work + rock - sleep

I've been to shows at some interesting venues. Skate parks, churches, fairs, converted movie theaters, basements, yards, etc. But I'm pretty sure that a pool was not on the list. After missing The High Strung at the Las Vegas Public Library--another strange venue--a day earlier, I was ready for a pool and a show. Of course, this wasn't just any pool party. It was Rehab, the famous (infamous?) summer Sunday event at the Hard Rock Hotel. With Tiesto spinning, the day was predicted to be even more scanadalous than usual. Fresh from a pathetic 30 minutes of sleep, we were ushered into the pool area at 8am. This was after an animated security guard told us that "Rehab wasn't about sleeping or reading. It's about partying." There went my plan to nap til noon. Instead a 9am Bloody Mary got the day started.

Fast forward to late afternoon. I'd seen more tatoos and plastic parts than I care to remember, the hired "women" were out in full force, and the pool was turning a very hazy grey color. Three of us were peoplewatching in the main pool as roughly 3,000 people went crazy (splashing, thrashing, dancing, falling) to the set from Tiesto. My gaze was interrupted only by the mass splashing sessions and the group of three girls who were intent on really getting to know each other and crashing into everyone around them. I excused both interruptions.

I'd seen Tiesto spin before at Coachella. If that scene was surreal, then this was an out-of-body experience. I'm okay with this whole pool party concept...