Nightclub and Bar Trade Show Las Vegas 2006 Photos The Show
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Nightclub and Bar Trade Show Las Vegas 2006 Photos The Show |
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LAS VEGAS:! NO LAST CALL! CITY GUIDES:
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Nightclub and Bar Trade Show 2006
If ever there were a trade show made in PubClub heaven, presented by the angels of Oxford Publishing, it was the 2006 Nightclub & Bar convention in Las Vegas, otherwise known simply as "The Show." This year's convention, held the first week of March at the Las Vegas Convention Center, had many of the same elements of the past with a few new twists, as usual.
The biggest change was a slight schedule adjustment of the post-show floor parties. Instead of Tuesday being the massive night, it was Monday. The floor days were again Tuesday and Wednesday but the usual concert was held Tuesday. This year it featured Blues Traveler in a concert presented by Coors (apparently, Snoop Dog canceled at the last minute but the replacement proved to be popular among attendees, jammin' the floor at Club Rio). Other key parties included the annual Budweiser bash (Monday); a much-improved wine tasting happy hour that included samples from California, New Zealand, France and Italy (Tuesday); and a massive Sam Adams extravaganza at the massive Tao (later Tuesday). A lounge crawl completed that night.
But the show exists because of the two days on the floor and once again, it rocked. There were DJs, ice shots, poker TV stars, old-fashioned pinball machines, a chilled shot dispenser, tiki bars (one with a volcano), Hooters shooters and the Girls Gone Wild bus. There was a confetti machine that was so effective, the floor around it looked like Jimmy Johnson's car after the Daytona 500. Among the drinks were mandarin and standard margaritas, moitos, pina colodas and lime drinks made with Brazilian rum. Plus tequila, vodka, flavored vodka, rum (flavored and otherwise) and whiskey and bourbon. Enough brands of beer to make Homer Simpson hum. And energy drinks, providing a necessary boost of energy. Mostly, they were served by sexy models – one was dressed in a deck of cards – who often stood with trays of miniature martini glasses at the displays offering passers-by a tasty treat. In fact, this year one did not even need to visit a booth to get a buzz; girls were walking around the floor handing out shots. Samples were freely poured from booths or huge displays by beverage distributors. Absolut had an ice pool table. Stella and the inBev distributors set up a mobile wood bar that felt like a cozy pub. Coors brought in professional athletes to pour its products. Red Bull created a Vegas nightclub in the middle of the convention center, complete with cage dancers, a DJ and couches; you almost expected it to have a doorman in a black jacket and earpiece asking it you're "on the list."
Established for the nightclub and bar industry – the Nightclub & Bar Trade Show features employees from pubs and clubs throughout the U.S. – it is open to anyone who wants to attend ($85 floor pass; parties extra). It's not a booze-fest, but a premier setting to sample new and different kinds of beer, spirits and other beverages, to see what might be coming to a pub or club near you and to mingle with those in the industry (say, get to know your local bartender or bouncer a little better). Personally, PubClub would not trade this trade show for all the rum in the Caribbean. Or bourbon in Kentucky. Or Vodka in Scandinavia. Or tequila in Mexico. Or beer in a brewery. So look for us back in this trade show heaven in 2007.
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