Thursday, July 7, 14; 1:30 a.m. "This shit is bananas! B-A-N-A-N-A-S!" A very off-duty local promoter leaps into the pink-tiled ladies room at Vivid and gives us his best Gwen Stefani. I playfully tell him to take his banana elsewhere, so he delivers an encore performance to a bewildered men's room attendant next door. Not too much later, he leaps onto a go-go box to mug for a photographer, while below, equally off-duty VIP hosts from other nightclubs mix, mingle and put the "local" in Vivid's new Local Celebrity Thursday.
Four years ago, when I blew into Vegas with my Honda and college degree (both only a year old), the major players were evident and largely unchallenged: Sunday, House of Blues; Monday, Foundation Room; and Tuesday, Studio 54. Cut to now, when every night of the week, there are at least five clubs vying to be The Spot. Some will snare any recent reality show castoff or hot babe who ever posed for a boyfriend's camera ("I'll erase it!") to host or appear or sign or dance or model. It used to be "stand there and look pretty," but with shows like Average Joe rolling through, it's more like "stand there and look famous." Or even just "recognizable."
In the race to populate the midweek with an endless roster of events, four new hot spots—Mix, Tangerine, Forty Deuce and Foundation Room—blew Wednesday up to Saturday proportions, most notably Tangerine with Moonshine, which just turned 1 year old this week. Thursday was left the redheaded stepchild until promoter Jack LaFleur declared it the coolest day of the week—second only to his parties Sundays at Rehab and Body English, of course—and created Fusion at Tabú.
The battle for Thursday is now raging, being fought not by newcomers but by long-established clubs seeking a new lease on nightlife. While Tabú has established dominance in the Thursday beat-market, Voodoo, Seven and Vivid are going all-in to win.
Up at Voodoo a week after that promoter went bananas, both patios are packed with a harmonious blend of post-college and long-since-post-college folks in a pleasant crush of bodies. The new staircase to heaven is dramatic and graceful but at the moment, it is my staircase to hell, as I totter down the concrete spiral in heels on unsteady post-workout legs. Falling is not an option. Since parties can't revolve around architectural elements alone, modern gypsies work their belly magic and DJs rotate through the night to keep things interesting. Upping the ante, the event is followed by Risin' On after-hours from 2 to 5 a.m.
During my hike down the Voodoo staircase, I encounter yet another Thursday event, but of the brand-spankin' new variety. Longtime promoter and DJ Bob Shindelar is leading a raucous band of locals around the Strip as part of Tourist Thursday, an indulgent, irreverent monthly romp through all that is trite and typically dismissed as being too touristy for Vegans to participate in. They are sloshed and violating every point on the dress code, blissfully donning the façade of uninitiated vacationeers. Having forgotten my flip- flops, Spoiled T-shirt and camera at home, I content myself to drive Bob and the others to their next destination as I head to mine.
Just down the block, Seven, another well-established nightclub, is making its play for Thursday in its first post-Club Rubber venture. So where the heck is everyone? LA drummer-performance artist Stryker::: (Yeah, with three colons. Yeah, I know) is swiftly swapping out records on the turntables, adjusting knobs and switches, changing the image on the screen behind him, and banging out instant remixes on a drum pad. He looks like U2's Bono wearing Ali G's shades and track suit, but without all the gaudy bling-bling and political rhetoric. Seven has long promoted itself as a premier after-hours destination so it may take some time before word gets out that they're now also throwing a great prime-time. Meanwhile, back at the rig, Stryker::: is giving 110 percent at the best, least-attended party of the night.
The object of fighting it out over any night of the week is not only to be the premier event on the circuit, but also to get that last dollar by taking it from the now-departed tourist's server, host or bartender, who herself is now throwing down for a round of drinks on Monday. Hmmm, I smell a self-perpetuating cycle of capitalism. And cocktails. And it's beautiful.
Xania Woodman thinks globally and parties locally. And frequently. E-mail her at
[email protected].
Xania's Hot Spots for July 21-July 27
Thursday, July 21
Voodoo Risin', Voodoo Lounge
Eclectric with Stryker:::, Seven
Local Celebrity, Vivid
Fusion, Tabú
Friday, July 22
Essential '80s with Donald Glaude, Ice
Saturday, July 23
Diva Dive, Renaissance's Envy pool
Jimmy's Naughty Nighty Night, Skin Pool Lounge, The Palms
The Pornstar Ball with Michael Fuller and Faarsheed, Ice
Sunday, July 24
Sunset Sessions No. 3 with DJ Reach, Rehab
Vegas magazine August release party at the last Beacher's Madhouse of the summer, the Joint, Hard Rock
Tuesday, July 26
Moonshine with DJ Sky Nellor, Tangerine
Wednesday, July 27
Chi's new night, followed by House of Love after-hours (now Tues., Wed. and Thu.), Teatro
Open Forum, Studio 54
For more Hot Spots and weekly parties visit
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