Music

Music News & Notes: Pay-per-view EDM, Dolly Parton and Giorgio Moroder in Vegas?

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Pretty Lights rocks the Ambassador Stage during day one of the Life is Beautiful festival in downtown Las Vegas, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2013.
Photo: Christopher DeVargas

•Would a Giorgio Moroder residency work in Las Vegas?

Until the May release of Daft Punk's Random Access Memories album, on which the Italian producer recorded a spoken-word monologue about his career placed atop the French duo's suitably retro/analog instrumental, few in EDM Nation could likely identify Moroder as one of the pillars of modern dance music. Now, with the 73-year-old disco figurehead as busy as the charting electronic dance producers 50 years younger than him, and now DJing his own gigs, the obvious question presents itself: Which Las Vegas megaclub will book Moroder?

According to U.K. publication The Guardian, he's gearing up to come not only with his vast library of mirrorball classics—he recorded several of Donna Summer's hits, and worked on hits like Irene Cara's "Flashdance ... What a Feelin‚" and Blondie's "Call Me"—but a whole stage show to boot. Though things are still in the planning stages and nothing's been booked, he says he's working with "a huge American management company" to produce a disco-scored production, where he and perhaps other notable DJs will provide the music. His goal: To start it in Las Vegas—a city where he's already pondering a residency, as he recently told the Los Angeles Times—and franchise it out to other cities. It would likely be called A Night With Giorgio Moroder.

As unlikely as this sounds, sign us up. A few logistical hurdles would have to be cleared, including which club could easily build up and break down such an operation without hindering the rest of the schedule, and which one would pony up for a night devoted to what remains a widely derided and misunderstood area of music, headlined by a guy that doesn't sound like Calvin Harris or Diplo (and looks like their grandfather). But should a venue take the leap, this could provide an educational counterpoint to the local EDM onslaught, and lure in those who don't know Moroder with the production elements distinctive to Vegas.

And it might just prove our hyped nightlife scene can accommodate something more dynamic than 130 BPM drop-pop and cryo cannons. We're not getting out hopes up, but fingers crossed.

•One-man electronic act Pretty Lights, who recently played Las Vegas during Life Is Beautiful, will be airing his November 30 San Francisco show on cable and satellite TV via pay-per-view. Those paying $20 for the event will be getting a more steroidal version of the "electro hip-hop soul" act's live show, with five backing musicians assisting founding/primary member Derek Vincent Smith, as well as an expanded lighting/visual presentation.

This hardly being your typical EDM event may be the only reason Pretty Lights and concert film producer Live Alliance are going forward with the broadcast. But it begs the question: Is there a future for other highly produced electronic music acts on pay-per-view TV? Is livecasting a revenue stream local clubs could tap into during, say, New Year's Eve, or for other noteworthy extravaganzas with lots of eye candy? Would ravers shut out on tickets for Electric Daisy Carnival punch up In Demand to watch the festival's biggest sets for, say, a tenth of the cost of the pass?

•For news on the other side of the music spectrum, a new Dolly Parton show at Primm Resorts' Star of the Desert Arena has been announced for January 25, which will be roughly six years after she played her last (and sold-out) show in the area, also at the Stateline arena. Though prices haven't been announced—they range from $45-$125 at a Phoenix stop three days after the Primm date—tickets go on sale November 26. The date will be one of the first for her substantial Blue Smoke tour, promoting an upcoming, bluegrass-oriented album of the same name.

•Native EDM sensation Justin Blau—or 3LAU, as he’s known—is coming home. After spending most of the late summer and fall touring, the Meadows School alum is returning to his usual DJ haunting ground, Marquee, for the coveted Saturday night headliner gig on November 30. Advanced tickets ($50 for men, $20 for women) are already on sale at the nightclub’s website.

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