VENTURA COUNTY WEEKEND : Pain Means Big Gain for Jim Rose and Sideshow : ‘The Monsters of Danger’ entourage puts the ‘ow in wow’ during their freakish performances.

That old adage “To exist is to suffer” seems to say that pain is just nature’s way of hurting us. So taking the maxim “It hurts me more than it hurts you” to its painful pinnacle is the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow, bringing their ouchy onslaught to the Ventura Theatre on Saturday.

For Jim Rose, every night is Halloween. More sideshow than circus, there is no ringmaster, no tent, no animals, no clowns. The Rose entourage, “The Monsters of Danger,” feature the Enigma, Mr. Lifto, the Torture King, Bebe the Circus Queen, Mark the Knife and, of course, Rose himself who eats light bulbs, hammers nails up his nose and sticks his mug in broken glass while someone from the audience stands on his head.

“It’s a thrill show you would see at a World’s Fair from the ‘50s or ‘60s,” Rose said. “Before it was like something you’d see at a state fair. Now, we’ve got a guy (the Knife) that balances a running lawn mower on his upper lip while the audience throws heads of lettuce into the blades. You’ll need a seat, but only the edge of it, and there’s no blood.”

Well, there should be, but this is Jim Rose and not Wes Craven. When the Torture King sticks up to 20 pins (some really big ones) through many parts of his body, there’s no blood, just groans from the audience, putting the “ow in wow.”

The Enigma has enough tattoos to make any dozen bikers look like blank slates by comparison. A walking jigsaw puzzle, the Enigma swallows swords, eats fire, lets scorpions crawl on his face. You know, the usual.

Mr. Lifto, with 11 pierced body parts, can lift heavy stuff from the strangest places. Imagine luggage suspended from his nipples, or don’t. One part of his act is done in silhouette, and along with the memory of Lorena Bobbitt, is enough to scare every man in the audience. And that’s just the tip of the ice pick. The Jim Rose Sideshow is rude and crude, not for the prude, and pretty funny after you throw up the first time.

The sweep and the grandeur, the lawn mowers, the laughter began when Rose was a kid in Phoenix; he happened to live by the state fairgrounds. Inspired by the traveling freak shows, Rose began doing escapes at an early age, and went to Europe as a young man to learn to be a contortionist. He ended up in Seattle doing weird stuff at a Middle Eastern restaurant, attracting other oddballs.

Since 1992, the act has done Lollapalooza, toured with Nine Inch Nails and recently, Rose wrote a book, which surprisingly enough, isn’t called “Ouch,” but rather “Freak Like Me.” Rose, probably accompanied by the Enigma, will sign books between 3 and 4 p.m. at The Ink House on Main Street, just around the corner from the Ventura Theatre. Hovercraft will open the 8 p.m. show.

*

The Midnight Hour, a west Ventura hangout that died in May, 1994, is back Saturday night as The Bar. Same location, same manager, and now, apparently, the roof doesn’t leak.

Opening night will be a four-band, five buck 9 p.m. extravaganza featuring Gasoline, Shellfish, Action Figure and Bill Coffey. Those other 8 million local bands that can’t play the Bombay, Nicholby’s or the Metro will now have a place to make new converts or get the sense of a real job.

“I gotta bring new stuff,” said manager Larry Burdorf. “Nobody else will.”

The Bar is located at 281 W. Main St. Hopefully, by next week they will have a phone. To book your band in the meantime, call Larry at 645-1504.

*

Horshack’s, named for that dorky dude in “Welcome Back Kotter,” is an old venue in Montalvo with a new name. Formerly Friends & Strangers, Club Deja Vu and even a German restaurant before that, the venue will have some serious punk rock action brewing Friday at an 8 p.m. all-ages show.

Simi locals Ten Foot Pole, formerly Scared Straight, are on the bill along with punk legends Youth Brigade and Missing 23rd. The Pole band is fronted by Scott Radinsky, a left-handed relief pitcher for the White Sox. Thus far, there’s been no effort from White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf to have the band scream the National Anthem any time next season.

The venue is located at 6635 Ventura Blvd. in beautiful downtown Montalvo. Call 987-2026 to find out more.

*

Raw Silk, a popular Santa Barbara dance band with eight years of experience, will have a weekend-long release party beginning Friday night at SOhO in Santa Barbara. The band will then move to the Whale’s Tail in Oxnard for a Saturday night show (they also play there every Wednesday night); then it’s on to Bombay in Ventura for a Sunday afternoon wingding.

The CD, called “Raw Silk . . . Live & Kickin,” was recorded at Nicholby’s in February, and contains nine songs, five of which are originals. The band combines R&B;, rock, jazz and funk influences usually most appreciated by dancers.

Bill Locey, who writes regularly on rock ‘n’ roll, has survived the mosh pit and the local music scene for many years.