In a World Like This Tour: Vegas edition!
Viva Las Vegas!
I flew out to Vegas for the first time ever to see some of my favorite people - my ZDR Rose, my friend Lynsey, and of course, the Backstreet Boys! Why else would you go to Vegas other than to see a show you've already seen twice in your own part of the country, right?
Right!
I have never had the strong desire to go to Vegas before, other than to see Rose, since I am not into gambling or clubbing or the whole "Sin City" lifestyle (other than eating things that are sinful). But I have to say, I loved it there! I would go back even without the Backstreet Boys. I had never been that far west before, and the last time I was even on that side of the country (Arizona), I was 14, so it was cool just seeing the mountains and the desert, not to mention the view of the Strip right outside my window as my plane landed!
We stayed at The Mirage, which was also cool. Nice room, comfy beds, and tons of Beatles signage and merch to taunt my sister with (because Cirque du Soleil "Love" is housed there). She was so jealous! I bought her a Love hoodie and kept my room key with The Beatles on it, though, so she can't complain.
We spent the first night just walking along the Strip and touring some of the casinos. That was really neat. I feel like I never need to go to Europe again now that I've seen the Eiffel tour, the Coliseum, etc. Ditto Egypt, although we didn't get down to the Luxor (pyramid) and the Sphynx on foot, so I still do need to go Egypt someday. LOL Also, the weather was surprisingly cool (for Vegas) the whole time! It's like Lynsey and I brought our IL weather with us! It was hotter at home than it was in Vegas. It was only in the upper 80s most of the time. Since I was expecting 100 degree heat, it wasn't bad at all! And it was easy to walk through air conditioned casinos as opposed to outside - another perk.
On Saturday, we got up early and went to the Zombie Apocalypse store a few miles off the Strip. Rose had told me about this place, and I was dying to see it. Forget casinos, forget clubs, forget shows, forget quickie weddings - all I really wanted to see in Las Vegas (besides the Boys) was this freaking zombie survival store! And it delivered! Took advantage of some fun photo ops and bought a t-shirt and this mug: http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0117/7362/products/IMG_3328_large.jpg?61 (It says "What happened in Vegas..." LOVE!)
When we got back to our hotel, we had time to eat a nice lunch and then get ready for soundcheck. We were told to be there to check in at 3:15, even though the show didn't start until 8. We made it to Mandalay Bay, on the other side of the Strip, with time to spare, and as we were walking through the casino to get to the events center, it occurred to me that I should be scanning the crowd for Backstreet Boys. No sooner had I thought that than my Nick radar started pinging, and I looked over and saw him and Lauren at a craps table. The table was full, but there was no crowd around him - none of the other fans had found him. We didn't want to interrupt his game, so we didn't approach him, just snuck some pics from afar and moved on. It was cool, though; I never have random BSB sightings like that!
We made it to the events center to find a MASSIVE group standing around waiting for soundcheck. It was the most people I've ever seen at a soundcheck by far! There was no sort of line or organization AT ALL, and it was hard for the GC people to get anyone's attention to tell us what to do when it was time to hand out passes. We were told to be there at 3:15, they started handing out passes somewhere around 4, and we did not get through the line to get ours until almost 5. After that, we could leave and were told to be back at 5:30. Again, there was lots of waiting around to actually go in, although at least there were organized lines that time.
Because the soundchecks this tour have been so big, I have been seated farther back for every soundcheck than I have for any show. This was no exception. The Boys sang three songs (Trust Me, 1000 Promises, Madeleine) and then went to start the Q&A, and I was disappointed because in Chicago and St. Louis, they sang five songs. Also, I really wanted to hear them sing One Phone Call! But it was okay because that was when Kathy Griffin made her surprise appearance onstage! She came out and took over hosting duties for the Q&A, and she was hilarious! I have video of the whole thing, although it gets a little shaky - my arm was tired! LOL
Soundcheck went long, so by the time that epicness was over, it was almost time for doors to open, so they had to herd us out for our pics. They did the photos in opposite order from usual, starting with platinum and finishing with silver. Rose, Lynsey, and I had silver, so we got in the back of the line in hopes of being allowed to take a picture of just the three of us, since we were wearing our matching pandaskunk shirts (which got many compliments and just as many questions! LOL). That was a LONG ass line. We got in the line around 6:50, and we didn't get out until about 8:30. Pauly D was done before we got back into the venue, but no complaints about that!! We talked to some cool people in line, AND we got a bonus BSB sighting when they took a break around 8 for Brian to go introduce and watch Baylee and Nick, Kevin, and Howie walked past us to take a bathroom/phone break.
