Over the Weekend: Cirque Berzerk, Elysium Festival, Air Guitar Championships

Summer has arrived and the circus has rolled into town. Over the weekend we caught the opening of Cirque Berzerk's bizarre big top spectacle, jammed out to "Freebird" with guys named Guitarth Vader and Hott Lixx Hulahan at the 2009 Air Guitar Championships, and took a trip into the forest for Elysium, the three day festival where an estimated thousand gathered to enjoy art, company, camping and music.

Shannon Cottrell

Cirque Berzerk opened June 18 at the Los Angeles State Historic Park and merges influences of Burning Man, Weimar-era Berlin and industrial nightclubs while mixing the big top and ring of the traditional circus with the emphasis on live music, dance and acrobatics found at Cirque du Soleil. Read more in Liz Ohanesian's review, "Death's a Circus," and view more photos in Shannon Cottrell's slideshow.

Timothy Norris

Twenty five cities, one winner, zero guitars. The 2009 Air Guitar Championships hit the Troubadour on June 19 and cleverly named contestants like Coug-air, Guitarth Vader and Houston RockIt came ready to shred. View more photos in Timothy Norris' slideshow.

Josh "CuriousJosh" Reiss

Photographer CuriousJosh hit up a Cirque Berzerk after-party and a trip to Elysium, the three day festival where an estimated thousand gathered to enjoy art, company, camping and music. View more photos in his CuriousJosh slideshow.