If lights fell on you, you're liable. Period.
Would being incorporated help you? No. After they go after company assets, they go after company officers. Better have insurance. Once you run out of money, they go after YOUR personal assets. The bottom line is SOMEONE has to pay. And even though a corporation is a legal entity, they go after the people who own it. I'm find this crap out the hard way as the State of California refuses to stop trying to extort more money out of me after my corporation was illegally dissolved(don't even ask me to go there, it's a LONG story). Hey, I overpaid my damn taxes(they gave me a $35 refund, then said I owed them $35 and then nailed me wiht $2000 in penalties over THEIR refund, WTF?). You may thing it will save you, but it will only buffer you.
Who would be named? You, the venue, anyone they feel they can get money out of.
Would the bar's policy protect you? Could be. It depends how it is worded. If they have an accident and injury liability that EXTENDS to cover injuries caused my vendor-supplied equipment, then yes.
Your personal home owner's policy would NOT protect you, unless this happened on your property. "Hey, come over here so this truss can fall on your noggin...".
You're best having dedicated insurance to cover business accidents, which this would fall under. Also, ensure this policy does cover what you think it does. For example, in 2007, I had $10K in gear stolen from me at a venue. The event promoter's insurance including comprehensive, but they said "oh we don't really do that" and so it was a useless policy. THe guy specifically asked for insurance to cover any injuries, damages and theft, and the insurance company said it did all that. When it came time to make a claim, they don't do anything except collect your check. So, be wary of cheap policies.
In this litigious society, you need to be afraid of everything. I mean, it's so bad that let's say some idiot is trespassing on your property, and breaks your window breaking INTO your house and he slices his arm on broken glass, can you beleive that HE CAN SUE YOU and WIN? Despite the fact that he was engaged in a fellony crime against your property, he still has "rights"(or lefts, depends which arm was sliced!)
Portable stripper pole. You using portable strippers? You are in a whole new area of insurance, as the "adult entertainment" segment has all sorts of other things that go with it. Last thing you want is some overly-excited guy to be injured and develop ED as a result....
When you bring in adult stuff, you may find yourself having a hard time(*ahem*) getting insurance. Just, the chances of someone doing something stupid increase exponentially.
If the stripper pole is a permanent pole, then it becomes the property owner's responsibilty. But if you're bringing in "Lola the human stripper hippo" and her 600 pounds of BBW awesomeness and the pole snaps like a toothpick and she causes a patron to go from 3D to 2D from the resulting collision, then it's not your responsibility!
(no joke: Idiot comes up to my in-laws, with their dog tied up out front. Guy knowingly walks into range of dog despite being repeatedly warned to stay back as they they were going to put the dog in the back yard. GUy wouldn't listen, got bit, now claims his junk don't work. Right, it was a dog bite on his hand that ruined his sex life..... sounds like a shut-in to me. The guy lost!)
With cables, it's best to tape them down when you can, throw a carpet over them, tape that down too. Or, there are dedicated cable management systems, but those are rather expensive and needed for larger jobs than what you're talking about. You can still get sued by some moron tripping over a cord, carring a glass and falling on it and cutting himself on the face or like that.
Talk to an attorney that specializes in entertainment and entertainment services. You need it. Short of that, also talk to an insurance agent who does do business and entertainment policies. Well, not just you, but ALL of us who work in the entertainment industry. That person can properly advise you of the best way to go to cover yourself. Especially since you want to incorporate adult stuff, it becomes all the more important. I'm not knocking you for bringing adult stuff into the equation, but it brings up a whole new realm of issues that would need to be addressed. Believe me when I say the land sharks have seen it all. There's been enough time that via legal proceedings, it's all been seen and done before. Heck, it's probably on YouTube too.
I personally know of people who throw large parties on a somewhat predictable basis(once or twice a year) at their homes. They go and get an insurance policy that ensures that any damages to their stuff or to their guests stuff, or injuries or theft, its all covered.
First off, do the cheap insurance thing. Get safety cables, good clamps and good lighting stands. Quality can vary, costs can vary, even weight can vary. Really, a lot of the safey is in using it properly. I set up my lighting in front of the stage on a truss, and the jerk promoter didn't like how my tripods stretched out so much, so he compacted it up to like a foot. I was FURIOUS. I made him sign a waiver of liability saying he would be held accountable for any injuries as a result of violating safety procedures and relieving my company of any responsibility, or I was gonna pack it up and go home right then and there. I regret that the show still went on, I dislike it when people do stupid things like that.
A relatively cheap stand, such as the ADJ LTS-2, is a fantastic stand. It's durable, it's safe and it doesn't cost a whole lot. OK, let me take it back a bit. CHEAP is the wrong word. Super affordable is. Used properly, it's super safe(Spread the legs, use the safety pins, crank the handles down, it's safe). The Crank-2, costs a lot more, weights a LOT more, and is also a fantastic stand, and again, when used properly, is super safe.
Unless you get a garbage stand, you're probably OK. But even so, you can't predict people being stupid and doing something to cause a failure. I mean, two drunks leaning on my Crank-2's with a 15-foot truss COULD knock it over. I keep people away from speakers and stands whenever possible I use safety straps when I raise my KV2 Audio speakers on a stand to ensure that it becomes one big unit that won't budge.
There's no reason you can't get covered for what you want to do. Be honest, be thorough and you'll eventually get it. The biggest problem you're going to have is finding the right insurance company that can handle this because it is specialized.