|
After last night I think I made up my mind... AVALON > VANGUARD!! (pg. 5)
|
View this Thread in Original format
| Cool1g |
| quote: | Originally posted by TommyfromLA
If it doesn't have a past 2am permit it might as well never open at all especially if its gonna be EDM... |
i expect it to be closer to XS....i'm sure it will do fine. says it will be 20,000 SF on the 11th floor and poolside will be a huge draw. i think that's larger than Vanguard...personally i find that SF a bit hard to believe but we'll see...
here is a LA Times article from last month mentioning it:
Vegas, baby: Hollywood is getting a Sin City-style makeover
playhouse
Forthcoming 12,500 square foot nightclub Playhouse, seen here in a photo taken earlier this month, is one of several coming venues that are furthering the "Vegasization" of Hollywood in 2009.
E-mail Picture
The recession has forced many clubs to scale back or go out of business. But new faces are rushing in, some with Sin City connections.
By Charlie Amter
March 20, 2009
Don't look now, but in the middle of a recession, night-life players are doubling down, Vegas style, on Hollywood's return.
Despite a brutal winter that forced some smaller area lounges to shut their doors (see Play, S Bar and Hush Lounge) and pushed several others to open fewer nights per week, several operators -- some from out of town -- are betting that Hollywood's season of discontent might be coming to an end soon. They're positioning new venues to catch the crowds if indeed things turn around.
So what will Hollywood look like as 2009 takes shape? More and more like Las Vegas, apparently.
In fact, some of Sin City's best-known night-life fixtures, Victor Drai and Cy and Jessie Waits (known as "the twins"), are together set to take over the rooftop of the W Hollywood by December to open what promises to be one of L.A.'s most scene-worthy hot spots by this time next year.
"The W Hollywood is destined to usher in Hollywood's second golden age of glamour and sophisticated night life at Hollywood and Vine," said Marty Collins, chief executive of W Hollywood developer Gatehouse Capital, from his home in Dallas this month. "The night-life experience planned will be on a grand scale. . . . Los Angeles is in for something very special."
It remains to be seen just how "special" the spandrel glass-walled club, tentatively dubbed Drai's L.A., turns out to be.
But the Waits twins, who have made their name in Las Vegas helping to manage opulent, high-volume destinations such as Tryst and XS for Steve Wynn, plan to go all out to lure celebutantes to the forthcoming nearly 20,000-square-foot club (which was formerly set to be run by Pure Management Group).
"We really know how to take care of people, and we work hard," said Cy Waits on Wednesday. "We have a lot of L.A. regulars excited that we are coming to Hollywood."
But before the 11th-floor poolside destination debuts, several other players hope to ratchet up the Vegas-style sizzle in Tinseltown -- despite a playing field arguably already saturated with glitzy cocktail lounges and high-end clubs, such as the recently opened MyHouse and the struggling, though decidedly Vegas-esque Kress.
Elie Samaha, who helped bring Los Angeles the Roxbury and the Sunset Room, is such a believer in Hollywood that this summer he is opening a 12,500-square-foot lounge/club hybrid dubbed Playhouse inside the old Fox theater on Hollywood Boulevard.
"I've always believed in the neighborhood," the film producer and former Studio 54 doorman said from his office this week. "All the stuff going on at the Kodak [including another Vegas export, Cirque du Soleil, which begins a run next year] and Mann's Chinese is drawing more tourists than ever. It's no longer just about the locals in Hollywood, and the time is now for more development."
And though Samaha's track record as a film producer may be mixed (he helped produce one of the most notorious box-office bombs of all-time, "Battlefield Earth"), the Lebanese immigrant has a better track record of sensing night-life trends.
"When I opened the Roxbury in the 1990s, everybody was laughing at me and they thought I would last just six months," he said. "Playhouse is more special to me than the Roxbury even," he said of his long-delayed club. He and his partners have spent millions since last year renovating the old Fox Theater.
Like the forthcoming club at the W, Playhouse will feature Vegas-esque sizzle, with a monthly Cirque-type show featuring aerialists and the occasional gig by Sin City personality Jeff Beacher, known for his "Beacher's Madhouse" variety show that has drawn celebrities to its former home at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
Some might argue that the "Vegasization" of Hollywood began earlier this decade, with slick clubs that cater to the lowest common denominator such as the Highlands.
The club above the Hollywood & Highland complex barely registers on most hipsters' radars yet rakes in serious cash every weekend (the multilevel venue recently came in at No. 19 on Nightclub & Bar magazine's list of the 100 top-grossing nightclubs in the country).
Smaller bars set for opening this year are legion, including the Essex, Boho, the Supper Club at the Vogue Theater, Public House, 45, the Lounge at Palihouse Vine, Halo and the Capital City Sports Grill. But not everyone thinks Hollywood can shake the stigma of seedy streets, despite the fresh cash infusion the big clubs like Playhouse and Drai's L.A. portend.
