Las Vegas Mixtape v44: Where To Go Now: Classic and Modern Vegas

Track #5: Around Town Medley: Hard Hat Lounge, Hard Rock Hotel, Pachi-Pachi

Be careful what you choose, or the integrity police will intervene. (Image: Vegas 411) 

If you crave listening to punk rock songs—old and new—the Hard Hat Lounge on Industrial Rd in downtown Vegas is your place. This classic 24/7 dive bar with Bobby Meader’s deliciously charred “Stay Tuned Burgers” and gaming machines has one of those AMI jukeboxes (which can be played with the AMI music app). 

The other night when I dropped in, it was spinning Sham 69, the Idles, the Jam, Turnstile, Dag Nasty, Southern Culture On The Skids, and even the Runaways. As it says on the jukebox, “We reserve the right [to] change, stop, or refuse any music selection.” Seems no one can kill the vibe by choosing songs by, uh, the Bay City Rollers. 

It’s an easy life at the Hard Hat. (Image: Vegas 411)

Vegas-born Frank Sidoris bought the Hard Hat in late 2022. The longtime guitarist in Slash’s band who’s also in the touring lineup of Wolfgang Van Halen’s Mammoth WVH remodeled the bar before reopening it in December 2023. It’s been going strong ever since—day and night. Long may it run.

A ridiculous, but nonetheless marvelous, oversized guitar is coming our way. (Image: Vegas 411)

Everyone has an opinion about the guitar-shaped hotel tower that’s now under construction on The Strip at what will be The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, replacing The Mirage and opening sometime in 2027. 

Lots of folks will miss The Mirage and its screamingly kitschy volcano that helped make The Strip so special. And true, there’s already a similar tower at the brand’s Hollywood, FL hotel. Still, I’m still happy that rock and roll history will again be saluted in Vegas via a memorabilia collection (like the one at the old Hard Rock Hotel before it became the Virgin Hotel). Guessing the new Hard Rock here will pull out every stop to secure the rarest artifacts from music’s biggest stars for everyone to view throughout the hotel’s property.

Handrolls from outer space. (Image: Vegas 411)

It was real nice to see Pachi-Pachi in downtown Vegas—the Japanese-themed cocktail bar/restaurant/listening lounge—positively percolating (despite the tourist slump) on a recent Saturday night a few months after its opening. I enjoyed the ahi tuna handrolls, gyoza (dumplings), and the house music, not to mention the space’s now famous surreal design touches (like a vintage telephone that connects you to another dimension). Thanks to the boundary-free mind of Branden Powers, Vegas has an essential new playground that artfully steers clear of the mundane.