Saturday, September 26, 11:15 p.m. I feel like royalty. Or Paris. Hell, even Tinkerbell. (But not a tinkling Paris, thank God!) It's a long walk down an even longer red carpet that winds from the Venetian's front entrance, boasting a new Tao-only valet service. We follow the red stripe north on the Strip, past media photo ops and hundreds of spectators with cameras, dogs and children, into the building, up the escalator and straight to the door. The entrance area is narrow, offering one door into the restaurant and lounge and one to the club's elevators. Standing in front of the dual doorways, I keep waiting for someone to sternly tap me on the shoulder and shuffle me out a service door, explaining that while Tinkerbell is invited to party, I'm not. As luck would have it, this doesn't happen, I am invited, and so party I most certainly shall.
The Tao Entertainment Complex is not a place you go; it's a place you experience. I understood that clearly even before the first martini was served up. Building the hype, Andrew Goldberg, the face, mouth and brain of Tao marketing in New York City and now a proud Vegas local, gave extensive tours of the space mid-construction. I stepped gingerly around the bags of concrete and piles of slate that soon would make up the floor, and poked my head around corners that didn't yet exist. The Asian calligrapher, who so masterfully freehand-painted the enormous panels suspended above the main dining room, tightly pinched a cigarette between two fingers and screwed up his face as he regarded his work: "It's good?" Yes, very.
That was then, this is now. We pass bathtubs with candles, rose petals and gorgeous blondes. The lounge and dining room flow into each other, the tables bowing in awe of the 20-foot-tall Buddha who smiles slightly, as though he knows what's in store for us tonight. Through the lounge and up the stairs, a narrow hallway leads to the nightclub but even that space is not devoid of entertainment. Human dramas unfold in the form of vignettes: a woman reads a book while reclining on a table. Absentmindedly, she twirls her hair and touches her billowy shirt. Next door, two ladies fan and tease each other with peacock plumes. The sexual innuendo is almost palpable.
In addition to the human dioramas, there are nooks and crannies, spots and places for interesting things to happen. There are "moments" designed into the room like the water, stone and bamboo garden stashed under the staircase, and the wall of candle-lit Buddhas surrounding the bar as you get out of the elevator. There are places to meet up ("Tao tonight? Great, I'll meet you where the two sexy, live, red- and gold-dusted female Buddhas are sitting in the lotus position. Say midnight? Ciao.") and ways to hide. Just draw the nearly opaque curtain around a VIP booth and voila: alone time. If alone time is the last thing on your mind, visit the ladies room. You'll see.
Celebrities abound, and while that's completely normal for an opening weekend, Tao's reputation is for always keeping star-power on tap. In addition to Paris, Nicky and Kathy, Eve, Tara Reid and Wilmer Valderama, there's Daryl Hannah, Chelsea Clinton and Adrian Brody. They're everywhere: in the booths, at the bars, in the stairwell and on Celebrity Island, an elevated concrete platform surrounded by a serene moat. Over top the assembled, glossy red, lacquered chandeliers cast a youthful glow. (I wonder how big a purse I would need to smuggle out one of those.)
Though the club is essentially two floors, balconies and patios add complexity, and rooms with rotating walls morph to suit needs from the largest gala right down to the most intimate of gatherings. Music, food and scenery to suit all tastes? Sounds too good to be true. But it isn't ... so long as it stays this way past the opening hoopla and months down the road.
September 29, promoter Jack Lafleur will tackle the locals and try to wrestle Thursday from the clutches of every other club in Vegas that followed when he declared Thursday the new black and created Fusion at Tabú. Fusion will now have to be run without Lafleur but with the addition of DJ Create.
Tao has all the makings of a chart-topper and is in a great position to unseat one of the reigning clubs. Nay, say the naysayers! In this party gal's opinion, the Big Three of '05 are Body English, Pure and Light, in no particular order, or course. With Tao now serving up perfection nightly and Jet set to arrive at the Mirage in December, what 2006 will hold promises to be very interesting.
Xania's Hot Spots for September 29 – October 5
Thursday, September 29
Tao: premiere of Jack Lafleur's Worship Thursdays
La Bête: Cy and Jesse Wait's birthday party
Caramel: Silent auction benefiting the American Red Cross Hurricane Katrina relief fund
Plush: Rock 'n' Roll Wine Happy Hour and performance by LA's Videostar
Tabú: Fusion with new resident DJ Create
Friday, September 30
Beauty Bar: Riot Room with Tsar, the Drummer KC, Korby and DJ Michael Toast
Saturday, October 1
Empire Ballroom: the Abe Froman Showmen with DJs Graham Funke, Stone Rokk, 5IVE, Cobra, OB One and Vice
Pure: DJ Donkey Pizzle (Danny Masterson)
Sunday, October 2
Light: Just Cavalli's From Russia with Love, introducing Czarina collection
Xania Woodman thinks globally and parties locally. And frequently. E-mail her at
[email protected].