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[ upcoming ]

June 30 Ribbon of Lifes Golden Rainbow Fundraiser (GoldenRainbow.org) July 5-6 UFC Fan Expo (UFCFanExpo.com)

Teeing iT Up TPC Summerlin golf course opened to the

public June 13 for an evening of fine wine and

dining during An Aperitif by the Tee, a benefit

for the Lili Claire Foundation. The band 51/50

filled the room with soulful sounds while more

than 60 guests were treated to beverages from

around the world, hand-selected by Elevage

Wine Group sommelier Mario Luna. Afterward,

guests switched gears for the Closest to the

Hole competition on the 18th green, where TPC

member Jeremy Johnson scored a hole-in-one,

winning dinner for two and a bottle of Victorino

Tempranillo wine from Toro, Spain.

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The headliners make the

scene at EDC. The fans are as

passionate as any I have ever seen,

and they pour as much of their energy

into the performances as the artists

onstage. You can feel the PLUR

from this group of avid dance fans

on the railing of the Kinetic

Field stage for Tisto.

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There is nothing like a

gathering of this size

more than 300,000

people visited EDC last

year. Here the fans are

illuminated by towering

flames. EDC is the

ultimate spectacle, and

my annual helicopter trip

around the speedway

each year leaves me

breathless.

The Electric Daisy is at

the center of it all a

beacon in the night and a

gathering place. As I roam

the speedway looking for

photos, I feel drawn to the

daisyand I always find a

passer-by engaging with

it in some unique way.

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With roughly 350,000 people set to descend on Las Vegas June 21-23 for the Electric Daisy Carnival, we caught up with the fests visual conductors, lighting god Steve Lieberman and uber-VJ Vello Virkhaus, who tell us what we can expect from EDCs distinctive look this year.

How are you involved in the electronic dance music scene?

Lieberman: Ive designed [the lighting for] more than 200 nightclubs from New York to Miami, L.A., Vegas, Seattle, San Diego, Aspen everywhere. I started by working in clubs when I was 16 years old and have always been a part of the com-munity, and since raves hit the East Coast, its been a whirlwind.

Virkhaus: Im in charge of booking VJs, creating video content and live VJ production for all the EDC stages, unless a particular sponsor or one of the artists has someone doing their own. Ill personally be on the Kinetic Field, which is

exciting because we will have a lot larger video surface to work with this year.

Whats your favorite festival to produce?

Lieberman: Thats like ask-ing someone which one of their children they love the most! Some are more enjoy-able than others, but all are unique. The big ones are amazing, but are also more work. Ultra Miami and EDC Vegas are labors of love, but the labor is tremendous.

Virkhaus: It really is hard to pick. Ive been with them all for an equally long period of time, and seen them succeed and get bigger. I love Insomniac and have been a huge supporter for years, and look forward to it every year. Ultra turned up the volume on production this year, and Insomniac is following suit, and Im really excited to see them taking it to the next level.

How much work goes into putting together a produc-

tion like EDC Vegas?Lieberman: It starts with a few

of us the day after the show ends the year before. Design work begins six months ahead because there are seven stages to develop. With all of our back-to-back shows, we have to plan and cant procrastinate. The design process is pretty much me, and as I design, I bring it to Pasquale [Rotella, CEO of Insomniac] and his team, and we develop it. We bring in a vendor and a master electrician, and rates are approved. Then we see the fnished product on-site. Even the new vendors have been with me for fve to six years and a lot for 15-plus years, so the trust level is there, and there is less micromanag-ing. Thats important because the main-stage cost for EDC is looking like several million dol-larsjust for that stage.On the night of, my per-stage

team is roughly 20 peopleeach stage has a master electri-cian and two to three people under him. There are also two

to four for each trade: lighting, video, special effects, etc., and those numbers can go deeper if you start counting stage man-agers and facilitators.

Virkhaus: Vegas is going to take an entire month of preproduc-tion from producing custom vi-suals to the programing for the stages to prepping for different artists unique productions. We also serve as support in a num-ber of aspects for many artists live performances.