We FINALLY got to the Boys, and they LOVED our pandaskunk shirts! Kevin and Nick were the first to recognize the pandaskunk. Kevin was like, "Ahh, the mystical pandaskunk..." in a lisp - funny! I asked Nick if the pandaskunk was his idea, and he denied it, so I asked Kevin who came up with it, and he blamed it on the graphic designer who did the video. So... still no real explanation for why there is a fuckin' flying pandaskunk in a music video for a Christmas song, but it was a good conversation anyway! I also got to hug Kevin and got a spontaneous side-hug from Nick, too. I was between Nick and AJ in the picture. Hopefully I managed to smile because I was still talking to Kevin about the pandaskunk when they were trying to get us to pose.
After soundcheck, we were starving, so we got food and hit up the merchandise stands instead of going right in to watch the rest of Pauly D's set (again, this was a good thing, considering I'd already sat through that shit two more times than I wanted to!). I bought my nephew the red BSB kid shirt - hopefully my sister will let him wear it. If she doesn't, I'll tell her how much her damn Beatles hoodie cost and use it as blackmail.
The show itself was as epic as always. The guys seemed to be in really good moods, maybe because it was the second to the last show. Kevin ripped his pants really bad on the first set (for the second day in a row, apparently!), although he was on the other side of the stage so we didn't see it. We were busy watching Nick, I'm sure. Brian sounded really good singing most of his parts, better than at my other shows even. I didn't get a lot of video, just a few of the songs I hadn't recorded yet. It was fun just watching instead of worrying about trying to get good pics and video.
After the show, we went back to our hotel to change for the after party, then headed to Body English. The after party was a total bust. It was packed by the time we got there, and we didn't stay long - half an hour, max. We only paid the $25 cover to get in, so we weren't out much money. I wish it had been like the St. Louis party, in a private room with just us BSB fans. There were way too many people for them to be interactive and mingle among the crowd like they did in STL, but we kind of figured it would be that way since it was held in a regular club among the general public.
So that was pretty much it - on Sunday, I got up and flew home. I wish I could have stayed at least one more day to do more, but it was an awesome weekend, and I got to do the things I really wanted to do - see Rose and Lynsey, see BSB, and go to the zombie apocalypse store! The rest can wait for next time!
I flew out to Vegas for the first time ever to see some of my favorite people - my ZDR Rose, my friend Lynsey, and of course, the Backstreet Boys! Why else would you go to Vegas other than to see a show you've already seen twice in your own part of the country, right?
Right!
I have never had the strong desire to go to Vegas before, other than to see Rose, since I am not into gambling or clubbing or the whole "Sin City" lifestyle (other than eating things that are sinful). But I have to say, I loved it there! I would go back even without the Backstreet Boys. I had never been that far west before, and the last time I was even on that side of the country (Arizona), I was 14, so it was cool just seeing the mountains and the desert, not to mention the view of the Strip right outside my window as my plane landed!
We stayed at The Mirage, which was also cool. Nice room, comfy beds, and tons of Beatles signage and merch to taunt my sister with (because Cirque du Soleil "Love" is housed there). She was so jealous! I bought her a Love hoodie and kept my room key with The Beatles on it, though, so she can't complain.
We spent the first night just walking along the Strip and touring some of the casinos. That was really neat. I feel like I never need to go to Europe again now that I've seen the Eiffel tour, the Coliseum, etc. Ditto Egypt, although we didn't get down to the Luxor (pyramid) and the Sphynx on foot, so I still do need to go Egypt someday. LOL Also, the weather was surprisingly cool (for Vegas) the whole time! It's like Lynsey and I brought our IL weather with us! It was hotter at home than it was in Vegas. It was only in the upper 80s most of the time. Since I was expecting 100 degree heat, it wasn't bad at all! And it was easy to walk through air conditioned casinos as opposed to outside - another perk.
On Saturday, we got up early and went to the Zombie Apocalypse store a few miles off the Strip. Rose had told me about this place, and I was dying to see it. Forget casinos, forget clubs, forget shows, forget quickie weddings - all I really wanted to see in Las Vegas (besides the Boys) was this freaking zombie survival store! And it delivered! Took advantage of some fun photo ops and bought a t-shirt and this mug: http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0117/7362/products/IMG_3328_large.jpg?61 (It says "What happened in Vegas..." LOVE!)
