House music stronger than ever in Vegas?

[greenie]

Only a few short months ago you could find quite a few people strongly proclaiming that house music was dead in Vegas, forever doomed to the fringe.

Really?

A quick scope of the spots where you can get your house groove on at least one night a week:

Jet

Revolution

Pure

Body English

Tao

Tao Beach

Drai's

Empire

Seamless

Foundation Room

Icehouse

Barcode

The Downtown Lounge

Red Room

Moon

Tangerine

No, there may not be a giant main room catering to house during the prime 11p-4a hours but there are great options for house lovers every single night of the week... not to mention during the day too, with spots like Tao Beach playing an equal amount of house to hip-hop, sometimes more.

Hell, last Tuesday I happened to walk downstairs at Pure and what did I hear? House in the main room... and the entire crowd LOVING it... shouting and raising arms in approval... granted it only lasted for 20 minutes (that I witnessed, anyway) before going back to top-40 hip-hop but hell, who woulda thunk...

Yes, surely house music is dead here...

[VegasStatusVIP]

I have lived in Vegas for 20 years now and was lucky enough to witness the House Era back in 97' - 01 or 02'. It was a time where hip-hop was not the norm in Vegas. A time where everyone was happy and fights at clubs were extremely rare. In fact, Utopia back then had a Hip-Hop night and it was the only time fights happened.

So where did the House Era go???

As the advent of bottle service came to be and MTV turned into MT-HipHop-V, masses of hip hop loving tourists started pouring into the clubs. Thus we have Vegas the way it is in the main rooms. See, in Vegas money talks. Unfortunately, clubs make WAY more profit from bottle and alcohol sales than water. And they certainly cannot start selling gallons of Orange Juice!

However, HOUSE IS NOT GONE FOREVER!!!

Mark my words, House music is making a comeback into the Vegas night scene.

See my friends, we are virtually the only country in the world that plays mostly hip hop in our clubs. Go to any small city clubs and witness the power of hip hop.

Like soccer, the rest of the WORLD loves House music. Go anywhere in Europe and listen to their beats. You will hear the endless beat of a house drum.

It is my recent experience at Tao that the club clears out by 2:30 am. All of my friends that work there keep scratching their heads and wondering what is going on.

I'll tell you what is going on. Tao is by far one of the biggest clubs in town with a main room, large side room, upstairs beach club and a downstairs lounge, yet the predominant music genre is Hip-Hop. It used to be that the downstairs lounge was called the House Lounge, yet DJ's there are forced by management to spin hip hop from 12 to 3am!!! The megaclub never changes genre! All night long in the main room its hip hop hip hop hip hop!!!

I'm sorry, but even the hip hop loving crowd gets tired of hip hop all night! My groups of bachelorettes find themselves bored and sitting because the bump and grind never ends! Finally at around 2:30 the dj switches it up a little and spins some Guns and Roses and instantly the crowd is back!

I had lunch with the Director of Marketing not too long ago and asked him why Tao only plays house music after 3am.

His response was that the house crowd doesn't show up until 4am!!!!

WRONG!!!

What happens is that the Hip Hop crowd is tired of their own music and go home. So naturally the only crowd in the club is the House crowd!

By no means am I putting Tao or it's practices down, I'm just saying that hip hop does tire people down and a good mix of genres should be spun.

Much praise to Jet for their Monday night House music! Much praise to Body English for their Ministry of Sound Wednesdays. Now bring it on during a Friday or Saturday and I guarantee you will sell out.

Think of it...EVERY major club in town plays a hip hop dominated night in their main rooms. If ONE of them catered to the house crowd, they would sell out. Drugs are not the only driving force behind house music. In fact, you have a whole generation of house music lovers that are burned out on pills and are back to their alcoholic ways.

Everyone knows you can't find house music in a main room on the weekend. So if one club did it, all the house lovers would pour in by the thousands!

House music will make a come back in Vegas! It will take time, probably years yet, but it will come back!

[johnos]

Heard that the new nightclub at wynn BLUSH is doing a house night featuring Jack LAfleur starting the thursday after labor day just got an email

[djmasterweb]

>In fact, Utopia back then had a Hip-Hop night and it was the only time

>fights happened.

I'm dissapointed whenever I hear people imply that hip-hop music equates to fighting. The reason people fight in the club is because they DRINK and because they compete with each other. It has little to do with the music itself. It has more to do with the reason the Vegas club scene is more succesful now than back then... More alcohol, more sex drive...

