the soft side of a hard city.

vegas operates on a few simple principles... image is everything, who you know is what you're worth, and money is most important.

it's a tough city, no doubt.

the majority of people in vegas on any given weekend are tourists. the residents depend on tourist spending in order to survive. this year tourism is down and so are revenues.

even in the best of times there are limited options for people to make a living in vegas. most people are part of the gaming and tourism economy or are in the building industry helping to build even more casinos and hotels.

las vegas locals are supremely jaded since they have to clean up after every party.

as you have heard ... "what happens in vegas stays in vegas".

- if ever an idea has lead to more bad behavior, it would probably be a war crime. don't worry about what people think of you, you will never see them again. take advantage of everyone and everything, go ahead, really, follow your most basic urges and do what you want, you are invisible within the limits of this oasis.

while my experiences in the las vegas night life have been wild, the clubs contain mostly horney men with a handful of girls annoyed by them. it leads to a nasty vibe where the girls are turned off, which then leads to the guys getting frustrated and aggressive. it compliments the music perfectly, which is a hyped of mix of hip hop and pop.

sunday may 24th 2009.

love fest las vegas by go ventures...

the term rave has been thrown around and maybe even replaced by "electronic music festival" or "dance music event" but for my own purposes i still like to use the the term "rave" since it ecapsulates the type of music, the hours, and most importantly the attitude of the crowd.

at 9 pm the line to get in ran through the casino of the palms hotel like a funny river of good vibers. people behind us were excited to hear carl cox and mark farina. the stuck up girl in front of us waited for somebody to approch her, who she would certainly blow off in order to feel wanted yet unattainable, but nobody tried talking to her, so she simply posed and looked out of the corner of her eye for people who were looking at them.

at the front of the line the red rope was unhinged for a small group of people, but closed again before christy was let in. i turned to the doorman and explained that she was with me, he apologized quickly, i said not to worry, most people didn't expect me to do so well.

we stepped inside and saw a gigantic blue pool surrounded by speakers and bars and comfortable couches. palm trees and billion dollar hotels towered over the venue and it was time to drink the first of many red bulls. we tried to rest earlier, but it is hard to sleep in las vegas. walking around the venue i noticed that the crowd seemed not only very attractive, but also very friendly. that rare atmosphere of a genuinly good vibe was bubbling up in las vegas.

the first set we listened to was by reza, who i have heard many times over the years. i liked the variety and selection of tunes he chose, which has always been his strong suit. what i liked about that set was that he patiently let the set develop and build, without rushing or forcing a big tune. the tempo did not change abruptly, but was instead very steady, resulting in a smooth set.

i love hard tunes, but the set must have consistency and smooth progression. reza's set was clasically well mixed and well designed, and the levels were properly adjusted for comfortable listening over a three hour period. this was a set that would make any red blooded house cat meow. not including finicky deep house purists, of course.

so...

next thing you know we are on stage with carl cox!

yeah, as in "what the fuck, that is carl mother fucking cox, right there!" considered by many to be one of the world's premier house DJs, he is an international A list performer and grand master of any and all DJ equipment, with unrivaled access to every tune ever carved into vinyl or saved to disk, there can be no doubt that he is a legend.

but did you know that the big man has dance moves too? the guy was really in a groove! carl, er, mr. cox, i just want to throw this out there... warren sap. dancing with the stars. think about it.


Special Thanks to Ali Sarabi for driving us around Las Vegas and letting us stay at his house, and picking us up after the parties at 4 a.m.