Andrew Axelrod realized that the $40 million he had backing the Brooklyn Mirage was going south when the club’s founder disappeared without a trace. Axelrod, a 42-year-old fund manager who cut his teeth in Wall Street’s distressed-debt markets, believes live events are a cash cow of our times. He isn’t alone. Private-equity firms and hedge funds alike have thrown billions of dollars at the live-events industry, believing it offers a visceral, in-person antidote to society’s obsession with computer screens and iPhones.  The Mirage, a 32,000-square-foot, open-air dance venue on the outskirts of gentrifying north Brooklyn, looked like a home run…

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