Tuesday, November 29, 11:40 p.m. "Drunk, drunker, drunkest!" My girlfriend Jamie leans sharply over Studio 54's balcony at the MGM-Grand, pointing out the wobblier of the dancers below like a keen hunting dog. We're not doing too badly ourselves, actually. "We've got a jumper," she adds, directing my attention to some very bad dancing. We had arrived at Tabú for the second week of Open Decks Tuesdays just a bit too early for guest DJ Chris Gar-cia's late-night following. I suspect the crowd will vary greatly as each week's rotating guest DJ will carry with him or her their own entourage and devotees.
We strolled in at 11 p.m. to find more employees than guests so I used the down time to give my first tour of Tabú to a new Vegas resident and her friend Doug from New York. I walked them through the signature cocktail list, showed off the chilly Vodka Alcove, the domed igloo or Tantra room, once more through the cocktail list, and demonstrated the interactive tables that make Tabú such a fun place to have your vision go blurry.
We have some drinks and cross the casino to venture into Studio 54 to kill some time checking out the club's renovations. Everywhere, under each pile of rebar, plywood and drywall are the promises of New, Better and Even More Fabulous. We find that a few patrons could use some updating, too. On the opposite balcony, a gent with a handlebar mustache, wearing white pants and a lavender satin shirt looks like the first guy through the door on the last night of the original Studio 54 in '86.
At midnight, we re-enter Tabú to be greeted by a nice-size crowd. We're also greeted by Candace Carrell, MGM-Grand's director of nightclubs. "Open Decks is by invite only," she says. It's a night geared toward real house-music fans and as a way to bring in talented guest DJs without having to sign them to play that night every single week. "It keeps it fresh, keeps it interesting," she explains.
They call Tabú's DJ booth many things: bus stop, batting cage, dugout. Inside, Gar-cia spins progressive house and mellow trance, a chill background that slowly evolves into a pulsating, rhythmic event. The lighting technician stands next to him as he rolls into Annie Lennox's "Sweet Dreams."
"The lighting guy's playing off the treble!" exclaims Doug, who at 22, has been managing party DJs since he was 15.
A sexy female Santa in a short skirt and halter top and her male elf—in matching green shorts and halter—don't look out of place bare-bellying up to the bar and reminding us what month it is. Before I can say "reindeer games," Santa is up on the concrete table, drink in hand, shimmying her marabou trim and flinging blond curls in every direction. She's sweet and spicy like gingerbread and oh-so delicate in her teeny bedroom slippers.
I start talking with saxophonist Tom Marth about Marxist terminology and the movie Fight Club when he tears away from the bar. "Oh, I'd better go to work!" and seconds later, he blows a meandering phrase into a microphone, adding depth and an unexpected live element to Gar-cia's work.
Greyhounds line the table in front of the DJ booth. Gar-cia's entourage is too busy dancing and dragging on Marlboro Lights to notice the melting ice or the one that gets away and crashes to the floor, only to be whisked away in seconds by attentive staff.
Gar-cia claps his hands out towards the crowd, punctuating his musical statement. The music comes to a pregnant pause; at nearly 2 a.m., he's nearing the end of his set.
Inside the booth, record in one hand, earphones wrapped around half of his head, hunched slightly over his gear, he sways and then puts his full body into motion as he torques the knobs. Methodically, he moves the sound from the front of the room to the back, giving the listener a sensation that the music is teasing them just a bit, dancing around them, leaning in to whisper in one ear, then moving around to the other, bringing it—and the crowd—to life.
Xania Woodman thinks globally and parties locally. And frequently. E-mail her at
[email protected].
Xania's Hot Spots for December 8 - December 14
Thursday, December 8
Light: Toys For Tots; bring a new, unwrapped toy for free admission
Friday, December 9
Krave: Krave Kares benefit for Child Haven
Pure: Desperate Housewives' Jesse Metcalfe's birthday
Vivid: Nokturnal after-hours
Saturday, December 10
Body English: DJ Skribble
Empire Ballroom: DJ Markus Schulz
Ice: DJ Oscar G.'s "Made in Miami"
Pure: Gastineau Girls' Lisa Gastineau's birthday
Sunday, December 11
Firefly on Paradise: '80s Night with DJ Mikey Swift
Light: Sapphire holiday party
Monday, December 12
Rumjungle: Service industry night
Tuesday, December 13
Pure: Victoria's Secret Pink Party with Jess Zaino and DJ Riz
Tabú: Open Decks with DJ Joey Mazzola
Wednesday, December 14
Empire Ballroom: Make-A-Wish Foundation holiday benefit
Tabú: Clubs for a Cause benefit for Toys For Tots
For more Hot Spots and weekly parties visit
www.TheCircuitLV.com and sign up for Xania's free weekly newsletter.