Las Vegas Weekly

November 20, 2008 · 1:58 PM

Hard Rock Dis-Jointed (for a bit)

By Spencer Patterson

The Weekly has learned that one of the most iconic venues in Las Vegas history will shut its doors on February 7. The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel, which opened in 1995 and helped usher in Southern Nevada's modern music era, will shut its doors after a pair of Mötley Crüe concerts the weekend of February 6.

But fret not, Vegas music heads. A new Joint, set in what used to be the Hard Rock parking lot along Paradise, is scheduled to open in April with a capacity (4,500) well over twice that of the current Joint.

Warwick Stone, art and memorabilia consultant for the Hard Rock Hotel, says the new Joint will look like “the old Joint on steroids. It will have roughly the same proportions—the same stage height, with the same three [floor] drops, open but with seating that comes in for certain shows—but it will be wider, taller and longer,” Stone says, adding that the new room will feature two balcony levels (the current Joint has one). He also says the new Joint, designed by Sceno Plus (the Montreal architectural firm famous for its Cirque du Soleil theaters), will feature “more formal memorabilia” adornment.

As much as for any single show it hosted, The Joint might ultimately be best remembered for helping erode the music industry's "Vegas stigma," clearing a path for the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, the Pearl at the Palms and the area's many other concert halls to consistently attract major rock, R&B and hip-hop headliners to town.

The Rolling Stones, The Who, Bob Dylan, The Eagles, Tom Petty, The Ramones, James Brown, Johnny Cash, John Mayer, Joe Jackson, Santana, John Lee Hooker, Metallica, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Chemical Brothers, Morrissey, Sheryl Crow, Duran Duran, Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige, Elvis Costello, The Flaming Lips, Sting, Oasis, The Cure, Tool, Depeche Mode, Coldplay, Erykah Badu, Van Halen, Guns N' Roses, Aerosmith, Jane's Addiction, Stone Temple Pilots, Robert Plant, Kid Rock, The Strokes, Lou Reed, Neil Young, Norah Jones, the Sex Pistols, The White Stripes, David Bowie, The Black Crowes, Chuck Berry and The Allman Brothers Band were just a few (okay, more than few, but seriously, it was tough narrowing the list down to just that) of the countless acts to play the oft-packed rectangular room with guitars on its walls and "Humanity Is Instrumental" hanging over its stage.

ZZ Top, Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand, Papa Roach, Hoobastank and NOFX are all still scheduled to play the current room before it closes.

No official word yet on bookings for the new room, though Metallica is rumored to top the wish list for opening-weekend ceremonies.

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