Unlike most of EDMs top brass, BBC dance music guru and globetrotting DJ Pete Tong has witnessed the evolution of Las Vegas megaclubs firsthand. During his first visit in the early 2000s, he spun actual records at Luxor nightspot Ra (now LAX), during a midweek industry party called Pleasuredome. He went on to play Frogger up and down the Strip in regard to gigs, but the most recent lilypad hes landed on is SLS Lifewhere he once again plays to locals. This time, hes hosting the Vegas variation of his All Gone Pete Tong partyand bringing with him some of the biggest house and techno (read: not EDM) DJs in the world.
During the All Gone Las Vegas October 5 debut, I had a moment of genuine dancefloor discovery. Just as Cirez D (aka Eric Prydz) appeared in the Life DJ booth, Tong closed his set with a soaring vocal track that was hardly house or techno, but didnt fit the EDM bill, either. Unbeknownst to me (until I Shazamd it), it was remix of London Grammars If You Wait by one of my favorite dance producers, Jacques Lu Cont. I might never have heard that track in a Vegas nightclub had it not been for Tongwho I spoke to a couple of hours before my little transcendent moment.
Youve seen a lot of nightclubs in Las Vegas and all over the world. What do you think of the place? What advantages does it have over competitors? I think it was a challenge for the SLS to ask themselves how to come into the space and not be just another club. I think theyve gone about it in an intelligent way in terms of the size of the venue and how theyre going to fit into the city and offer something different. The fact that theyve arrived when theyve arrived, I dont think they could have succeeded just repeating whats come beforethat wouldnt necessarily be a winning formula in such a competitive market with some fairly established clubs here already. So I think the whole attitudeand I think the same goes for opening a casino in this townyou want to offer something different. The whole SLS brand is a younger, more welcoming environment for the younger crowd. Thats the overwhelming feeling I got being around opening weekend. It wasnt dominated by the casino. It was an easier place to get around and find the clubs. Obviously the model of a lot of the big hotels is theyre these vasy kind of cities almost you walk into. Thats what people got used to, so I think this more boutique atmosphere is great. Its very encouraging.
In the club itself, its two-thirds if not half the size of a lot of other established clubs. And that encourages and allows a more adventurous music programming, especially if you want to start talking about anything other than EDM. Ive always said, for that kind of music to flourish in America, its needs environment. Its not necessarily howitzers off the stage and pyrotechnics. Youve got to create environments that people can lose themselves in without having to wait for the next drop all the time ... Life encourages that.
Did you see it before inking the residency? I hadnt done a walk-through of the finished thing, Id [seen] 3D mapping and seen all the modeling and they can show you. I have a bunch of people around me that I trust and they felt that this was the right opportunity.
What made you think Las Vegas was ready for thisespecially as some of the clubs normally associated with EDM have been veering more toward open format and Top 40? Its funny when you say Top 40, because I thought a lot of the EDM DJs were Top 40. Youre suggesting [the clubs] are going backward.
Sorta. I think a number of factors come to the table when youre coming up with a music strategy for a new venue. The SLS has got a set of brand values, the whole SBE thing with the restaurants and everything. I think they want to come into the city and do something different. I would like to think from my standpoint that championing a different sound is part of that strategy. Im not naive though to the fact that its a convenient strategy that aligns with people trying to find a way into Vegas. Ive been playing off and on in this city since 2000, when Ra was at the Luxor. I think the city is so big and expanding so fastits one of the biggest cities in the world from an entertainment standpointthat theres got to be another way. Theres got to be something different.
Its one of the reasons this is suited to being on Sundays. Where do the locals go? I remember those gigs at Luxor. Actually part of the inspiration to coming back to [Vegas], one of the things I thought about those early years was I really felt it was 10 or 20 percent real localswere the barmen, were the doormen, were the chauffeurs, the dancers, the strippers, whatever, we make this town work and this is our night off, this is where we come to hang. I really like that element. Theres not many places Id say...over the proceeding 15 years [that had that]. Maybe Drais Afterhours had a bit of that. I felt like we had a little of that when I was doing that residency at Encore [Beach Club]. But some of those people got to get out somewhere to let their hair down, and theyve seen everything happening every night. So that can actually be a very attractive core to build another night around.
The other thing: Theres only one Calvin Harris, one Steve Aoki, one Avicii, and this is very competitive town, and you cant have the same DJ on the same night. So someones got to break out and go, were gonna do something different. Were not gonna have the watered-down version of Calvin Harris, were going to create our own personalityat least thats what I hope (laughs).
Has the Vegas club scene evolved since it first really blew up with DJs four or so years ago? Or have we still been slow to diversify? You need to create environments to support that kind of musical programming. You need a regular crowd and locals. You need a core in the room to drive your philosophy. Youre not going to get it from whos in town tonight and the tourists. I think thats too much of a challenge. You might be able to get away with it, but youre more likely to succeed with the former.
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British dance music icon Pete Tong gets deep for Las Vegas