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Hollywood's elite have their bags packed ready to holiday in Denver for this week's Democratic convention
Who needs bread and circuses when you've got networking and rock 'n' roll? For every Democratic delegate attending this week's convention in Denver, US, desperate to influence the platform committee, there are plenty more looking for the best entertainment acts and the hottest parties - and they'll have plenty of choices.
As the politics have drained from the US's national conventions, high-level socialising, entertainment (with a purpose) and a chance to brush elbows with celebrities have become the real action at the quadrennial get-togethers.
From studio heads to character actors, Hollywood's most devoted politicos have revised their vacation plans to make a place for the convention, with its myriad sideshows and soirees.
There may be more SAG cards in Denver right now than in Hollywood.
There's something - actually two or three somethings - for everybody. For the industry elite the toughest challenge will be to maintain an orderly social calendar at the convention, which starts today and ends on Thursday with the acceptance speech by nominee Barack Obama at Denver's football stadium.
For those of us who think the spectacle tells a lot about where the Dems's heads are - here's a guide to the highlights, arranged in convenient categories.
Battle of the Bands
Barack Obama has had a wide celebrity following from day one, and some of the music world's highest-voltage acts will be in Denver to provide the soundtrack. On Monday night, Rock the Vote is calling in Jakob Dylan, Fall Out Boy, and other acts to inspire revellers at its party at Ellie Caulkins Opera House.
Melissa Etheridge, Cyndi Lauper, Rufus Wainwright, Thelma Houston and Margaret Cho will perform at the Rock to Win concert at the Fillmore Auditorium on Tuesday night.
The Black Eyed Peas will headline the Creative Coalition's concert at the Fillmore on Wednesday night, but if you want to go, you'll have to give up the chance to see Kanye West at the Exdo Event Centre. (He's playing for the ONE Campaign and the Recording Industry Association of America).
If this all seems too mainstream, San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom is hosting an outdoor indie music festival on Wednesday evening at the Manifest Hope Art Gallery.
The event includes such bands as Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Cold War Kids, Nada Surf, Death Cab for Cutie, and She and Him. (No, the band wasn't named after Hillary Clinton and Obama).
For nostalgia buffs, who fondly recall the tear gas and rubber bullets that ended Rage Against the Machine's performance outside the 2000 DNC in Los Angeles, the band will do an encore performance in Denver for the antiwar/anti-Bush group, World Can't Wait. (The band will also be playing the following week during the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, presenting yet another chance for a police confrontation. Gas masks are optional.)
A Movable Feast
The Creative Coalition, a nonpartisan public advocacy organisation for arts and entertainment, is offering a plethora of events boosting an impressive list of celebrity attendees, including: Ellen Burstyn, Zooey Deschanel, (the She of She and Him) Susan Sarandon, Anne Hathaway, Matthew Modine, Alan Cumming, Fran Drescher, Dana Delany, Tim Daly, Rachael Leigh Cook, Gloria Reuben, Kerry Washington and Lynn Whitfield.
The group were set to open the convention with a gathering last night that would feature director Spike Lee. They've also mixed in a variety of receptions, including one honouring Annette Bening for being, well, Annette Bening. (No word yet on whether husband Warren Beatty will be there).
And for those celebs who miss their screening rooms, the premium cable network Starz is throwing a week-long film festival. The group will also offer a variety of panels and receptions; confirmed guests include Charlize Theron, Rosario Dawson and Kerry Washington; actors Ben Affleck, Josh Brolin, Kal Penn and Hill Harper; actor-filmmaker Stuart Townsend; musician-filmmaker Will.i.am; and filmmakers Patrick Creadon, Tia Lessin, Carl Deal, Chris Moore and Morgan Spurlock.
Heather Thomas, the actress-novelist who runs one of Los Angeles's most influential salons, figured the action would be in Denver next week - and so will she. She's holding a reception to discuss her book, Trophy Wives. You don't have to be one to attend.
Meanwhile, Daryl Hannah, will be in Denver at the Green Frontier Fest, an environmental expo.
Party Madness
For those out for a good time and a bit of media networking, there's the Vanity Fair/Google party, the GQ magazine party (don't come as you are), the Glover Park Group/Politico party (this is the place to meet cute wonks, of either sex).
Meanwhile, music execs Nicole Avant and Steve McKeever will be hosts of a party for those who count votes right along with their download grosses. Expect political speak mixed with rhythm and blues.
For those who think the crowd, in general, is having too much fun, there's the rally for Ralph Nader (Sean Penn is supposed to be there, along with Val Kilmer, Tom Morello and Cindy Sheehan). They're calling on the Dems and Republicans to expand the debates to include Nader. Good luck with that one.
The Media Is the Massage Category
Only pundit Arianna Huffington could turn a fainting spell into a transcendent moment. As she reported in the Huffington Post this week, not long ago she fainted from exhaustion, broke her cheek and required five stitches.
It convinced her that people need to disconnect more, and she proposes to help the convention goers to do just that with the Huffington Post Oasis near the convention area, featuring yoga classes, massages, mini-facials, aromatherapy, refreshments and other forms of blissful escape.
So Arianna; so Los Angeles. Only this time, in Denver.
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