NEON THIS WEEK
Punk rockers Rancid in town
The dudes in Rancid are hard-nosed punk lifers, the kind of guys, who would bleed liquor and razor blades.
Some dismiss them as a poor man's The Clash -- as if that would be a bad thing -- but Rancid has long possessed a hard-core-derived emphasis on velocity and urban grit that distinguishes them from The Clash.
Preparing to drop their first new album in five years, the band is back on the road to keep punk rock's countenance twisted into a snarl.
See the band at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. South. Tickets are $25 in advance, $27 day of show; call 632-7600.
Louis Prima Jr. will play to a hometown crowd for the first time in more than a year at the Las Vegas Hilton, 3000 Paradise Road.
Prima fronts an eight-piece band, with Emerald covering the duets originally sung by Keely Smith or his mom, Gia Maione. Tickets are $19 for the 7 p.m. show; call 732-5755.
-- JASON BRACELIN and MIKE WEATHERFORD
