Vinyl

After our visit last weekend to see a show at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel we stopped by this club next door. It was a small sized club and no cover charge. It was a fun cover band playing– SIn City Sinners– and kept the party vibe going.

Had such a great time seeing Enter Shikari at this venue. All of the bands that played prior were amazing as well and the overall tone of the show was well suited for Vinyl.
From the staff scanning tickets to the bartenders everyone we came in contact with was pleasant. Security had a good handle on a couple people that were just getting a bit too rowdy for the other patrons.
As a Vegas local do keep in mind that the venue is within a hotel so you’re going to be paying a lot more than you may want for your drinks, so if you’re looking to drink plan accordingly.
I thoroughly enjoy going to Hard Rock for concerts though because it’s just far enough off the strip to keep away from too much of the crazy but still has the luxuries of Vegas hotels in that there are plenty of places to grab a bite to eat or drink right after the concert. All in all if Vinyl ever has an artist you’d like to see get yourself down there and have yourself a great time.

Vinyl just may be my favorite venue in Las Vegas. Boasting a smaller intimate setting than most concert venues, Vinyl was a great (and appropriate) spot to contain an audience for bands with a lesser crowd draw. Vinyl is also local friendly as they do not charge fees for those with a valid Nevada ID.
For my only experience so far at Vinyl, some friends and I decided to take in the All That Remains concert. Supported by Devour the Day, Audiotopsy, and Sons of Texas, I kind of had the feeling we would be able to have primo vantage points because of a lack of attendance. I wasn’t wrong. All it took was a mere 25 steps to get from the front of the stage to the bar to grab some appropriately priced beverages ($ 6 tall PBR).
Do keep in mind if you have to use the restroom, you have to leave the venue to use the public one down the hall inside Hard Rock.

«And I said, ‘I know it well.’»
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In A Sentence™
It’s a tiny venue –sub 1000 capacity — at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
Quick Review™
+ They book acts that normally would not play LV or would be relegated to the relative obscurity of The Cult’s DLV. No fees for locals at box office.
+/​-​The sound can be hit or miss, although always so loud that you’d be insane not to wear protection.
— It’s at the Hard Rock, so there’s that.
KEY:
+ Positive observation
+/​-​Neutral note
— Negative observation
Employee of Excellence™
N/​A. The guys scanning tickets are pretty chill. The ladies at the box are super-​cool except for that one lady. (There is always one fucking lady. Laaaaaaaaaaaadyyyyyyyy!)
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I’ve been here for assigned seating shows (stand-​up), for rock concerts, for pop concerts, for tribute shows, for motherfucking Dice. (He gets his own category because he is a legend.) It’s better than the now defunct Wasted Space although WS had better — albeit much more infrequent — bookings. The space is better and the staff is less cunty than the aforementioned. Floor is still wood and drinks obscenely overpriced.
Pro Tip: Look to park on the second level of Paradise. If no parking is available at HRH (very possible), you might have to park a block East at the UNLV parking near the practice fields.
Pro Tip: No service or transaction fees if purchasing from box office with valid local identification. Day of show upcharge applies to most gigs though.
Pro Tip: Don’t drink and drive.
Tons of tourists here — naturally — especially since it’s the shitty Hard Rock. Max capacity: 850.
Not good for kids*. (*Kids can’t mosh for shit.)
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Rating: Three-​stars, «A-​OK.»

I watched the growlers play here two months ago. They did a great performance, I loved them. But the one star is for the staff. The girl at the ticket window was very unfriendly to us as were the people who checked our IDs. But the worst was seeing the security guard clearly talking to the underage girls next to me in a very flirtatious manner.
Then one of the girls next to me wouldn’t stop swinging her arms everywhere (probably drunk). She hit my drink into my lip which was not only very painful but caused a small bump that has still not gone away. It can’t be seen, I can just feel a tiny bead like thing in my lip now. But of course the security guard wasn’t stoping her because he was too busy flirting with her and other underage girls.
I’m just not happy at all with how things are ran there. I’m a huge music lover I love seeing live shows but this place really annoyed me. It’s one thing dealing with underage kids but when the staff is equally idiotic that’s when it’s time to go elsewhere.

