Rock for a week without spending a dime

There are no golden parachutes for us plebs, unless, of course, you can fashion one out of a bar napkin.

And so in these daunting economic times, you need to make the dollar stretch like the elastic in Godzilla's gym shorts.

Luckily, here in Vegas, there are plenty of entertainment options that require no cash. Every day of the week there's a bevy of free shows across the city. Here's how to spend a week on the town without spending a dime.

Monday: Blues jam at the Sand Dollar. Everyone has the blues on Monday, when the workweek hits you like a brick to the crotch. Share your pain at the Sand Dollar's open jam sessions, where you can hang with the bikers and old-timers and realize that you don't have it that bad.

Tuesday: Sin City Sinners at Divebar. It's like Headbanger's Ball circa 1987 without the amusing-as-a-pulled-groin presence of Riki Rachtman. Every Tuesday, a slew of rock notables from George Lynch to Jizzy Pearl join the Sin City Sinners (who themselves are comprised of former members of bands such as Faster Pussycat and Raging Slab) to bash out some of their signature tunes in the intimate climes of the Divebar. Hey, where else are you gonna have a Heineken with Sammi Yaffa?

Wednesday: Piano lounge at the El Cortez. Midweek, you need to ease up and allow your liver to board up the windows in advance of the monsoon of booze coming its way. And this is the place to do it. The El Cortez is old Vegas, from the grainy, vintage portraits of downtown that line the walls to the cheap hooch at the bar. Chill in the red glow of the lounge and forget all about the dude outside with the yard o' margarita around his neck.

Thursday: "Acoustic Strip" at the House of Blues. Local and national acts, from Love Pentagon to Ari Hest, get unplugged at the House of Blues courtyard on Thursdays. Here's hoping they eventually lure in Cannibal Corpse for a stirring acoustic rendition of "Meathook Sodomy."

Friday: Jazz at Pogo's. Like sobriety, subtlety, clever music columnists, etc. jazz has all but disappeared in Vegas. But squish into one of the booths at Pogo's and watch a rotating cast of wizened blues lifers blow into their instruments hard enough to make the candles flicker on the tables.

Saturday: Rock shows at the Double Down. This is the big night, don't screw it up (you've read this far, so your judgment is suspect, dude). But you can never go wrong at the Double Down, where the anything-goes, cover-free rock shows are as much of an institution as the hangover destined to follow the next day.

Sunday: Liquid pool party at the Artisan. Do not give up on the weekend. Cling to it, dig your fingernails in, like you're dangling from a cliff above a pit of responsibility. At Liquid, DJ Theory spins laid-back sounds (reggae, downtempo) almost as comforting as that snooze button you'll be whacking away at in a few hours.

Contact Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476.