In a city where nothing seems out of the ordinary--where topless showgirls regularly mix with million-dollar magicians and celebrity chefs mingle with contortionists--Bjork still came across like as much of a wonderfully intriguing oddity as ever.

That's why fans love her so dearly. In an era of copycat clones, in which new music can only be distinguished from old by release dates, Bjork remains a true original.

Bjork fans from around the country flew into Vegas to see the Icelandic pop princess perform at the Pearl Concert Theater at the Palms Casino Resort, a swanky, hip destination that also houses the city's Playboy Club. It was the indie-rock diva's final gig of 2007--and, she said, likely her last North American date for a couple of years.

Bjork's maintained a very busy tour schedule in support of this year's excellent release "Volta" (recently nominated for a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album), including appearances at the Coachella, Glastonbury, Sasquatch, Virgin and Austin City Limits festivals. Having been there at the start, as the North American tour kicked off in April at Coachella, it's great to be able to report that the star and her show have both grown stronger over the months.

The concert began as Bjork's highly unusual band took the casino stage. First came the 10-piece female horn section, which doubled as an indie-pop vocal choir, and then the three computer/sample gurus took their spots at stations that seemed to contain more electronic equipment than a CompUSA store. The addition of a sole percussionist was the only thing that linked this band to what one normally sees at a rock show.

Finally, the 42-year-old rascal from Reykjavík skipped (literally) out to the stage, amid fire shooting up toward the heavens, and got ready to serve up what would amount to approximately 100 minutes of curiously appealing dance numbers, indie-pop anthems and dramatic ballads. She wore a billowy white and pink outfit, as well as a crown of what appeared to be fabric flowers, and came across like some forest pixie walking through a dark fairytale as she stood in front of draping flags showing frogs, fish and fowl.

As crazy as the band configuration looked, the whole thing gelled right from the get go, as Bjork and crew delivered a version of the new album's "Earth Intruders" that was accepted as gratefully as a ski-parka giveaway would be in Iceland. From there, the singer began to flip through the pages of her songbook and she found success at every stop.

Bjork sounded particularly strong on a pair from 1997's "Homogenic"--the menacing "Hunter" and the urgent "Joga"--but the song of the night was the lovesick anthem of deep obsession, "Pagan Poeetry" (from the singer's greatest album, 2001's "Vespertine"), as the 10-piece choir of female voices both echoed and underscored the singer's pleas of desperate love.

A "Logan's Run"-worthy laser show factored heavily into the last portion of the concert as Bjork cranked up the dance party with such selections as the new album's "Innocence" and the old familiar sing-a-long "Hyperballad," from 1995's "Post." She closed the show with the superb "Volta" track "Declare Independence," an anthem of revolution that screams out for you, as the listener, to "make your own flag," "start your own currency" and other acts that the government would likely frown upon.

"Declare Independence," as silly as the over-the-top lyrics might sound, is truly in keeping with Bjork's career. This is a woman who not only talks the talk--she walks the walk. That's why, even in the wacky city of Las Vegas, Bjork is able to come across like something extraordinary.