Flood of DJs hits clubs this weekend
It will seem as if another Electric Daisy Carnival is here this weekend. But unlike the EDC (which was out at the speedway), this weekend’s hit-making DJs will command 19 nightclubs and dayclubs right on the Strip.
So that’s Skrillex (Friday at Surrender, then Monday at XS); Paul van Dyk (Friday at Haze); Calvin Harris with Afrojack (Saturday at Surrender, then Monday at XS); Paul Oakenfold (Saturday at Rain); Clinton Sparks (Saturday at Moon); Z-Trip (Saturday at Lavo); Kaskade (Sunday at Encore); Fatboy Slim (Sunday at Marquee); Dirty South with Gareth Emery (Sunday at Marquee); Avicii (Sunday at Wet Republic); Erick Morillo (Sunday at Tao); and Martin Solveig (Monday at Tao Beach, then Monday night at Marquee).
And those are just some highlights. Three years ago, that list held but one name: Oakenfold, who sparked this revolution with a residency at Rain.
If you’ve not been paying attention to trends or charts: These and other DJs (who record original songs and remix other people’s songs) have changed mainstream music and thus the Strip.
The songs of every winner at Sunday’s MTV Awards — talented Adele, dull Lady Gaga and sad old Britney Spears — never get played in clubs in the form they were recorded.
Their songs get spun only as DJ remixes, altered so much, at times, as to be unrecognizable (and better). Besides, an original song by Kaskade moves a crowd more than a Gaga "raw-raw."
For a few years, it has been said that club culture siphons attention and dollars from concerts and showrooms.
This year, clubs are even more dominant because musicians who normally play in concert venues are getting paid to sing at clubs. To wit:
Flo Rida raps Sunday at club Haze. Diddy performs Sunday at the Palms pool. Wyclef Jean sings Sunday at Vanity. Ginuwine appears Sunday at LAX. Lil Jon DJs (instead of raps) Friday at Surrender. And will.i.am spends Friday at Encore Beach Club and Sunday at XS.
Meanwhile, in actual concert venues, Sade and John Legend are at the MGM Grand on Saturday; Def Leppard and Heart play there Sunday .
The next-biggest concert in a traditional space is Monday’s Identity tour in a Mandalay Bay concert hall starring DJs Kaskade, Afrojack, Steve Aoki and The Crystal Method.
And the next biggest "concert" after that is also a DJ billing: Deadmau5 Friday-Saturday at The Cosmopolitan .
Plus, DJ Tiësto has the 4,000-capacity The Joint all to himself Saturday.
Incidentally, if a club hires a star DJ, they usually eschew the old celebrity red carpet routine. As of Monday, I knew only of Carmen Electra appearing Saturday at Club Nikki, Audrina Patridge appearing Saturday at Vanity and a few "Jersey Shore" reruns here and there.
The club-DJ explosion shouldn’t be a dire situation for concert halls or hotels. Hotels didn’t need to book Beyoncé now. Holiday tourists will pack the Strip without her.
It’s true, this year, some concert venues have underbooked shows. But that’s a national arc in a dodgy economy.
Anyway, Labor Day weekend signifies the DJ sea change. Consequences are large: more clubs, more young clubbers and more 3 a.m. romances than ever.
Doug Elfman’s column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Contact him at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.
