Glitz and glitter, Elton-style

Las Vegas

Oct. 4-23: It promises to be a lively month in Glitter Gulch. Elton John’s critically acclaimed “Red Piano” show, which took over the 4,100-seat Colosseum at Caesars Palace for a few weeks in February, April and July, makes its last appearance of the year for 15 evenings in October. A five-piece band, a huge video screen and plenty of visual bling keep Sir Elton company onstage.

Caesars Palace, 3570 Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89109; (877) 427-7243, www.caesars.com. $100-$250; show packages for two, including one night’s accommodation, from $524.

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Oct. 10 (ongoing): Blue Man Group performed its last show at the Luxor on Thursday, where it had made its home since March 2000. But those who didn’t catch the “multi-sensory” spectacle needn’t be blue; it’s just moving down the Strip to reopen Oct. 10 at the Venetian.

The Venetian, 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; (866) 641-7469, www.venetian.com. Performances 7 p.m. daily; 7 and 10 p.m. Saturday. $75-$110.

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Oct. 28-30, Nov. 3-6: The 2005 Professional Bull Riders World Finals (www.pbrworldfinals.com) comes to the Mandalay Bay resort; the next weekend the action moves to the Thomas & Mack Center at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where the champion will ride into the sunset with a cool $1 million.

Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; (877) 632-7400, www.mandalaybay.com. Tickets $42-$168. Thomas & Mack Center, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway; (866) 727-7469, www.unlvtickets.com. Balcony seats $45 per day; other seats sold out.

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San Francisco

Oct. 19-Nov. 6: Avant-garde saxophonist Ornette Coleman, husky-voiced Madeleine Peyroux, Latin jazz percussionist Poncho Sanchez, Kyrgyzstan’s Eldar, Brazil’s Airto.... An eclectic menu of jazz performances is supplemented by classes, pre-concert talks and family matinees at the San Francisco Jazz Festival, which jazz critic Don Heckman, who writes for The Times, has called “one of America’s premier cultural events.”

SFJazz, 3 Embarcadero Center, San Francisco; (415) 776-1999, www.sfjazz.org. Most tickets about $22-$65. At family events, children’s tickets $5-$10.

-- Patricia Connell