Columnist Spencer Patterson: Bands ready to test their metal at festival

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Aug. 29, 2003 | 8:23 a.m.

As a fan of heavy metal music, Rob Hussey has been looking forward to this weekend's "Las Vegas Metalfest" for months.

As a member of local metal band Bloodshot, the 31-year-old drummer has an even more vested interest in making sure the three-day event at the Huntridge Theatre comes off.

So when promoter Tom Anderson asked a roomful of local metal musicians for donations back in April, Hussey was the first to step forward with a check for $5,000.

"I've wanted this Metalfest to happen more than anything," Hussey said. "I've seen the metal scene go from absolutely nothing to the point where all these metal shows are coming through the Huntridge with 500 or 600 people at each show."

All Hussey asked for in return for his financial contribution? A good time slot in the jam-packed, 33-band schedule.

Hussey got his wish. Bloodshot will play at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, just before such well-known national acts as Divine Empire, Cattle Decapitation and Suffocation take the stage.

"There's going to be reps there from every independent and major label in the country," Hussey predicted.

Anderson said the event -- the first of what he hopes will become an annual occurrence -- is expected to draw around 60 percent of its audience from out of state, many fans from as far away as the East Coast.

Anderson said the Las Vegas festival will be the only event of its kind on the West Coast, rivaling the more established "Milwaukee Metal Fest" and "New England Metal and Hardcore Festival."

Also helping to support the event are Las Vegas-based record label Embryo Records and local metal website darksoul7.com.

"It's an event we've been planning for the last couple of years," Anderson said. "We marketed it nationally, and we worked with the Lady Luck (Hotel) to get fans a deal with a decent hotel rate."

Fans of Motley Crue or Guns N' Roses beware, however. The Huntridge won't be home to the type of "hair metal" that gained crossover popularity during the 1980s and early 1990s.

The metal of the "Las Vegas Metalfest" is mostly death metal. Or, as Anderson put it, "all bands that growl."

Among the bigger names: Friday headliners Strapping Young Lad and Deicide and Sunday night performers Kataklysm and Monstrosity.

"These are way out on the fringe of the underground," Anderson said. "A lot of people are referring to it as the 'Las Vegas Death Metalfest.' We might change the name next year."

Hussey said Bloodshot doesn't quite fit under the "death metal" umbrella, instead referring to his band's genre as "metal-core."

"We're right in the middle of Disturbed and Slayer," he said.

Festivities kick off tonight, with doors slated to open at 7 p.m. Doors open at noon Saturday and Sunday, with the final band scheduled to perform at 10:40 p.m. all three nights. Set times range from 30 minutes to an hour.

For a complete schedule, visit lasvegasmetalfest.com.

Three-day passes are available for $60 through TicketMaster, at the Huntridge Theatre and at Balcony Lights records, 4800 S. Maryland Pkwy., and include a souvenir event T-shirt. Individual day tickets will be $25 at the door.

Quick hits

A look at a few of the shows scheduled to hit Southern Nevada in the next week:

With one album high on the charts and another planned for later this year, country star Toby Keith returns to town for an 8 p.m. concert tonight at the MGM's Grand Garden Arena.

This week, the self-proclaimed "Angry American" was nominated for seven Country Music Awards, one in every category for which he is eligible. Keith's last album, "Unleashed," remains No. 2 on Billboard's country chart 56 weeks after its release, while its follow-up, "Shock 'N Y'all," is due out Nov. 4.

Blake Shelton opens the show. Tickets are $45, $65 and $85.

Cher's "Living Proof -- The Farewell Tour" swings back through Las Vegas at 8 p.m. Sunday at the MGM's Grand Garden Arena. The tour will reportedly mark the 57-year-old pop diva's final batch of concerts.

In April, Cher released her latest greatest-hits collection, "The Very Best of Cher." The career retrospective includes most of her best-known singles, including "I Got You Babe," "If I Could Turn Back Time" and "Believe."

Tickets are $40, $75 and $150.

Blues Traveler brings its harmonica-happy jams to the Mandalay Bay Beach at 9 p.m. Sunday. Frontman John Popper & Co. recently released their seventh studio album, "Truth Be Told." Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 the day of the show.

On Monday, funky rap-rock veterans 311 perform at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel at 8 p.m. The popular Los Angeles-based band celebrated its 10th anniversary with the release of this year's "Evolver."

Also on the bill: Alterna-rappers G. Love and Special Sauce. Tickets are $10.

On sale

Tickets to two shows at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay go on sale Saturday at noon: Willie Nelson on Dec. 5 ($45, $65, $80) and the Goo Goo Dolls on New Year's Eve ($75, $100, $125). Tickets will be available at the House of Blues box office and TicketMaster outlets, by phone at 474-4000 or 632-7600 and at hob.com and ticketmaster.com.

Tickets for four other recent additions to the House of Blues concert schedule are on sale now: Keith Sweat on Sept. 20 ($27.50, $35, $45), Thursday and Thrice on Nov. 1 ($15.50), Echo & the Bunnymen on Nov. 6 ($20, $25) and the Alkaline Trio on Nov. 25 ($14.50, $17).

Vocalist India.Arie has canceled her Sept. 12 show at the Mandalay Bay Beach. Refunds are available at original points of purchase.