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NIGHT BEAT: Venetian nightclub shifts focus with sexy Tryst

Sex sells, duh. Vegas nightclubs are packed with freaky women grinding slutty augmentations to the quick rhythms of electronic dance music. This is Vegas as seen on TV, via the E! "Wild On"/Discovery Channel spotlights on Vegas.

Clubs sometimes try to break this new Vegas mold, but they get sexed into submission. The latest example is the Venus Lounge at The Venetian.

A half-year ago, the Venus Lounge staged actual shows on a stage, as it is hard to believe now. New York's fun and different Les Sans Culottes performed fake French pop songs in the spirit of France's 1960s Ameripop. Venus also packed in quite a few used-bookstore customers to catch Lounge Against the Machine. Lounge played Nirvana's "Rape Me" and other 1990s grunge songs with the delivery, arrangements and instrumentations of jazz-pop, circa 1950s Vegas. Crazy, huh?

That lineup didn't last long. Venus was tough to find, somewhere in a cool but half-hidden space in The Venetian.

The club, unhappy with its artsy consumer results, began offering contemporary society's idea of what is sexy, ergo money, ergo cosmopolitans and slit skirts.

On Saturday, Venus climaxes thematically with this strategy when it plays host to a familiar crowd of women, those of the titular, gland-enhanced variety, and the men who lust them. The event is called Tryst; the flier photo shows two flabless women in various states of undress commencing to come-on-down. I am not about to make a habit of quoting fliers, but this flier deserves study. It defines the sensory geography of club intentions in a more brutally honest way than anything I've read in journalism in some time:

"Tryst is a very sexy dance club for couples and single women. Guests are young (21 to 45 years old), attractive (concerned about their appearance and how they are perceived by others) and physically fit (maintains a fit and healthy body). All guests are nice, friendly and outgoing people."

Calling all sociologists: The event, which has taken place at the Hard Rock in the past, keeps single guys from entering if they arrive without female dates.

"This eliminates the hassle most couples have in going out for the evening. It allows you to enjoy your date and to meet other couples that are looking for similar experiences."

Brilliant. Actual sex and nudity are officially disallowed. Just look pretty: "You should dress to your erotic and elegant best. Stylish, chic and sexy fashion or fetish is appropriate."

Fetish?

"Think about how much fun it would be to dress like the models in fashion magazines, think about that outfit you always wanted to wear. Maybe you were afraid you'd be pointed at or talked about. Tryst is the place for you to express yourself through high fashion. How often do you get to dress as elegantly wild as you wish, and be appreciated, rather than hassled for your efforts?"

So, Tryst is for men and women who dress so hot that if they went elsewhere, they would be harassed? Fascinating. Will captivating conversation reside there? Enquiring minds want to know.

Cost? Oh, $50 a couple, unless you get there before 11 p.m., and then it's a paltry $40. Single women enter for $10. Familiar story.

Tryst runs 9:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. at the hotel lounge, 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. South. For information on Venus, call 414-4870. For information on Tryst, call the "Tryst Party hot line" at 407-6602. And if you want to see the flier, it's at www.trystparty.com.

Waving from the pool

It might be sexier to check out the B-52's at the Mandalay Bay Beach pool tonight. Think of it: dancing fans in swimsuits. OK, maybe not. But the Athens, Ga., new-wave/punk/pop band is dependably fun in concert. After all these years, singers Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson still hit all the long, loud and high notes in "Rock Lobster," "Channel Z" and "Love Shack." Showtime is 9 p.m. Tickets are $40 at the hotel's Storm box office, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. South, and through Ticketmaster. To charge by phone, call 632-7580.

If you hate sexy, Tool and Tomahawk may be your ticket at the Thomas & Mack Center. Tool's modern hard rock is better than just about every hard-core band out there. And Tomahawk is the latest band fronted by Mike Patton, who helped shape modern rock in the brave old bands Faith No More and Mr. Bungle. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. Tickets, $40.50, are on sale at the box office, East Tropicana Avenue and Swenson Street, and at UNLVtickets.com outlets (at Vegas malls and Stations Casinos). Or charge by phone at 739-3267.