I went to see Absinthe, the new show out in front of Caesars Palace, behind Serendipity3. It is billed as Cirque Du Soleil meets Rocky Horror. That's not really what I got out of it, 'though I see where they're coming from. I guess that's easier than saying take Cirque, sub the German influence for the French, remove the snob, remove the grand scale production, remove half the price, let the audience relax, take out anything kid friendly, add some spice, and tell some jokes. And there's a huge influence that the producer is a raging alcoholic who calls himself The Gazillionaire.

Absinthe starts by "hanging out" in the beer garden. This area is sorta like an old western town, a hippie commune, a Mad Max soundstage, and an antiques store. There are plenty of tables and chairs, a couple of shuffleboard tables, a beanbag toss game, a couple of souvenir stands, a big bar, and a food truck selling burgers and fries. It's not such a strange setting that it would shock anyone. It is a huge departure from what you expect in the middle of the strip. And if you pay $30 for the VIP upgrade (I did not) there's a special entrance to a special bar area and playground and a special entrance to the theater before general admission begins.

I'm not sure what time the gates open to walk around the grounds. It is open to the public when it is open. Nobody was asking for tickets until we entered the tent. I had previously eaten, so I did not eat at the food truck. The bar has several kinds of drinks and beer. Most importantly, they make the absinthe drink in the classic manner, with ice water slowly dripped over a sugar cube through an absinthe spoon.

The showroom is a small tent with wooden sides. It is a theater in a round tent. In the center of the room is the round stage. It is probably about 7 or 8 feet in diameter. It's really small. There are probably about 6 rows of seats around the stage. And there are some small booths around the outer edge of the tent.

The show itself is Cirque type acts, all done on a tiny stage. The show puts forth a sexy angle on most of the acts. Many of the acts and announcements are done with comedy. The announcers use pretty rough adult language. And the actors are often drinking before, during, and after their acts. So while they are performing to extreme human measures, they are also pushing the limits on several other levels. There are a lot of clothes taken off in the show, and the use of pasties and G-strings are the limits.

The storyline is probably supposed to be that a man drinks an absinthe and his imagination goes wild. Some of the acts include chair stacking, trapeze, balancing acts, strong men, tightrope, and more. Remember this is done where the stage is a tiny round disc.

One act that I will remember for a while is when they put a platform on the stage that made a 6 foot circle that a couple roller skated on. You can't imagine the high speed action that takes place on skates in that little area.

Las Vegas local Angel Porrino is an actress in the show. She left her friend Holly Madison at Peepshow to join Absinthe.

There is a great comedy act where they do a Cirque Du Soleil spoof when a couple attempts to spin around and fly on sheets.

There are a few parts of the show where audience participation takes place. There is a segment called "what would you do for an absinthe". This is a great opportunity to see girls in the audience expose themselves. Also, I saw an actress take a bottled water from an audience member and told her to go get something stronger.

As you can imagine, this show isn't for everyone. If you are offended by foul language, it's not for you. If you are offended by drinking, it's not for you. If you don't like to be up close to dangerous circus acts, it's not for you. If you are a sexual prude, it's not for you. There are times that it crosses the limits of my comfort zone, but it was done in the name of comedy and not political agendas.

I found it to be a pleasant change from Cirque. The music is canned, but the singing is real. I haven't talked to anyone that didn't like the show. I liked that it was more close up. I liked the casual atmosphere. I liked that they encouraged you to take pictures throughout the show….just NO FLASH.

I heard Topless tap dancer? true or false?

That would be Angel. As I said, "pasties" are involved. And there is an unusual twist in her act that would make the act not resemble anything that is going through your mind. So to answer your question, true with an "if" or false with a "but".

I may go see the show again in the next week or two if it's available at the half price outlets.

Ok, so how long is the scheduled run of this show?
I currently have no trip planned, and I am afraid I'll miss this one, and it's one of the few cirq shows that I actually want to see.

I don't know. I'm pretty sure it's an open contract. I'll ask around next time I'm there.

By the way, just in case there is confusion, this is not Cirque Du Soleil. It happens to use some Cirque type acts taken to comedy and sexy extremes.

Trying to put together a July trip. Hope it still in running when we get there!

I hope it all comes together Lee.

We want to go to this show this weekend. We saw that locals can get $20 off a ticket. I checked Ticketmasters price and the total is $127 with the local discount and all their service charges. Can you buy tickets at the box office and avoid the service charges?

There are lot's of add on charges on show tickets in Las Vegas. I'm sure you could avoid the Ticketmaster add on by not using them. I forgot the numbers, but I bought my ticket at Tix4Tonite in Bills. Then I walked over the pedestrian walkway straight to the Absinthe booth and exchanged it for a ticket. All factors being even, I'd rather give Tix4Tonite my money than Ticketmaster. And you can avoid the most service charges by using the Absinthe ticket counter, but I think you'll have to pay full fare.

Another option that I've been thinking about is the Caesars $99 All Stage Pass where you can as many shows as you want in two days for $99. In addition to Absinthe, throw in a Jubilee, a Vinnie Favorito, and an afternoon show or two, and that's quite the bargain. Details at http://www.caesars.com/allstagepass/

Mark, I stopped by Tix4Tonite and they had Absinthe for $56, plus their fees. So I think that's a little cheaper than Ticketmaster. They also had VIP tix. I forgot the price but I think it might have been $71.

Thanks I was wondering how much they wanted. We stopped at Caesars last night and got two tickets with the locals discount. We got the $69 tickets and the total was $107 for two with the discount and extra taxes. We are going to the show tomorrow. Can't wait to see it.

Saw the show tonight and it was very good. The MC was very funny and very crude. It was nice to see the acts close up. The skaters were not there tonight though. I really wanted to see them so I had to come home and watch them on YouTube instead. JMT's review was right on. We had a great time.