BY JOSE MARTINEZ

Cirque Berzerk, Laserium, Beatles, Led Zep, peep shows, lions and tigers, oh my!

On the eve of the Michael Jackson Memorial, the circus literally came to town. Sure the media circus was already in overdrive, and of course the freaks, um, fans, had already besieged anywhere the self-proclaimed King of Pop had ever stood - fans even took to the Michael Jackson Star of Fame on Hollywood Blvd, the only problem was that the star belonged to a well known (white) radio personality also named Michael Jackson.

But the night before the memorial viewed around the world, a line of elephants was paraded down Chick Hearn Court in front of Staples Center. That's because the next night the Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey circus was debuting at the same arena. In fact, they even bumped their scheduled opening to make room for the memorial.

But further down the downtown streets of Los Angeles, by the cornfields, yes, believe it or not, the City of Angels' State Historic Park actually has cornfields along the train tracks (who knew?) a different sort of circus was in full effect. Cirque Berzerk, a circus for the goth, alternative crowd (or so you'd think) has been delighting audiences with wonderful stunts, oddities and aerial feats for over a month now.

Like Cirque du Soleil, you can throw storyline out the window and just marvel at the extraordinary visuals being performed before you. Cirque Berzerk offers, according to the troupe itself, an escape deep into the sexy, twisted, theatrical underworld. Your hosts are a demented ‘family,' born at Burning Man, that includes trampoline artists who bounce off the walls, heart throbbing aerialists, fiery burlesque dancers, bone-bending contortionists, sensuous acrobats, operatic sopranos, gothic stilt walkers, macabre marionettes and a few quite demented clowns.

Upon entry to a venue, I, an LA native have never been to, a state park where apparently anyone caught driving over 5mph will be cited by park rangers, fined $300 and banned from the park for one month (welcome to the real-life circus of a broke city and state where everyone is a target for any sort of ticket able to generate extra income), you're immediately welcomed by shooting bursts of fire and a deranged clown on stilts wielding a rather large knife.

This ain't your family-friendly run-of-the-mill circus.

Cirque Berzerk's "adult-themed" shenanigans is billed as suitable for tween and teen audiences, particularly fans of Twilight, The Nightmare Before Christmas or Coraline.

Once inside the big tent, you're transported to a throwback era where Absinthe should be your beverage of choice. In fact, all that was missing was a green fairy as the audience reveled in amazing acrobatic accomplishments.

Currently playing through the summer, Cirque Berzerk is perfect entertainment for anyone that prefers a bit of bite to his or her family-friendly fun. The clowns aren't cliché and there's no bearded lady, instead it looks like a set from a Marilyn Manson video, as flames, dark humor and bold eye candy are a treat worth indulging.

For those who want to keep the circus-like party going, definitely head up to Hollywood and check out the brand spankin' new Laserium show at the former Vine Theater.

Indeed, this block along the famed Hollywood & Vine intersection offers folks a day's worth of pleasure Hollywood style, as you can get your meal on at the pizza joint or sushi place on the block, check out the peep show next door (they're billed as burlesque dancers, um, whatever), get a tattoo, and check out the local head shop. And oh yeah, now you can check out the Laserium CyberTheater where your senses are overloaded with perfect blaring sound as your eyes are overwhelmed by a dazzling laser light show.

After playing to 20 million fans in 46 cities, including 28 years at the famed Griffith Park Observatory, Laserium, the internationally recognized brand that is synonymous with laser shows and displays, is back with a brand new bold experience for young and old alike.

Currently offering shows featuring Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, the Beatles, and Led Zeppelin music, gone are the days of following lasers on the ceiling, instead, now you're treated to an almost 3D-like display as a plethora of lasers fire all around you.

The Beatles show could have benefited from a better selection of songs, missing were "Revolution" and "Helter Skelter" which just would have been perfect. But that's the problem when you're picking songs from the greatest band of all time for a 45-minute show. You just won't be able to satisfy everyone. I prefer late Beatles music myself and would have loved "I Am the Walrus" and even "Yellow Submarine" as I think they'd lend themselves to a better light show. But it's pretty entertaining just the same.

The Led Zeppelin show is billed as a "combo show" and patrons are allowed for 45 minutes to venture onstage and become part of the laser show themselves as they dance and break through laser beams creating their very own score. The LightDancer technology is pretty impressive but for anyone not participating it's pretty excruciating. Audience members grew so restless that they chanted for the show to begin and the exhibit was actually cut short the night I attended the Zeppelin program. But once the Led Zep songs kicked in it was a rockin' and roarin' good time. Again, the sound system is top notch and the laser show really helped create a cool, trippy atmosphere worth checking out.

To quote legendary LA native Ice Cube, "Today was a good day."

Cirque Berzerk runs into August. Check the website for future dates.

Laserium is located at 6321 Hollywood Boulevard and offers the three classic laser shows with more to come soon.

[Cirque Berzerk photos by Pixie Vision Productions]