART AND PINK

It surprised some of us that Pink and Hart were still so friendly after their divorce that she performed at his club over New Year's Eve. But a few weeks ago, Pink -- denying her breakup hit "So What" is about Hart -- told Seventeen magazine that she has told Hart she would give him away at his next wedding.

"We're still really great friends," Hart tells me. "If you can't be friends above and beyond, then there's something wrong there. That's what's so great. If the opportunity ever came up where we could do something for PETA, I'd be all in for it."

"I think we're one of the very few couples out there that could actually go through the whole process and come back full circle and be friends again," he says.

What was their secret to staying close?

"I don't think it was a secret. I think most relationships should be based on some sort of friendship. Just because you can't live in the same house together doesn't mean you can't still be friends."

BITS AND PIECES

• "We had a crazy situation go down a couple weeks ago" at Wasted Space, Hart says:

The Vandals and Pennywise performed, and guitarist Fletcher Dragge "smashed the drum set up with the guitar. It's a rock club. Stuff's supposed to go down."

• Tonight, Bravo's "Real Housewives of Orange County" uses Red Rock Resort as a backdrop for a girlfriend getaway.

• And now that I've buttered you up with all this talk about RAWK bands, you should know I'm guest-hosting "KNPR's State of Nevada" on KNPR-FM, 88.9, at 10 a.m. Thursday. My guest is Christopher Kenney, aka Edie the drag emcee of "Zumanity," or as KNPR host Dave Berns calls Kenney, a "storyteller supreme."

Doug Elfman's column appears on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Contact him at 702-383-0391 or e-mail him at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He also blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.