Friday, April 1, 11:30 p.m. A long line extends far beyond the precincts of the Rio's Voodoo Lounge. We slice our way through and I can't contain my curiosity. I ask someone: "Are you all waiting to get up to The Voodoo lounge?" Yes. Well!
Just moments before, we were watching the men of Chippendales romp and cavort in their new theater, following every hump, grind and crotch-grab with rapt attention. These hard-working hardbodies make tighty-whities and knee pads look good. One particularly hot, new interlude employs bare bums, orange iridescent body paint and a black light. Mama likey!
Not to get too technical but the upgraded video and lighting make this a show worth revisiting. The addition of the Flirt Lounge insures that no feather-boaed, Midwestern bachelorette is more than 10 feet from a Midori sour or Cosmo. There we enjoyed the pre-show drinks, video screens, stripper poles and bar with requisite shirtless bartenders.
My date for this testosto-fest is best friend and official gay wingman Sean, who clearly enjoyed the show, alternately whimpering, digging his nails into my thigh and uttering such gems as "Omigod, it's like porno Taebo!" Outside, the entourage was assembling for our visit to Voodoo so we had to depart. I quite literally peeled Sean from his seat; he was now in heat and had a dangerous look in his eye: "Honey, I'm so horny right now that even you look good!"
Fifty-one floors up, at the ceiling of the Strip, the Voodoo Lounge and its patio are slammed. Cover band LF8 is belting out every song they know, from "Brown Eyed Girl" to "Hey Ya," and are bringing a steady stream of young ladies on stage to "shake it, sh-shake it, oh oh, shake it, sh-shake it." I'm a two-drink-minimum dancer so after a little champagne, I make it like a Polaroid a bit myself.
Voodoo looks much like the last time I visited—dark and purple with the ancient sound system blaring till my contacts vibrate—but with a much cleaner layout. Gone is the haphazard maze of chairs and tables I once had to navigate while trying not to dump my martini on my open-toed sandals. Instead, a small VIP section is roped off for bottle service (which is very reasonable, with plenty of bottles in the $200-$225 range). How rare to see not every table being held for the hefty ransom of a $375 bottle of Grey Goose per three people.
The crowd has some variety, with Pretty Young Things in fashionably coordinated groups (Guess over here, VonDutch over there); my-agers (25-35) flirting with any Pretty Young Things who wander from the herd; and an encouraging assortment of more mature partygoers enjoying the music, the view and the flair bartenders with the rest of us.
On May 26, the renovations which have already begun will be completed, revealing a new Voodoo. It's an overhaul of both image and visage, according to Pauly Freedman, director of nightclubs, and we can expect a curvaceous staircase linking the Voodoo Lounge's 50th floor to the Voodoo Café's 51st, creating the first double-decker party patio in Las Vegas just in time for Memorial Day weekend. Overseeing the re-opening is lounge manager Ryan Kessler, who has the taxing job of sifting through hundreds of beauties to fill the new server positions the renovation will create. I have faith that he is well up to the challenge.
In addition to the new sound system, stage, DJ booth and bars, promoter Gino Lopinto of Forty Deuce's AM After-hours and the Foundation Room's The List will be coming onboard with a weekly promotion called Voodoo Rising, featuring an all-female DJ lineup, including locals' favorite DJ Miss Joy, plus rotating bands to change the flavor each week. In a rare twist, house music will headline inside while hip-hop will be brought outdoors. Further thumbing their noses at the uber-classy joints, the Rio will also relax the dress code to "reasonable and fashionable," meaning a $55 T-shirt and $200 sneakers won't bar one's entry.
It's after 2:30 a.m. and the Chippendales show has gone to Sean's head—he's giving out free lap dances. Voodoo seems to have finally rediscovered its niche in this new Vegas of high-rise condos, ultra-ultralounges and $15 cocktails with the mid-scale tourist crowd. While I very much enjoy the new Vegas in all its glittery, brand-spanking-newness, there is still something to be said for sitting back and watching your best friends enjoy themselves with a complete lack of pretension and a bottle of vodka that didn't cost us a mortgage payment.
Xania Woodman thinks globally and parties locally. And frequently. E-mail her at
[email protected].
Thursday, April 7
Locals Appreciation Night at the new Pussycat Dolls Lounge at Pure
Friday, April 8
AV with Rooney G at Ra
Sunday, April 10
Red Light District at Risque
Monday, April 11
Secret Society at Sushi Roku in the Forum Shops
Wednesday, April 13
Mix It Up at Mix, on top of The Hotel at Mandalay Bay
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