Just call it Perrypalooza

“Nobody comes to Vegas to do the show of their lives,” a concert promoter here once told me. Instead, he felt, Vegas is where performers come for money. And sometimes I believe that.

But then there are moments like this month’s Perrypalooza, a celebration of Perry Farrell’s 50th birthday at the Bare Pool Lounge at the Mirage, that restore my faith in the Strip to create the impossible. It was an experience that can be described only by referencing, improbably enough, poet John Keats’ term “negative capability” -- the ability to hold opposing ideas simultaneously without being disturbed by the contradictions.

General admission tickets were $115 and table reservations started at $2,500, creating an elite, extremely well-groomed audience to watch the Stooges’ classic “Down on the Street” performed with Wayne Kramer of the ‘60s underground punk/metal progenitors MC5 on guitar -- a guitar on which were inscribed the words “Arm the Homeless.” The singer on “Down on the Street” was Billy Idol, whose roots go back to British punk band Generation X; the drummer, Guns N’ Roses veteran Matt Sorum. And the guitar was borrowed from Tom Morello, most famously of the politically inflected band Rage Against the Machine.

“I know it’s crazy,” said Farrell, the leader of the groundbreaking Jane’s Addiction and founder of the pioneering Lollapalooza tours, as he watched the scene unfold.

Once a notorious partyer, Farrell had never seen birthdays as a priority -- in fact, he recalls he used to spend them alone: “I was very antisocial. But when you have a wife and kids, you have to go out. You have to take the kids places.”

His wife, Etty, insisted that he do something special for his 50th birthday, and though at first Farrell was not enthused about a big celebration concert in Vegas, he warmed to the project. “As it came closer and closer, I became so excited,” he says.

In part, he was worried that his years of bad behavior would result in not so many people wanting to get onstage with him. “I thought I burned every bridge in the world with what we used to do to each other,” he says. About that he was wrong, as the celebrity appearances April 11 attested.

“He is more reflective now,” said Idol of the changes in Farrell over the years. “But the great thing is that he is embracing who he is fully. Many of us didn’t think we would be here this far on. He left each of us a note in our rooms about how he wanted to spend his 50th with his friends. There is nothing about this night I could imagine 20 years ago.”

To Morello, a friend since 1988, the night was an indicator of the balance in Farrell’s life. “I’ve never seen any conflict between being politically active and having a great time,” Morello said.

“About a year ago, Perry and I were in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans rebuilding homes, and Perry literally looked resplendent in an outfit, just like he does now, except he was in a Dumpster and I was handing him these things covered in cockroaches.”

For the audience, the night offered the sort of music history by which Vegas lays claim to be entertainment capital of the world. The concert mixed performances by the artists who inspired Jane’s Addiction with performances by the artists influenced by Farrell’s music.

Farrell also worked through his personal history. The first song he played, “Go All the Way (Into the Twilight),” was his latest offering, available on the “Twilight” movie soundtrack. Then came reunions with members of Porno for Pyros, followed by Jane’s Addiction.

In between were guest musicians, including Sen Dog of Cypress Hill, actress-turned-rocker Juliette Lewis, Debbie Harry of Blondie and Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray.

The night ended as Farrell held up a bottle of Champagne to toast the audience and the performers during an everyone-onstage jam version of “Sympathy for the Devil.”

“Perry Farrell is 50 years old!” one partyer yelled into a microphone.

Someone onstage responded: “Perry Farrell is 50 years young.”

And if there was one little Las Vegas illusion tied to this evening, no one mentioned that Farrell’s actual 50th birthday was in March.

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‘Rain Man,’ Eminem style

Vegas regulars who see the new Eminem video for the song “We Made You” will probably recognize a cameo by Palms Resort & Casino owner George Maloof, who appears as a blackjack dealer giving cards to Dr. Dre, 50 Cent and Eminem.

“They wanted to do the scene from ‘Rain Man,’ and the producer asked me if I wanted to be in it,” Maloof says. “It was shot at the floor of the Palms. A lot of people stopped and did a double take at the sight of the three of them.”

Maloof is that rare casino owner who knows how to gamble, including basic blackjack strategy and how to keep count, and he thinks the trio of rap stars should stick to their day jobs.

“I can tell you none of them know how to play blackjack,” Maloof says. “It probably isn’t a thing to let people know, because they are cool guys. But they can’t play.”

As for being connected to the controversial rapper’s new video, under attack for its treatment of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, among other things, Maloof says he has no regrets: “No, it’s all for fun. The guys are really nice guys.

“I love Eminem. He actually owns a condo at Palms Place. He is a gentleman, but he has so many different ideas. Even as we were doing the shoot, he had so much creativity. He didn’t follow the script; he does what he wants.”

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richard.abowitz@latimes.com

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latimes.com/movablebuffet

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