Skrillex with Bare, Flinch, Sluggo and Presto One

Perhaps the most anticipated parties to kick off the summer right was Skrillex at Crown Nightclub. It could be said that Skrillex is enjoying the best year ever, experiencing a huge surge in popularity and demand, after being signed to mau5trap and touring with Deadmau5 in 2010. Thanks to crews like Frequnecy, Las Vegas' underground electro scene is starting to regrow and beginning to pull in some of the best electronic artists worldwide. This event which also included Bare, Flinch, Sluggo, Presto One, and Scotty Boy, did not disappoint as it nearly sold out the venue.
Scotty Boy and Presto One warmed up the crowd before midnight, mixing it up between pop and dubstep beats. Setting the vibe, the party didn't start to get wild until Sluggo began hitting the bass cannon for minutes at a time. As the crowd moved away from the bars onto the floor, the energy in the room swelled as the killer beats just kept coming one after another. As a tease of things to come, Skrillex came out onstage to announce Flinch, doing a quick little mix with him before exiting.

Flinch only continued to build on the energy Sluggo had started, making an effort to only hit those bass beats harder. Songs bleed from one into another, as minutes faded away seemingly unnoticed by the tranced out crowd. Within no time, Skrillex came out treating the audience to a new song he had written earlier that day in his hotel room. Within just a few minutes of introducing himself with My Name is Skrillex, the dancefloor was solid and moved as one. Inflatable monkeys, palm trees, and other pool toys danced their way across the sea of hands in the air.

His popularity with fans shined through when he played Kill Everybody, dropping the beat perfectly for the audience to sing along with. Loving every second of his set, Skrillex was jamming and slamming on his equipment, creating super hard dirty beats. While playing Scary Monster and Nice Sprites, he held a loud tone and announced, "I'm gonna make some monster sounds for you guys, cause I like making monster sounds!" lifted up his midi controller and continued to dump screeching sounds.

Not only was he a genius with live beats, Skrillex knew how to hype the party; taking time away from his booth, walking out into the crowd to take pictures, asking guys to put their ladies on their shoulders, even jumping out to crowdsurf, it was perfect. Everything about his show, from the sickest beats to unforgettable moments, everyone in the house was left danced out and mind-blown. Skrillex humbly left the stage giving the audience a heartfelt speech, "I'm here because of you guys man, seriously. Without you there isn't me, I swear to god. I'm just a normal boy making music, because I love music!"

After a last minute cancellation of his performance at Skream, to wrap up the evening last up was Bare. Not holding back or simply playing ambient/trance, Bare did a great job keeping the energy high following Skrillex. Mixing his heavy bass dubstep, Bare kept the floor packed until nearly 4 am, many fans only leaving due to pure exhaustion.

I have nothing but great things to say about this show. It has truly restored my faith in the Las Vegas underground electronic scene. If fans keep turning out in high numbers to these parties, we will only see the international and breakout artists continue to make a stop here. This summer alone, Las Vegas has the privilege of hosting Electronic Daisy Carnival, The Matinee Festival, and The Love Festival. The little raver in me that I thought died in the early 2000s with liquid dancing is coming back with force and I love it!

The Dan Band with 51FIFTY

As part of their Monday Night Rocks concert series, Crown Nightclub inside the Rio welcomed The Dan Band, giving away most tickets free of charge. I caught their last Las Vegas show at The House of Blues in August 2010 and was quickly reminded of how fun their live performance is. I gathered a group of friends, we all printed free tickets and headed out to spend the evening rockin' out with The Dan Band.

When we arrived, there was a DJ spinning retro pop songs that continued for nearly an hour. While it was fun to dance to everything from Jackson 5 to Tone Loc, this continued for nearly an hour. Everyone awkwardly stood, at times dancing, but mostly just staring at the drum-kit raised in the middle of an otherwise empty stage. As there was no opening act listed on the ticket, the crowd was surprised when local artists 51FIFTY took the stage.
51FIFTY is a DJ/drummer combo group made up of DJ Presto One and drummer Dustin J, accompanied by a female go-go dancer. While Presto spins a mix of top 40, hip-hop, electro, and rock, Dustin J rocks out on his drums, keeping the beat strong through every song. This live banging drums to a DJ mixed beat was highly dynamic, felt and sounded great live. I found the majority of the audience intensely focused on the drummer's high energy and mad skills, such a sight it was hard to look away.

Even though 51Fifty played an hour set, it felt like twenty minutes compared to another long wait full of retro pop mash-ups. As the restless began to rampantly spread through the crowd, the intro videos for The Dan Band began playing just before midnight. Following the same show format as what I saw on Still Hungover Tour, Dan and his sidekicks ran through several dance routines to many classic songs. Adding their own comedic touch to each song, Dan continuously joked with the audience, never leaving a dull moment.

At the close of their set, Dan jokingly announced, due to a "contractual obligation" we are coming back out for an encore, then back out again! True to their word, they returned after their on-point Single Ladies cover (completely choreographed with the Beyonce video behind them) for a double encore.