Whats new for this years production?

Lieberman: We have spent a considerable amount of time and money on props. This years production will be more theatrical with a focus on set design with a tech-y, edgy feel. The pieces ft the theme and tie in ideas from the promo-tional graphics.

Virkhaus: There will be a lot more next-generation effects that we will premiere and a new experience that Im work-ing on. I cant say much about it other than it will involve crowd visuals!

Can we have a hint?Virkhaus: Im going to VJ

everyones cellphones using the EDC app.

Favorite stage this year?Lieberman: Every stage is

pretty amazing, and this is not your local jamboree. This is the largest electronic festival in the U.S., and my budget for this show is equal to 10 of my other shows combined! With thousands coming out, its also not about just the DJs, but the whole experience. We want someone to be able to show up and not worry about whos playing. We want to suck them into the environments and make them part of the carnival.

Whats the biggest challenge when you produce an event like EDC?

Lieberman: The concept. Everyone from production always wants drawings, but its not math! It takes thought and inspiration and a lot of leg-work, especially when you are tasked to design 50-70 stages a year, and this year I will be doing closer to 80-90! I really try to keep things fresh and not produce the same thing, so every day is a challenge.

Virkhaus: One of the biggest for me is mobilizing so many areas and keeping track of the content. I dedicate production coordinators to help make sure everything is loaded in correctly and all the components play correctly. On the management front, programing can take several days to three weeks for major festivals like Ultra, which have seven high-defnition video outputs per stage, to complete.

How do you guys collaborate?Lieberman: Vello is a critical

part of my team and usu-ally becomes involved in the process after the design is com-plete. I send him screens and pixel maps, and he puts in the front end of the system from a graphic-design standpoint and plugs in the video of all the artists. There are multiple HD inputs that average VJs would founder with, so he makes life much simpler.

Virkhaus: Weve worked togeth-er for years on these electronic music shows, and hes one of my favorite people to work with. He gives me great toys to play with and spoils me. Its really wonderful not to have to do any production design and just be able to focus on VJing.

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Let There Be LightThe lighting/VJ team of Steve Lieberman and Vello Virkhaus

fip the switch on EDC 2013

By David Morris

For more on what Lieberman and Virkhaus are up to, check out SJLighting.net and VSquaredLabs.com, respectively.

Vello Virkhaus VJs at EDCs Kinetic Field in 2012.

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parties

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[ Upcoming ]

June 22 Sunset Party with Skrillex

June 26 Nathan Scott spins

July 3 DJ Stellar spins

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parties

See more photos from this gallery at SpyOnVegas.com

Bagatelle BeachThe Tropicana

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parties

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[ Upcoming ]

June 21 DJ Jazzy Jeff spins

June 22 Funkagenda spins

June 25 Full Moon Party

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DINING

[ TrendspoTTing ]

FermenTed, Fried and FunJapanese izakayas ofer booze-friendly bites and boisterous behavior

By Brittany Brussell

IchizaIt would take more time than you

have to inspect the multitude of menu items affxed to every inch of wall space. Stick with the yellowtail tartare, an East-meets-West concoc-tion resembling a sandwich of fried chips, rice, salsa, avocado and raw yellowtail. For large groups, head to the back of the room for the tra-ditional zashiki seating on the foor. 4355 Spring Mountain Rd., Suite 205, 367-3151, IchizaLasVegas.com.

Kyara Japanese TapasExpect an ear-shattering Irass-

haimase! (Welcome!) when enter-ing this intimate den. While your liver may loathe you, this place keeps it real by offering a mind-numbing selection of sake, chu-hai, shochu,

wine and beer. To help soak up the libations, opt for the pork kimchi, enoki bacon skewer and ika, tender rings of grilled squid slathered in butter. 6555 S. Jones Blvd., Suite 120, 434-8856, KyaraIzakaya.com.