From 11÷19÷15
Okay, okay, I’ll start with the pros:
First, the Vinyl is pretty damn awesome on the inside, there is ample room, and the stage is set up well! Secondly, the drinks aren’t overpriced– I paid like $ 10 for a Captin and Seven, I’m happy with that price. Third, the bartenders are friendly and attentive which was nice.
Cons:
Security was a bit rude and overzealous while I understand this was an all ages show, which I guess comes with some of the metal bands. However, it’s still not okay to be so pushy. I get that people who are underage can be a handful. However, there is a better way to handle it without yelling at people. I did not appreciate that, and I am sure no one else did.
The second con is there are no bathrooms inside the venue, now I get that they needed the extra space, but it was kind of annoying having to keep leaving to use the facilities because we all know what happens when you have had a few drinks.
Other than that this place is nice, I wonder if it would be a different experience going to an over 21 show, I will have to see.

If you do one thing at the hard rock — go here. It’s awesome. The place is large enough to feel spacious and small enough to feel intimate. Both of which make it for a good time. It’s right in the hotel as well. We had breakfast there each morning and there was enough room for all of us. There is a main floor and then a standing area behind it. Stage is in the front center.

Fantastic, quaint venue. Seats about 400. Obviously not a bad seat in the house. Hard Rock in general is a great casino. We were there for Monday’s Dark then hung around to just party a it. Great time!

Been here a few times… Seen some cool acts here as well. Sin City Sinners, Elvis Monroe, Michael Grimm and others and with no cover charge. Hard Rock is one of the best places for tourist as well as locals.

Nice intimate venue for shows and concerts. VIP section are high tops with good views. Sound clarity seems to be an issue here.
I’ve seen two shows where vocal clarity was an issue. 1) I couldn’t follow the lyrics in «Alice,» so I couldn’t follow the story line-​the arch. 2) For Dark Mondays, it wasn’t as bad but the vocals were not on top of the mix.
$ 9 beers.
Fun spot!

Saw Michael Grimm’s new show here, and it was fantastic! Well priced, we could see very well, and the acoustics of the room were great.
The bar server charged me $ 3 more for a vodka gimlet that she did for a vodka soda, which I didn’t understand… but whatever, I was here for the show, not the drinks. Great place to catch a concert!

Here for the Undisputed King of Comedy Andrew Dice Clay. The venue is set up to be for concerts but works for comedy shows too. There’s a bar and a few tall tables but mostly rows of seats that weren’t very comfy. Thank goodness for comp tickets! We had great seats close to the stage but not too close!
There was nothing remarkable about the venue, it’s pretty small and has easy in/​out access. We didn’t order beverages so I can’t report on bar prices.
I find the Hard Rock always easy to park at and get in to so I would come back here for shows.

I don’t go out to see live music often, but when I do I am always excited to see open seating.
That doesn’t happen too often, but I was surprised to see they had tables and chairs conveniently placed around the room on a first come, first serve basis. Live music is lots of fun, but it’s even better when I don’t have to subject myself to standing room only.
The layout was a little odd, everyone in my group mentioned how it seemed that the stage was situated in a weird location.
The drinks were pricy. This wasn’t particularly shocking for a casino, but for a smaller club off the strip it was definitely pricier than I expected.
I like the intimate setting, so I’d be interested in seeing another show here in the future.

I was really excited about our VIP table seats for the Dan Band tonight, but all I was left with was the memory of a crappy night and poor communication! The venue itself seems like a nice looking place, but you don’t leave patrons standing in line an hour past the time the doors are supposed to open (and past the show start time) without communicating why. On top of that, VIP tables simply mean you have a table, wait for it, at the back of the room. You would think for the extra charge you may get something extra other than just a chair. Lastly, there are no waitress in the «VIP» area and you have to wade through the mosh pit to stand in line for almost 20 minutes to get a drink. Poor communication and poor follow through. There are too
many choices in Vegas to consider this one again.

Andrew Dice Clay unexpected loyal, kind and not what most people think. The man, the legend, the talent, the persona…

Pretty small venue, which is nice when you come here for a show. Definitely makes it feel more intimate. There’s a bar in the back and a waitress comes around (really slowly) to check up on you and get drinks and stuff.
We saw Dice here and there were fold out chairs everywhere. No tables to set drinks on or to really get comfortable. They do all kinds of shows here (including concerts) so I imagine it’s so they can quickly and easily get things re-​arranged.
The drinks were really expensive compared to everywhere else in the Hard Rock where we drank.

