WET TURNS TEN FREE March 9–15, 2017
COME EARLY.
FOUR DAYS OF FREE LIVE MUSIC
V egas e xperience . com BINION’S
CALIFORNIA
THE D
FOUR QUEENS
FREMONT
GOLDEN GATE
GOLDEN NUGGE T
MAIN STREET STATION
23 Bands • 3 Stages 53 Hours of ShamROCK The Angry Brians Darby O’Gill & the Little People Bogtrotters Union Luck of the Spandex Finnegan’s Wake and many more!
FREE LIVE ENTERTAINMENT DRINK SPECIALS FIREFIGHTERS PARADE & CHALLENGE HARDWOOD HOTTIES (Stage Performance) & EPIC PEOPLE WATCHING
W HAT TO DO
AF T ER DARK By Kimberly De La Cruz
SATURDAY 11 HEAR: Psychedelic rockers Portugal. The Man
FRIDAY 10 HEAR: Feel the music deep in your soul as you go back
THURSDAY 09 HEAR: Tchami’s Prophecy tour and altar might just
bring you to your knees when it stops by Brooklyn Bowl. The French DJ’s house music and strangely endearing churchlike production are unique in their own right and make him a standout in the EDM scene. 7 p.m., $22–$25, at The Linq Promenade, brooklynbowl.com/las-vegas
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in time to the tunes of Charlie Wilson, who’ll make you feel like you need a little alone time with your significant other. His guests Fantasia, Johnny Gill and Solero join him at MGM Grand Garden Arena. 7 p.m., $50-$130, inside MGM Grand, mgmgrand.com
DANCE: “Bounce Back” and forth with Big Sean at
Drai’s. The rapper and ex-Ariana Grande muse takes over the club for a special performance. 10:30 p.m., $30-$50, inside The Cromwell, draisnightlife.com
bring their unique sound to Brooklyn Bowl to make you feel all the things. 8 p.m., $25–$45, at The Linq Promenade, brooklynbowl.com/las-vegas
DANCE: Move your body to sounds by a man who, with his amazing remixes, has done for many artists what “Cash Me Ousside” girl did for Dr. Phil. It’s David Guetta, and his residency at XS continues tonight. 10 p.m., $20–$30, inside Encore, xslasvegas.com DRINK: Get at least 300 of your daily steps and all 2,000
of your daily calories at Container Park’s Brew Bash Beer Walk. Sounds provided by Rock N’ Roll Rebels. 5 p.m., $30–$35, downtowncontainerpark.com
TASTE: The Whiskey Revival Grand Tasting is back
at the Golden Nugget. Sample artisanal whiskeys and moonshines while you get your fill of Southern comfort food. 7 p.m., $58, goldennugget.com/lasvegas
PHOTO BY MACL AY HERIOT
Portugal. The Man
Bruno Mars (right) and DJ Vice
SUNDAY 12 HEAR: After filming the video for “24K Magic” on
Fremont Street and in the Fountains of Bellagio, Bruno Mars returns to Las Vegas with his tantalizing voice and lyrics—plus style that no one else on the planet could pull off. You know his extended engagement at Park Theater, which continues this weekend, is gonna be so fresh he’ll have to give a nod to Jesus: “hashtag blessed.” 9 p.m., prices vary, at Monte Carlo, montecarlo.com
TUESDAY 14 EXPERIENCE: Nothing says relaxation like
DANCE: Start your week right by dancing off those Monday blues to beats by DJ Vice at Marquee. 10:30 p.m., $23–$32, inside The Cosmopolitan, marqueelasvegas.com TASTE: You made it through another Monday. Celebrate at The Artisan during Amplified, an event featuring live music, $8 Manhattan and Old Fashioned cocktails, and $2 tacos from the hotel’s Barcelona tapas joint. 6–10 p.m., 1501 W. Sahara Ave., artisanhotel.com
WEDNSDAY 15 DANCE: 1 OAK celebrates its five-year
anniversary with the help of 2 Chainz during a special installment of the nightclub’s Ended Up at 1 OAK industry night. 10:30 p.m., $20–$30, inside The Mirage, 1oaklasvegas.com
HEAR: It’s karaoke night at Artifice.
