Man, did I eat last Thursday: yams, ham, stuffing, black beans and rice—hey, I'm Cuban; there's always black beans and rice. And turkey; lots and lots of turkey. I was amazed I woke from my tryptophan coma in time to check out Ra's A/V party with Roonie G. Most DJs just spin music but Roonie adds videos to the mix. Pretty impressive stuff. The place was packed, too. Growing up, Thanksgiving meant a slow weekend. Not these days.
Have you heard about the new mega-club at Caesars Palace, Pure? They're planning an opening bash on New Year's Eve hosted by Mariah Carey! Yum, yum! She'll do the countdown to midnight, then you can watch the fireworks from the Strip balcony. The new venue is owned in part by Shaquille O'Neal, Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf and Celine Dion. Advance tickets are $125 and are available at 212-8806.
Pure isn't the only excitement brewing. Nightlife gurus Gino LoPinto and Tony Verdugo are teaming up with OPM to bring you the newest after-hours party, AM@OPM! An opening date hasn't been set but this is big news. LoPinto was instrumental for Utopia, Club Rhino and Glo. Verdugo helped create Drai's and Alesium at Seven. From Pure, you won't have to travel far for after-hours at Caesars.
As you may know, China Grill's Red Dragon at Mandalay Bay is no more. But no need to change your Wednesday routine. Check out Mix It Up every Wednesday at Mix, high atop TheHotel. It should be fun to see the competition between Mix It Up and the popular local-flavored Moonshine at TI's Tangerine Wednesdays.
Since we're on the subject, Tangerine will be closed December 12-28 for renovations and expansion. It will reopen December 29 with a CD release party for resident DJ David Christian and DJ Ikon's new album.
Saturday, swing by The Boston for the debut of Paint It Black, an raucous evening of underground insanity. You'll get two full rooms of music. Room One has Style, Grendel and Oz spinning Brit-pop, indie, madchester, glam and '60s, while Room Two features Russell Scott and Satori playing gothic, industrial, dark '80s and synth-pop. The debut party also has a live performance by Transit, featuring former members of the Killers and current members of Blue Man Group, at 10:30 p.m. Transit plays the Boston every first Saturday of the month.
That's right, kids, and not just any old birthday—it's my 30th! Since me turning 30 is such a banner event, Chuck E. Cheese's just won't cut it. As December 7 falls on a Tuesday, there's only one party in town big enough: Studio 54's juggernaut EDEN and you're all invited. Get Wednesday off; it's gonna be one of those nights!
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