Friday, June 1, 2007 | 6:53 a.m.
The Hurricane Bar is having a blowing away party Sunday.
Owner Bill Gerski has decided to sell out and move on to other challenges after six years of running a classic Las Vegas neighborhood bar, which often featured live music and always had a friendly atmosphere.
Maybe the neighbors were getting too close for comfort. When Gerski bought the business six years ago it was almost in the middle of the desert. Now it's downright urban.
"We'll miss a lot of things, but it's time for a change," Gerski said.
It was a favorite spot for jazz fans during the three years that saxophonist Tommy Alvarado and drummer Joel Richman hosted a weekly jam session.
Alvarado and Richman will be back for the farewell bash.
Details: 9:30 p.m. Sunday, Hurricane Bar, 10420 S. Bermuda Road
Flamingo stands tall
What a terrific and varied lineup of entertainment at the Flamingo - R&B artist Toni Braxton at her sexiest in the evenings, funnyman George Wallace and the richly talented Society of Seven with Lani Misalucha in the afternoons.
In the smaller showroom, the classic Chicago improv group Second City fills the early slot and is still going strong with its troupe of young artists who manage to pull humor out of thin air. The erotic "X Burlesque" holds down late nights, and its latest incarnation may be the hottest yet. Husband and wife producers Matt and Angela Stabile hired Colombia native J.J. Villar to redo the choreography, and he has created an edgy atmosphere that smolders with sexuality.
Drop pop singer Gino Vannelli into the middle of this entertainment buffet. He performed recently in the main showroom and is scheduled to return. Vannelli sells his jazzy tunes to his fans with ease and fills the room with charisma.
Viva Venetian
It's the Three Bs at the Venetian - Brady, as in comedian Wayne; Brown, as in impressionist Gordie; and Blue Man Group.
Add the popular "Phantom, the Las Vegas Spectacular" and you've got another powerful entertainment lineup.
Brady has audiences eating out of his hand. He is brilliant at what he does and during the past few weeks he and co-star Jonathan Mangum have made a fast-paced, energetic show even faster and more energetic - tightening up some of the spots that seemed to drag in earlier performances.
It wouldn't surprise me to see Brady stick around even longer than his latest extension, which is through July 1.
Brown, too, is a talented guy who worked his way up from downtown to the Strip. He's as good at the comedy as he is with the impressions. Definitely worth adding to your list of things to do.
Scholarship concert canceled
The Joe Williams Scholarship Fund concert scheduled for Sunday at the Community College of Southern Nevada has been canceled, according to organizer Ed Foster.
"Contractors working on the new showroom couldn't get the work completed in time," Foster said.
The concert may be rescheduled for the fall, he said.
Williams, a legendary jazz and blues singer, lived in Las Vegas from 1965 until his death in 1999 at the age of 80. He created the scholarship that bears his name in 1989.
Around town
Karin Denise debuts her interactive Italian dinner show "How You Doin" at Destefano's at 6 p.m. June 13. (3430 E. Tropicana Ave., corner of Tropicana and Pecos) ... Vocalist Michael Lee is at the Cannery (8 p.m. to midnight Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7:30 to 10:45 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 8 p.m. to midnight Sunday). Lee and his band Heat of the Night will be on the Fremont Street Stage from 7 to 10 p.m. every Wednesday in June. ... Jim Belushi and The Sacred Hearts are coming to The Orleans July 6-7. ... Alexis Gershwin, niece of the legendary George and Ira Gershwin, will be singing - what else - Gershwin songs July 20-22 at the Suncoast.
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