You’ve been keeping those “Hit Me Baby One More Time” moves inside for far too long. Share them with friends and strangers alike when you take the Downtown bar’s stage. 10 p.m., 1025 First St., Suite A, artificebar.com
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BRUNO MARS BY K AI Z FENG; VICE BY RYAN ALL AN
MONDAY 13
maintaining half-moon pose with a beer in your hand. Booze Yoga is a thing, and it’s happening at Henderson’s CraftHaus Brewery. 6 p.m., $20, 7350 Eastgate Road, Suite 110, crafthausbrewery.com
THE BIG SPLASH
Party power players reflect on the ultra pool’s ascent to success
Wet Republic Turns 10 By Jason R. Latham
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The venue that defined daylife on the Las Vegas Strip has come a long way since its debut There wasn’t a lot to celebrate in April 2008. Las Vegas, like the rest of the country, was in the throes of the Great Recession, the cracks in the housing market had widened into Grand Canyon–like chasms, and the city’s unemployment rate had begun its march toward double digits. But even in the worst of times, the Strip still provides the ultimate distraction for visitors looking to escape their anxieties. And in the midst of economic turmoil, on the southern end of Las Vegas Boulevard, the next evolution in daylife was taking place at MGM Grand’s Wet Republic—a groundbreaking boutique outdoor experience. Facing dual challenges from the dragging economy and the already established Rehab Beach Club at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Wet Republic executives hatched a plan in the early days to carve out a larger piece of the market for their adults-only dayclub. As the sun rises on the 2017 pool season, four people who helped turn Wet Republic into the city’s premier day party share the secrets of its success—from Champagne showers to celebrity guests to the club’s game-changing embrace of EDM.
Rich Kenny, Executive Director of VIP Marketing and Customer Development “I moved [to Las Vegas] from Miami a month prior to the second season. I think the previous year was not very well received, just because the right people were not necessarily in place, and Rehab still had probably 95 percent of the market share. We tried to come out of the gate with our day being Saturday, because Rehab had owned Sundays.” Suzanne Nakata, Corporate Nightlife Service Manager “I started in March ’09 [as a] model cocktail server. I remember my first year there. We called them the ‘Ed Hardy Days.’ It was a lot of Miami, Jersey Shore. That was when the show Jersey Shore was popular. That was [when] EDM wasn’t as popular.” Kenny “I really knew that we could surpass Rehab on Memorial Day weekend, when we started to go straight electronic music for a fourday party on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, which at the time nobody was doing in the market.” Sal Wise, Executive Director of Nightlife Marketing “It used to be only one day that people would party at the pool. The rest of the time they’d go lay out [instead].” Kenny “When we did it all four days in a row ... you couldn’t get in the venue past two o’clock.” Wise “You could not move without bumping into someone who was wet or just got out of the pool. Seeing the smiles of people, you really thought they were in an adult Disneyland water park.” Gary “Gaz” Brooks, Executive Director of Promotions “I’d worked for [Angel Management Group founder and current Hakkasan Group CEO] Neil Moffitt in New York, [and] I used to vacation in Vegas when I’d come to visit him.
It was just mind-blowing how many people would go out in the day. I’ve seen day parties in Ibiza, but [Wet Republic] was like a [true] European EDM party.” Nakata “There have been so many amazing celebrities and DJs who have come in.” Brooks “I was once annoyed over a business phone call. I got told to calm down, and when I looked around to see who [was talking], it was Rihanna. That was pretty crazy. She just smiled at me [and] gave me a bottle of water.” Wise “I believe it was Labor Day and we were walking in and you couldn’t get in. You’re bumping [into] Lil Jon as he’s walking out. You’re looking at the DJ booth, and you have DJs who now are huge, like Afrojack and Chuckie, who weren’t necessarily even on the radar, with LMFAO standing on both sides of the DJ booth performing for free. It was full chaos.” Kenny “One time, we had J.Lo on one side of the bungalows and we had Prince Harry on the other side. You could imagine with the celebrity scale of those two, there was an incredible buzz going around, even though we had DJs at that time. I think the people around them thought, ‘Wow. I’m sitting next to Prince Harry.’ Or, ‘I’m sitting next to J.Lo.’ People were so excited that J.Lo was there, and they were sending Champagne over to her for a picture.” Nakata “A lot of the big DJs today have come through Wet Republic at some point, which is amazing to see. It’s fun to see their careers grow. I remember back in the day, when Avicii first came out, when he wasn’t well-known. DJs have such loyal fans. There’s an older woman, I’m going to say she’s probably into her 60s now—50s or 60s. She comes to every Tiësto performance and stands and waits for him all day. She always has a unique Tiësto jacket, or she has Tiësto’s logo buzz-cut in her hair.”
