About The Town 10-06-08

Fright Dome Scares Up The Dead and Harried At Circus Circus
Filter is Pure Power at Wasted Space in The Hard Rock Hotel

By Jacqueline Monahan
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Fright Dome Scares Up The Dead and Harried At Circus Circus

Friday, October 3^rd saw evening fall across Las Vegas like any other night, but this time the darkness crept inside the normally fun-filled Adventuredome at Circus Circus, transforming it from merry amusement park into Fright Dome, a more sinister, creepier dwelling than its daylight cousin.

Through the shadowy, fog-filled lair lurk wild, unsavory creatures with stark, raving mad grins and psychotic eyes. Towering eight and nine foot two-legged beasts will periodically get close enough for a kiss, but are really after the hysterical screams of the easily startled and squeamish.

Here you’ll get “in your face” terror that may just keep up with your stride for a minute (or ten). Chain-saw wielding maniacs may follow you into the fun house long after you think you gave them the brush-off, only to meet their jagged sneers as they rev up their favorite power tool and step your way.

Ever ride a roller coaster in the dark? Been inverted to the point of insanity, with your change escaping your pockets and clanging to the madhouse below? Tried to enter a photo booth only to have a murderous fiend shriek you into a sprint? Step right this way, folks, Fright Dome’s in town.

On hand for opening weekend festivities were Sid Haig, who appeared as Captain Spaulding in Rob Zombie’s “House of 1,000 Corpses” and “The Devil’s Reject” horror classics, and Bill Moseley, who appeared as Otis Driftwood in both films, as well as “Halloween.”

Three new haunted houses – HillBilly Hell, Vampire’s Bloodfeast and The HEX-MAS Nightmare, complete with falling snow drew long lines, with waiting times often exceeding thirty minutes. No one strayed, but periodic ghouls roamed, leapt and prowled the entire length of the crowd, looking for innocent vocal chords to strain. Scare Zones featured additional monsters and super creatures lurking in the dark. Can’t have too many, ya know?

Jason Egan, founder and owner of Fright Dome Productions has featured the eerie attraction since 2002. With 23 rides and attractions, aerial haunts, drop demons, a haunted 4-D FX theater, and a sideshow circus including suspension acts, sword swallowing Lady Diabla, tattooed full-body tattooed sensation Stigmata, and two foot Lil’ Miss Firefly, one of the world’s smallest girls, you’ll not know where to turn to see the next abomination. There’s surely no place to hide.

If you’ve ever wondered what a huge hook looks like being threaded through a guy’s nose and exiting through his mouth, wonder no more. He’ll show you, complete with a final spit of blood on the stage upon the hook’s removal. No big deal. Later, the same guy will have a cinderblock shattered on his crotch with a sledgehammer. As if that’s not amazing enough, the guy’s still a baritone.

It’s no wonder that Fright Dome is ranked as the fourth scariest haunted attraction in the country for two consecutive years by AOL. More than 60,000 guests visit each year, making their way across five acres of fearsome fun that incorporate high-powered strobes, multi-colored lasers and spooky sound effects. All this at a ticket price of $33.95 for a single night of horrifying howls.

Fright Dome at Circus Circus
Circus Circus Hotel & Casino
2880 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
702-734-0410

Filter is Pure Power at Wasted Space in The Hard Rock Hotel

October arrived with a scream at Hard Rock Hotel’s Wasted Space, with a much anticipated performance by alternative rock band Filter. The group, who describes their music as “heavy industrial” played an 85 minute set on Wednesday, October 1st to a packed house and it’s no mystery why. Filter is touring for the first time in five years, and die hard fans were in a sate of euphoria at the thought of these guys getting back together again.

Space was not wasted on this night. Dark wooden walls reach up into high black ceilings holding octagonal light shades featuring graphics of nudes, suited monkeys and shrieking faces and the stage backdrop of five hanging guitars; a large Wasted Space logo hangs above the bar depicting a microphone with large, angelic wings sprouting from its sides.

The standing room only crowd could barely accommodate a mosh pit, but one formed anyway, a testament to the band’s powerful riffs and vocals. Under purple and red spotlights made hazy by exhaled smoke, charismatic lead singer Richard Patrick, in Bono-like sunglasses, black jacket and no shortage of rock wails punctuating his lyrics, passionately lunged around the stage, exhorting the Las Vegas audience to a state of controlled anarchy with chides about where they were. “This is Vegas, right?” Obligingly the crowd got louder, wilder, and more interactive.

Aside from founding member Patrick, Filter is comprised of Mitchell Marlow on guitar, John Spiker on bass, and Mika Fineo on drums and percussion. The group plays with a kind of telepathy among the members that makes for a seamless performance, almost choreographed in synchronizations of movement on stage. Filter presents a united front, to be sure.

Patrick possesses a star quality reminiscent of Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails fame, (coincidentally one of his former gigs). There was no shortage of F-bombs in his rock diatribe to the crowd, a raw example of the passion that runs through his work.

Filter’s new album, “Anthems for the Damned” is Patrick’s howl in the night response to a world that’s falling apart and a protest against the status quo.  Featuring the singles “Soldiers of Misfortune” and the politically charged “What’s Next,” Patrick expresses sarcasm, rage, shame, resignation and hope in his work. For example, he describes "Soldiers of Misfortune," as a "sardonic anti-war/pro-troops song" inspired by a letter from a Filter fan who had enlisted in the Army reserves to qualify for college funds only to die in Iraq after just a few days of duty when called up during his senior year. The kind of passion that the song inspires can be witnessed any time Patrick sings it.

The band could be described as “unruly clean cut,” but don’t let the short hair fool you; there’s real power here. Filter plays like they “feel” their music after it’s been injected into their veins, and they pass that feeling on to their fans. Hooting and singing, fueled by adulation and alcohol, their devoted following mouths words to songs that debuted more than 15 years ago.

Known for their soundtrack work (The X-files, The Crow: City of Angels, and The Crow: Salvation and Spawn), the band offered up a crowd pleaser when it launched into “Can’t You Trip Like I Do?” a Crystal Method collaboration that had the audience screaming out the chorus with Patrick.

Other favorites included “Hey Man, Nice Shot” off of Filter’s debut album, 1995’s “Short Bus”, and “Take a Picture” off of 1999’s “Title of Record” album. 2002’s effort, “The Amalgamut” was represented by “Cancer,” “It’s Gonna Kill Me,” and “Where Do We Go From Here?” a Weezer-like composition with a heart pounding beat that brought out head bangers in a mighty unison of upper body movement. Patrick grabbed a guitar to play on several songs, furthering his Renaissance Man persona.

Collaborating with musicians from Nine Inch Nails, Limp Bizkit and Guns N’ Roses, among others, has given Patrick a rock pedigree that has served him well. The Ohio native knows how to rev up a crowd and engage them in his world, not quite optimistic but not totally devoid of hope with a thunderbolt of relevance to last long after the beer and the beat have dissipated into the night. Patrick has battled his own demons as well. His date of sobriety, September 28, 2002, is tattooed on his forearm.

Filter continues its tour with three more October concerts at Hard Rock locations in Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and Cleveland.

Their name may be Filter, but that will never apply to their message, delivered as directly as a bullet to the heart of an issue, feeding on urgency and unafraid of fatalities if that’s what it takes. The gratification comes when fans all over the world say, “We’ll take it.”

For further information:

http://www.officialfilter.com/

http://www.myspace.com/filter1.

(702) 794-3939.