The Dan Band put on an entertaining show, full of memorable moments and comical improv conversations with the audience. It was unfortunate that the show ran so late on a Monday evening, as I am sure most were not able to stay through the final encore. Otherwise, this was another top notch performance by The Dan Band.

If you are not aware of, or are interested in seeing The Dan Band the next time they stop in Las Vegas, please visit their website.

Setlist included: Free Your Mind (En Vogue), Fernando (ABBA) Ring My Bell (Anita Ward), Hold On(Wilson Phillips), Nasty (Janet Jackson), Lady (Styx), Shoop (Salt N' Pepper), Tyrone (Erykah Badu), Whenever Wherever/Hips Don't Lie (Shakira Mix), Genie In A Bottle/No Scrubs/Slave 4 U (Christina, TLC, Britney), Don't Cha/My Humps/Milkshake (Pussycat Dolls, Black Eyed Peas, Kelis), Total Eclipse of the Heart (Bonnie Tyler), Single Ladies (Beyonce).

PubStep with SKREAM

To make one of the best party nights of the year even better, this St. Patrick's Day Frequency and Crown Nightclub treated guests to Pubstep featuring Skream. If you are unfamiliar, Skream is a producer hailing from the UK that has created thousands of beats and is credited for helping not only define, but also expand the dubstep genre.

The pure excitement for this event was described best by Frequency "This March we're bringing all the debauchery back, at a bigger club with an even bigger headliner....we've wanted to bring him out for years, and finally we have an opportunity. Proudly making his first Vegas appearance... SKREAM!"
Prior to Skream taking the stage, Hot Pink Delorean, Terravita, Metaphase, Rize and Quiet warmed up the crowd. This party was a slow burner, as the dancefloor remained sparse until Terravita started blasting the bass. Hot Pink Delorean continued to bump the hard beats, both doing their job getting the crowd to their boiling point right as Skream took to stage.

Skream handled the dancefloor like a master, melting from one song into another through his expansive collection. As the dance frenzy reached it's peak, the stage was again swarmed with people and several emcees were on the mic. Just like all the producers before, the emcees cheapened the beats and killed the flow for me.

Although the DJs made great beats all evening, the emcees constantly crowded the stage and muddied the beats with their rhymes. Now don't get me wrong, I have seen many emcees freestyle over a hard dubstep beat and rock the crowd harder than the music alone could; however, that was not the case this evening.

Overall this booze soaked party was a great time that continued all night. This perhaps being the only chance I may get to see Skream, I continuously danced along in rhythm with a smile on my face. I do hope the emcees start to drop off as a trend, as I would not like to see a similar situation at many of the upcoming parties.

Vegas StrEATS Festival

Although skipping the RedBull SoundClash afterparty with The Glitch Mob at Studio 54 was tough to pass up, I was already too much looking forward to reppin' Las Vegas' first Vegas StrEATS Festival. This free event was held downtown in the El Cortez Promenade, featuring several local food trucks (Slidin' Thru, Fukuburger, Sloppi Jo's, Tasty Bunz, Cheese Steak, Curbside Cafe, Island Breeze, Snow Ono Shave Ice), live art demonstrations, many local vendors, drink specials, and a band lineup put forth by Neon Reverb.
From the SoundClash, we brought four new friends from the UK along with us for the ride of a true downtown Vegas experience. After a few drinks, more new friends, and a birthday celebration inside a bar at The El Cortez, we headed outside to an equally enthusiastic crowd. The entire promenade was full of socializing people, food trucks, tents, and a stage capping the area. After hanging out for a bit, dancing, and talking with a few familiar faces, we headed down Fremont.

Not only was the El Cortez area a buzz with music and crowds, so was the entire Fremont Strip and under The Experience. We watched The Experience show right at midnight, which wowed and confused our British friends, stopped in a few casinos, and just went with the flow. On our way back to the Vegas StrEats Festival we stopped in the equally packed Griffin and Beauty Bar. For a moment we were greeted by a man dressed in a full bunny costume out front, and I laugh now because only in Vegas would this not seem weird at all until the next day looking back.
After returning to the festival area, many were still in line for the delicious street food, as the trucks and event staff were running low on supplies and energy. By contrast, the alcohol fueled bodies that walked around downtown were fully charged and the party continued into the early hours. It was such a pleasure to see downtown Las Vegas buzzing with people, locals mixing with tourists, and a memorable evening that downtown is all about. Fellow locals, Las Vegas is stepping up our culture, be sure to get out there and support your local scene!

