PS Love Blog

The Joint

As the saying goes, “as one door closes, another one opens.” The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas will close its legendary concert venue, The Joint, on February 7, 2009, to make way for a brand new expanded and state-of-the-art Joint. As part of their Saints of Los Angeles 2009 Tour, Motley Cruewill help close The Joint doors in true rock ‘n’ roll fashion with two closing weekend performances scheduled for February 6 and 7, 2009.

Scheduled to open April, 2009, the new Joint will be twice the size, feature an innovative sound and lighting system, and offer seven premiere VIP hospitality suites, making the new Joint the most sophisticated, intimate and authentic venue in Las Vegas for artists and fans.

“The Joint has played host to some of the world’s greatest rock bands over the years and Motley Crue is honored to be closing ‘The Joint’ down,” said Tommy Lee, Motley Crue drummer. “We hope to bring the house down in true Crue-style.”

The original Joint was opened in February of 1995 and was the first rock venue in Las Vegas to be built at a high-end boutique property. At the time, it helped establish national credibility for Las Vegas as a legitimate tour stop by luring top-notch talent who had never played in the market before. The Joint also helped introduce a new culture of tourists and locals to first-rate concerts in Las Vegas. As a result, other casino hotels quickly followed suit by renovating and upgrading their facilities. AEG Live was contracted in February 2007, as the exclusive promoter and booking agent for The Joint and will continue in that capacity in the new venue.

“As we prepare to close the doors to Las Vegas’ first historic rock venue, we look forward to writing a new chapter in rock ‘n’ roll history with the opening of the new Joint,” said Randy Kwasniewski, President and COO of Morgans Hotel Group Las Vegas and Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. “From The Rolling Stones to Foo Fighters, The Joint has played host to the world’s greatest artists and bands and will be forever remembered as a venue that revolutionized the Las Vegas music scene.”

The Joint’s $60 million project is part of the widely-publicized $800 million expansion the Hard Rock broke ground on in 2007; slated for completion in late 2009. The expansion will include the addition of approximately 860 guest rooms, including an all-suite 15-story south tower, a new 17-story north tower, approximately 60,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, and approximately 30,000 square feet of casino space. In addition, the project includes the expansion of the Hard Rock’s award-winning pool, several new restaurants and bars, a new nightclub, multiple new retail outlets, as well as a new spa and health club. As part of the project, the Hard Rock’s existing suites and common areas will be renovated to revitalize the property.

The trendsetting new concert venue will unveil a number of “new” features when it celebrates its grand opening in the Spring of 2009 including:

• Seven high-end, VIP luxury suites
• Seated and general admission capacities will be doubled
• 700+ fixed stadium-style seats and top-notch green and production rooms
• WiFi access throughout the venue and full blogging station for press covering events and shows
• State-of-the-art light and sound including a D&B Audiotechnik, two full flown stacks, a center cluster for fills, stage fills and over 36 delay speakers through the back of the venue, bar areas, lobby and restrooms
• Ability to transform venue to accommodate boxing, wrestling, mixed martial arts events, corporate functions and trade shows, as well as red carpet movie premieres and advanced screenings

A weekend-long closing celebration is scheduled at The Joint starting Friday, February 6, with a much-anticipated performance by legendary rockers, Motley Crue. Motley Crue recently returned to the charts with Saints of Los Angeles, their first studio album with the original lineup — Nikki Sixx, Mick Mars, Tommy Lee and Vince Neil — in over a decade and the ninth studio album in their career. Tickets for closing weekend with Motley Crue are available at www.hardrockhotel.com, the Hard Rock box office or Ticketmaster.

I have been in The Joint only once,  I think, and that was a memorable night for me.  It was the show that ended the Alice in Chains tour.   I have seen concerts in other venues around this fine city and The Joint is one of my favorites.  It is MUCH preferred to the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, in my opinion.  I’m excited to see the new changes and am debating on whether to attend the Motley Crue fun.