I got home from Vegas yesterday and am happy. Vegas is like Disney World for adults. I went to the Maroon 5 concert. The opening acts were Owl City and Neon Trees. The lead singer of Neon Trees was the best performer of the night. He gave great energy, he danced, and put his heart into every song. I am now a new fan. I liked a few of their songs that I heard on the radio but now I am his fan. Tyler Glenn rocks. I wish him much success. He was like a cross between Mick Jagger and Atom Ant.
Now on to the main event of the night. Maroon 5 was very good. Adam Levine is definitely a talent. He sang effortlessly and seemed to have fun. He did not seem to connect to the audience much. I could have avoided the seat hoggers; Kim K. wannabes; vomiting, stumbling drunks; and the groupies by watching the concert on an HBO special. However, Adam Levine was a sight to behold in person at least once. He made the concert more personable towards the end when he got the audience to sing "She Will Be Loved" in rippled sync with, "Won't go Home." It was great. He left us with the advice to, "enjoy the days when your f***ing neck doesn't hurt" as his way of saying he is older and more appreciative of life.
The person trying to connect with the audience was guitarist James Valentine aka Jimmy V. He gave great hair and had a few guitar solos. He impressed me considering, I never paid much attention to any other members of Maroon 5 save for the one black guy, and that was just to notice that there was a black guy in the band. I wish them luck as they navigate their future endeavors amidst the newly heightened brand that is Adam Levine.
On another note, Vegas was great but there were moments when it was not. My advice to a few of the people who make Vegas was it is and isn't is that you still have a chance to keep our relationship in tact. Make some positive changes while you still can, and we can avoid a breakup. Practically every town has a casino close by so why still go to Vegas? Well the good parts begin with the trendiness of it all. It's Vegas baby and no other place on earth is going to stimulate like Vegas. Anticipation is everything.
I had my first Guiness in honor of St. Patrick's Day and it was quite tasty to this non-beer drinker. We ate at Ri Ras Irish Pub in the Mandaly Bay and it was better than superb. Shepherd's Pie will be my last meal. We went to a small tourist trap of a bar called Minus 5 as in degrees. The concept was great but I would never make a second visit. That is essentially the draw of Vegas, balancing things you want to go back and do again and again with the one time experiences. For instance I will never waste my time using the concierge at the Mandalay Bay again. For that matter, I will never stay there again. As convenient as it is to attend a concert close to your hotel room, I found it was not worth it after all. I couldn't play the table games I wanted to, and the one's I did try had dealers who were so cynical and jaded that I preferred the cold comfort of a good slot machine. There was an electronic craps games that drew a crowd right outside the Eye Candy lounge and that was big fun. The people we played with were a riot and good music was close by.
Speaking of Eye Candy lounge it was a saving grace. Big ups to the deejay, servers, security, and bartenders for holding it down. It was my best club experience in Vegas to date. I got married in Vegas so going back for mini vacations is always sentimental. I won't complain about the taxi drivers or any lines because over the years I have come to appreciate these as part of the attraction of Vegas, great for people watching and getting the local lowdown from taxi drivers.
The best thing after Eye Candy lounge at Mandalay Bay was the poolside atmosphere and the cabana service. It was the highlight of my trip and that is saying a lot considering I was there to see Adam Levine. So to all the servers working hard in Vegas, you are definitely appreciated by this Chicago chick who has been visiting your city for 20 years now. You could never be replaced by a computer and that is great. When I celebrate my tenth visit to Vegas hopefully this blog will be more popular and I can give proper shout outs to you people who make the visits memorable. Maybe we will head there when my baby girl turns 21.
Btw, Coco was a no show for the Peep Show and it was still a great and fun attraction. I saw it with Mel B. and Kelly Monoco and now with all the less than famous folks and it was equally great. Maybe Peep Show can save some money and leave the celebrities out of it.
Until next time,
Take care of you.