"With Katsuya, Beso, the Kress and others, you've got some excellent dining and partying choices in Hollywood that match anything in Beverly Hills," says actress Lorielle New, a familiar face on the L.A. club scene. "The difference is that you still have a higher risk of getting mugged or robbed on the streets of Hollywood. That's not a good way to end an evening." |
|
|
| Kismet7 |
^^^
It makes sense. EDM fanbase is growing and will continue to grow, at some point supply will not be meeting demand and a new super club in LA will be able to maintain a healthy following because of the growing EDM listener base.
This is good news for the talent because now there will be 3 or 4 big spots in LA to play at on any given weekend. It's also good for clubbers because there are more choices.
There is still a huge demographic of clubbers who would go to an EDM club if the club was upscale enough, or the location was different than they were use to. This upscale seeking crowd is what Playhouse and Drais will mainly pull in. People who are into EDM but can't really tell their friends to go to Avalon because they fear the Washers ruining their party's experience might now have a place to go to regularly and invite friends to go to, something more casual.
So I doub't Giant/Vanguard or Avalon will lose much business, having longstanding locations, they could still maintain the talent and the hours they operate, and continue to improve the experience. Not to mention alongside the growing demand for EDM music, these new clubs will likely cater to a different demographic, and maybe these clubs will bring in more EDM listeners who go to an upscale places but end up liking the music enough that they turn into more hardcore listeners of EM and start going to the venue with the best talent on any given weekend, which might be Vanguard or Avalon. So overall this will be good for LA. |
|
|
| mar46017 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Cool1g
Drai's at the W is supposed to open by the end of the year...but i'll place my bet on early 2010...clubs almost never open on schedule. |
Opening night should be New Years 2010. And after reading the LA Times article. The quote about The Highlands is amazing me! |
|
|
| bas |
| quote: | Originally posted by mar46017
Since you are the expert on MDMA on this thread. Got a ? for ya. Why haven't I seen or heard of molly (pure MDMA) in this region of the world? |
Because you're not looking hard enough :o |
|
|
| 72hrpartyanimal |
| quote: | | "With Katsuya, Beso, the Kress and others, you've got some excellent dining and partying choices in Hollywood that match anything in Beverly Hills," says actress Lorielle New, a familiar face on the L.A. club scene. "The difference is that you still have a higher risk of getting mugged or robbed on the streets of Hollywood. That's not a good way to end an evening." |
:stongue:
this is sad but true. |
|
|
| Brian Scott |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jim Carson
The majority of pills in Los Angeles are really BZP piperazines. |
Moral of the story: Don't buy your from the Asian dealers at raves. I haven't had a BZP pill in years thanks to my good sources. |
|
|
| Cool1g |
| quote: | Originally posted by mar46017
. And after reading the LA Times article. The quote about The Highlands is amazing me! |
i've heard that list has got a lot of errors on it.
and i don't think Drai's LA will be going after the big dj names...with a couple of holiday weekend exceptions, they don't in vegas....i think they will just play off of the name. Actually Victor Drai got his start with Drai's restaurant on La Cienega by Koi if memory serves...
Playhouse when it was to be Crobar LA did have a business plan of bringing in known djs due to their ties to the other Crobars, but that fell apart and Crobar NY and South Beach are reflagged as Mansion and Cameo now, so they can't use the leverage of multiple dates/locations to book top djs. |
|
|
| mar46017 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Cool1g
i've heard that list has got a lot of errors on it.
|
Highlands? I was a weekly regular when I was 21 (6 years ago). I believe it opened when I was 20. My buddy who promoter there in the last year or so said most of people who party there are on tourist who just see a nightclub in the Hollywood/Highland complex. Back when I went I do remember many Asians. (not the washing machine type since it was Hip Hop/top 40). Great job Mr. Manacker! |
|
|
| mar46017 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Brian Scott
Moral of the story: Don't buy your from the Asian dealers at raves. I haven't had a BZP pill in years thanks to my good sources. |
Are those the purple ones that must have some kind of acid in it, makes you feel like you are going to die any second! |
|
|
| Brian Scott |
| quote: | Originally posted by mar46017
Are those the purple ones that must have some kind of acid in it, makes you feel like you are going to die any second! |
Yup. Scary as hell if you're not expecting it! |
|
|
| Aureus |
Avalon was amazing last night, with Sandra et al <333
haven't been to Vanguard yet but from what I've heard, it's a dump x_x |
|
|
| mar46017 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Aureus
Avalon was amazing last night, with Sandra et al <333
haven't been to Vanguard yet but from what I've heard, it's a dump x_x |
Vanguard had space last night amazingly. Think it was all the Coachella attenders. |
|
|
|
|
