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Rain Nightclub: Las Vegas, U.S.

March 12, 2012

Editor’s note: We are very proud and excited to welcome DJ Si Edwards (aka the Visual Jedi) onto our DJ Mag roster. Originally from the UK but now residing full time in Canada, he’s one of the busiest touring DJs in the industry. Si’s talent level and pioneering audio visual DJ show has earned him the chance to travel the world and experience new clubs, events and scenes every week. We feel incredibly lucky to have him share his reviews every week, looking at everything from the residents to the promoters, the clubbers to the music, the equipment to the venue, checking the differences from one vibe to the next as seen from a DJs perspective on Tour. Expect guest mixes, movies, local info, pictures, interviews and more, so follow his globetrotting adventures and life on the road giving you an inside look at #TourLife  –  The definitive guide to club culture worldwide!

Written by  DJ Si Edwards

Destination / Location: Las Vegas, USA

Las Vegas doesn’t really need any introductions. One of the most well known entertainment cities in the world is now starting to become of the of THE hot spots on any clubbing calendar; is it the new Ibiza many ask? Well with clubs offering big money deals to secure the biggest DJs as residents, you’d be hard to find any other city boasting the creme de la creme of club culture under one roof. Plus, with Vegas being so accessible for Canadians to book low priced trips, I am excited to review this city on the first ‘#TourLife’ issue for DJ Mag Canada.

Hotel / Accommodation: The Palms Casino Hotel

As with most places in Las Vegas, the nightclubs are actually part of the casino hotels, which is great. No traveling to the bars and clubs, its all right here, literally in your lobby. My stay was at the Palms Hotel, located just off the strip. This place is famous for hosting some of the biggest club nights in Las Vegas and is actually known as one of the pioneer venues for EDM in Vegas, so it was a pleasure to be here. The hotel has a great casino, but them again, once you’ve scene one slot machine, you’ve seen them all. What’s great about this hotel is it has plenty of other bars and club rooms to keep you entertained all night, everything you need is here, from its exclusive Playboy lounge bar to its Rooftop Ghost bar, these are super cool places to have a drink before you get down to business at the main club, which is Rain. www.Palms.com

Venue / Club: Rain Nightclub, The Palms.

For one of the biggest names ever in history of EDM to have a residency here, I’m talking about Mr Perfecto himself, superstar DJ Paul Oakenfold, you know this club has to be awesome. Guys like him don’t take residencies in just any old club, and boy as soon as I walked in, I knew why Paul and many others grace the decks here each week. It has all the elements of a classic European super club, just one huge main room with the DJ booth on a main stage as the focal point. The whole club is built around it, you are ‘aw struck’ when you walk in as the sheer size takes your breathe away. The lighting system wrapped around the room and huge lasers belting out, for me, this is the closest I’ve ever seen to an Ibizan club in North America, and if all that doesn’t impress, the fire breathing roof system will. I’ve never seen one of those in any club before, and I thought I’d seen everything. Finally, if that still doesn’t blow you away, come back at the end of the year 2012 as they are having a massive 5 month closure for a $30 million makeover to enhance the place!

Visit Rain Nightclub Website HERE

Night / Event: Taboo (Black Eyed Peas) Residency Launch

With the Palms casino having other bars and lounges in the hotel, they all seemed to feed the club with more people. The night just kept getting busier and busier and the casino had people going straight from the tables into the club, VIP style, not to mention the hundreds who stay at the hotel too. This was a Friday night, so not only was it packed with international guests, it had plenty of locals too. With a mixed age range of people, you had your young super energetic ravers going crazy blended with your mid 30′s crowd having a blast drinking champagne on the dance floor, not too mention the VIP rooms all with glass windows over looking the main room located on the balcony above. I also noticed how multi cultural the clubbers were, everyone from asians to south americans, from europeans to locals, and no pretentiousness. Everyone was all as one, out for a good night.

DJs / Acts: DJ Mark Stylz, DJ Scene, Taboo (Black Eyed Peas)

The warmup DJ, Mark Stylz  whipped the crowd up by dropping some pretty big crowd pleasers early doors, it was more commercial than probably one of the Paul Oakenfold events but I still enjoyed the vibe of the club. Everyone was there to party, one goal, to drink and dance all night and the DJs had them ready for the main act of the night which was Taboo from the Black Eyed Peas. He opened his set in his usual style, a dramatic intro mix (produced by myself) followed by some club bangers to set the tone. Taboo seemed on fire, i mean with a packed out dance floor who wouldn’t be up for rocking that! His set was consistent throughout, mixing was tight and track selection was perfect for a commercial main room. I was mixing visuals on the impressive giant LED wall, one of the best video set ups I’ve used, so it was a pleasure to work there and the crowd were responsive to the video mixing that included everything from Frank Sinatra to Jay Z . After Taboo’s set, which was mainly house based, DJ Scene came on to finish the last hour, opening with some big hip hop tunes, the crowd were ready for it and his quick mixing dropping some big guns was a superb way to keep the crowd there until the end.

www.DJMarkStylz.com         www.DJ-Scene.com         www.Twitter.com/TabBEP

Music / Genres:

The majority of the night was house based music, nothing too upfront. Very commercial as it was that kinda crowd, you obviously had some LMFAO and Afrojack but some cooler tracks were dropped into the mix also, such as Bingo Players – Rattle and some wicked remixes and mashups for good measure. The DJ at the end of the night went into more hip hop, from classics House of Pain to current floorfillas like T-Pain and Kanye West. Basically the whole night was straight down the line crowd pleasing tunes for everyone of all ages, nothing ground breaking but also nothing too cheesy for my liking.

Main Room Podcast: Episode #001 Mixed by DJ Si Edwards

Stand Out Moment:

Having thought I’d seen everything in clubland, the giant fire breathing mechanical structure above the dance floor was pretty insane. Yes, I’ve seen fire breathers and some impressive special effect units from CO2 cannons to iced laser jets but seriously, when this thing spits out fire you feel like you’re in a movie. You can feel the heat and the whole club fixates on it. This night had so many stand out moments, from the choreographer stage dance routine to the live singing from Taboo, but the fire effect is still that one moment I tell people when i mention the show in Las Vegas.

Tune of the Night: Benny Benassi vs. Laidback Luke - Cinema Zombie (Visual Jedi Video Mashup)

Final Thought: 

We all know Vegas has something for everyone, catering to all tastes, but for a seriously good party night out with international guest DJs, for North Americans, this is the closest you’ll get to experience that famous Ibiza vibe. What I like about the Palms in particular is there’s plenty going on not just in the club, but the whole casino hotel has a wide variety of vibes and places for you to hang. For me, the Palms is the place to be and to think they are doing a $30 million makeover this year. I can’t wait to go back and see what they do with a place that is already so impressive.

Shout Outs: Jimmy, DJ Mark Stylz, DJ Scene

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Until next week, stay safe and i’ll see you soon in another look at ‘#TourLife’ from round the world.

www.DJSiEdwards.com

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DJ Si Edward’s visionary approach to creating shows that go beyond the norm has him admired today as a leading Audio & Video DJ/Producer/Writer and Creative Entertainer. Ask Si Edwards about his success and he will credit it to the many clubs, promoters and artists who have supported and inspired him throughout the years. ”I have a backbone made of friends and a heart that beats to family.”

His advice in life? “Our mind is like a parachute. It functions better when open”. One vision. One love.