>I'm sorry, but even the hip hop loving crowd gets tired of hip hop all night!

>My groups of bachelorettes find themselves bored and sitting because the

>bump and grind never ends!

I disagree. A true hip-hop loving crowd gets tired of POORLY PROGRAMMED hip-hop all night... There are plenty of ways to keep a hip-hop loving crowd happy all night without house and rock... if the DJ knows how to... The feedback I hear ALL THE TIME about the Vegas hip-hop scene is that the djs aren't usually that effective. Perfect example, the main clubs don't even hire the REAL local hip-hop djs because they don't want to bring "that crowd" -- except OPM obviously where the night doesn't even peak until 1:30 to 4:00 on the busier nights.

>I had lunch with the Director of Marketing not too long ago and asked him

>why Tao only plays house music after 3am. His response was that the

>house crowd doesn't show up until 4am!!!! WRONG!!! What happens is that

>the Hip Hop crowd is tired of their own music and go home. So naturally the

>only crowd in the club is the House crowd!

I disagree. The reason they don't play house during their money hours is because the MAJORITY of people who go to Tao want to dance to music they KNOW from the radio and TV.

>Much praise to Body English for their Ministry of Sound Wednesdays. Now

>bring it on during a Friday or Saturday and I guarantee you will sell out.

I disagree. There's a reason they play it on Wednesday (which is by far their slowest night of the week). Body English caters to the California look-at-me crowd. Most of them prefer hip-hop and rock. The reason they offer house on Wednesday is to provide something unique on a night in which the pool of people in town is much smaller, and is already dominated by other clubs playing Hip-Hop.

>Think of it...EVERY major club in town plays a hip hop dominated night in

>their main rooms. If ONE of them catered to the house crowd, they would

>sell out. Everyone knows you can't find house music in a main room on the

>weekend. So if one club did it, all the house lovers would pour in by the

>thousands!

There's a reason clubs don't put all their investment into house on their money nights. Just think... Ice. They couldn't sell out a regular hour Friday night much of the time... even WITH big djs. House music lovers do not generate NEARLY the same liquor sales as hip-hop lovers. It's a fact of business in Las Vegas and it won't change significantly until house gains radio and TV play (like in other countries for example).

[VegasStatusVIP]

I wasn't implying that Hip Hop music is the source of fighting, but you must agree, NBA All Star weekend was pretty bad for Vegas. Don't anyone take this as a racial statement. I am merely speaking of the facts in the news, the shootings, the fights and the metal detectors at venues that usually do not carry them. Anyone who watched the news that weekend can agree, it was pretty bad.

I can agree, fights usually happen because of people drinking and competing.

Fact: Hip Hop attracts more drinkers that compete with each other than House Music. So, how can you not have more fights at Hip-Hop music events?

About the DJ's not being effective, I personally have never experienced a "true" hip hop dance club and thus I cannot argue that point.

Tao eh? Have you been there on any of the nights they brought in big name DJ's like Bob Sinclar or Erick Morillo? PACKED PACKED PACKED!!!

Bottle minimums were not diminished nor was pricing on drinks, so I can't see why profit margins would take a significant slump. The bars were just as packed as any other night.

Wednesdays are by far the slowest night of the week for all of Vegas, not just Body English.

Ice was packed every weekend of their first 2 years of existence! They even had their own reality TV show! The problem with Ice was location. That corner can never keep a club open. Parking there was frightfully small, if you didn't want to valet, you had to park and hope your car would still be there when you left and definitely had to pray you wouldn't get mugged out there!

You put Ice in a major casino with the volume of tourist influx and watch it flourish again!!!!

Lastly, I am not attacking Hip Hop, I may have misconstrued the situation and blamed only hip hop versus "dj effectiveness" at the clubs, but that is still to be proven in my eyes.

All I am trying to say is that House is making a come back to the Vegas night scene!!!

Argue what you want, but listen when you are not at OPM, you will know that house beats are starting to make a presence again!

Memorial Day weekend was like WMC! House was EVERYWHERE!! Now clubs are starting to promote House nights!!!