When we got back to our hotel, we had time to eat a nice lunch and then get ready for soundcheck. We were told to be there to check in at 3:15, even though the show didn't start until 8. We made it to Mandalay Bay, on the other side of the Strip, with time to spare, and as we were walking through the casino to get to the events center, it occurred to me that I should be scanning the crowd for Backstreet Boys. No sooner had I thought that than my Nick radar started pinging, and I looked over and saw him and Lauren at a craps table. The table was full, but there was no crowd around him - none of the other fans had found him. We didn't want to interrupt his game, so we didn't approach him, just snuck some pics from afar and moved on. It was cool, though; I never have random BSB sightings like that!
We made it to the events center to find a MASSIVE group standing around waiting for soundcheck. It was the most people I've ever seen at a soundcheck by far! There was no sort of line or organization AT ALL, and it was hard for the GC people to get anyone's attention to tell us what to do when it was time to hand out passes. We were told to be there at 3:15, they started handing out passes somewhere around 4, and we did not get through the line to get ours until almost 5. After that, we could leave and were told to be back at 5:30. Again, there was lots of waiting around to actually go in, although at least there were organized lines that time.
Because the soundchecks this tour have been so big, I have been seated farther back for every soundcheck than I have for any show. This was no exception. The Boys sang three songs (Trust Me, 1000 Promises, Madeleine) and then went to start the Q&A, and I was disappointed because in Chicago and St. Louis, they sang five songs. Also, I really wanted to hear them sing One Phone Call! But it was okay because that was when Kathy Griffin made her surprise appearance onstage! She came out and took over hosting duties for the Q&A, and she was hilarious! I have video of the whole thing, although it gets a little shaky - my arm was tired! LOL
Soundcheck went long, so by the time that epicness was over, it was almost time for doors to open, so they had to herd us out for our pics. They did the photos in opposite order from usual, starting with platinum and finishing with silver. Rose, Lynsey, and I had silver, so we got in the back of the line in hopes of being allowed to take a picture of just the three of us, since we were wearing our matching pandaskunk shirts (which got many compliments and just as many questions! LOL). That was a LONG ass line. We got in the line around 6:50, and we didn't get out until about 8:30. Pauly D was done before we got back into the venue, but no complaints about that!! We talked to some cool people in line, AND we got a bonus BSB sighting when they took a break around 8 for Brian to go introduce and watch Baylee and Nick, Kevin, and Howie walked past us to take a bathroom/phone break.
We FINALLY got to the Boys, and they LOVED our pandaskunk shirts! Kevin and Nick were the first to recognize the pandaskunk. Kevin was like, "Ahh, the mystical pandaskunk..." in a lisp - funny! I asked Nick if the pandaskunk was his idea, and he denied it, so I asked Kevin who came up with it, and he blamed it on the graphic designer who did the video. So... still no real explanation for why there is a fuckin' flying pandaskunk in a music video for a Christmas song, but it was a good conversation anyway! I also got to hug Kevin and got a spontaneous side-hug from Nick, too. I was between Nick and AJ in the picture. Hopefully I managed to smile because I was still talking to Kevin about the pandaskunk when they were trying to get us to pose.
After soundcheck, we were starving, so we got food and hit up the merchandise stands instead of going right in to watch the rest of Pauly D's set (again, this was a good thing, considering I'd already sat through that shit two more times than I wanted to!). I bought my nephew the red BSB kid shirt - hopefully my sister will let him wear it. If she doesn't, I'll tell her how much her damn Beatles hoodie cost and use it as blackmail.
The show itself was as epic as always. The guys seemed to be in really good moods, maybe because it was the second to the last show. Kevin ripped his pants really bad on the first set (for the second day in a row, apparently!), although he was on the other side of the stage so we didn't see it. We were busy watching Nick, I'm sure. Brian sounded really good singing most of his parts, better than at my other shows even. I didn't get a lot of video, just a few of the songs I hadn't recorded yet. It was fun just watching instead of worrying about trying to get good pics and video.
After the show, we went back to our hotel to change for the after party, then headed to Body English. The after party was a total bust. It was packed by the time we got there, and we didn't stay long - half an hour, max. We only paid the $25 cover to get in, so we weren't out much money. I wish it had been like the St. Louis party, in a private room with just us BSB fans. There were way too many people for them to be interactive and mingle among the crowd like they did in STL, but we kind of figured it would be that way since it was held in a regular club among the general public.
So that was pretty much it - on Sunday, I got up and flew home. I wish I could have stayed at least one more day to do more, but it was an awesome weekend, and I got to do the things I really wanted to do - see Rose and Lynsey, see BSB, and go to the zombie apocalypse store! The rest can wait for next time!