Oakey '08 comeback special

It's hard to not think of Elvis Presley when pondering DJ/producer Paul Oakenfold's new "Perfecto Vegas" residency at Palms' Rain nightclub. For most of the 1960s, the King of Rock 'n' Roll emphasized movies over music, and after years of uninspired creative output, he (and his manager, Col. Tom Parker) sought to revitalize his music career. His famous television comeback concert in 1968 led to a five-year stand at the International Hotel -- now called the Las Vegas Hilton -- which, regardless of Celine Dion's boffo box office at Caesars, still stands as Vegas's most iconic performer residency. It gave Elvis's career second wind, if briefly, and permanently changed this city's entertainment landscape.

Now, Oakenfold's no Elvis. However, he might be the Elvis of DJ culture. Since the late 1980s, as both producer and DJ, Oakenfold helped shift the direction of dance music from R&B-inspired disco-pop to European acid house and techno. He helped popularize trance in the 1990s, and when it took over Europe -- and then the American club scene in 1997-2000 -- he was the dance scene's most visible and in-demand figure. One local club paid him $25,000 for a performance in 2000.

Shortly after that, two things happened: Trance music hit a backlash, and Oakenfold, like Elvis, began a dalliance with the film world centered around soundtracks (unlike Elvis, he would remain off-screen). And like Elvis, it's during Oakenfold's Hollywood period -- he even moved there -- where his relevance took a hit. He released two solo "artist" albums that were lukewarmly received; his mix albums did not appeal to the mainstream like his 2000 album, Another World (considered the bestselling dance compilation of all time); and he slid down the top 20 of DJ magazine's yearly jock rankings, as both his peers (Paul van Dyk) and protégés (Tiesto) helped spur trance's second coming.

Though he remains a reliable headliner -- and opener, for arena acts such as Madonna -- Oakey has become a veteran, albeit a less hip one than fellow elders such as Danny Tenaglia and Carl Cox. Which makes him a perfect resident for a Las Vegas nightclub.

Technically, he isn't our first. National DJs like Kimball Collins and Donald Glaude have held residencies at Sin City clubs, but they were either infrequent, short-lived or not as noteworthy as their peers holding court in bigger cities. Oakenfold signed a year-long contract with N9NE Group, where he's committed to playing 26 gigs and helping N9NE book headliners for the Saturdays he's not scheduled. Keep in mind two things: He hasn't held a club residency since the late '90s (and those were in his native England), and you'd be hard-pressed to find another DJ residency even remotely comparable anywhere else in the country. This puts a whole other spotlight on Vegas clubland in general, and on Rain -- the real winner in this deal -- in particular.

Oakenfold in Vegas makes sense because he musically straddles the fence between underground and mainstream dance music. Where most Strip clubs are timid to put electronic music in the main rooms, an Oakenfold set isn't such a risk, especially given his history of remixing big name artists, as well as his penchant for perfectly programmed anthemic dance music to which top 40-leaning dance floors tend to react enthusiastically. He's arguably the most famous club spinner in America; if you asked college students in middle America to name one DJ, you can bet his name would come up the most.

And, as if to take no chances, Rain will give Oakey's sets the Vegas touch by incorporating lighting and video elements, performance artists and other visual ephemera to make it more of a "show." (This is also not a first; Tiesto and Sasha & Digweed have all toured with similar supplements in the past.) Rain's always been the Disneyland version of a nightclub, so the multi-sensory and pyro elements will not be out of sync. Furthermore, Oakenfold is something of a personality behind the decks -- some might say messianic at times -- and he'll easily connect with any Rain patron. Put it all together, and you could say the two are Perfecto for each other.

Granted, this isn't the sort of residency that will necessarily win our commercially minded club scene any more credibility within the bigger nightlife world. Oakenfold will likely not radically alter his approach to DJing or use his hi-tech pulpit for any significant musical experimentation, like Sasha did for his "Fundacion" stints in 2005-2006. His latter-era artistic inclinations give him the distinction of being at best a "safe" electronic music artist, and at worst a purveyor of synthesizer cheese.

If the latter's true, hey, he's a cheesy DJ for a cheesy place, and that's another reason the Oakey and Vegas teaming makes sense. They go together like peanut butter and bananas.

"Perfecto Vegas" launches 10 p.m. Aug. 30 at Rain inside Palms hotel-casino. Cover: $40 for opening, $30 every Saturday thereafter (local ladies free).