[djmasterweb]

I wasn't implying that Hip Hop music is the source of fighting, but you must agree, NBA All Star weekend was pretty bad for Vegas. Don't anyone take this as a racial statement. I am merely speaking of the facts in the news, the shootings, the fights and the metal detectors at venues that usually do not carry them. Anyone who watched the news that weekend can agree, it was pretty bad.

Yes, but that has nothing do with the Hip-Hop scene in Vegas on a normal weekend.

Ice was packed every weekend of their first 2 years of existence! They even had their own reality TV show! The problem with Ice was location. That corner can never keep a club open. Parking there was frightfully small, if you didn't want to valet, you had to park and hope your car would still be there when you left and definitely had to pray you wouldn't get mugged out there!

I always felt if Ice was a straight urban Hip-Hop club with good security and dress code, that it would be the *perfect* location. As a matter of fact, last summer they did a weekly Tuesday night hip-hop event which brought more business than Fridays for most of its run.

All I am trying to say is that House is making a come back to the Vegas night scene!!!

Argue what you want, but listen when you are not at OPM, you will know that house beats are starting to make a presence again!

Memorial Day weekend was like WMC! House was EVERYWHERE!! Now clubs are starting to promote House nights!!!

I'm happy to see that trend. I hope people support it because ultimately that is what will determine its life span. Memorial weekend will always have more EDM since its an East Coast weekend and a lot of people support the scene from NY for example. It all comes down to support. I know that I've experienced some house music night attempts at local clubs and it was almost impossible to bring large turnouts, and unless here was a huge dj, people didn't even want to support the door by paying cover. I hope to see that change.

[JuddyBuddy]

house music:ecstasy::hip-hop::drinking

ecstasy:hugging::drinking:fighting

*********************************

[djmasterweb]

house:ecstacy:hugging:low-liquor-sales:low-door-average:or-higher-dj-expenses:venue-bankrupt

hip-hop:drinking:higher-potential-of-fighting:better-security:stricter-dresscode:high-liquor-sales:higher-door-average:venue-profitable

That basically explains the reason hip-hop still dominates Vegas main rooms during peak hours.

[djmasterweb]

Hey but maybe this Jet Mondays promo can turn some of that around. Let's hope it stays strong in September and October.

[zarjoe]

Hey guys... discussions like this are the reason I read this board over all the other forums out there. It was balanced, insightful, respectful and informative. A house music lover myself (and professional/business owner) I am glad to see a resurgence in the house scene in Vegas, but understand the business drivers behind clubs needing to maximize revenue. Thanks for a great thread.

One thing that wasn't discussed (other than east/west coast differences) was demographics of the crowds (especially generations... 30+ or new clubbers) and how that impacts both the spend and draw... their music tastes differ and their expectations in the Vegas experience are different too. Thoughts?

We are coming out for MAGIC and staying on to party through LDW... hope to run into you both... but for the first time in a long time... we are NOT looking for a hook up/help from this board (unless you have some insightful suggestions for a house loving crew that lives in Vanacouver Canada and just got back from Miami).... we finally know enough people but can always use the insights of locals Thanks again... Zarjoe

[marcblemberg]

As for hip hop there is none.

What is being played in the clubs and on the radio is babble bullshit.

I hope house comes back and wipes out all the wack-hop that's out there...

www.slidesundays.com

mr freeze

rock steady crew.

[stymie]

I hope a gust of wind comes in LV and blows your slinky ass down the street like a tumbleweed...

Mr. Stymie

Frank the Tank from Norwoods Crew

[zarjoe]

....and it looks like I spoke too soon about the respectful tone of the thread....

[shervinf]

Nights on the Circuit

August 9, 2007

by Xania Woodman

THEIR HOUSE IS YOUR HOME: 3400 new reasons to look forward to Monday

Tuesday, August 7, 1:21 a.m.

I’d imagine that in any other city, the word Monday is interchangeable with mundane: A nasty drive to work, the start of the work week, maybe a workout, then home to get ahead on some more work. Work, work, work. In any other city, that is. But for many a Sin City citizen, Monday is actually Funday; nightlife- and entertainment-industry employees often have Sunday/Monday or Monday/Tuesday as their weekend. Also, those industry people, well, they love their house music, don’t they? Jet doesn’t just know this to be a fact, they live it and breath it every week on Industry Mondays. But locals aren’t the only ones who take Jet up on their Monday night offering; tourists and business travelers on long weekends enjoy the party, too. So when I heard that Jet gave their former rock room a complete house-music overhaul just for Mondays, I couldn’t wait to see what they came up with.