We actually saw Andrew Dice Clay at the Vinyl, so it was set up as a comedy club when we were there — which worked (just rows of chairs with some tables around the stage and way in the back). We did walk by once and they had the doors open for a no cover show (band) and it seemed like they just clear it out and it is standing room only — which would work for the small space also.
It is a smaller space so there isn’t really a bad seat (or standing place) in the house. There is a bar at the back and at Dice they had seat service. Acoustics were fine. I did find that this was the one place in Hard Rock that seemed to have really expensive drinks (I thought everywhere else wasn’t bad), so I am knocking off a star, but all in all a very good experience.

We’ve seen a couple bands play at Vinyl now and it’s definitely one of my favorite venues!
The space itself is pretty limited. When you walk in, the bar is on your right hand side and there’s a small section of seats/​tables on your left. The rest of the room is standing only and for the shows we’ve been to, there was plenty of room. As far as the stage goes, it’s a bit small but we did see a 6 member band play here and they weren’t squeezed in so I’d say it’s just right for the space.
When it comes to the sound quality, Vinyl has got it right! We’ve seen a variety of music played here from acoustic sets to a crazy rock, country «Americana» opening band. Each time, the sound has been on point! Vocals are clear, you can actually hear the bass and nothing is distorted or drowning out the band as a whole.
I really only have a couple complaints for Vinyl, the first being the bar. For the most part, the prices are decent considering you’re in the Hard Rock, but for some things, especially their «cheap» beer, the prices are just stupid. They also don’t have anywhere for underage show goers to buy drinks inside. The first time we were here, we noticed a teenager trying to get some water at the bar, and obviously they couldn’t serve him. They need to at least have some type of area inside for that. There’s going to be teenagers at a lot of concerts and it gets hot in there sometimes. For the $ 3 they charge for a tiny bottle of water, it’s only going to bring in more money for them.
The only other downfall for me is the whole entry/​exit ticket system. Having to leave the actual venue to use the bathroom and scanning my ticket every time I come or go is annoying. The entrance doors there are small and when bands are switching, it gets crowded. Other than that, I dig Vinyl a whole lot and wouldn’t hesitate coming back!

I really liked my experience at Vinyl. It reminds me of a dive-​y NYC rock club. But, of course, it’s actually kinda new-​ish and doesn’t have sticky floors and diseases in the bathroom. But it’s got the ambiance of that. And I really like that.
The stage is small – ish and perfectly proportional and appropriate for the size and ambiance of this place. There’s some tables scattered around the floor. The space directly in front of the stage is clear so you can stand, mosh, dance, or whatever suits you. There’s a bar with some stools. And then there’s a narrow, elevated area with high tops. And there are servers so you don’t have to go to the bar to get your drinks.
What I am a particular fan of is the free shows. I enjoy a night out where I can chill and listen to a cool cover band and don’t have to pay any sort of fee or cover charge. And you can do just that here at Vinyl.
So yep, if you like music, this could be a cool place for you.

Came here to see Mondays Dark with Mark Shunock (highly recommend seeing this show!
).
I would describe this venue as cozy and sort of romantic because of the lighting and overall ambience. For this show we had tables and chairs covering the whole floor in front of the stage and standing room only at the surrounding edges. I assume most concerts are standing room only but this show was a charity to benefit various non profit organizations on a monthly basis.
For you alcohol enthusiasts there is a full bar at the back by the entrance. I don’t drink but when I was there with friends, they told me how some of the drink specials were actually decently priced and that the service was really good.
The stage itself is rather small but decently sized enough for a full band to get their rock on. It is elevated just enough for you to still be close enough to the action yet still have a pretty good view of what’s going on.
As for the sound, with a well known name like Hard Rock the sound crew better bring their «A» game for every performance and this was no different. The sound was nice and loud but not to point where you feel like you needed to cover your ears. To me, the sound will take priority next to singing and instrumentation. You can be the greatest band in the world, but if the sound sucks, you are no better than an amateur garage band. I give the sound here a top notch grade.
So if you have never been here and/​or are planning on it, I can tell you firsthand that you will have a rockin good time. A big plus is that you cant smoke inside the venue. No exposure to cancer causing second hand smoke is always appreciated!
Unilocal 2014 365 Review Challenge #52