The DJ Groove - Costa Mesa Hits Jackpot with Vegas

by Josh Glasser

Chicago?s powerful club scene has left an amazing impression on me. Since relocating from Chicago to Orange County, I have been consistently been let down in regards to the club scene in OC until now.

We ventured to check out Orange County?s newest club called Vegas. Vegas is located in the heart of Costa Mesa?s Triangle Square and rests in the basement of a grand mission-style building at the corner of 19th Street and Newport Boulevard. The Grand Opening took place on Friday, February 13th, 2004 (an omen?) to invite O.C.?s elite to experience a creation to represent a modernized ?Fabulous Las Vegas in the 1950?s? look.

James Raven, the brain-power and the man with enough cajones to propose the club to the city?s Planning Commission, replied about his inclination to open a club: ?There was a high demand for a place like this, because there is nothing else like it!?

Valet/Admission

Your first experience of Vegas will be when you arrive at the entrance, greeted by Valet attendants in the bluish glow of the sign's neon lights. Valet costs a mere $3.00 and their speedy service makes it worthy. If you do not want to pay for Valet, you will need to park on a side street; otherwise you will be automatically directed to the Valet line. Two lines make up the entrance consisting of the VIP/Express access and general admission. General Admission is $20 and VIP/Express access includes VIP reservations, Guest List, and those who want to pay $40 to avoid the long lines. Entrance prior to 8:30 pm is free and the Guest List ends at 10:30 pm.

Dress Code

Vegas dress code is considered to be tastefully casual upscale evening wear.

No T-shirts
No Sleeveless Vests or Muscle Shirts
No Ripped or Oversized Jeans
No Baseball Caps
No Wallet Chains or Ghetto Gear

Their dress code motto is, "If in doubt, don't wear it out." Indeed this is true as most were safely dressed.

Security Staff

Not only the formal tuxedo uniforms worn by the security team impressed me, but their courteous service and attitude definitely made everyone feel at ease. The Vegas Security Staff was incredibly polite and professional.

Crowd

Though fairly new, the club already attracts a decent sized crowd ages ranging from mid 20's to mid 40's. The ratio between men & women was a nice 50/50 balance. Majority of the patrons fit the standard club crowd mold. I was impressed by the well-versed crowd, after speaking with a few guys and gals; I learned they were well-educated about the dance music scene and they knew all the top DJs in the industry.

D?cor

Once you pass the not-so-velvet rope, you will enter the outdoor patio fitted with an outdoor Vodka Bar. This area doesn't quite resemble Las Vegas yet. Perhaps adding some outdoor light strands would add a little flare.

Stardust Martini Bar

A short hallway leads in and once inside the doors, you will be greeted by a giant martini at the Stardust martini lounge. This area is designed for comfortable conversation upon incredibly comfortable booth furniture underneath warm lighting. The Stardust lounge has enough space and a sufficient audio setup to house another DJ, ideal for Downtempo and ambient chillout lounge music. In the same area, you will find extravagantly clean & well-decorated restrooms with no wait.

Pass the martini bar and you will enter the main area of the nightclub. The walls along the bars best portray the retro 1950's era with well-designed patterns and colors. Immediately to your left of the dance club area, you will find a baby-blue area with a pool table. Continuing into the retro-yet-modern time-warp, you will encounter the blue kidney-shaped dance floor with a round dance platform, available for those who have a lot to flaunt.

There are a total of 3 full length bars equaling about 120 feet of serving space. You will not have to wait very long to get your drink unless they are short staffed.

DJ Booth (for you DJs out there?)

As you walk past the lengthy bars, noticed the incredibly roomy DJ booth. As a DJ, I can really appreciate this! Plenty of room for your crates of vinyl or CDs! The mixing platform is well-designed with three Technic SLK-1200MK5 turntables and two Denon table-top CD players (appeared to be DN-S3000's). Mackie Active monitors, 5 or more QSC amps, Rane Equalizers topped off with a Rane Mixer. Excellent choice!

VIP Area

If you continue to the right rear of the club, you will be entering the prestigious and protected VIP area. The VIP area is the only seating available that is close enough to the dance floor. Comfortably fitted with 11 large booths suitable for 8 people each, standalone tables for 4-6 people, and a VIP only bar. This area is incredibly comfortable due to the spaciousness of the floor plan, mood lighting, and, oh yeah, the VIP waitresses sporting short, tight and white leather skirts. Pricing is as follows:

Each seat for $125 (Includes $40 Express admission and remaining $85 will be credited to your tab).
Seats only sold in blocks of 4, 6, or 8 persons. That comes to $500, $750, $1000 packages.

Music

During the week, Vegas has live entertainment on Tuesdays, Lounge DJs on Thursdays, and Club DJ's on the weekends. Their music selections started off with some Classic and Vocal House. When entering the club, I was happy to hear "Funk Phenomena" by Armand Van Helden. It brought back memories of spinning during my college days with a full house that steamed up the windows because of the bodies on the dance floor. You will hear various forms of dance music such as 70's - 90's dance, House, Funk, Old School, and Club Pop. No Hip-Hop is this hizzzouse.

Behind the wheels of steel, you may meet DJ Markos H. He explained that he has been DJ'ing for approximately 12 years, providing entertainment for such clubs like Josh Slocum's in Newport Beach. I didn't want to bother him too long since he was the only DJ spinning for the night. DJ Markos H. has smooth cross-fading skills and is fairly decent when taking Harmonic / Key mixing into consideration. There wasn't a lot of progressive or edgy trance or techno music on the list that slammed for the true clubbers, although safe for the type of crowd and great for floor rotation. I mean floor rotation when he played songs like Salt N Pepa's "Push It", Tone Loc's "Wild Thing", and "Erotic City". Ideal but lame tunes to get the thirty-something crowds to dance and for the younger hipsters to get some drinks.

Sound Quality

For the general dance area, I noticed mostly JBL cabinets. The sound is definitely powerful enough for the entire club. You will feel the bass hitting your chest and the melody ringing your bell. Lack of clarity in the ultra high-frequency range is my only critique in the sound. I would have chosen a different line of mid-level PA cabinets.

Light Show

I was highly impressed with the excellent choice of Martin intelligent lighting as the primary source of the light show. Intelligent lighting is the "de facto" for clubs that want the high-tech appearance and for those that want to compete with the larger clubs. Since the club is in a basement, they don't have a lot of clearance for spectacular light shows.

Service

Having over 120 feet of serving space at the bar was a great advantage at this club. You get noticed easier and therefore you are served faster. I did not experience any wait at all. We did have an issue with one bartender at the martini bar. After we had spent an exorbitant amount of money in drinks, my wife was ignored by a bartender when she asked for a glass of water. The bartender bluntly stated that he preferred to serve those who were buying something. Honestly, if someone drinks alcohol, you will get dehydrated. Not serving water after getting some great tips, will make any bartender look bad. Other than that unfortunate experience, we had really fast and friendly service.

Price

The $20 General Admission fee is a standard cover charge for a great club. The drink prices are steep. One round of drinks consisting of two Vodka & Tonics and one Captain and Coke ran about $27, averaging $9 per call drink. They do use quality call liquors though.

Overall Experience

We enjoyed this club given the rude bartender and the lapse of good music near 1 am. The only seating for general admission is back near the Martini bar. With some tweaks to the sound system and lighting, you will get one of the best club experiences in Orange County. Costa Mesa was in severe need for an active nightlife and they now have it. Let's keep this club around for a long time, for the city's sake of their slogan "City of the Arts".

Vegas Nightclub
1901 Newport Plaza
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
949.548.9500
www.clubvegas.us