Mikos IzakayaWhile staples such as hiyayakko

(cold tofu with ginger and scallions) and kara-age (deep-fried chicken cubes) dot the menu, sample the fresh sushi and sashimi; ask for the more nutritious haiga rice. If meat isnt your thing, try the vegetarian/vegan sushi rolls or noodle dishes. And be sure to say hi to Chico, a shigaraki tanuki (badger or raccoon dog) statue intended as a good-luck charm. 500 E. Windmill Lane, Suite 165, 834-2779, MikoSushiLasVegas.com.

Food and libations at Kyara Japanese Tapas.

Las VeGas cant seem to stop guzzling down bowls of ramen, clamping our chopsticks around sushi or nearly impaling our cheeks while gnaw-ing sustenance from skewers. Throw in some sake or a Sapporo and life is good. So it shouldnt be a surprise that people are finally discovering the izakaya (pronounced ee-ZAH-ka-ya). Think of these casual restaurants as a marriage between a tapas bar and pub, where friends can grab drinks and share a range of inexpensive small plates. Spirited chatter and lingering into the wee hours is strongly encouraged. Here are some spots perfect for fulfilling the dual desire to get plastered and pig out.

Dining

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[ Scene StirS ]

Buy the Book: essential summer drinker, readingLiquid Vacation is available on Amazonand

FrankiesTikiRoom.com. Or you can pick

one up and have it signed by the author at

the June 22 launch party at Frankies Tiki

Room. While youre at it, here are a few

more tomes for your cocktail table and the

beverages with which to enjoy them.

The Negroni, by Gary Regan.

If youre a fan of the Negroni, youll appreci-

ate this ode to that most revered and simple

of cocktails (gin, Campari, sweet vermouth),

including the history of Italian cowboy

creator and namesake Count Negroni,

essays, quotations, Negroni variations and

comments from the worlds top bartenders

and personalities such as David Wondrich,

Dale DeGroff, Jim Meehan and even Orson

Wells. Enjoy with a Negroni, of course!

Jared Brown, 2013, $15.

The Audacity of Hops, by Tom Acitelli.

Chronicling the birth and growth of the

American craft-beer industry since the

mid-1960s, the former New York Observer

senior editor keeps it light with photos and

entertaining stories. Still, he manages to

satisfy the beer geeks thirst for detail. Its

the other greatest story ever told. Settle in

with a bomber of Big Dogs Red Hydrant

Ale. Chicago Review Press, 2013, $20.

A Beer Drinkers Guide to Knowing and

Enjoying Fine Wine, by Jim Laughren.

Described as a friendly, arm-around-the-

shoulder wine primer, this guide cuts the

crap and gets down to explaining wine in

clear, concise language. If you can rattle off

your favorite hops and their attributes, you

can understand wine. Read while drinking

a jammy, impertinent zinfandel. Just kid-

dingcrack a PBR for this one! Crosstown

Publishing, 2012, $17.

The Wine Forgers Handbook, by Stuart

George and Dr. Noah Charney.

Such a hot dinner-party topic right now!

A journalist and an art-crime expert team

up to give a short history of forgery and

fraud in the wine world, including the recent

Kurniawan case and the unbelievable

Rodenstock lawsuit. Tear through this easily

digestible e-book with something vintage

and expensive. Barolista Books, 2013, $3 for

Kindle on Amazon.com.

The Patrn Way, by Ilana Edelstein.

From fantasy to fortune, the cover fairly

barks, lessons on taking any business

from idea to iconic brand. Edelstein tells

the story of how Patrn tequila marketed

itself (thanks, ahem, in part to Edelstein) to

become one of the worlds leading premium

tequila brands. Read this with a Patrn

Paloma (reposado, lime juice, grapefruit

soda on the rocks) and perhaps a grain of

salt. McGraw-Hill, 2013, $25. X.W.

