This would be significantly more circus-y if he were balancing a lion.

Las Vegas’ insatiable appetite for circus-inspired shows strikes again.

Joining the lineup at Crown Theater at the Rio starting Sunday will be Red Light, a circus-themed variety show. They’ll be running through acrobats, jugglers and dancers, plus more exotic fare like the former Freaks-starring Swingshift Sideshow, fire-eater Bambu from Scare Tactics and contortionist The Boxman, who appeared in Minority Report.

Most importantly, you can improve on the regular $69 ticket with a $99 option that includes open bar. Apparently you can put a price on drunkenly screaming at trapeze artists. Shows will run Sunday through Thursday at 8 p.m.

By Jason Scavone

Practically ready for the Marines. (Photos by Erik Kabik | Retna)

Hirsute prestidigitator Penn Jillette made with the scissors — rather, his partner, Teller, did — today at the Rio for Locks of Love. The shorn magician tightened it up to about shoulder length to benefit the charity that makes wigs for kids who lost their hair due to chemotherapy.

An employee at the Rio has a granddaughter undergoing chemo, so Penn & Teller joined the Locks of Love Cut-A-Thon where Teller, with an assist from stylist Barbara Kilkarsky, got to make the final snip at the Rio Spa. Next season: Why buzzcuts are bullshit.

By Jason Scavone

(Photo by Tony Tran | SpyOnVegas.com)

Extremely talented, or just hit over the head with a shovel? You decide!

By Jason Scavone

Apparently you shoot pool after you’ve pulled mussels from a shell.

Criminally underrated Squeeze hits up Crown at the Rio tonight along with English Beat. Why is Squeeze awesome? Because they gave us the video with the two most enthusiastically flouncy girls of all time. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’re going to go be busy having “Tempted” stuck in our head all night. Click for more words and pictures »

By Jason Scavone

No, we have no idea what’s going on here either. (Photos by Scott Harrison | Retna)

Prog metal is the most sexless form of music ever invented. Seriously, John Tesh drops more panties. Count how many broads you see at a Coheed and Cambria show. It has to number in the tens. So, Queensryche took a good, long, hard look around and decided what their stage needed was more pasties.

Can’t really fault them for that conclusion. The Operation: Mindcrime rock-operaers were at Crown Theater inside the Rio Saturday night to do what they do, this time with burlesque dancers for the Queensryche Cabaret. They make everything better — even grim, overly complicated rock. Click for more words and pictures »

By Jason Scavone

Great balls of late.

Wednesday’s Jerry Lee Lewis show at Crown Theater is being rescheduled for the fall, closer to the Aug. 31 release date of his next album Mean Old Man.The firm date, however, isn’t yet official.

Anyone who already had tickets can either go for a refund, or opt instead for a free round of drinks the night of the new show, and in the meantime gets comped entry to see Cash’d Out Thursday night. At least your quota of songs from the ’50s can be met this week.

By Jason Scavone

Best collection of headgear in music. Other than GWAR. (Photo by Steve Whitsitt. Additional photos by Whitsitt, Edison Graff)

There was Mark Mothersbaugh, whipping Energy Domes (a $32.99 value) into a “Jocko Homo”-crazed crowd, stoking the the frantic call-and-response of “Are we not men?” “We are Devo.” “Are we not men?” “D-E-V-O.” The years haven’t taken the edge out of the fanboy crowd, and it hasn’t taken the bite out of Devo’s music. Hell, the years didn’t even mothball some of Devo’s iconic video work — the wraparound video screens lit up with the original graphics for 1982′s “That’s Good.”

At the beginning of a tour for an album that comes 20 years after their last release, Devo proved to be an apt choice for the grand opening of Rio’s Crown precisely because it’s a band that has long integrated its video and musical performances — something the new joint hopes to make its calling card with the likes of Roonie G. You really haven’t experienced the totalitarian dread that Devo injects into its music quite like you do when you’re surrounded by 10 screens of Devo towering over you and saluting while “Freedom of Choice” plays.

They ripped through an hour and a half of mostly classics, diving right into “Peek-a-Boo” after an opening salvo of Something for Everybody’s “Don’t Shoot (I’m a Man).” They got in “Girl U Want,” and of course, “Whip It,” before intermission. That allowed them to change from their slick new silver jumpsuits to the classic yellow threads, foreshadowing an epic block of “Satisfaction,” “Secret Agent Man,” “Uncontrollable Urge,” “Mongoloid” and “Jocko Homo” Click for more words and pictures »

By Jason Scavone

Lifetime: Bringing cheating people together.

The LeAnn Rimes show set for July 16 at Crown Theater inside the Rio has been canceled. This, on the same day that it was announced Eddie Cibrian is getting dropped from CSI: Miami. Shouldn’t one of them at least be earning a check? We’re pretty sure under the circumstances it’s not like Rimes can really plan on getting alimony.

By Jason Scavone

You like the vampires, don’t you? (Photos by Scott Harrison | Retna)

Heads up, Twi-hards, or Twi-lettes, or Twi-tip Beef, or whatever the hell you call yourselves. Michael Welch and Justin Chon, from the Twilight movies started out Saturday night with dinner at Martorano’s before they did a meet-and-greet with fans at Crown Nightclub at the Rio.

Joining the — vampires? Do they play vampires? We’re not looking it up. They could be werewolves, they could be Frankensteins. Anyway. Joining them were Welch’s girlfriend, Marissa Lefton, the manager of Team Michael. Which we assume is like playing for the Reds — mostly harmless, occasionally reminds fans they exist.

By Jason Scavone

Very soon.

Aesthetically, much hasn’t changed with Crown Las Vegas from its last incarnation as ND’s Fuego. The in-the-round seating, the video walls — even the furniture is the same.

Under the hood is a different story.

“We didn’t want to make everything the same. We hired a really great concert guy and he put in terabytes of new stuff. We wanted to start from scratch,” Crown’s production manager Ricky Galecki said. “We’re treating this like a big concert hall, moreso than a nightclub.” Click for more words and pictures »

By Jason Scavone