VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: Celebrities in concert with party scene

Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2002 | 9:11 a.m.

Once again, it was whiplash night in Las Vegas -- heads were spinning to keep up at the celebrity-clogged parties held after the Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Monday.

Early in the evening, Avril Lavigne gave a private concert in the Palms' "Real World" suite. She couldn't play elsewhere on the property because she is underage and is not allowed to perform where alcohol is served.

Later, at ghostbar, Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst -- who spent most of his time during the Billboard show sitting quietly and playing video games on his cell phone -- hosted a party for Puddle of Mudd.

And for a couple who deny they are a couple, well, you could hardly slide a playing card between the noses of Tara "American Pie" Reid and 'N Sync-er JC Chasez at the ghostbar bash.

Among those pointing and staring were Cedric the Entertainer, Tyson Beckford and various "Real World Las Vegas" cast members.

The parties at the Palms were serviceable, but the heavy rock 'n' roll action was at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel.

A crowd that included Holly Robinson Peete, Shannon Elizabeth, Toby Keith, Don Marrandino, Vince Neil, Huey Lewis, Nickelback, Creed, Darryl "DMC" McDaniel, Nelly, Kerry Simon, Chuck D from Public Enemy, the new KISS 101.9-FM morning team of Trejo & Athena, all the "X" women from the hot show at Aladdin, Stefanie Hastings (Prince's old gal pal) and a selection of other rock 'n' roll types went absolutely beserk when Busta Rhymes and Justin Timberlake took the stage.

The unlikely pair started singing "Like I Love You," the single from Timberlake's new solo CD, "Justified."

Then an all-star jam led by the Neptunes -- (Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, the pop-rap industry's hottest producers) -- continued for nearly an hour with much of the talent in the room taking a turn.

The most awestruck group in the crowd was easily the pinstriped posse of Chevrolet executives and their guests.

Over the weekend the Hard Rock hosted a special memorabilia show called "Chevrolet: Celebrating 50 Years of Rock and Roll," and many of the visiting car cats stuck around for the big party.

Film at 11

As the old Black Flag song says, "TV Party."

But while Henry Rollins meant watching TV, the party we're talking about is for the lovely and talented KLAS Channel 8 anchor/reporter Lisa Johnson.

Thursday she turns, well ... we were too polite to ask. To mark the day, she and fellow KLAS reporter Colleen May are spending the day getting pampered at a high-end Las Vegas spa.

Friday night they'll be joined by fellow KLASers Cindy Cesare, Janine Gill, Yetta Gibson and Las Vegas ONE's Nancy Byrne and Veronica Meter for dinner and then a night of dancing and fending off male admirers at Bellagio's Light.

Thursday is also Frank Sinatra's birthday, making it a high holy day in Las Vegas.

Several special events will mark the day in Las Vegas, including a release party for David Osborne's new CD, "David Osborne Plays a Tribute to Frank Sinatra," at Caesars Palace.

Also, Nelson Sardelli is throwing a bash at Fellini's on West Charleston Boulevard to benefit thecastinc.com, the entertainment industry's local charitable organization.

The event starts at noon, costs only $22.50 and includes lunch, live music and a slice of a special Sinatra cake.

Ol' Blue Eyes would have been 87.

Big game hunting

Ever harbored a secret desire to be a headline writer for a tabloid newspaper?

Now's your chance.

There's a new game on the market called Man Bites Dog, in which players are dealt cards with words printed on them and then try to concoct the ultimate blaring tabloid headline.

Produced and distributed by San Francisco's University Games, it assigns point values to certain words, with "coed," "tot," "rehab," "horror," "Prez," "naked," "psychic," "mob boss," "puppy" and "blonde" all having a high value, natch.

The game's concept comes from two former colleagues of mine at the nation's most infamous tabloid, the New York Post -- TV editor Mike Shain and retired court reporter Mike Pearl.

It fits in a Christmas stocking, costs just $10 and is available at several websites, including gamepreserve.com, areyougame.com and peedeetoys.com.

Looking trim

The Celebrity Trim-a-Tree silent auction, which was such a hit at The Venetian last year, is back.

You can visit the 18-foot tree in the faux Piazza San Marco and use a kiosk computer (or go to Venetian.com) to bid on masks decorated by Uma Thurman, Kiefer Sutherland and the "24" cast, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of Kiss, Robin Leach, Carrot Top, David Copperfield, "CSI's" Marg Helgenberger and George Eads and comic Louie Anderson.

Proceeds go to a variety of Las Vegas charities, including Opportunity Village, SafeNest and Golden Rainbow of Nevada.

"This was an outstanding success last year," said Fred T. Walters, general manager of the Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian. "We were thrilled by the enthusiasm of the celebrities and the public response."

Blue listening

Blue Man Group, which continues to sell out at Luxor, was at the Virgin Megastore at the Forum Shops at Caesars the other day.

The Blue Men were introducing a new type of DVD listening booth with a plasma TV screen and high-end Bose sound system.

The first disc they played was -- what else -- their own debut: the Grammy-nominated "AUDIO."

VegasBits

The Carnevale Festival continues through Sunday at The Venetian. It is a spectacular event, based on the annual Italian celebration featuring traditional masks and costumes. Hotel officials are looking for it to be a Venetian holiday tradition ...

Chicago Sun-Times nightlife columnist Susanna Homan -- along with 10 Windy City radio contest winners -- were brunching at MGM Grand on Monday when Moby walked by. She called him over, and he obliged, chatting for a few moments with the stunned fans ...

The favorite place for overworked Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman aide Stephanie Boxio to unwind: the bar at Spago at the Forum Shops ...

Branden Powers has joined The Beach as its director of marketing. He was recently profiled on MTV ...

Paris Las Vegas marketing exec Suzanne Chabre presented a $20,000 check to Dr. Laura Schlessinger for Schlessinger's Children's Foundation. Generous, but hardly the cool million that Harrah's boss Phil Satre gave to start a scholarship fund for the kids of casino employees last week.