Brooks “Ibiza used to be the place that young people would go and party. Vegas [is like Ibiza for] Americans. So when they come to Vegas, they let their hair down. They come here to have a good time.” Nakata “There have been a couple of marriage proposals at Wet Republic. A couple met [there], then came back three years later and he proposed. He got on the dance floor and the DJ announced it. He got down on one knee. She was excited. Everybody was cheering.” Kenny “We have customers who have come back over the nine years, and [they] tell you that they’ve been to Ibiza or they’ve been to Greece, and by far their favorite pool party is Wet Republic, and their favorite spot is Bungalow 15, or 11, or whatever it is.” Wise “When they have the opportunity to come [to Vegas] and go out day and night, they [plan] their trips [around summer].” Nakata “I’ve danced on couches with guests, I’ve celebrated birthdays, milestones. I’ve gotten sprayed [with Champagne] on my birthday. Steve Aoki, he does every antic, he sprays Champagne on people. But his big thing for a while was getting ‘caked.’ So he’d have these giant cakes, and they would pick people out of the crowd, and they get the cake thrown at them, right in their face.” Brooks “I just don’t understand it as a European. Why are you going to get covered in cake and then have it sprayed off with Champagne?”
Wet Republic returns Friday, March 10. Tickets and VIP reservations are available at wetrepublic.com
Wise “Wet Republic really is the place for everybody.” Kenny “We’ve figured out new ways to make the experience better. Is it somebody taking a picture with a DJ? Is it somebody who wants to be the next DJ? It’s catering to the customer and making sure the customer experience is the best.” 7
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DOORS AT 11AM March 11 & 12
March 17
Opening Party
St. Patrick’s Day Rehab
March 18
TICKETS & RESERVATIONS: REHAB@HRHVEGAS.COM 702.693.5505 | HARDROCKHOTEL.COM | REHABLV.COM /REHABLV #REHABLV
March 19 Presents
Heroes & Villains
March 25
March 26
In Case You Missed It
HIGHLIGHTS FROM VEGAS SEVEN’S 2017 TOP DOCS PARTY The Valley’s best doctors toasted their accomplishments and those of their peers on February 23 at our annual Top Docs party at Sake Rok Las Vegas in The Park, sponsored by Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada, Nevada State Bank and T-Mobile Arena. Sake Rok served up sushi and drinks from Double Bond Wine, Hug L’Originale and Peroni to celebrate the 290 doctors featured in Vegas Seven’s seventh annual Top Docs issue. Considering the high stakes and urgent nature of some of the fields in which these professionals practice, it was a delight to set aside one night to appreciate the best in medicine in Las Vegas. 7
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E F I L M M E R S S PRESENTS
Y A D N SU DJ SET BY sun mar 19
r e h t o M One use M a f o
7 More ACTS to Check Out at Neon Reverb The Drums It’s been three years since Neon Reverb headliners the Drums have released a new album, but fans of the Brooklyn-based indie duo received some joyful news last week when the band announced the upcoming Abysmal Thoughts, out June 16. The outfit’s synth-heavy, guitar-driven surfer rock is a solid way to kick off the Downtown indie fest, so catch them at Backstage Bar & Billiards Thursday night. —Mark Adams Night Beats Just as good in the daytime, Night
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TERI GENDER BENDER OF LE BUTCHERETTES TALKS HER MUSICAL INSPIRATION
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eri Gender Bender, the guitar, pipes and raw spirit behind Le Butcherettes, a punk band headlining indie music festival Neon Reverb Saturday night, is a stage persona that isn’t too far removed from its creator, Teresa Suárez. Like Bender, Suárez is an open book. The theatrical lyrics in her music and her vulnerability onstage are just as present in everyday conversation. “I try to put a lid on it, but I can’t ... [and] I’m truly obvious,” she says. “When I’m [in a] false place, my mother would know right away—or my lover, or my cats.” Originally from Guadalajara, Mexico, Le Butcherettes were discovered by Omar Rodríguez-López of At the Drive-In and the Mars Volta, who was captured by Suárez when a power outage forced her to sing a cappella onstage, accompanied only by a severed pig’s head. She recently released an album with Crystal Fairy, a side-project band with Rodríguez-López and Melvins members Buzz Osborne and Dale Crover, and Suárez says Le Butcherettes are currently in the process of selecting demos for a new album. Le Butcherettes’ songs paint surreal, bloody images of her internal battles and conflicts with others. Suárez’s mother is a prominent figure in songs, such as “My Mother Holds My Only Lifeline.” She’s been open about her mom’s overbearing, suspicious and fearful nature, which has been a source of Suárez’s own
