A funny thing happened on the rooftop at Pure

So I'm watching the rooftop DJ at Pure on Jan. 15, and he looks like he's doing the funky chicken from behind the decks. I don't recognize him, but he just mixed a cool version of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" into his house set.

Upon closer inspection, I find out it's Frank Richards (Utopia, ICE, Tangerine). He's digging in his crates, stressing a little that he can't find a particular 12-inch, when a cute blonde with three friends plants herself in front of his DJ set-up and expresses how good it is to see Richards spinning.

"Is this the new Utopia?" she asks.

Richards is pre-occupied, refusing to get distracted as she tries to push some new energy drink on him. The crowd on the impromptu dance floor seems as if they've had quite a few energy drinks, dancing to Richards' set with abandon in a way rarely seen at house nights these days. I point this out to Richards, leading him to declare: "House music will never die! It's coming back in a big way!"

We'll see. With rooftop action like we've been seeing at Pure, Richards' opinion holds weight.

For the debut of locals night "Pure Tuesdays" on Jan. 18, the club had ICE resident DJ Faarsheed at the controls. Faarsheed took advantage of a pre-rush, early evening crowd to play some nice leftfield, esoteric house music that you won't normally hear in a big club. It set the stage for a great night on Pure's rooftop, which is hands-down the hottest scene in Vegas nightlife right now. Wear a sweater if the temperature is in the 40s, and you won't have to stand near one of the portable heaters.

Pure Management Group estimates the club pulled in 2,500 bodies for the first Tuesday locals night, with OB-One and DJ Sky Nellor keeping the masses happy inside. The dance floor was a little too crowded, a situation not helped by the inclusion of bottle-service tables at one end of the floor. Pure has three separate VIP areas in the main room, not including the more exclusive Red Room and the ultra-exclusive, double-secret VIP room that requires a retinal scan and a DNA sample (just a joke!). It would be cool to see bottle-service tables on the floor axed for "Pure Tuesdays," so everybody can have a good time inside and the vibe on the dance floor doesn't suffer -- although this didn't seem to be as much of a problem on the weekend.

CityLife predicts a future where a club makes every inch of real estate into VIP areas, and you have to pay extra to dance.

On the plus side, if they gave an award for great service, I'd place the odds in Pure's favor. PMG totally outdid itself in hiring and training a top-notch crew with awesome attitudes. (The man-mountains that guard the VIP areas would win "Most Intimidating.")

Reserve a rooftop cabana with a handful of friends one of these nights and see for yourself.

MATT KELEMEN

MKELEMEN@LVPRESS.COM

Meet the new queen of clubs via "The Circuit"

CityLife met an up-and-coming scenester at "Pure Tuesday" whom you are going to hear a lot more about in the future. Xania V. Woodman is the publisher of a recently launched e-newsletter titled "The Circuit," and it's the most informative and fun independently published Vegas nightlife read in cyberspace.

"The Circuit" started off as a result of two things: Woodman liked to go out just about every night, and her friends always called her to find out what was going on. She works for concierge company VIPVegas.com, a position that gives her access to insider nightlife news. And on the weekend before Halloween, she collected all the info she had and sent it to 15 recipients.

"The purpose originally was to give information to all of my friends who were calling me or e-mailing me during the week, saying they had friends in town or family that they wanted to take out," she says. "Everybody was asking me, 'Where should we go? What should we do?' That kind of stuff."

"The Circuit" quickly grew from there, joining "Viva Las Vegas" (www.billhere.com), "Week In Networking" (www.winlv.net) and "Napkin Nights" (www.napkinnights.com) as the best e-newsletters containing news and coverage of Vegas nightlife and entertainment. "The way the title came about was that I use to refer to 'The Circuit.' 'The Circuit' was where everybody goes; it's an expected tour almost."

In other words, Woodman is a go-to tastemaker, letting people know where the hotspot is on any given night of the week, or being the first to let everyone know that Light surpassed the House of Blues as the place to go on Sundays.

Woodman still goes out four or five times a week. In her latest dispatches, she buzzes about the new Monday nights at Mix and Tangerine's Thursday-night weekly party for production castmembers, "Backstage Booty." She's lending her expertise to a new locally produced television show and will soon launch her Website (www.thecircuitlv.com).

Meanwhile, you can sign up for "The Circuit" by contacting Woodman at subscribe@TheCircuitLV.com. Keep in mind, the newsletter is for locals only -- and if you cut-and-paste her content into your own newsletter or Website, you won't be receiving "The Circuit" for long.

M.K.

The Pipes pick up the pace

Biker-blues-metalcore quintet the Loud Pipes are busy recording with Supersuckers guitarist Ron Heathman at Planet X studio in Southern California. According to Pipes bassist Roxie, the final product should be a full-length album that will come out in April.

The band, which has undergone many lineup changes over the years, now consists of Roxie, Jesse (guitarist), Tony (vocals), Scotti (guitarist) and Danny (drummer).

The Pipes plan to tour California after rocking GameWorks on Jan. 20 at 7 p.m. Admission: free. This show is all-ages. For more info, go to www.theloudpipes.com.

JARRET KEENE

KEENE@LVPRESS.COM

Joint show signifies firsts for the Hives

When the Hives took the stage on Jan. 15 at the Joint, it marked a number of firsts for the Swedish quintet. It was the first time they played in Las Vegas. It was the first of only two American shows scheduled for this tour. And, if you really wanna get nit-picky, it was the band's first show of the new year.

Clad in their trademark black shirts and pants, touched off with white jackets and country-western style ties, the Hives rocked a 16-song set, stopping only for lead singer Howlin' Pelle Almqvist to proclaim his band's greatness and berate a beer cup-throwing fan. As might be expected, the crowd responded mainly to the hits (especially the breakthrough single "Hate to Say I Told You So"). But the real treat came when the Hives slowed things down with the quasi-ballad "Diabolic Scheme" off their new album, Tyrannosaurus Hives.

With the energy ratcheted up for the entire show, including a three-song encore, the Hives strutted into town every bit as cocky and self-assured as they promised in interviews. Only, of course, musicians with egos aren't really a first.

KEVIN CAPP

EDITSST@LVPRESS.COM

Got news tips, suggestions or feedback? If so, contact CityLife A&E Editor Jarret Keene at 702-871-6780 ext. 347 or keene@lvpress.com.