“Every day I’m hustling/Every day I’m hustling.” Yeah, Rick Ross? Well, you’re not the only one. I’m being squeezed through Jet’s main-room throng like a tube of very little toothpaste. Sunglasses guy, Barbie girl, frat boy and thug all squish by, our bodies smearing together. This isn’t what I want. “Party Like a Rock Star” gets an all-too-reverent moment of silence, and I use the pause before the beat drops to duck back into 3400 for the new party Destination: House.

I had arrived early, at 11:30, to check out the renovation. Hot! The sign for 3400, the new Monday night house party-within-a-party, is projected over the doorway. Bespectacled and with a cigarette balanced on his lip, resident DJ Eddie McDonald opens for the headliner, London’s Paolo Mojo; fellow resident Faarsheed jumps in both before and after, and Chris Garcia will round out the night somewhere just before dawn.

Ladies dance on the bass bins, just beneath two of the eight dangling gauze lanterns that remind me of Godskitchen and Ice. I assumed they were there to strategically improve the sound quality, but Faarsheed tells me they’re ornamental. Either way, the sound is impeccable. Production consultant Johnny Caron of the Funky Tekno Tribe is the reputed master of tiny details that affect the overall product: “It’s tuned just right,” declares Faarsheed. I observe that the closer you are to the DJ, the cooler you are. Or perhaps it’s that the cooler you are, the closer you can get to the DJ. The new raised-corner DJ booth creates a cul-de-sac of such coolness at the end of the bar, where Mike Hanley is passing out the Patron. “I’m the house man!” he says, dancing a little but stopping just short of flair.

Very little other than the bar has been left alone. The long, bistro-level standing bar is gone, opening up the floor to dancers. “House-music people roll deep!” says marketing and promotions coordinator Steven Lockwood of the decision to exchange the once-shallow VIP tables for roomy, square booths with high backs just begging for amateur go-go dancers. The bass is deep, too, vibrating my spine, my earrings and the very clothes I wear. But it’s not overwhelming, and I can still hear McDonald say, “I love it! [Mojo’s] possibly one of the five biggest names in dance music right now.” On tour with Deep Dish and looking all of 17 years old, he is tearing it up, drink in one hand, the outcome of our night in the other. “I’m impressed,” says Jet’s talent liaison, Josh D., “and I’m never impressed.” The headliners will change weekly in 3400.

At the official grand opening on August 13, all three residents will spin, accompanied by Cayce Andrew on percussion, and Faarsheed—now dancing on the bar—also mentions a naughty balloon-animal guy. I leave to the sound of Mojo leaning heavy on the buttons and knobs, drawing out a note for what seems like an eternity. Cutting through the main room, I find the female bartenders also dancing on the bar waiting for the beat to drop on Body Rockers’ “I Like the Way.” I exit Jet in a shower of napkins, the screams of delight sneaking with me out the door.

Xania Woodman thinks globally and parties locally. And frequently. E-mail her at xania@thecircuitlv.com and visit thecircuitlv.com to sign up for Xania’s free weekly newsletter.

[JuddyBuddy]

house:ecstacy:hugging:low-liquor-sales:low-door-average:or-higher-dj-expenses:venue-bankrupt

hip-hop:drinking:higher-potential-of-fighting:better-security:stricter-dresscode:high-liquor-sales:higher-door-average:venue-profitable

this is a horrible attempt at an analogy. what did you get on your SATs?

remember, you get 200 points just for signing your name!!!

*********************************

[djmasterweb]

I probably scored higher in math than your combined score, but regardless, what's the point of your post? Do you have an actual opinion or are you just an annoying troll?

[SpyClub717]

A quick scope of the spots where you can get your house groove on at least one night a week:

This is terriffic - thanks!

I'm glad to see the format making a resurgence. It's always seemed to me to be a question of pure economics when it came time to choose a format. Like it or hate it, hip hop will draw the crowd, while house will draw the devout. The simple matter of profitability, rather than superiority of one format over another, is what ultimately settles the score. Why play house to a crowd of 200, when hip hop will hit capacity and fill the line? Sad, but true.

Our trio will be coming out this coming week (8/15 - 8/21) and aside from one stop at 54, it's all house, all week. I'm looking forward to Wed @ BE after a five-hour late-night flight.

