HOT CHOICES
Friday Saturday
St. Patrick’s Day weekend: No plans for St. Patrick’s Day weekend? Agua Caliente Casino in Cathedral City offers Caliente Shamrockin’ Weekend on Friday and Saturday. The celebrations include raffles, games and prizes. Virginia Beach, Va.-based Celtic rock band The Fighting Jamesons will perform on both nights.
Beer vendors such as Lagunitas Brewing Company, Truly Hard Seltzer, Samuel Adams, Coachella Valley Brewing Company, La Quinta Brewing Company, and Speakeasy Ales and Lagers will be on hand, and four 8-ounce tastings will be available for $25 during the event.
There will also be a beer mug challenge and a bead giveaway.
If you are going to: 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Agua Caliente Casino Cathedral City, 68-960 E. Palm Canyon Drive, Cathedral City. Free VIP packages of $75 and $150 available. (888) 999-1995. aguacalientecasinos.com
BEST BETS
Thursday
St. Patrick’s Day: Coachella Valley Brewing Company will host a St. Patrick’s Day celebration on Thursday featuring local musicians David Saba, Nick Hales, Josh Heinz and Rich Shelly. Local comedian Dacoda Miracle will also host a comedy show.
Saturday
The comedy: Howie Mandel is an example of an extraordinary career. Despite the challenges of living with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, the Canadian comedian has become one of the most creative and successful comedians in the industry. See for yourself when he performs Saturday at the Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa in Rancho Mirage.
Mandel hosted the CNBC game show “Deal or No Deal” and is currently a judge on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.” He also voiced the adorable furry creature Gizmo in “Gremlins” and “Gremlins 2: The New Batch.”
If you are going to: 8 p.m. Saturday, Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa, 32-250 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage. $40 to $75. (888) 999-1995. aguacalientecasinos.com
Rock: Los Angeles trio Sasquatch rock with a heavy fuzz sound, paying homage to 70s rock bands such as Black Sabbath and others such as Soundgarden and Corrosion of Conformity.
Sasquatch’s music has been featured on shows like “Sons of Anarchy,” “The Supernatural,” and MTV’s “Viva La Bam.” The band will play Hood Bar and Pizza on Saturday with High Desert Queen and local Motörhead tribute band, Motördead.
If you are going to: 7 p.m. Saturday, The Hood Bar and Pizza, 74-360 Highway 111, Palm Desert. $15. (760) 636-5220.
Celtic Rock: Los Angeles Celtic rock band Flogging Molly tour the West Coast each St. Patrick’s Day, and the band will bring some of that luck from the Irish on Saturday to Fantasy Springs Resort Casino. Austrian band Russkaja and alternative country band Vandoliers will also perform.
Frontman Dave King, who splits his time between Ireland and Detroit, also played in 80s metal band Fastway with Motörhead guitarist “Fast” Eddie Clarke and UFO bassist Pete Way and band early 90s rock band Kathmandu before forming Flogging Molly in 1997 while living in Los Angeles.
If you are going to: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, 84-245 Indio Springs Parkway, Indio. $39 to $69. (760) 342-5000. fantasyspringsresort.com
Desert Sun reporter Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @bblueskye.