Hard Rock
DJ Profile
12th Planet Touches Down
John Dadzie has been championing dubstep since before you even knew it existed
March 13th, 2013
Before dubstep producers would have even dreamed of winning Grammys, John Dadzie, a.k.a. 12th Planet, was focused on bringing the sound to the U.S. Championing bass music since its days underground, he’s released more than a dozen EPs, worked with dubstep darling Skrillex and remixed the likes of Dirtyphonics, Foreign Beggars, MSTRKRFT and Rusko. Get ready for a dose of “Bass Salt” when he kicks off his residency at Body English. Read more »
DJ Profile
Aloha, Las Vegas
Electronic trio Splitbreed puts it all out there for dubstep fans
March 7th, 2013
Even if you haven’t been able to get into dubstep, the brand of hip-hop-influenced bass music Splitbreed offers is a lot more user-friendly—while still retaining some grit. With all its current members deriving from families with musical backgrounds, it seemed only a natural fit for brothers and emcees Kalani and Tau’i Mo’e, along with DJ/producer BGenius, to pursue a career in the industry. Read more »
Soundscraper
Motown tributes, Persian pop and Wine Rings
December 20th, 2012
A free holiday-season celebration, a Tribute to Motown & Funk, arrives at Artifice at 10 p.m. Dec. 21. Top local acts are playing under the proverbial mistletoe, including Thee Swank Bastards, Alethia Prudence, Deadhand, Trevor and the Joneses, Chocolate and Candy Warpop. The latter performs with an assemblage of musician-friends dubbed The End Is Nigh Orchestra—a reference, no doubt, to visions of the 2012 Mayan-prophesized apocalypse dancing in people’s heads. Read more »
Music
Heat and Serve
Spoon’s Britt Daniel hopes listeners will gorge on his hot new band, Divine Fits
December 20th, 2012
The genres of indie-rock and synth-pop often converge. But rarely do they meld as seamlessly as they do in Divine Fits. Spoon front man Britt Daniel, Wolf Parade/Handsome Furs front man Dan Boeckner and New Bomb Turks drummer Sam Brown comprise this band, which formed earlier this year. The group released a debut, the moody and melodic A Thing Called Divine Fits, on Merge Records in August to much acclaim. Read more »
Music
Tour Buzz
December 6th, 2012
The Shins play The Joint at the Hard Rock on Dec. 6 ($39)—and this being a rock radio package show, they’re bringing All The Indie Music with them. Let’s say that the Shins alone aren’t enough for you, despite the fact that the band remains the emo standard-bearer. That’s fine, bro—because this show also features Passion Pit, Youngblood Hawke and AWOLNATION. Read more »
Night-lites
Body English Blasting from the Past
November 15th, 2012
Continuing our theme of nightclubs rising from the dead (memo to self: Get investors for zombie-themed spot called The Clubbing Dead), Body English will finally, officially be resurrected Dec. 28 at the Hard Rock Hotel. Read more »
Concerts
Guns N’ Roses
The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel, Nov. 2
November 8th, 2012
Be prepared to take a nap before heading to the Appetite for Democracy three-week residency (ending Nov. 24). The show didn’t start until just before midnight, and rocked through three hours of musical nostalgia. Read more »
Gossip
DJ Pauly D has a doppelgänger
October 11th, 2012
First it was Deadmau5. Then we had Cazzette. Now, in the fine tradition of DJs or DJ-related-people wearing weird crap on their heads, we have the giant Pauly D mascot head. God help us all. Read more »
Reading
When Comics Came to Vegas
Our intrepid writer delves into a weekend of competing comic cons—costumes not included
October 4th, 2012
The crowd is packed into Body English at the Hard Rock on the opening night of MorrisonCon, whipped up through a combination of booze, British jams from the ’80s and ’90s and almost an hour and a half of waiting for comic-book writer Grant Morrison to appear alongside My Chemical Romance front man Gerard Way. Read more »
Concerts
Matisyahu
Soundwaves Series at the Hard Rock, Sept. 15
September 20th, 2012
Wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans, Matisyahu walked through the crowd and to the stage unnoticed—many fans were still unaware of his new lighter-colored hair and clean-shaven appearance since he shed his “Hasidic reggae superstar” label in 2011. Read more »