Le Butcherettes at Neon Reverb March 11, 7 p.m. (Le Butcherettes set, 1 a.m.), $15, The Bunkhouse Saloon, 124 S. 11th St., bunkhousedowntown.com
suffering, at one point creating debilitating anxiety. The familial themes she’s written about in the past continue to sew themselves into her music. “I’ve been in this mother-daughter bubble,” she says, referencing her new tracks. “From the love to ... I don’t want to say hate, but I guess, you know, a little bit of all kinds of emotions.” She says her mother’s “true essence” is supportive of her music, but at times “someone else” appears, and she can be berating. Both sides motivate Suárez. “You could say it’s a beautiful sadomasochist relationship. I want to please her... But it’s a two-way street. Sometimes she feels that I don’t like her.” Suárez’s mother isn’t the only woman who has influenced her life and music. In her voice and onstage you get moments of Patti Smith, Karen O. of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Chilean singer-songwriter Violetta Parra. And while Suárez recalls being blown away by a Spice Girls performance when she was young, she is now more concerned with women she knows personally. “I was worshiping women [who] I had a great connection with through their music, while at the same time, part of me was turning my back [on] the women in my life—the women that I have direct access to, in the flesh.” She adds that she’s connected to the women who surround her “through their art, through the food that they make me and from the literature [they] present to me.” As for her mom: ”She follows me everywhere, even when I’m not with her. And she’s alive now. I can’t even imagine the day she dies, oh my God, then she’s truly gonna haunt me!” 7
Beats hail from Seattle and are bringing their psychedout sound to Backstage Bar & Billiards on Friday. The riffy garage band incorporates elements of blues and surf, all coated in fuzz. Try “No Cops” from the band’s latest LP, Who Sold My Generation, or “Love Ain’t Strange” from their sophomore release, Sonic Bloom, for a sample. —Jessie O’Brien
Peanut Butter Wolf No other Neon Reverb act boasts a documentary with Kanye West, A-Trak and Beastie Boys’ Mike D singing its praises (go watch Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton ASAP). The founder of Stones Throw Records, Peanut Butter Wolf not only provides an outlet for eccentric beatmakers such as Madlib, but he’s also broken acts such as Mayer Hawthorne and Aloe Blacc. Catch him spinning some of his favorite records Friday night at Beauty Bar. —Zoneil Maharaj Deap Vally Rock ’n’ rollers Lindsey Troy and
Julie Edwards are really noisy for being only two people. Embracing punk, blues, rock and metal, Deap Vally released their second studio album Femejism in September, bringing the heavy sound in “Royal Jelly” and snotty feminism in “Smile More.” Catch the duo Friday night at Backstage Bar & Billiards. —J.O.
Bash & Pop Tommy Stinson of the Replacements started the short-lived Bash & Pop in 1992. It’s been 24 years since their only album, but now Stinson has returned with a new version of the band (featuring former members of Guns N’ Roses and the North Mississippi Allstars) and a new disc, Anything Could Happen. Tracks such as “On the Rocks” and “Never Aim to Please” continue the family tradition of straight-ahead rock with a smear of bubble gum and a slice of razor blade. Stinson always delivers onstage—experience it Friday night at The Bunkhouse Saloon. —Lissa Townsend Rodgers Mndsgn A veteran of L.A.’s beat scene, Mndsgn is a master of chill. To listen to his music is to blast off into a spacey realm of hazy psychedelic soul, ’80s R&B and off-kilter hip-hop. Whether it’s woozy cuts like “Camelblues” or the funked-out “Use Ya Mnd (Twentyfourseven),” be prepared for a trip Friday night at Beauty Bar. —Z.M. DJ JONATHAN TOUBIN Some of the best music
you’ll hear at Neon Reverb won’t be played live. New York City DJ Jonathan Toubin brings his legendary Soul Clap dance party to Las Vegas, and the event closes the festival Sunday night at Oddfellows. The music is the stompingest of vintage ’60s soul cuts, designed to make even the most rhythm-free wallflowNeon Reverb er hit the dance floor and March 9–12, times vary, show off their best James $15/individual shows, Brown moves. —L.T.R. $60/festival pass, neonreverb.com
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