Thursday, June 29, 2006
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Thursday, June 29, 2006 |
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Where the wild things dance'Sanctuary' offers refuge for the goth crowd
Summer is no friend to the Vegas goth community. Wearing all that black in the 110-degree heat is akin to self-immolation. And how can you nurture a Nosferatu-like complexion with the sun beating down? Nighttime offers respite, which is why CityLife recently spotted what looked like an Underworld III casting call in Krave Lounge at a weekly event called "Sanctuary." "Sanctuary" is a staple of local goth culture, enjoying what is now an eight-month run at Krave Lounge. Sure, there are the Thursday ("Resurrection") and Saturday night ("Subversion") events at the Aruba Hotel & Spa in downtown Vegas, but chatting with a crop of black-fingernailed nightcrawlers, "Sanctuary" pretty much serves as the goth scene's central gathering. Unless, of course, you count the gothic bowling gathering that takes place Sunday nights at the Orleans. "We make quite a scene, you can imagine," says a gent named Ben, who wears spiked armbands, white contact lenses and a T-shirt that reads: "Jesus Was a Cunt." "Currently, we're operating within four [bowling] lanes. We're getting league shirts made to formalize things," he says. Before weekend bowling, however, Vegas goths assemble Friday nights at "Sanctuary," where DJs Delchi, Razorslave and Rusty Ryu warm up the crowd starting at 10 p.m. with rotating sets that blend industrial, EBM (electronic body music), future pop, '80s dark wave and power noise. At 12:30 a.m., DJ Morningstar takes over until dawn. "A year and a half ago, the Vegas goth scene was on life support," says Timothy "Irish" O'Brien, a "Sanctuary" promoter. "The previous event, 'Sacrilege,' was at City Lights Bistro, but there was hardly any promotion. You were hard-pressed to find it using Google. There were just some fliers scattered at the venue, and maybe 20 people would show up. At Krave, we typically get anywhere from 150 to 200 people per night, and that's with the minimal promotion we've done." Irish moved to Vegas two years ago, but has been coming to town for more than a decade. Like many goth-minded folks who visit, he had the desire to hear some good music in a club setting but little idea where to look for his sociocultural brethren in the neon glare. "So many times I'd get online and arrive at an event only to have the club say, 'That got canceled two weeks ago.'" says Irish. "How frustrating is that, and what impression does that give to a visitor of our city?" Irish is helping changed that impression, and the response he's received from goths all over the world -- Seattle, L.A., England -- has been heartening. "People are just blown away by the atmosphere," he says. "The lounge offers a cozier, warmer atmosphere [than the club proper]," he says. Indeed, one thing that Vegas goths are quick to admit is they're lucky and grateful to have a first-class nightclub at their disposal. Delchi points out that it's rare for an upscale venue to play the darker brand of music that's "Sanctuary" specialty. Krave Lounge has even hosted a few goth bands like More Machine Than Man and Slick Idiot. "Because we're a darker bunch, we tend to have our fair share of drama," adds Delphi. "Sometimes the Paris Hilton types come in and get freaked out by the piercings." Sure, the garb can get a little gratuitous, but on the night CityLife showed up there was a more literate side of the community on display. It was in the form Chicago poet "Spizzarri," who had appeared for a book signing to mark the release of his poetry debut, Zero & the Liquid Vein Memory: Poetry from the Inner Cerebrum. The book, available via myspace.com/spizzarri, is as gloomy as the lyrics to any Bauhaus song. Still, why a book signing at a goth event? "Goths are open to more challenging, obscure, [Salvador] Dali-type obscurity," explains Spizzarri, who has been coming to Vegas for the last four years. "And I consider Vegas my second home. The people here are down-to-earth, and the goth community out west is just more open to things." Open as they are, Vegas darklings are serious about their community. Razorslave notes that even as more people show up to "Sanctuary," "everybody is making more of an effort to dress up." "Every week I meet new locals who've made their first trip here," he adds. With the collapse of "Paint It Black" at Ice House Lounge earlier this year, "Sanctuary" -- along with "Resurrection" and "Subversion" -- are keeping the goth torch burning bright. What remains to be seen