Nightclub and Bar Trade Show Las Vegas 200 Photos Writeup, Article,
The Show
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CITY GUIDES: 2007 Photos Article Writeup, Coverage of the 20th anniversary of "The Show" with photos and prose from PubClub.com
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Nightclub and Bar Trade Show 2007
There is, of course, the famous advertising slogan about this town that says, "What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas." While that's true for those who want it to be, when it comes to the annual Nightclub & Bar Trade Show – a mega mecca for anyone in the industry – the whole point is to take what happened in Vegas and make it happen elsewhere. Specifically, that means owners, managers and bartenders take what they saw here to the pubs and clubs in cities and towns throughout North America.
And what they saw from March 4-7, 2007, was as varied as their pubs and clubs. From Sammy Hagar's guitar licks at the kickoff party the first night to last call on the last day, the Nightclub & Bar Trade Show presented some 2,000 exhibitors to several thousand anxious attendees. And they were anxious, having been talking about The Show excitedly for months beforehand. The reasons were readily apparent to anyone who has been here before. The event offered mini martini glasses of spirt samplers from the time the doors swung open at noon on opening day. For the next two days, people roamed around sampling new and established vodkas, rums, tequilas, even sake. There was enough brands of beer to travel the globe without leaving the show floor. Much like the host city itself, the various companies and distributors used entertainment to attract customers and potential clients. There was a Vegas-style lounge (Heineken), a girl petting a snake in a Garden of Eden setting above the floor (Absolut) an ultimate fighting ring complete with demonstrations (Rock Star energy drinks), live music (steel drums at Tommy Bahama Rum and an end-of-day soft rock guitarist at Crown Imports) and sexy models in: "come hither" outfits at every turn. People could sample the world's coldest shot from a machine that sent out smoking shot glasses that resembled a mad scientist's brew (-8 degrees, from NiteOwl bomb shots), take Jell-O shots with a partner through an innovate device with the innovative name called Suck and Blow, have something called a TikiRita (7.5% pre-made slushy drinks) in six flavors, enjoy brew food from chefs at Budweiser, have cool Coors products from a new cooling system (the beer was cold but Coors girls were certainly hot) and not worry about the ramifications the next morning because of anti-hangover remedies. In pills, powder and liquid form (Drinkin' Mate tabs, Cure and AH+). For brief relief, a large Perrier booth was proudly poised at the heart of the alcohol action, proving a bubbly sensation that was sans alcohol. Among the bar products on display were a taser (Taser International), a cooler with a lawn chair (Crusin' Cooler) and a tabletop candle that's not really a candle (the LED Flicker Cell remote). These were no shots in the dark, either. Thought the shots - if that is what one preferred to consume – continued well past dark.
And if the show itself was the olive, then the nighttime parties were the martini. The first night began with a Rock, Rhythm and Blues event hosted by DeLuca Liquor & Wine and Anheuser-Busch. Sammy Hagar then played at Rain in the Palms, where he admittedly got a little wobbly from the Cabo Wabo tequila he was drinking. At the same time a club crawl of sorts was happening not far away at the new Playboy Club, Moon and Ghostbar. The following evening began with Vino Las Vegas from Southern Wine & Spirits, followed b a Coors-sponsored party at the elegant nightclub Tao, which itself was followed by a Sidney Frank Importing bash at the indoor/outdoor club Twyst. Despite the obvious distractions, there WAS quite a bit of work that got done at "The Show." New brands of spirits and beer were exposed – often for the first time – to clientele thirsty to be on the cutting edge of competition. The general meeting, mingling and boozing and schmoozing made it an ideal environment to conduct business in a casual setting. Leave the golf rounds to the corporate executives; for those in the nightclub and bar industry The Show proved to be the place to pound out those deals. And there was more than met the eye – a series of seminars and workshops featured topics such as management, marketing music/technology and safety/legal issues. While designed for those in the industry, the hosts at Oxford Publishing do sell tickets to the general public for the two days of the show ($125) and the nighttime parties ($15-175). There are other shows at other times during the year in other cities and in June of '08 it's going international with the debut of the Nightclub & Bar Trade Show in Mexico City. We'll drink to that one!
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