P moss third book, Liquid Vacation: 77 Refreshing Tropical Drinks from Frankies Tiki Room in Las Vegas (Stephens Press, $30) in-cludes many of the expected tiki trappings: over-the-top gar-nishes, outlandish colors, fames, cream and hulking wedges of juicy pineapple. Drinks are rated using Frankies skull sys-tem: three skulls is easy going, four is deceptively strong and fve is trouble. But there is not one cocktail umbrella. Owner of the worlds only 24-hour tiki bar (also the only tiki bar here on Hawaiis ninth island), Moss demonstrates the restrained, sophisticated and even elegant side of tiki, such as the Savage Flame, created by Frankies bar manager Allison Hartling. Served without garnish in a cocktail coupe, this understated

drink (three skulls) harkens back to the golden age of tiki,

before the drinks evolved into more complex endeavors, and takes its name from an album of traditional luau music. While rum, Cointreau, fresh lime juice and guava nectar are typical of the tiki shopping list, its encouraging to also see house-made ginger syrup, St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram and Angostura bit-ters in the mix. Included with the 60 Frankies originals are 17 classics, such as the Mai Tai, Navy Grog and Fog Cutter, and two cocktails that stray from the tiki formula: Blood & Sand (Scotch-based) and Mutiny (vodka, for those scalawags who refuse to drink rum). Moss prefaces the recipes and amusing cocktail stories with a look at Las Vegas history through a tiki lens. Like Frankies drinks, the book is hard to put down!

Sneaky Tiki

Watch Frankies Tiki Room owner P Moss discuss tiki culture, cocktails that kick your ass and his new book at VegasSeven.com/Frankies.

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Theyre all well worth it if youre trying to expand your Vegas fick repertoire. But its the central conceit of Vegas in flm: It can be a supernatural wonderland (Oceans 11, Meet Me in Las Vegas). Or it can be a nightmarish hellscape thats either a waystation for the wretched (Leaving Las Vegas, The Cooler), or a place where the demonic dole out torment to the damned (Showgirls, Very Bad Things). Other cities get to just be settings. Sleepless

in Seattle could have been Sleepless in San Jose. Philadelphia could have been Boston. There are even examples that dont involve Tom Hanks, but the point is that Vegas is always forced to be a very specifc stand-in for certain metaphors. Only Casino and Fear and Loathing try to do

it different. They use Vegas as allegory for the failure of the American Dream. Its a trickier proposition than painting the town as a two-dimensional horror show or garden of delights, and its probably telling that of all the ficks, only Casino really managed to pull it off convincingly. (Fear and Loathing is a fne movie, but the heightened realities on the screen undercut the precise and biting social commentary. It works more seamlessly on the page.)Which is probably why Casino still stands as the

frst among peers in the Vegas-movie canon. That and the fact that theres an 85 percent chance of fnding it on AMC right now. But it would be nice if, for once, Vegas on the screen were a place where people just lived, without the burden of commenting on the human condition by virtue of geography.

If thIs Is all startIng to sound lIke screenwrIters are usIng Vegas as a metaphorIcal reposItory for doomed souls, thats because they are.

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Music

Killswitches and BattlecrossesIm writing this in a poolside cabana at night, and

its still 100 degrees. Pity the poor EDC-ers who

cant always enjoy air-conditioned venues to keep

their angel wings from melting. Meantime, you and

I, fellow Soundscrapers, have cool shows to hit.

First, blues singer-guitarist Guitar Shorty is

back at the Railhead in Boulder Station (10 p.m.

June 20). Often said to have influenced everyone

from Jimi Hendrix to Buddy Guy, Shorty has

performed with all the greats, including Little

Richard. This dude simply cooks on the six-string.

Like last time, I imagine hell likely perform his own

originals plus some covers. Shortys version of

Hey Joe is hellacious.

Theres a Clash of the Titans taking place at 10

p.m. June 21 at Artifice, and no, Im not talking

about the Greek myth of Perseus. I mean a night

of Vegas bands performing covers by two titanic

figures in rock n rollIggy Pop and David Bowie.