Red Bull Soundclash - CeeLo Green vs The Ting Tings

Making a happy decision, RedBull chose Las Vegas as one of the cities to help kick off the 2011 spring break season with a bang. The RedBull SoundClash is a special concert series featuring two artists with different styles, playing on opposing stages, competing back and fourth for a total of 5 rounds. This event born in 2009 has seen many great performances across the country, tonight under a neon lit sky, Las Vegas welcomed CeeLo Green vs The Ting Tings.
"Epic contest for musical supremacy ... will push them to the limits of their musical creativity"

This one time event was a steal at only $10 a ticket and was stiff competition to all other events that evening. Outside across from the beaming Luxor on a beautiful Las Vegas evening, six thousand fans arrived to watch the battle between CeeLo Green and The Ting Tings. This was a well planned event hosted by LaLa Anthony and live DJ Mick Boogie, there were many activities, redbull infused cocktails, and within an hour fans were buzzing with more than just excitement.

Since this event was different than most concerts, having each band play back and forth, reviewing it as two separate artists/performances is difficult. So let me begin by stating that both CeeLo and The Tings put on unique and high-energy acts round after round. I believe the best way to approach sharing the experience of this concert will be achieved by breaking it down round by round.
Round 1 - Warmup: Each artist completes three songs. CeeLo kicked off the show first with Lady Killer, Brіght Lights, аnd Crazy. Backed by his highly attractive all female band, CeeLo and the ladies kept it going strong, but were held back by a bad sound mix all evening. The Ting Tings answered back with ferocity playing Keep Yουr Head, Hit Mе Down Sonny (a new song), аnd an intense version of Shut Up аnd Lеt Mе Gο in which Katie killed a bass drum.


Round 2 - Cover (DJ drops track - Band covers track): After LaLa introduced the round, Mick Boogie began playing Should I Stay or Should I Go by The Clash, meaning both bands would take a turn covering this song. Just a few moments later, CeeLo kicked it off with a rock and roll style cover and the Tings wrapped it up with a indie-pop version, both doing great on the fly.

Round 3 - TakeOver (One artist starts - The other finishes): Similar to the cover round, this time one band starts one of their songs, the other covers the remainder of the opposing artists' song. The Ting Tings selected Be The One and Fruit Machine to pass over to CeeLo.
Round 4 - SoundClash (DJ drops track - In style): Each band had to play one of their songs in the DJ Mick Boogie selected style, reggae, an excellent choice I must add. This was perhaps CeeLo's strongest moment, where despite the audio problems, his voice jived well with the groves of his band and got the sea of fans dancing. The Ting Tings successfully converted their heavily electronic Great DJ and pulled off a smooth/slow version of We Walk in full reggae style.

Round 5 - WildCard: During this final round, each band welcomed a special guest to help them rock the house and close their performance. CeeLo once again reunited his original crew, Goodie MOB, closing his show with Get Rich to This to a pleased audience. The Ting Tings took a lighter approach, getting an Elvis impersonator to roughly join in on their hit That's Not my Name.

For a special encore, CeeLo welcomed the Tings on his stage and together they performed CeeLo's chart topper Fuck You. A mix of the incredible music we had all just experienced and the roughly four redbulls we had each consumed at this point, fans cleared out slowly. Many of us stayed creating several dance circles to the continued DJ mix and made many new friends in the crowd. This event truly was "Epic" as advertised by RedBull and confirmed by the fans in attendance.

Sneak Peak: Celine Dion's Return to Las Vegas

A New Day, Dion's first engagement at The Colosseum in Caesars Palace ran March 2003 through December 2007 and was seen by 3 million people. This show, produced by Franco Dragone (Cirque du Soleil), backed Celine's incredible voice with stunning artistic displays and was a huge success for everyone involved. Needless to say, both Caesars Palace and Celine Dion were ecstatic to reunite for a new 3 year, roughly 210 show engagement.
By happenstance I found myself invited to attend a special preview of her new show entitled Celine before it's premiere on March 15th, 2011. This performance was a real treat as we got to see every number they rehearsed, whether it would make each night's cut or not. As the lights went down, a short video was shown that encapsulated her time away from Las Vegas, in which she completed two albums, a world tour, and gave birth to twin sons just last year. This intimate look into Celine's life and love of her family was a touching theme that ran throughout the show.

A striking contrast to acrobatics and artists, Dion's show took a more simplistic and iconic approach. This was realized by stage design that included modular lit platforms, starry skies, moving screens, delicate backdrops and a beautifully lit stage that spilled across The Colosseum walls captivating an entire audience of 4,000. With each new song or set change, I continuously found myself more and more impressed not only visually, but by her voice that rang clear as a bell against the harmony of a 31 piece live orchestra.

Celine perfectly sang each song, which included her most popular hits, a few silver-screen surprises, and a touching french song that brought her to tears. Celine and her orchestra performed a variety of music, sampling from many of her favorite artists including Carole King, Billy Joel, Journey, The Beatles, and even gave a touching tribute to Michael Jackson. Fans were astounded by the show, as song after song, through the burst of applause I heard the audience buzz with "Wow," "I love this song," and an occasional "We love you Celine!"

For any Celine Dion fan, this show is an absolute must see. For all others, seeing is believing. I found the spectacle alone impressive enough to understand why Celine sells out nearly every 4,000 seat show. To purchase tickets or get more information about Celine, please visit the official website.