It would be nice if someone would come up with a "boycott hip hop" club hop. Where would you go for a week of solid house (or, for that matter, ANY electronic format)? There are those of us who will spend good money AND go out of our way to not hear Jay-Z hits from 2002 37 times a night. We just need to know where to go.

[greenie]

Our trio will be coming out this coming week (8/15 - 8/21) and aside from one stop at 54, it's all house, all week.

Here's an all-house lineup for you...

Wed: Body English then Seamless

Thur: VooDoo then Local Love at Empire

Fri: The Downtown Lounge then Icehouse then Drai's or Empire

Sat: House room at Jet then Drai's or Empire

Sun: Revolution Lounge then Drai's

Mon: 3400 @ Jet

there are some other options out there of course but that would be my recommendation as a mix of favorite spots along with a bit of variety

[mfiorellino]

Here's an all-house lineup for you...

Wed: Body English then Seamless

Thur: VooDoo then Local Love at Empire

Fri: The Downtown Lounge then Icehouse then Drai's or Empire

Sat: House room at Jet then Drai's or Empire

Sun: Revolution Lounge then Drai's

Mon: 3400 @ Jet

there are some other options out there of course but that would be my recommendation as a mix of favorite spots along with a bit of variety

Thanks a bunch for posting that, I too am sick and tired of the lame top 40 rap crap I hear in Vegas club whenever I visit. I'm glad to see that I'm not alone.

[moto]

Here's an all-house lineup for you...

Wed: Body English then Seamless

Thur: VooDoo then Local Love at Empire

Fri: The Downtown Lounge then Icehouse then Drai's or Empire

Sat: House room at Jet then Drai's or Empire

Sun: Revolution Lounge then Drai's

Mon: 3400 @ Jet

there are some other options out there of course but that would be my recommendation as a mix of favorite spots along with a bit of variety

Are these recomendations still valid for good house music spots?

Thanks.

[greenie]

Are these recomendations still valid for good house music spots?

House events at the Icehouse have (again) stopped.

Revolution Lounge is now 100% house on Sun-Mon-Tue nights.

Here's a modified list...

Tue: Revolution Lounge

Wed: Body English then Seamless

Thur: VooDoo then Empire

Fri: The Downtown Lounge then Jet or Barcode then Drai's or Empire

Sat: Jet then Drai's or Empire

Sun: Revolution Lounge then Drai's

Mon: 3400 @ Jet

There other spots you can hit for some of those nights (e.g. the terrace Pure) but this is what I'd recommend for the house heads.

[moto]

House events at the Icehouse have (again) stopped.

Revolution Lounge is now 100% house on Sun-Mon-Tue nights.

Here's a modified list...

Tue: Revolution Lounge

Wed: Body English then Seamless

Thur: VooDoo then Empire

Fri: The Downtown Lounge then Jet or Barcode then Drai's or Empire

Sat: Jet then Drai's or Empire

Sun: Revolution Lounge then Drai's

Mon: 3400 @ Jet

There other spots you can hit for some of those nights (e.g. the terrace Pure) but this is what I'd recommend for the house heads.

Thanks for the advise greenie, this is very helpful. Where's the Downtown Lounge located at & does anybody here have any hookups at any of these places? I haven't been to Vegas in a while & any help would be appreciated

[ROBERTatBLUSH]

if you love House Music then TRY BLUSH ON THURSDAY NIGHTS FROM 10pm-4am

[welovespace]

I think an all house Fri and Sat could work in vegas in one major club and take in the same if not more money. Here are two real life examples of why.

In Ibiza house music rules the roost. People said that no other music could work there. That has been proved wrong by Ibiza Rocks, and Westwoods rap night at Eden. The reason these two formats are so successfull is because they are a change from the house music that is being played in every other club. Yes, house is still by far the most dominate format, but Ibiza Rocks gets tons of mileage and free publicity by being different then everybody else. There nights are packed to the gills and I am sure lot's of money is being made.

[mfiorellino]

I see what you're saying but America is not Ibiza. In Europe house music is much more popular and is actually played on the radio there. Here it gets very little radio airplay. Hence why we're bombarded with the all the lame hip-hop that's on the radio now and being played in the clubs. Hopefully with satellite and internet radio, Ipod, etc gaining ground everyday, terrestial radio will go the way of the dinosaur.