Music fest to shake Vegas again

Ten years ago it came, nine years ago it went.

In its wake: two weekends of primitive and pure rock 'n' roll that still are talked about by those who were there and plenty of those who weren't.

That's the legacy of the Las Vegas Shakedown, which first hit town like a funnel cloud of tattoo ink and PBR at the Gold Coast in 2000 with an incredible lineup that boasted such greats as the New Bomb Turks, Murder City Devils, Andre Williams, the Dictators and dozens more. The Shakedown drew garage rock die-hards from around the globe and almost instantly became one of the most promising events of its kind around.

"That weekend just worked," recalls California-based Shakedown co-promoter Ralph Carrera. "It was the right place at the right time. It just had that grass-roots feel to it. You can't manufacture it. It either feels real or it doesn't. I think the Shakedown captured that spirit for sure."

The next year, the fest moved to the Huntridge Theater, but having taken place just two weeks after 9/11, it suffered a rash of band cancellations and a drop off in attendance from those wary of flying at the time.

And like that, the Shakedown was gone.

Until now.

After close to a decade, the Shakedown is tentatively set to return to Vegas, this time taking place downtown, during the second weekend of August. Though the band lineup has yet to be nailed down, Carrera says he has plenty of soft commitments and venues such as the Beauty Bar, the Canyon Club and the Las Vegas Country Saloon have agreed to come aboard. Now, Carrera is attempting to finalize a sponsor casino, and that's it.

"Everything is good. It feels right," he says. "This isn't just a one shot deal. We're looking at a minimum three-year deal."

"I think for this Shakedown, the fact that it's downtown, it's going to be a festival, but it's also going to be kind of like a bar hop in a way," he continues. "You're going to have multiple rooms, different themed rooms. It's going to be something different than most festivals."

And like past installments, which also included an L.A. Shakedown, Carrera plans on mixing on-the-cusp bands with pioneering acts from as far back as the '50s, '60s and '70s. Current name bands such as the White Stripes, the Black Keys and the Donnas all played the Shakedown before they became well-known headliners.

"We're hoping to be progressive in that sense, finding the new cutting edge rock 'n' roll bands," Carrera says, "but still preserving rock 'n' roll from the past."

And with the revival of the Shakedown, that past has a new future.

"We're right there, we're close to it," Carrera says. "This was worth waiting for."

Contact reporter Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476.