Sunday, January 13, 3:22 a.m.
It’s good to be back. It must be—life after death is not a common occurrence in the nightlife scene. Once entirely disbanded, it’s rare that a party—let alone an entire venue—will return to any acclaim. One exception would be Utopia (returning February 14 for its 12th anniversary), which began as a party but soon overtook its venue and later closed causing much heartache in the afterhours community. More so than in mainstream markets, the loss of an afterhours seems especially distressing to its loyal following, perhaps because of the nonaccidental nature of that scene; you’ve gotta really love a party to show up regularly at 4 a.m.!
In all, four mohawks work the door at Teatro Afterhours, giving one at least the indication that they aren’t selling cookie-cutter, prepackaged nightlife within. Sam, with his 12-inch ’hawk and sharp suit, Dustin Loose, Brian with the mighty clipboard and another gent seemingly serving the same purpose, they all regard the patrons as they approach, check ’em off, stamp them and send them through the doors to what had been—at least until the four-wall deal begins at 2:30 a.m.—the Krave Lounge outside Planet Hollywood on Harmon. Redesigned to evoke the first-generation Teatro Lounge at the MGM Grand, Teatro’s second coming is not connected to Krave’s gay scene but rather leases the space out from under Krave from 2:30 a.m. to about 8 a.m. on Delicious Fridays (hosted by someone rather delicious), Saturdays and House of Love industry Tuesdays.
There is simply no escaping the loud at Teatro. “It’s more like upscale underground,” explains music director and resident DJ Digital Boy, aka Luca Pretolesi, making comparisons to Milan and other European cities. He points out that this is the same Martin London system as in England’s Ministry of Sound. “It’s made for electronic music; it’s built for that.” As it is, I’m reading his lips, and scarily enough, he says this is the system at only 40 percent. He’ll crank up the juice a bit at 5 a.m., and, Pretolesi points out with a devious smile, people as far away as the casino have reported feeling the bass. Call it guerrilla marketing, if you will.
DJ Sien Pileggi opens for DJ Dimitris Mykonos of Ruby Skye, San Francisco, freeing Italian import Pretolesi up to greet the steadily arriving afterhours crowd. The bones of Krave Lounge remain, though there has been some significant renovation. Where the DJ booth once stood directly opposite the doors, a VIP stage keeps the upper crust feeling lofty. A few steps flanked by go-go boxes take promoters and close, personal friends to the best seat in the house. The DJ booth has been relocated around the large, curved wooden bar to the back of the room, high up and overlooking the dance floor and tons of VIP tables.
As the name implies, Teatro (Italian for theater) makes ample use of plush red velvet curtains and up-lighting to create drama throughout. Sconces along the wall evoke an art deco feel, while light-up glassware never lets us forget that this is afterhours. The windowless room allows patrons to escape the inevitable, if only until they emerge after sunrise to claim their car from the dedicated Harmon valet.
For now, Mykonos wears a hiker’s head flashlight, and I’m hoping it’s to better see his music collection, though he seems to take much enjoyment from shining it out on the crowd. “This is my floor,” his song says. “You’re just dancing on it.” The sophisticated, foreign-looking crowd appears as if they were cherry-picked from other afterhours events with the promise of seeing a kick-ass DJ in an intimate venue. Men sport pointy-toed, tan loafers; ladies wear babydoll cocktail dresses and faux fur while bopping about the lounge, drink in hand, much to the men’s delight. There is no confusion of purpose here, and no one seems to give a fig that this party goes off right on the heels of DJ Lisa Pittman’s CandyBar (“For girls who like girls”). In fact, a few sexy ladies left over from Pittman’s event linger to make out, and I don’t hear anyone complaining. Come on, we’re all far too evolved for that.
Xania Woodman thinks globally and parties locally. And frequently. E-mail her at [email protected] and visit thecircuitlv.com to sign up for Xania’s free weekly newsletter.