DJ Gareth Emery hoping for sun at Tao Beach
Here’s an extreme near-death story. Last year, Gareth Emery DJed for two hours at a huge outdoor gig in South Africa – while rain poured on him and his equipment.
“There was this torrential (expletive) rainstorm. The venue hadn’t planned for rain,” the English musician says. (He performs today at Tao Beach.)
“It got crazy wet.”
He stood onstage, surrounded by gigantic video monitors – they were even above his head, like a roof. So electric wires and monitors cocooned him in this treehouse of death.
Two guys held a tarplike cover over his mixer and decks. They pulled it up only occasionally so he could perform.
“I had access to the decks and the mixer once every 10 minutes or so,” Emery says. “I was telling my tour manager, ‘Let’s just leave this. This is ridiculous.’ I was soaked to the bone. The equipment was wet. The sound system went down, like, three times in two hours.”
But he stuck it out.
“I was like, ‘You know what? I’m here now. I’m just going to push through it, and I’m going to do it,’ ” he recalls.
“And it was actually a really fascinating show. The crowd stayed with me. It was hard for me. It was hard for them, getting so wet. And we were all in it together.
“It ended up being one of the most fantastic, unique shows I’ve ever done. At the end of it, I was like, ‘That was incredible.’ Would I do it again? Absolutely not.”
Emery is a terrific DJ-producer with an excellent music podcast (GarethEmery.com) and a weekly show Fridays and Tuesdays on Sirius XM’s “Electric Area.”
Your weekend forecast:
TODAY: Tiesto at XS. Gareth Emery at Tao Beach. Cedric Gervais with Dash Berlin at Marquee Dayclub. Bingo Players and Nervo at Encore Beach Club. Porter Robinson and Steve Aoki at Surrender. Busta Rhymes performs at Tao. Afrojack at Tryst. Avicii at Marquee. Wiz Khalifa performs at Palms pool. Melo D at Rain. Mike Attack at Moon. Rev Run & Ruckus at Vanity. Z-Trip at Hard Rock dayclub. Tyga at 1 Oak. Redfoo at Lavo. Sky Blu at Pure. Boys Noize at Haze. Z-Trip at Hard Rock dayclub pool. Mick Boogie at Hyde Bellagio. Boris and the Martinez Brothers at Wet Republic. (Adult film’s Tori Black at Gallery.)
SATURDAY: Kaskade at Marquee. Deadmau5 at Tryst. Ne-Yo at Bank. Chris Brown at Hard Rock pool nighttime. Steve Angello at Encore Beach Club, then at XS. Afrojack at Surrender. Diddy at Chateau. Pauly D at Vanity. Avicii at Marquee Dayclub. Roger Sanchez at Palms pool. Taboo at Rain. Travie McCoy performs at Pure. Vice at Tao. Redfoo at Tao Beach. T-Pain at Haze. Luciano at Wet Republic. Childish Gambino at 1 Oak. Reflex at Lavo. Skribble at Gallery. Ashba at Hard Rock pool dayclub. Konflikt at Hyde Bellagio. (Ice T and Coco at LAX.)
SUNDAY: David Guetta at Encore Beach Club, then at XS. Benny Benassi and Martin Solveig at Marquee. Paul van Dyk at Haze. Paul Oakenfold at Body English. Calvin Harris and Burns at Surrender. Kaskade at Marquee Dayclub. Vice at Lavo. Paul Oakenfold at Body English. Pauly D at Rehab. Sex Panther at Palms pool. Disco Fries at ghostbar. Alie Layus at Moon. Eric Morillo at Tao. Nicky Romero at Tao Beach. Sky Blu at Wet Republic. Autoerotique at Gallery. Eric D-Lux at Bank.
MONDAY: Paul Oakenfold at Hard Rock pool. Deadmau5 at Encore Beach Club, then at XS. Laidback Luke at Wet Republic. Hardwell at Marquee. Benny Benassi at Tao Beach. Above & Beyond at Marquee Dayclub.
Doug Elfman’s column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Email him at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.
