I found myself fortunate enough to arrive in Las Vegas a full 24 hours before the Electric Daisy Carnival started Friday night, leaving Thursday night open. My second stop? Brand new Light Nightclub, inside the Mandalay Bay hotel, to see another superstar Dutch DJ, Nicky Romero. Much like Hakkasan, I had heard great things about Light, and was especially excited to check out their giant four-screen LED backdrop. I arrived around halfway through Nicky’s set, so there was no line to get in. You walk up an artsy, light filled staircase that is the perfect entrance to what lay ahead. The top of the stairs lead to the middle balcony level with a big bar in the back facing the DJ booth/ dance floor and provided a good, albeit not full, view of the gigantic LED screens. It was nowhere near as crowded as Hakkasan, making it a much more pleasant overall experience. While still very much full, there were spots to both get good views of Nicky doing his thing and have room to dance. The LED screens are huge and something to really marvel at. The spacey visuals displayed complement the club perfectly, bringing to mind different conceptions of the word light. While I only saw half of Nicky’s set, it was excellent. The last ten minutes were the best, where he played Armin Van Buuren’s “This Is What It Feels Like,” as well as Swedish House Mafia’s “Don’t You Worry Child.” I know those songs, especially the latter, are commercially large, Beatport tracks, but the crowd loved it and you could feel the energy in the room. After my quick visit it seems easy to determine that Light is planning a long stay in the Las Vegas club circuit, and I for one hope that is the case.
