Richie Hawtin at Marquee Las Vegas, October 26, 2013 [Review]

The music of the Las Vegas landscape might be changing, despite the prevailing all commercial EDM all the time format. The evidence? A special late night performance from Richie Hawtin at Marquee Nightclub on October 26.

When the show was made public, there were reverberating cheers across social media. Would Vegas finally be getting something other than the stale rotation of commercial DJs? Is Hawtin selling out? Only the set at 3:00 a.m. would reveal the truth–and the packed Marquee demonstrated that people were there to find out for themselves.

Expertly transitioning the room from an earlier set by Benny Benassi, Brett Rubin held the dance floor and eased the crowd into the more underground realm.

The room transformed from flashing lights and thrilling custom visuals to a more stripped-down production to compliment Hawtin's music, complete with an ENTER. orb glowing on the 40-foot LED wall. As hoped for, the techno icon didn't disappoint. Hawtin did what Hawtin does best: himself. Not compromising for a minute, the crowd was probably more spirited than any I've seen at a Hawtin gig, but that shows how much they loved it and truly needed this much welcome change to the Sin City soundscape. Bottles continued to sail by to tables filled with gorgeous women dancing on banquettes. An adorable gay couple revered every transition. And yes, the dance floor remained at maximum capacity. Hawtin had a hypnotic hold on all of us. The synergy in the room was so incredible that Hawtin even played an extra hour and a half.

Any naysayers that think Vegas isn't ready to dig deeper would change their opinion if they felt the unparalleled vibe present in that room as Hawtin took them on a much-needed journey. Here's hoping another one is on the horizon… and soon.