The local groups chosen to play this event are on

the ramshackle side, what with punk-rockin D&D-

addicted stonerds 3d6 and garage-blues animals

Tiger Sex. Other acts on the billSex in Latex, A

Grand Distraction, Brad BaileyIve never heard

of, so Im eager to hear what they deliver. At the

least the music is guaranteed to be awesome.

Portland, Maine, alternative hip-hop artist and

Anticon label co-founder Sole sneaks into the

Bunkhouse Saloon at 10 p.m. June 22. Sole is

riding high after having just released socialist-MC

concept album No Wising Up No Settling Down. Ac-

cording to the artist himself, the disc explores per-

sonal and social/philosophical aspects of the class

struggle. Songs such as Insurgent Rap and My

Veganism are unlike anything youve ever heard

on the mic, making this the must-see underground

hip-hop show of the year. Also on the bill: Moodie

Black, Late for Dinner and Jay R Beatbox.

Two underground Wisconsin-weaned bands that

frighten me moreDresden, The Parishdescend

on The Dive at 9 p.m. June 24. Dresden is a crust-

punk group that sounds like a giant dentist drill

held aloft by a tribe of serial killers and poised to

grind off your entire face. The Parish, meanwhile,

is a crushing stoner-doom trio that doesnt sound

at all like the religious unit of a church. Unless

were talking the Church of Satan. Gooseflesh is

already erupting on my eardrums.

Michigan modern heavy-metal juggernaut Bat-

tlecross wages total war in Cheyenne Saloon at

10 p.m. June 27. If you havent heard Battlecross

yet, let me just sum it up for you: Pantera meets

Lamb of God with a modern emphasis on techni-

cal guitar-riffing and double-kickdrum blasting.

Because the band hasnt yet released a follow-up

to its proper 2011 debut album Pursuit of Honor,

Im hoping Battlecross performs some new songs.

Also, last time I was at Cheyenne, the sound was

superb, as good or better than any venue in town.

Your Vegas band releasing a CD soon?

Email Jarret_Keene@Yahoo.com.

Will this be a DJ set or will you perform with a full band?Were doing the new Fungus Amon-

gUs show, which has 3-D projecting-mapping, two huge spheres and is basically our new live showbut is only me and Erez. Its really intense. This is a show you wont see ei-ther in a festival or other places.

Looking at footage, it seems to be reminiscent of DJ Shadows Shadowsphere or Amon Tobins stage rigs.Its the same people that built

Amon Tobins stage, so we call it Amon Tobin on Steroids [laughs].

Since people might not be famil-iar with those references, what

does the experience encompass?Fungus AmongUs is basically two

huge spheres foating inside a screen on a big stage upon which are pro-jected 3-D animations. The music by Infected Mushroom is basically from down-tempo to high-tempo, to more of drum and bass and stuff like that. Basically I call it a bit of a visual experience with Infected Mushroom music in the background.

You use Emulator controller screens; how would you describe how those are incorporated? The Emulator is a big

help to this particular set

because it controls and triggers some of the graphics and a lot of the sounds, vocals and stuff, and helps me a lot while Im going out of the sphere and into the sphere. Its a new dimension of playing on a stage. The Emulator was ftted for this show and Im really happy to play with it.

Your last album, Army of Mush-rooms, had a collaboration with Jonathan Davis of Korn, whom youve worked with before. Whats in the works for the next album beyond the new single See Me Now? Any guest artists?Actually, Friends on Mushrooms

[Volume 2 EP] is coming out in July; I have very young people collaborating on it: Savant from Europe and Pegboard Nerds from Denmark are both on this album. Friends on Mushrooms Volume 3 is already in the works with col-laborations with Zedd, the M Ma-chine, Steve Aoki and a few more.

This whole year is kind of an EDM-influenced vibe on the album, so next year well see where well go.

Anyone joining you onstage in Vegas? I really dont know. But

this is one day before EDC, so lets see whats going on. Its a big, big weekend for electronic music in Vegas.

