New Year's Eve kicked my ass. It chewed me up, spat me out, and left me with a burning question: Is it possible to have too much fun?
Before you start imagining the insane amount of parties I hit, get ready for a surprise—I only went to Studio 54.
Believe it or not, I'm not a huge fan of New Year's Eve. I grew up here, and got over that whole Strip madness years ago. I daily deal with huge club and casino crowds, but the lunacy of New Year's can get to even me.
This year was gonna be different. I decided that I was going to hit one party and one party alone. The choice was easy: Studio 54.
Studio 54's "Party Under the Moon and Stars" was the perfect way to ring in 2004. Great music, a capacity crowd, free champagne and an amazing display of acrobatics fueled the night. I was especially fond of the young ladies dangling high above the dance floor on giant moons and stars.
So I'm gonna say it loud and say it proud: I had fun on New Year's Eve. The best fun I've had all year, to be exact. I even caught my trusted editor and lovely wife at the club, and they were having as much fun as I was. In fact, everybody was having that much fun.
I had such a good time, I didn't feel the need for after-hours (and I always do). My friends and I popped over to Tabu for a nightcap, and I was home by 4:20 a.m. A rare early night for me.
Venus is stayin' alive
You might think that all of the madness Wednesday would have been enough partying for the scene, but that wasn't the case in Sin City. Festivities kicked off Tuesday at Venus, with the Venetian's club unveiling a new look (I told you to expect more remodeling in '04). Venus proudly showed off a new Saturday Night Fever-style dance floor and VIP area.
Guest DJs littered the scene. Thursday saw Biz Markie at Light, while Friday had Micro at OPM and Eminem's DJ Green Lantern spinning over at Ice. The coolest lineup came late Saturday at Drai's with the special double bill of Donald Glaude and MTV's DJ Skribble.
Why so special, you ask? When was the last time you caught big-name DJs like Skribble and Glaude at such an intimate environment? On top of that, it cost only the standard cover price vs. the $150-plus that House of Blues and Rain were charging for New Year's performances from the same DJs.
No go a go glo
Join me in wishing farewell to Glo after-hours at Ibiza. Glo has a reputation as the craziest after-hours in town. I've got some insane stories about some of the fun I've had there, but I don't think they are suitable for publication here. The Glo era came to end with the recent sale of the Desert Passage mall to East Coast investors. Best of luck to Gino LoPinto and the whole Glo family; we're looking forward to their future endeavors.
Antonio Llapur walks softly and carries a big club. E-mail him at [email protected].