Christ almighty, it's 4:03 a.m. It's late, late Monday night (or is that Tuesday morning?) and my deadline is creeping up my leg. I'm spent. Memorial weekend kicked my ass in so many ways that I'd need a thousand columns to fully explain the levels of debauchery I went through. Plus, we're running a quasi-family publication here, and some of the better exploits start, "Dear Penthouse …"
Let me tell you about the debut of the Hard Rock's multi-million-dollar spectacle, the new Body English. If you were able to even get close to getting into Body English, consider yourself lucky. The Hard Rock, like everywhere else in the city, was swimming in unending madness. Seas of people jammed the place like canned sardines. The line for Body English almost completely wrapped the circular casino floor, and it wasn't moving. On top of that, the line wasn't close to the entrance. VIP hosts wandered the line picking out the lucky few almost at random.
The actual entrance, at the same spot as the old Baby's doors, opened up to the outside where another few hundred hopefuls were vying to get in. Once actually inside, you wind down the staircase just like old times, but you instantly know the club is a whole new deal. The whole club has gottten a major rehaul, and the results are stunning.
The stairs lead to a grand staircase and what looks like a Victorian English manor after Keith Moon got his mitts on it and spent a few million quid on some excessive amenities. There's a $250,000 chandelier highlighted by a sweet lighting system, banging sound, secret VIP rooms with annual $25,000 membership fees, icy fog machines, a $1,000 martini with gold and diamond olive pick—everything for the rock star on the go.
The club features two levels, multiple bars, and a design unlike any other in town. The whole vibe is very rock 'n' roll and fits with everything the Hard Rock is supposed to stand for. While most clubs go more for spectacle, Body English's subtle hints of class and craziness add some much needed new flavor to the scene. I haven't been as impressed with a new venue since Tabú's opening last year at MGM.
All this love, and it wasn't even the official opening. That party gets cooking June 11 with Velvet Revolver and June 12.
Like an acid flashback
Saturday at the Hard Rock was crazy, but Sunday's crowds were sick beyond belief, centered on Club Rubber's Summer of Love at Rain Nightclub and Skin. Every holiday weekend, thousands descend on the Valley for Club Rubber and the hottest parties around.
I started my Rubber prep Friday with a trip to its co-creator (along with Damian Sanders) John Huntington's One Night Stand at the Aladdin's Curve. If you haven't checked out One Night Stand, I highly recommend it. Huntington and company have done an insane job of refitting Curve into one truly swanky nightspot. The club was extended to include the outside Living Room. This front room serves as the chill area. The main room also has been extended to accommodate pounding hip-hop, while the other room features grooving house accompanied by live vocals. One Night Stand is an evening jammed with originality, style and rare variety.
As for Rubber, it was one of the most insane parties I've been to in a long time. The music was dynamite, with crowd-pumping sets from Richard "Humpty" Vission, Eric Cabuche, Danny Love and local fave, DJ Noey, not to mention sets from 4 Real, Colleen Shannon and DJ Beej.
It was especially fun because I took a buddy who had just turned 21. Still reeling from our bootylicious trip to Spearmint Rhino, his jaw dropped when he saw the eternal amount of heavenly ladies wandering about, not to mention the antics of the lovely Rubber Dolls.
Sunday wasn't only about Rubber. I also managed a quick, fun trip to Tabú to regain my senses after the Summer of Love madness. The vibe at Tabú was the coolest I felt all weekend, but the vibe there is always great. The great feel came in large part to the set from DJ One Zero. Jimi Hendrix's guitar seamlessly married to Missy Elliot and then effortlessly mixed into Sean Paul. Fantastic!
Here comes the sun
I'm like a bloody vampire; the sun and I have never gotten along. So why in God's name would I want to party on the top of the Rio in the early morning? Because the new Rise and Shine after-hours at Voodoo Lounge kicks ass! Sunlight or no, I love the idea of a rooftop after-hours so much that I went both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was a set from Space Miami's Ivano Bellini and Sunday it was Max Graham who kept the crowd moving. I think I saw just about every club kid I know there, and even got a chance to say hello to Humpty. Produced by Vegas Alliance and Clique Entertainment, this has the chance to be the summer's after-hours spot.
Calling all DJs
OK, all you spinners and jocks out there, Ice is about to hook you up with the most ambitious DJ mix this town has ever seen. It's the Ultimate DJ Battle, with 16 turntableists over six weeks and $10,000 up for grabs. Get your best mix together, burn it, and drop in the mail to: ICE Meta Club 5175 W. Diablo Drive, Suite 105, Las Vegas, NV 89118. You'd better get you asses in gear and start practicing, 'cause guess who has signed on as a judge! Get your skills cracking, or I'm gonna be going all Simon Cowell your asses.
Antonio Llapur walks softly and carries a big club. E-mail him at [email protected].