Vegas after midnight

The Strip was abuzz last week with the goings-on at "The Club Show," a three-day (March 25-27) expo that "explores the behind-the-scenes world of nightclubs." Sponsored by Club Systems International Magazine, a sister publication of respected dance-music magazine DJ Times, "The Club Show" was a kind of mini-Winter Music Conference, with seminars at the Riviera hotel-casino and mad parties at Studio 54, Tabú Ultra Lounge and Ibiza U.S.A.

Coming mere days after the WMC may have been a hindrance for the expo, at least in terms of national recognition. Every year the entire dance and electronic music world descends on Miami's South Beach for five days of all-night parties and poolside networking, and every year, near the end of the conference, a rumor goes around that the WMC is moving to Las Vegas. A little separation might bring more attention to "The Club Show" next year, when the planners intend to blitz the mainstream media and promote Vegas as "the center of bizarre and outlandish nightlife."

While no Vegas clubs took top honors at the First Annual Club Awards event held Wednesday at Tabú, nominees did include Bikini's ("Best Sound System" for the Scott Fisher-designed sonics) and Studio 54's Frankie Anobile ("Best Resident DJ"). "Best Superclub" honors went to Boston's Avalon, "Best Club" to Denver's The Church, "Best Lounge" to Miami's Prive and "Best New Club" to Miami's Maze. Junior Vasquez inexplicably canceled his set scheduled for the closing party at Studio 54 at the last minute on Thursday, but the 54 residents rose to the occasion, and from all reports "The Club Show" heightened the electricity in the air at Baby's, The Beach, Coyote Ugly, Hush and Ra as well.

Meanwhile, over at Aladdin's Desert Passage, promoter Michael Salame of Vegas Alliance says Sunday night's "Common Ground" weekly event is gradually building a following at Sevilla Nightclub. "We're making the vibe. The place is 36,000 square feet, so I'd say its going to be three or four weeks before we're where we want to be."

Salame and his Vegas Alliance cohort, Gino LoPinto, are longtime Vegas promoters and emphasize creating their focus on catering to the locals. But they have their work cut out for them. "The club scene is cyclical," says Salame. "Every three of four years, generations change over. This scene is oversaturated with 40 clubs now."

"Common Ground" has three distinct areas. The main room hosts the house, trance, techno and breaks DJs (Adam Webb, D-Mixx and David Christian on this night), with lasers emanating from behind the turntables and punching through the purple-colored clouds of fog rolling from the stage. A stairway leads to the second level, where Spanish-flavored décor is dramatically evoked with elegant furniture and antique-style beds. Funk and hip-hop, courtesy of Mike White and Brian Hart, emanates from the Red Room, while Javier Alba sets a loungey mood with funk and deep house on the Terrace.

LoPinto and Salame have been saturating the market with full-page ads and 5,000 fliers a week, but as of April 5 they will have their best chance yet to promote the one-month anniversary of "Common Ground." LoPinto has just clinched a deal to move Glo (his 3-year old upscale hip-hop and after-hours joint) to the Strip -- in two different locations. "Platinum Saturdays," the hip-hop weekly formerly held at Glo, will now take place at the Venetian's C2K, and the after-hours portion of Glo has relocated to Ibiza U.S.A (formerly the Blue Note).

The final Saturday night at Glo's old location came as a surprise to many. LoPinto closed the deal on Thursday, and says nearly 1,500 people came out for the hip-hop while 800 people showed for the after-hours. It's the end of an era for the after-hours scene but the beginning of a new one for LoPinto, who has been wanting to make Glo a presence on the Strip for several years. Now with Seven across the street and Drai's down the block, the battle for after-hours supremacy begins.

--Matt Kelemen

mkelemen@lvpress.com

Back ain't wack

Once again, Chez Bippy presents "The Get Back" this Friday, April 4, at the Saloon Bar & Grill inside the Neonopolis in downtown Las Vegas. The Neonopolis is located on 4th Street and Fremont, and the Saloon is on the ground floor right on Fremont. According to "The Get Back" mastermind DJ John Doe and the Saloon management, more than 400 folks showed up at last month's getdown, which featured DJ Seamstar, who came all the way from Miami to drop some heavy, heavy funk. This month's party will offer the regular DJ lineup, including Presto One and special guest Big Tony from Chicago, who'll be laying down some Chi-town funk grooves.

