I like freemont street. My daughter enjoys the music and light shows. When she is with us we leave by 10pm. When she is not with us we stroll around and enjoy the later stages shows and cheap drinks. Some nights/holidays are better then others to people watch.
This is a tip for the drunk non locals... there are two streets where you have to wait for the cross walk before you can cross because of car traffic so be careful you are amuzing to watch as you yell at cars for almost running your ass over because you're in the wrong for walking into oncoming traffic.