Excision at House of Blues The man born Jeff Abel did the dubstep equivalent of turning it up to 11 last year: He brought a 100,000-watt bass system on tour with him, creating both headaches and headlines as he wub’d his way across America. For this year’s tour, he’s cranking it up to 21 by upgrading to 150,000 watts, which might be the EDM equivalent of a defibrillator. We sure hope Excision, House of Blues and PK Sound, the system responsible for the uber-wattage, are fully insured. February 13, doors at 9 p.m., $28.
Date-A-Thon at The D Spending Singles Awareness Day on the couch with your buds Ben & Jerry? Reconsider. The Downtown hotel is vying to break the world record for the largest speed-dating event, which will put you in front of 24 ready-to-mingle singles for three-minute first dates. Did we mention the $1 drinks and staycation giveaways? February 14, 6-9 p.m., free (registration required).
Above & Beyond at Hakkasan The British dance outfit released an all-acoustic album last month, dropping their laptops to pick up guitars and vibraphone mallets instead. The 24-piece orchestra that accompanied them probably won’t fit behind Hakkasan’s DJ booth, but you can still expect some stellar tunes from the trance trio at the MGM club Friday night. February 14, doors at 10:30 p.m., $33 men, $22 women.
Cupid’s Revenge at Body English How to reconcile raging with romancing as Valentine’s Day kicks off the weekend? Cupid’s Revenge at Body English suggests the two aren’t mutually exclusive. The club will rev up the dancefloor with a live set from local hip-hop/EDM/dubstep act Splitbreed, complemented by DJ sets from Brett Rubin and Jayrod. And those looking to sweat in other ways can heed the encouragement to come (barely) dressed in lingerie and pajamas. February 14, doors at 10:30 p.m., $30 men, $20 women.
Dannic at Light Daan Romers, aka Dannic (aka the No. 74 DJ in the world, or so say DJ Mag Top 100 voters), is from the modest Dutch city of Breda. This would be completely uninteresting except that fellow producer/DJs Tiësto (the former No. 1 DJ in the world) and Hardwell (the current No. 1 DJ in the world) are also from there, as are other EDM superstars with Vegas club residencies. Dannic starts his at Light Friday. February 14, doors at 10 p.m., $30 men, $20 women.
Winter Pool Party at Marquee Dayclub While most of the country freezes its ass off in polar vortex conditions, we’re catching a tan out here in Las Vegas. Why not rub it in? Marquee is doing just that Sunday afternoon inside its new dayclub dome, so dig out the bikinis and board shorts and head to what may be the city’s first winter pool party. The splash-bash doubles as the club’s third annual Halfway to EDC party, with Dutch trance DJ Dash Berlin headlining. February 16, doors at noon, $30 men, $20 women.
I Love DNB at E-String Grill HyperAudio, the folks who brought us the Thanksgiving-themed Bass Gravy, will honor St. Valentine with a party devoted to drum ’n’ bass, the overlooked big brother of dubstep. However, headliners Calyx & Teebee are anything but unnoticed, as the eclectic Brit duo offered one of the best Radio 1 Essential Mixes of 2013. Stream it online in preparation for this 18-and-up jungle jamboree. February 15, doors at 9 p.m., $10.
Grandtheft and Aloe Blacc at Surrender Canadian beatmeister Grandtheft is a rising star and, like most things Canadian, we don’t know anything about him. We do know he’s opened for U2 and Arcade Fire and was an official DJ for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Get introduced at his residency launch when he shares the spotlight with Blacc, whose performance will include “Wake Me Up” and “The Man.” February 19, doors at 10:30 p.m., $47 men, $37 women.
