greenie

Looks like OPM and Tao stand as the only major spots that haven't yet announced their Halloween-themed events. Then again, it doesn't look like Rain is doing anything different from their normal night:

Apologies to those I may have left out. Friday DJ Stretch Armstrong @ Pure Night of the Living Dolls #1 @ Studio 54 Summerlin Swamp Thing @ Plush Thank Glaude it's Felix @ ICE Fetish @ Drai's Saturday Fetish & Fantasy Ball @ LV Sports Center Monsterball w/ Sasha @ ICE Halloween Bash w/ Jenny McCarthy and Jenna Jameson @ Body English Night of the Living Dolls #2 @ Studio 54 Quench your Thirst @ Teatro Scary, Sexy and Ultra Spooky @ Tabu Night of Creeps @ Rain Trauma Halloween Party @ Vivid Halloween Ball w/ DJ Stretch Armstrong @ Tangerine Masquerade Ball w/ Dennis Rodman @ Tao Late Night Empire w/ Boris @ Empire Last Chance in Hell @ Drai's Sunday Halloween w/Wilmer Valderrama @ Pure Halloween Ball@ Body English Saints & Sinners Ball @ Light Nightmare on 54th Street @ Studio 54 (dress like a) Celebrity Halloween Slide @ Tabu Masque Halloween Ball w/ Boy George @ Club Rio Masque Afterparty @ Risque Anything Goes @ Drai's Monday Monster Mash w/DJ Jazzy Jeff @ Tangerine Beaux Arts Ball @ Studio 54 Dante's Masquerade @ Foundation Room

I posted a complete rundown of all Halloween weekend parties here: http://bbs.clubplanet.com/showthread.php?p=2848920#post2848920 (or should I say "there?")

Was able to confirm that yes, Foundation will be hosting Dante's Masquerade this year. Exxxxcellllent. Also saw per the NN newsletter that on Monday night, Tangerine will have Jazzy Jeff and Studio 54 will be hosting the Beaux Arts Ball.

FYI tickets aren't on sale for this yet.

Since I haven't seen or heard about anyone doing anything on Halloween night itself -- Monday the 31st -- I'm assuming that Foundation Room will be my destination. Anyone heard if they're doing anything special that night?

Hard to say. Certainly some folks would be interested, but aside from the big question of "what show" the bigger question is what kind of seating will you be offering. For the most part though, when I'm in a show in Vegas and I look around the audience, I'm not exactly seeing folks whose next stop is Body English, Pure, OPM or ICE. Effectively it sounds like you're getting into the market of being a ticket broker, in which case I'd imagine you'd be better off establishing a relationship with a good, established one who has access to multiple shows rather than try to push a single deal. Think of it this way: you no longer represent just one club, you've graduated to the level where you establish relationships with multiple spots so you can meet a wider range of clients' wishes. The bulk of the theaters for the big shows are small enough and designed well enough that getting super-premium seating just isn't that great of a benefit over the same seats that are available online. For example, I just bought a pair of seats for the new BMG show through the Venetian website and the seats are just about dead-center. I can't imagine any sort of package that would make the deal any better. On the flipside, the money I've seen people fork over to brokers for Celine tickets is mind-boggling. That's where the perception of value comes into play, and it's something you need to consider among your customer base. There are a lot of people out there that won't flinch at a $500 bar tab, but will downright refuse to spend $75 (let alone $100-150) on tickets to a Cirque show. Similarly, the same friends I've seen hand over $500 cash for Celine tickets won't even dream about spending the same (or less) for an all-night table reservation. Finally, there's the notion that what you provide as a VIP club host goes beyond simple access; it's how well you can read your clients' tastes. Your job is not only to provide access, but to make sure the personality of your clients matches the vibe of the club you get them to (as well as populate the clubs themselves with the clientele they want). To me that makes the services of a host much more worthwhile -- you're offering a value-add that goes beyond a simple line pass. With show tickets, you're just a broker and little more.

That depends. Did you just drop a tab?

Monsterball with Sasha @ ICE [unnamed event] with Boris @ Empire Ballroom

Not to mention Tupac's beginnings with Digital Underground... where he started as dancer before getting his own licks... too bad he had "nothing to do with hip-hop."

Look, those clubs exist to serve a certain market, and obviously those people in that thread meet that market. It's definitely laughable to hear people touting them as "THE" places, but hey, to each their own. I'm quite glad these folks aren't lining up for the clubs that I like to frequent. They're busy enough as they are. I'm not one to suggest that people who don't know better should be barred from certain clubs, but let's be honest -- if they're getting off on a joint like Bikini's then what's the point of trying to educate them about clubs that don't need their money to begin with? This is one of the reasons I so often fly solo (or at least set off that way) when going to clubs in LV -- there's no point in dragging my friends who would really prefer to be wearing jeans and drinking PBR. It's the same reason they don't try to drag me into the sports books or UFC bouts with them.

Ohhhh man if Lawler throws down a set at ICE that's anything like he banged out at The Church last night, there's gonna be cracks and holes in the dance floor. Seriously heavy tribal mix last night, worked the crowd like nobody's business, hell of a set.

