T-day to xmas is the slow time in vegas, so my ticket subscription is showing up with some of the big ticket things.
i wasn't familiar with "lion king," but i have double hatred for musical theater ... one for being brainwashed by my wife -- who loves traditional theater, but hates musicals ... and the other for hating theater in general because i can't get over the fact that i'm watching a bunch of actors on stage (a side-effect from having to watch "the seagull" [GODDAMMIT] as my first theater experience as a 13 year old).
it was a great spectacle. wide ranging audience. solid performances from all the cast with exceptional work by the actor representing zazu. great puppets. nice use of perspective-within-2-D.
i'm sure you already know all this stuff.
something i would have kutrate sometime next year because of all the fuss, but thanks to my ticket subscription, i don't have to.
$114 face.
12/5/10
paul oakenfold
vegas is enough of an entertainment draw that several big names have semi-permanent shows here: barry manilow, penn & teller, cher, et al ... and in that vein, paul oakenfold is the house DJ at the palms.
yesterday night he spun a free-for-locals show in the rain nightclub. i haven't seen him there since he's been resident -i did, however, see him in lake tahoe a few years ago- so i went to check it out.
even though it was saturday night -shortly after the show had started- my accomplice and i were waved in quickly.
quite a place, quite a show. pyrotechnic lighting apparatus, go-go dancers, light-up men on stilts, glow-in-the-dark women working trapeze hoops from the superior illumination rigs, half naked men on ropes, a dozen high def. imagery TVs. think "death star if it had a cool disco."
an almost entirely white audience in their 20's. women in tight black dresses. men with their shirts unbuttoned one extra place.
loud. frenetic. bustling without feeling crowded. everyone having a good time. i stayed for about 45 minutes of paul and then left. it was the perfect dose of dance/techno.
not really a kutrate per se (anyone with a NV ID could get in free), but i consider free shows to absolutely be in the kutrate spirit.
yesterday night he spun a free-for-locals show in the rain nightclub. i haven't seen him there since he's been resident -i did, however, see him in lake tahoe a few years ago- so i went to check it out.
even though it was saturday night -shortly after the show had started- my accomplice and i were waved in quickly.
quite a place, quite a show. pyrotechnic lighting apparatus, go-go dancers, light-up men on stilts, glow-in-the-dark women working trapeze hoops from the superior illumination rigs, half naked men on ropes, a dozen high def. imagery TVs. think "death star if it had a cool disco."
an almost entirely white audience in their 20's. women in tight black dresses. men with their shirts unbuttoned one extra place.
zen freeman opened for two hours, then without break it was mr. oakenfold.
loud. frenetic. bustling without feeling crowded. everyone having a good time. i stayed for about 45 minutes of paul and then left. it was the perfect dose of dance/techno.
not really a kutrate per se (anyone with a NV ID could get in free), but i consider free shows to absolutely be in the kutrate spirit.
12/1/10
echoes of the 60s ...
... at the weird "what the hell is this place for exactly?" V theater.
essentially it's danny gans's back-up band playing music from the 60's. it started as "echoes of woodstock" but they expanded to have the whole decade.
this show set two personal records for me:
1. the most fun per capita in the audience of any show i've ever been to -- i counted 14 people in the audience and they were WHOOPING it up.
2. the most enthusiastic band relative to crowd size that i've ever seen. the band -who for several years would have played to a 1500 seat sold-out audience nightly- was clearly having a good time.
the crowd was super ethnically mixed, but mostly asian.
the band was very good. strongest when they played white standards, weakest when covering motown and sly (although they get super-bonus points for acknowledging that sly was the best part of woodstock ... something most people never mention).
the person who shall never be mentioned made a passing comment that is totally true: a show like this is one of the true strengths of vegas. to a person everyone was there to have a good time. no one cared about the size of the audience or was snooty about the music. you play this same show, with this same size crowd, in any city in the US (with the possible exception of new orleans) and the response wouldn't be nearly as good (from either side of the stage).
$40 face, free with ticket subscription.
essentially it's danny gans's back-up band playing music from the 60's. it started as "echoes of woodstock" but they expanded to have the whole decade.
this show set two personal records for me:
1. the most fun per capita in the audience of any show i've ever been to -- i counted 14 people in the audience and they were WHOOPING it up.
2. the most enthusiastic band relative to crowd size that i've ever seen. the band -who for several years would have played to a 1500 seat sold-out audience nightly- was clearly having a good time.
the crowd was super ethnically mixed, but mostly asian.
the band was very good. strongest when they played white standards, weakest when covering motown and sly (although they get super-bonus points for acknowledging that sly was the best part of woodstock ... something most people never mention).
the person who shall never be mentioned made a passing comment that is totally true: a show like this is one of the true strengths of vegas. to a person everyone was there to have a good time. no one cared about the size of the audience or was snooty about the music. you play this same show, with this same size crowd, in any city in the US (with the possible exception of new orleans) and the response wouldn't be nearly as good (from either side of the stage).
$40 face, free with ticket subscription.
11/25/10
the amazing kreskin
at the riviera. still uses a bunch of his original stage bits (e.g.
"think of 2 geometric shapes ... basic ones ... but not a square ... one
inside another ... how many people thought of a triangle inside a
circle?"). self-promoting. funny.
"think of 2 geometric shapes ... basic ones ... but not a square ... one
inside another ... how many people thought of a triangle inside a
circle?"). self-promoting. funny.
audience was mostly middle-aged whiteys ... definitely vegas local types
... oh, and robin leach was there with his not-quite fashion model GF.
face: $52. free w/ ticket subscription.
11/1/10
yet more TXT conversations w/ solid G
solid G: Rod stewart plays the night I arrive in vegas, but I don't get
in until 8ish.
in until 8ish.
b1: i wouldn't kut rod, but i'd go for free if someone gave me a
ticket. i'm still pissed about him ruining the small faces.
more TXT conversation w/ solid G
solid G: I don't mind a short review either, though I realize that's not
the focus. I do enjoy hearing about the crowd.
b1: yeah, i'll try it and see what happens ... i'm not really expecting
*anyone*, except for maybe you, your cousin and the grumbler to actually read
it.
the focus. I do enjoy hearing about the crowd.
b1: yeah, i'll try it and see what happens ... i'm not really expecting
*anyone*, except for maybe you, your cousin and the grumbler to actually read
it.
TXT conversation with solid G
solid G: Suggestion for the kkk blog: describe the crowd at each show.
b1: not a bad idea ... i'll mull it ... it starts walking me toward
reviews, though.
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