is if the scene can match the momentum it enjoyed during the mid-'90s, when Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson and Gravity Kills topped the Billboard charts. Then again, no one in Krave Lounge looks like they care much about turning back the clock. Instead, they're moving forward, and onto the dance floor. "What we offer is a true alternative space," says Delchi. "People just tend to express themselves more openly here." Doors for "Sanctuary" open at 10 p.m. with $2 drinks until midnight. Free admission before midnight; $5 after. Info: 836-0830. JARRET KEENE JARRET_KEENE@YAHOO.COM ICE GETS ITS GROOVE ON More changes afoot over at Ice, this time in the promotions department. June 17 kicked off the indie club's new Saturday night party in conjunction with Groove Radio, the once terrestrial and now online (grooveradio.com) station run by Los Angeles electronic music figurehead Swedish Egil, and Vegasclubscene.com. Now along with the usual headlining international DJ, Egil will host and play a DJ set of his own, while the website streams the entire party. Last Saturday's party got off to a slow start, but revved into gear around 1 a.m. thanks to Faarsheed, who got a stand-still dance floor to go bonkers on the strength of his near-flawless progressive house programming. (Any local DJ or promoter who still thinks progressive is clubber-proof in Vegas needs to be schooled by Ice's resident.) Shortly after, Miami's trance king George Acosta took the controls, and even though he began promisingly with a kickin' remix of Radiohead's "Everything In Its Right Place," his set gradually morphed into candied synth anthemry, sometimes causing the nightlife equivalent of an ice-cream headache. Nonetheless, the main room eagerly ate it up, also gladly -- though in dwindling numbers by this point -- taking in the closing set from Faarsheed. (A note to the couple of Ice staffers who feel compelled to join the DJ and the lighting guy in the booth and egg the crowd on: The talent doesn't need cheerleaders, we don't care for the distraction and it isn't impressing the girls. Just sayin'.) In other Ice news, the club had a soft opening last Tuesday for "Drenched," a new hip-hop night hosted by KVEG 97.5-FM. Additionally, another installment of the drum 'n' bass-themed "Detn8or and Drumz" takes place Thursday, and respected Canadian progressive DJ Max Graham spins this Friday, along with local jocks Mark Stylz and Joey Mazzola. MIKE PREVATT MPREVATT@LVCITYLIFE.COM THE PURE PLAN: PART DEUX There was a glaring omission from our report on Pure Management Group's (PMG) upcoming ventures in a host of casinos, from the Excalibur to Luxor, last week ["The Pure plan," June 22]. In our puritanical zeal to detail as much about all of the new venues -- everything from a sushi joint to a high-end bowling alley -- we forgot to mention PMG's role in a story we broke in February: The renovation and reinvention of Risque. While all parties involved are very, very quiet on the details, PMG (owners of, among other things, megaclub Pure and burlesque den Tangerine) is teaming up with Harrah's to give the Paris club a face-lift. We hear the project isn't slated for a start date anytime soon. In the meantime, clubbers can still enjoy Risque's avant garde promotions. One final omission: Candace Carrell, former director of nightclubs at MGM, has come aboard PMG. Carrell was part of a sweeping change in management at the Big Lion that saw longtime staffers, including executive director of nightclubs Mike Milner, leave under mysterious circumstances early this year. As a result, many wondered where she'd end up next. Word has it she's not tied down at any one venue yet, but look for an announcement soon. KEVIN CAPP KCAPP@LVCITYLIFE.COM NEWS AND NOTES Congratulations and godspeed to Escape the Fate as it embarks this week on the 2006 Warped Tour. ... The Sand Dollar Blues Lounge is hosting a benefit concert on July 15 at 6 p.m. to raise money for local bartender Diana Compian, recently diagnosed with cervical cancer. Several bands including the Boogieman Band and the Moanin' Blacksnakes are on the bill. ... By the time you read this, Flaspar will have already moved to Portland. ... Ringtones for the Quitters are now available at Indierocktones.com. ... Jacob Smigel will release his long-awaited found-sound album Eavesdrop Saturday. The 80-minute CD will be available for $10 at Jacobsmigel.com. NEWS AND NOTES IS COMPILED BY BEVERLY BRYAN. SEND ITEMS OF SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION AND LURID GOSSIP TO BBRYAN@LVCITYLIFE.COM.
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