An Infectious BeatPsytrance duos mind-tripping experience spreads

to Las Vegas

By Deanna Rilling

Infected Mushrooms Erez Eisen and Amit Duvdevani.

infected MushrooM

Cosmopolitans Boulevard

Pool, 9 p.m. (doors at 7

p.m.) June 20, $20, 698-7760, Cosmopolitan-LasVegas.com.

those expecting infected Mushroom to be merely two DJ/producers are set to be overwhelmed. The electronic psytrance artists will be bringing a full-on audio/video show to the Cosmopolitans Boulevard Pool on June 20. It will be perfect to gear you up for the Electric Daisy Carnival, or as a taste of an all-out electronic music experience if you arent attending EDC. Now based out of Los Angeles, the Israeli duo consists of Amit Du-vdevani (Dudev) and Erez Eisen. Dudev flls us in on the Fungus AmongUs show and whats on the plate for Infected Mushroom.

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the late-night lounge show is the stuff of Vegas legend and, sadly, is mostly confned there. Lets all be honest: Its highly unlikely Zombie Buddy Hackett is going to set up shop after midnight on Saturdays anymore. First off, hed be entirely confused about what happened to the Sahara.But local comic Gabe Lopez and

national powerhouse Ralphie May have returned a slice of Vegas arcana to the arena with The Dirty at 12:30 show on Friday nights at South Points Grandview Lounge.Its a free show thats signed for

a 10-week run, the ffth edition of which is June 21.After a show, the former [South

Point] entertainment director Damian Costa was talking about old-school Ve-gas, and how there used to be a dirty comedy show that all the acts would come in and do, May says. Theyd sit around and drink and crack jokes and have fun with the audience. Thats what we wanted to do.May headlined the frst show, when

more than 500 people came out to catch him, after hed already had a regular headlining performance in the showroom. Lopez, the former Los Angeles-

based comic who relocated here six years ago, came up through the ranks with Mays wife, Lahna Turner. He became Mays opening act before the pair turned their attention to the late show.If anything, he says,

the show fnally gives the after-work theater crowd something to do.Theres no late-night

thing for the industry, Lopez says. Not bartenders and servers, but for Cirque du

Soleil dancers and the performance industry, where they dont have to go to a nightclub and spend $500 for a bottle of cheap vodka.May and Lopez split booking duties,

drawing talent from L.A., Chicago and New York. Californias Jeff Garcia is slated to headline June 21, while May name-checks Joey Diaz and Ari Shaffr as others hes working to bring in. Lo-pez also hopes to lure Charlie Murphy, whom he opened for, in the future.Ultimately, Lopez says the room

would be the ideal spot in Vegas to work on new bits, not unlike when Dave Chappelle comes by the Laugh Factory in L.A. to work out routines. Were hoping this is where if Ron

White is going over to The Mirage, he comes here to practice his new stuff, he says. We want it to be a major headliner workout room.Its part of a comedy groundswell

at South Point, particularly for May, who appears regularly in the show-room there, and taped a special in the space over Memorial Day weekend. The show is being shopped to Com-edy Central, Showtime and Starz. In particular, May says he was

drawn to the new lighting setup in the showroom. Im getting lighting I cant afford, for free. I get a great audience thats from everywhere in America, and I get a hell of a great,

professional environment. It was too good to resist.May says hell be back for a

show or two before the end of the 10-week run July 26, but hasnt formally picked out dates. Theyre in discussions with South Point to carry the show over for an extended run, though negotiations havent fnalized.

the Dirty at 12:30

Grandview Lounge at South

Point, 12:30-2 a.m. Friday

nights through July 26, free,

797-8299.

Zero Dark LaughterLate-night comedy show resurrects the dirty jokes

of Vegas past

By Jason Scavone

Ralphie May.

