Vegoose finds its niche

Today is the final day of the Vegoose music festival: two days of outdoor shows around Sam Boyd Stadium with concerts and after parties all over the Strip. Now in its third year, Vegoose has become a favorite event for both locals and tourists by gathering together the sort of eclectic artists who rarely fit into the mold of Vegas entertainment. The headliners this year are the the Stooges fronted by Iggy Pop (who were scheduled to play Saturday night) and tonight Rage Against the Machine.

Political messages and alternative music are not usually associated with the Entertainment Capital of the World, and that perhaps is the major reason Vegoose has developed such a following.

Michael Franti of Spearhead, a political activist in song and life, approached performing at the first festival with trepidation. “Vegas is a fantasy land for adults. Our music is the opposite. We are about grounding, what is happening in the world and social issues. How is this going to work in Las Vegas? But it was a really cool experience and the only show my mother has been at in the mosh pit.”

Spearhead returns today for the band’s second appearance at Vegoose (the promoters are Superfly Productions in concert with AEG Live). Franti notes that he has found his perspective on playing Vegas: “When I think about going to Vegas, I don’t think I am going to change Vegas. I am instead becoming part of the celebration and, I hope, focusing it on other aspects of life.” In essence, Franti is also describing how Vegoose, with its trademark giant pumpkin and audience costumed for Halloween, has managed to find its niche.

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Marilyn Manson for Halloween

Halloween is almost redundant to Vegas. But Marilyn Manson playing at the Palms on Oct. 31 is certainly a fitting Halloween booking.

Otherwise, Halloween means little more than costume contests at all the nightclubs with the usual host celebrities now acting as judges. So instead of hosting at LAX, Paris Hilton will be spending her Halloween judging the costume contest there.

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Joey Bishop was Rat Pack ‘catalyst’

The last surviving member of the Rat Pack, Joey Bishop, passed away at 89 this month. Bishop outlived every stage on the Strip the Rat Pack as a crew performed on, from the Sands to the Desert Inn. “The sad thing is honestly there are the people who knew him and saw him and were fans, but Las Vegas doesn’t have a place in its heart for history. All the stuff is gone. Las Vegas moved on,” says comedian Sandy Hackett (son of Buddy).

Hackett grew up around Bishop and currently plays Bishop in “The Rat Pack Is Back -- The Tribute to Frank, Sammy, Joey & Dean” at the Greek Isles. Sinatra left behind his peerless music, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin have a legacy of recordings and films, but Hackett emphasizes how crucial was Bishop’s underrated role to the pack.

“Joey was the catalyst for those guys. Unless you were there you don’t know that. Joey would come up with a line one night and the next night Frank, Dean or Sammy would use it and Joey would need to come up with another line for himself. That was his job. Joey made them funny.”

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For more of what’s happening on and off the Strip, see latimes.com/movablebuffet.