Posts Tagged ‘nightlife’

Autumn is finally here. I mean, yeah, it allegedly started about two weeks ago, but as the autumnal solstice or whatever was arbitrarily demarcating our seasonal shift from summer to fall, it was still 99 degrees here in shiny Las Vegas, so no one really noticed. But this morning, it was 63 degrees, and I am wearing my first sweater in six or more months, so I can finally declare: Fall is here.

The other way I know autumn has arrived? The new issue of M life magazine is now available at MGM Resorts properties (and online). Yes, the immortal Michael Jackson is on the cover there, but inside, the not-so-immortal Pj Perez has taken over the nightlife section once again, this time reporting on the wide selection of casino lounges and bars offered in this great city — and a few others.

Interestingly, this particular assignment was, for me, basically an updated, print version of what I used to do every day when I managed the content for VEGAS.com’s nightlife sections, especially the bars sub-section, which required a lot of regular maintenance and, yes, rigorous research. Of course, the irony is that back in those days, I didn’t drink, which kind-of helped, because I could report on the atmosphere and details of a venue with clarity, but I could only report on the actual drink selection based on hearsay (and press releases).

So now I’ve written about nightclubs and lounges for M life. Too bad casinos don’t have strip clubs (yet), or else I could secure the trifecta.

It’s been a while since I’ve written about a nightclub, let alone the nightlife scene in general. It may be hard to believe right now, knowing me as the artsy-fartsy, mom-and-pop-patronizing guy you all know and love, but back in the earl 2000s, I actually covered a lot of nightlife for the CityLife, and ran the nightlife section of LVLocalMusicScene.com. This was back in the C2K-Baby’s-Ra era, and I was already entrenched in the scene from a combination of old-school underground party promoting and helping my ex-wife run oxygen bars in the then-new-school megaclubs. So it was a short jump from that to reporting on the nocturnal goings-on, and it also helped break me out of the local music writing ghetto.

Of course, later on, I’d spend a lot more time in nightclubs when I ran the nightclubs section of VEGAS.com, and eventually when I had access to VIP tables regularly as editor of Racket (a topic we’ll come back to one day), which led into my stint helping launch DailyFiasco.com, itself heavily focused on mainstream clubbing. But since leaving DailyFiasco three years ago, I’ve focused mostly on writing about what most pleases me: art, music and geek culture, and I’ve only stepped into a nightclub once or twice a year for special events.

I have to admit, though, I’m pleased with what turned out to be my first assignment for M life, MGM Resorts’ in-house quarterly magazine. It’s a feature (and a well-designed one, see below) about the resurgence of the DJ in Las Vegas nightlife, and while, yes, it explores only MGM Resorts day- and nightclubs, I was happy to write an article about parties where the focus isn’t on celebrity hosts or tired promotions. Not only is the DJ making a comeback, but so are once-marginalized musical styles such as house and trance, which were relegated to side rooms and off-night promotions for years in lieu of Top 40, hip-hop and mash-ups. If I could stand to put up with the people and the pricing, I’d almost actually willingly go to one of the DJ parties about which I wrote in the article!

Photo by Botielus

Today’s random-ass photo comes courtesy avant-garde mixed media artist Cybele, pictured to the left of me in the home-made playing cards dress. You gotta love that kind of creativity. Or fear it. Whatever. This was taken at some sort of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy-sponsored party at Ghostbar atop the Palms in 2006. I don’t know who the other middle-aged ladies are, but they were obviously drawn to my platinum smile. Or something.