This is one of the nice things about ICE, they'll have major EDM headliner in the arena and at the same time hip-hop in the front lounge. Lots of clubs will run multiple rooms with different music, but they rarely have a big headliner... I've taken a lot of people to ICE that are just like your friend, and they wind up dancing their asses off in both the hip-hop lounge and the arena.

Sweet, thanks for the start time info!

YUP! Heading down annnnnyyyyy second now... as soon as my friends show up... The Church on Thursdays usually has good crowds for headliners like this, oughtta slam pretty hard tonight.

Except for the rich part, I'm already there...

If Empire started promoting it's club nights a bit better and started to figure out an identity for itself, I could see it getting a lot better. Instead the feeling that I've gotten is that every DJ/clubbing event there plays second fiddle to management wanting to book whatever bands they can. Which isn't to say a venue can't do both successfully, but I'm not seeing the full effort there just yet. In some regards you could compare it to ICE before Godskitchen took over. As for Sasha, I was less enthused about his sets in the past but saw him throw down an incredible set in Denver about 6-8 weeks ago, really deep, dark powerful stuff that had the crowd going off the rafters... good shit, enough to make me anxious to see him at ICE.

You are correct, and I should have clarified myself... I was really just speaking in terms of Vegas, especially with regards to the size of the lines outside. Lines at ICE always look worse than they actually are, compared to the opposite at other clubs around town. (for example, the global opposite at Tangerine) If you really want to get technical I'm sure Pure has more total square feet, but in terms of the biggest main room, the arena and connected bar level at ICE is definitely "fucking huge" for Vegas. But yeah I've been to a few gigs at Circus and Avalon and their main areas are certainly bigger, and if you count the balcony at the Ford theater, main room gigs there are bigger. There are bigger venues all over the world, sure.

Definitely a great weekend for EDM... PVD at ICE Friday, Tiesto's arena show Saturday and Lawler at ICE on Sunday. Should be interesting to see who/what else gets booked for a club gig Saturday night.

Mike, glad OPM rocked it for ya. OPM doesn't barely get the cred (or pub) that others in town do but hands down it is one of only two clubs in LV that have always been one hell of a good time for me on every visit. Factor in MWs list and a dancefloor crowd that is among the most responsive to the dudes working the decks... well, it's just pretty damn hard to beat. These days I just can't imagine being in town on a Friday night without going to OPM...

Yeah, got that email. Why do I get the feeling that the HR pool will become overrun with older, fatter, and whiter rich people?

Benny (or anyone), could you check with any contacts you have at ICE and see what kind of night they're looking at? If Sasha is on from 2a-5/6a then I'll be psyched... I've got tickets for the midnight Robert Randolph show at the Joint and will be booking over to ICE afterwards regardless, but it'll be a bit of a bummer if he's winding down before 4 (which I've had happen with other big headliners at ICE). Also, I've never been outside ICE (coming or going) at 1:30-2:00a when there's a big headliner. Think the line will be a big deal?

Ferry Corsten is in Amsterdam, Cologne and Dublin from Friday-Sunday of Halloween weekend. IF he is in Vegas, it would have to be Monday. Boris is at Empire on Saturday, same night as Sasha at ICE. What I'm curious about is what big act, if anyone, is getting lined up for Monday night. Would be a shame to see Halloween night go without at least one heavy hitter in town.

MW, are they picking up their own regular nights? Moreover, I've had good times on nights with both of these guys manning decks before, but I also dig what you and Andy put together at OPM. Who's spinning what nights? (or are you guys rotating it week-to-week)

I can't speak with as much authority as a local, but I do make about 10 trips a year to LV and rarely do I spend an evening without at least one major nightclub spot. And not once have I experienced the kinds of lines and crowds that I've run into in Chicago, Boston, NYC, Miami or London. My personal experience is that Vegas club lines are usually a lot more dependent on the night/holiday, the club itself or a big event in town than it is on the headliner. I'd say it's a safe bet that come the 30th, the line for PVD at ICE will still be shorter than the line at Pure with their residents. I think the longest I ever waited in line at a Vegas club was perhaps an hour and twenty minutes at RA about 3-4 years ago for a DJ Irene gig. Thing is, I didn't get there until about 11:30 and it was spring break week; very few people in line had any clue who was spinning, let alone who DJ Irene was. Very late that night I talked to a few bart and door staff and I seem to recall they said they opened around 10pm that night and they already had a giant line of spring breakers. Comparatively, this spring I was in town when Roger Sanchez was spinning at ICE on an average Saturday night; no big holiday weekend, no fight or other big event in town. I arrived right around midnight and waited no more than 10 minutes. Granted, he's not nearly the mainstream name that is Oakie, Tiesto or PVD, but he's still pretty big among knowledgable clubbers. Thing with ICE is that it's fucking HUGE. To be honest, when a guy like PVD is spinning there the difficulty is less about getting in than it is getting a decent spot on the dancefloor in the arena. If you're really a big PVD guy, then I'd definitely recommend dropping the cash for a table in the arena. Not only will you not have to worry about getting in, but you'll have plenty of room to dance... and so will any of the women you invite to your table.