Remember that three-hour parking validation coupons are available at the door if you park in the garage underneath the Neonopolis. "The Get Back" happens every first Friday of the month in tandem with First Friday events held earlier the same evening. First Friday is an ongoing monthly arts, entertainment and social event that's held from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the Las Vegas arts district. For more info on First Friday: www.whirlygiglasvegas.com/ff.htm. For more info on the Saloon, go to www.arkvegas.com/saloon.

--Jarret Keene

keene@lvpress.com

Undergrowth

The Vines were recently on the cover of Rolling Stone and heralded as the return of gritty rock. Judging by the band's show at the House of Blues, one shouldn't believe everything one reads.

Swaggering onstage in an almost drunken stupor, singer/guitarist Craig Nicholls looked disheveled and bored. The band kicked off its brief set with some Nirvana-lite shtick, while the bored crowd stared blankly. Interspersed between the distorted rave-ups were sedate, acoustic-guitar-powered pop tunes. The audience heckled between songs with cries of "You fucking suck!" and "I'm so bored!," encouraging the band to further disengage from the crowd. The stocky bass player stood stock still, plucking out his parts and singing backup, looking extremely bored. Nicholls' vocals were unintelligible, and his screaming only came off as ridiculous. He sloppily belted out power chords on his guitar and succumbed to feedback instead of actually playing. It was only too obvious that this band believes its own hype and feels it doesn't have to put forth any effort. Worse, Nicholls wants to be Kurt Cobain so bad he can taste it. The three-song encore ended with radio single "Get Free," and predictably, the band trashed their gear with cliched abandon.

The highlight of the night was actually opening act The Music. Melding guitar psychedelia par excellence, disco breakbeats and atmospheric vocals, the band received a warm response. The Music could best be described as a cross between the house music Manchester vibe of The Stone Roses and the rock swagger of Led Zeppelin. Always a shame when the opening band blows away the headliners.

--Aaron Archer

renimani@nme.com

Stanhope-ful

One former Las Vegas resident, Jimmy Kimmel, has left Comedy Central's "The Man Show," for his own late-night network talk show, only to be replaced by another former Las Vegan.

The offensive, yet extremely likable, Doug Stanhope spent the early '90s working open-mic shows at The Escape Too (now Favorites) before packing up and hitting the road hard. This hard-living lifestyle is part of his appeal as a comedian, and he was just selected as "The Man Show"'s fifth-season co-host, alongside well-known actor and fellow comedian Joe Rogan ("Fear Factor," "News Radio"). Production is scheduled to begin shortly, and new episodes will be broadcast in the fall.

Stanhope returned to Vegas March 25 to celebrate his birthday and "wedding" anniversary with a standup set at the Jimmy Buffet haven, Tommy Rocker's. Last year's nuptials were performed by a defrocked priest (thus the quotes) and included the unforgettable Vegas debut of eXtreme Elvis, which made for one hell of a party. The bar, and its namesake owner, is near and dear to Stanhope's heart (he lived in the neighborhood and used to spend a lot of time there), even as he made references to the "douche-bag crowd" that was generally unreceptive to his scathing and often brutal observations.

Thankfully, there were some who people got it, including a bunch of his rowdy friends from Alaska's Chilkoot Charlie's who were in town for the Nightclub and Bar Convention.

The show skewered organized religion, meandered through topics ranging from the pain of his recent vasectomy to our war on terror and his support of repealing sodomy laws, before getting to one of his favorite subjects, drugs. "Boredom is a disease worse than cancer," he proclaimed while smoking and swigging a beer. "Drugs cure it."

--Poizen Ivy

poizenivy@sincitysounds.com

Got feedback or comments? Contact Jarret Keene at 702-871-6780 ext. 347 or keene@lvpress.com.