Sheen raunches it up for small AC crowd

ATLANTIC CITY - As much as any of the gamblers at the casinos last night, the less-than-capacity crowd that came out for Charlie Sheen's show was prepared for a crapshoot.

"It could be great," Scott MacKay of Sparta said on the way into the Trump Taj Mahal's Etess Arena.

Others were more optimistic. "I'm just here to see Charlie," said Heather Shirley of Philadelphia. "I've been a fan since his '80s movies - Lucas, Platoon, Hot Shots. I love the man."

Sheen will never be mistaken for a model of stability or consistency. Maybe that's why his current "Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat Is Not an Option" tour seems to be running on an alternating current. One minute he gets jeered off the stage, the next he's embraced as a roguish hero.

This was no stand-up act. Sheen came out and paced the stage in a stream of raunchiness, tossing the F-bomb about four times per sentence. The raucous core of fans in the crowd shouted and screamed throughout his rant.

Wearing one of the T-shirts from his licensed merchandise line, Sheen bragged about smoking a seven-gram rock of crack cocaine in one hit.

Then insult comic Jeff Ross came out in a hazmat suit to roast the man of the hour. He peppered Sheen with gags like, "Next time you should take the tour to Australia. That way, you'll know what a career looks like going down a toilet counterclockwise."

Ross carried the rest of the two-hour event, which included a long Q-and-A session with ticketholders.

The Etess Arena can hold up to 5,000 people. It was set up for half that Saturday night, and even so, plenty of empty seats were empty.

At one point, a heckler demanded a refund. Sheen pulled out a roll of bills, peeled off a few, and had one of the security detail hand them to the man.

Then he ordered him out of the building.

Like the Snakes on a Plane craze of a few years ago, you go to see Sheen not really expecting quality entertainment, but you still want to see the spectacle for yourself.

If nothing else, it'll make for a good story at the Memorial Day barbecue.

Contact staff writer David Hiltbrand at 215-854-4552 or dhiltbrand@phillynews.com. Read his pop-culture blog at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/dave_on_demand