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Movies

A&E

The hangover Movies, even the third one no one defends, barely qualify as comedies in the traditional sense. Theyre more like grimy action pictures with a joke or two tossed in to avoid the charge of false labeling. Their ugliness of spirit compounds a disinterest in verbal jokes and a reliance on brutality (which isnt the same as artfully violent slapstick), and nobody involved seems to care about making the talk snappy or keeping a scene moving forward. Whatever. Theyre hits. The public hath spoken, even as the public groweth weary.

This Is the End is a differ-ent storyoutrageous-plus, but often hilarious. I could

pre-write some of the protest emails Ill be getting and save some of us some trouble. But that wouldnt be a free and fair exchange of opinions.Co-writers and co-directors

Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen have acknowledged their sur-prise in getting away with an R instead of an NC-17, given the movies most out-there and in-there sexual sight gags, along with some excessively gory details (Michael Cera impaled by a street light, but coming up with a zinger regardless). Ludicrous, Goldberg told the Los Angeles Times regarding the Motion Picture Association of Americas oh-whatever decision to give it an R without cuts. Rogen added, Insanely, (we)

didnt have a ratings issue.But you know? The thing

really moves. Even the grottiest bits have a way of hitting their marks and darting onward, the way they did in Borat. This apocalyptic lark, an extended bull session among various highly competitive comedians trying to be nice to each other under extreme pressure, barely holds together as a movie. The central jokeRogen, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, et al., playing pretend versions of themselves, the way Bill Murray did in Zom-bielandis nothing new. Yet the best of the foul-mouthed byplay sounds improvised on the spot. At one point, James Franco gets into it with Danny McBride, also playing himself, in an escalating

dispute regarding the loutish Your Highness stars selfsh mis-handling of a porno magazine, and the taunts are so relentless and stupid, youre initially as-tonished at how long the scenes allowed to play out. Then it keeps going, and the cutaways and the pacing actually make the effrontery funnier. I predict walkouts across America dur-ing This Is the End, along with a healthy number of satisfed, vaguely guilty-feeling custom-ers who go along for the ride.It helps to have sweet-na-

tured Jay Baruchel at the cen-ter. Hes our adenoidal stoner 21st-century edition of Don Knotts, and his golden-arches eyebrows, suspended in per-manent alarm, are the perfect accessories for an End-of-Days frst responder. Like everybody else in This Is the End, he plays a version of himself. Rogen has invited his old pal and fellow Canadian down to L.A.; he and Baruchel waste a few hours getting high and gaming, and then Rogen gives the insecure, paranoid Baruchel the bad news. Theyve been invited to Francos party, where lots of fellow comic actors and come-

dians will be in attendance, including Hill, whom Baruchel is convinced detests him. No less than Judd Apatows Funny People, This Is the End speaks a lot of truth about the way comics joke around, or dont, in each others company, even before people start dying.Bailing on Francos party

(where Cera, that nice kid from Juno, turns out to be a gross-out skeeze on the order of Neil Patrick Harris portrayal of Neil Patrick Harris in the Harold & Kumar comedies), Baruchel and Rogen run down the street for some snacks, and suddenly biblical-scale destruction and mayhem surround them: Fel-low citizens get sucked up into the sky, the Hollywood Hills are in fames and a massive sinkhole leading to a fery pit of lava appears on Francos lawn, gobbling up party guests with impunity. For a good while, This Is the End spins a variation on Panic Room, with Franco hunkering down with Rogen, Baruchel, Robinson and Hill inside Francos modernist fortress. (Designed it myself, brags the actor/writer/direc-tor/Renaissance dude.) They squabble about the rations, meet up with the occasional intruder. Emma Watson, as herself, drops in and then takes off because she doesnt like the rapey vibe of the situation. (If I never hear another rape joke, especially in the context of a male-centric ensemble comedy, Ill be fne.)This is the sort of comedy

wherein someone yells, Some-one throw me a knife! and even if you know where the gag is going, it arrives a half-second sooner than expected.The audience-identifcation

fgure is Baruchel, who (like the flm itself) greets the End of Days developments with a reasonable amount of deadpan seriousness. The movies an expansion of a nine-minute short flm Rogen and Goldberg made six years ago called Jay and Seth vs. the Apocalypse. Unlike so many Hollywood comedies, this one isnt squashed by the size of its budget or its digital effects. Its a one-joke movie, full of smug, blas comic fgures poking fun at their own limited resources of courage and grace under pressure. But sometimes one joke is enough.

