Thursday, July 21, 2011 | 2:30 p.m.
This is a weekend of entertainment firsts in Las Vegas. British comedian Russell Brand comes to town for the first time, as does a team of award-winning chefs with pork on their minds. The city for the first time will host a Heritage Breed pig cook off. Yum!
Some favorites also return. Crooner Tony Bennett is in town for a concert special, as is Vanilla Ice, who is becoming a Strip staple.
Here is the who, when and where:
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Photo by Steve MarcusRussell Brand at Mandalay Bay
The British comedian-actor makes his Las Vegas debut Friday with a one-night show at Mandalay Bay Theatre. Brand began his career in 2006 as a stand-up comedian in the U.K., but shot to fame in the United States two years later when he landed a starring role in Judd Apatow’s comedy "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." He has since appeared in numerous films and written two books.
Brand will perform two sets — at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. Tickets are $65 or $90.
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Photo by Sam Morris/Las Vegas SunUgliest swimsuit competition at the Venetian
Wear your ugliest bathing suit and win cash. Men and women are invited to model their most hideous pool duds, with a $2,000 prize going to the guy or gal in the most unsightly get-up. The party starts at 10 a.m. Saturday at Tao. Tickets are $30 for men and $20 for women, with local ladies free.
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Photo by Steve MarcusAmir Khan vs. Zab Judah at Mandalay Bay
WBA World super lightweight champion Amir Khan takes on IBF light welterweight champion Zab Judah in a unification bout Saturday. Khan enters as the favorite, but Judah is known for fighting strong in the first half. See if the fighters can make it 12 rounds.
The fists start flying at 3 p.m. Tickets are $50 to $400.
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/AP/CBSINXS at the Pearl
The Australian rock band made it big in Britain then jumped the pond and found success in the United States. Singer Michael Hutchence emerged as the focal point of the band because of his sultry good looks and magnetic stage presence. He served as frontman for two decades until his death in 1997 in a Sydney hotel room. After a year hiatus, INXS replaced Hutchence with a series of singers. Canadian J.D. Fortune was brought on most recently.
INXS plays 8 p.m. Saturday at the Pearl at the Palms. Tickets are $45.40 to $62.35.
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/APSoundgarden at the Hard Rock
Seattle rock band Soundgarden is back on the road after more than 13 years without touring. They stop in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Soundgarden was one of the seminal bands that helped create the grunge genre, and the four achieved their biggest success with their 1994 album “Superunknown,” which included the Grammy-winning single, “Black Hole Sun.” The band recently released a retrospective titled “Telephantasm” and their first live album, “Live on I-5.”
Progressive rockers the Mars Volta open the show. They take the Joint stage at 8 p.m. Tickets are $65.50 to $75.50, and all ages are welcome.
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Photo by Leila NavidiWang Chung at the Fremont Street Experience
The British new wave group that became a pop sensation in the ’80s hits downtown Las Vegas for a free concert. It’s the fifth installment of “Nina Blackwood’s Absolutely 80s” music festival and is sure to have people dancing in the street. The band released five Top 40 hits from 1983 to 1987, including “Everybody Have Fun Tonight” and “Let’s Go!”
The concert starts at 9 p.m. Saturday. British new wave duo Naked Eyes also will perform.
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/APAll-Star Cochon at the Cosmopolitan
Ten chefs. Four butchers. Fourteen pigs. What more do you need to know?
For the first time, Las Vegas will host the Cochon 555, a cross-country event that promotes sustainable farming and good eats.
The chefs will work together to prepare a “snout-to-tail” menu featuring Heritage Breed pig prepared in every way imaginable. There will be cured meats, butchery demonstrations, wine tasting and craft brews.
The event runs from 3:30 to 10 p.m. Sunday in the Cosmo’s Chelsea Ballroom. General-admission tickets are $150. VIP tickets cost $200 and include a private tasting of reserve wines, artisan cheeses, oysters and caviar. Guests must be at least 21 years old.
Vanilla Ice at the Flamingo and Harrah’s
Ice is back! The ’90s rapper turned television personality returns to Las Vegas to hit two hot spots Saturday.
Ice (born Robert Matthew Van Winkle) starts his day at the Flamingo GO Pool, where he’ll mingle, pose for photos with fans and sign autographs. The event is open to guests 18 or older. Then he’ll put on a concert at Harrah’s Carnaval Court, where he’s expected to perform “Ice Ice Baby,” the song that defined his career, as well as tracks from his upcoming album, “WTF — Wisdom, Tenacity & Focus.” The concert is open to guests 21 or older.
Nick Cannon at Planet Hollywood
Cannon is a regular in Las Vegas. The hit TV show that he hosts, “America’s Got Talent,” tapes here often. But he’s in town this weekend for a different reason. He is making his DJ debut at Gallery Nightclub. Cannon is both an actor and musician. He has starred in several television series and movies and has released an album and various singles.
Cannon starts spinning at 10 p.m. Saturday. Guests must be 21 or older.
Tony Bennett at the Palms
Bennett returns to Las Vegas for a one-night engagement that’s sure to include his classics. Bennett achieved success in the 1950s with a series of major hits. In the early ’60s, he reinvented himself as an adult-album seller.
Twenty years later, he staged a second comeback and expanded his audience to the MTV Generation. Bennett has sold more than 50 million records worldwide, earned dozens of platinum and gold albums, charted 24 Top 40 hits and founded the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in New York.
He plays at 8 p.m. Sunday at the Pearl. Tickets are $66 to $126.
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