The Is the End (R)

Last Comic LivingRogan, Franco, Hill and a dream-team of celebs get

apocalyptically funny

By Michael PhillipsTribune Media Services

High times in the end times with James Franco, Danny McBride and Craig Robinson.

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Pasquale RotellaThe founder of Electric Daisy Carnival on being a fan, keeping the

party safe and minor injuries sustained while break dancing

By Geoff Carter

Pasquale Rotella is many things: Most famously, the 38-year-old is the founder of Insomniac, the company that stages the Electric Daisy Carnival. He also happens to be the fiance of Holly Madison and the father of a newborn daughter, Rainbow Aurora. But Rotella is, above all, a fan. He truly loves electronic dance musicthe sounds, the scene, the communal exuber-anceand that lifelong fandom drives him to make each EDC bigger, better and bouncier than the one before.

When you staged your frst electronic dance music fes-tival in 1995, did you have any idea that youd someday be in charge of something as huge as EDC?You know, in my head, I saw

massive crowds of people, a sea of people. I had hoped for it to be this big, but I really didnt think about it too much. I just had these ideas in my mind, and I wanted to see it become a reali-ty. Im a strong believer in that if you deliver quality, there might be a little bit of an investment at frst, but eventually it will come back to you. Not cutting corners to make an extra buck is the right way to do business.

How much of what we see and experience at EDC directly refects your own taste, your own aesthetic?Pretty much everything. I

have people on the ground, but particularly this year, I pretty much art-directed everything. Ive been more hands-on, and Im working very closely with artists that weve never worked with before.

Are you actually out there in the crowds during the eventriding the Ferris wheel, twirling glow sticks?I defnitely try to experience

as much as I can. A lot of the heavy lifting is done before the event happens, so last year I went on the Ferris wheel, and I defnitely walk around and experience the event as a headliner would. Im out exploring the event as a head-liner up until theres an issue that needs to be handled.

Youre a fan as much as an impresario. How far back does that go?Even before I went to my frst

underground (party), I used to break dance. The music was all in the hip-hop category, but it was all dance music: Kraftwerk, Herbie Hancocks Rockit, Newcleus Jam On It. You remember that song? Wiki wiki wiki wiki Jam On It was the frst dance-music song that I loved. I was, like, 10 or 11 years old. That was a jam. My break-dance moves would get a little out of control because I would get too excited and put too much into it, you know? Id overextend my moves when that song came on.

Has becoming a father made you feel more protective of

the kids who come to EDC? You know, Ive never looked

at them as kids. Having a kid is life-changing, but I didnt suddenly consider myself older than the fans. I grew up in this; I was doing events when I was 15 years old, so they werent kids to

me then, and my view has not changed. I love human beings, and its always been a priority of mine to make them feel safe. I actually just hired someone on as a full-time employee to handle all our safety and medi-cal needs. Its a big deal.

Lately youve been investing in Las Vegas businesses, char-ities and eventsPark on Fre-mont and GlowRun, among others. Is this the future of EDC, taking the energy and inspiration of the festival and bringing it into the city?Absolutely. Ive always

wanted to, but we havent always had the means to do it. Its all about giving back. Vegas is amazing; its so supportive of what we do. We want to do as much as we can in return.

Look ahead 20 years from now: Do you think well still be having this conversa-tion? Does EDC have staying power?I do. I look at the Glaston-

bury Festival in the U.K., and I think its been going for more than 20 years. I have hopes that Electric Daisy will be Americas longest-lasting, longest-run-ning festival. It will be here for a long time. Hopefully my kids can take over!

i gRew uP in this; i was doing events when i was 15 yeaRs old ... and my view has not changed.

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