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I used to think that if you were seeing an artist or band in concert, it didn't matter where you saw them. Small venue, large venue, or somewhere in the middle: they'd be the same anywhere.
Boy oh boy was I wrong. Last Thursday I had the opportunity to see Brooks & Dunn at San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino. The bingo hall doubles as a concert venue, and while the seats weren't terrible (we were all the way on the side, but in the second section from the stage) the concert was just…ok. I love Brooks & Dunn, and have seen them before, so I thought maybe it was just my assessment of the show. Turns out Donald didn't think it was all that great either. They weren't bad, just not all that great. If that had been the first time I'd seen them, I might not have gone back.
Then Sunday night I go to see them at Gibson Amphitheater with my mom and sister and they were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! They were so full of energy that it was hard to believe they were the same two guys I'd seen three days earlier. They told stories and jokes and really seemed like they were having a great time. They brought out Reba to sing a song with them (have I mentioned my intense love for her? I cannot wait to see her on Saturday!) and they also had Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top come out and play guitar for them. It was a phenomenal show, and so very different from Thursday's that I can hardly believe it. Jason Michael Carroll opened for them, and he was great too. I didn't realize how many songs of his there were that I liked. (I'm sure there was a more grammatically correct way to phrase that.) My favorite song of his is "I Can Sleep When I'm Dead" and I highly suggest everyone give it a listen. Gloriana performed before JMC, and while I'd never heard of them, I really enjoyed their singing. They just got started being played on the radio out here, and I can't wait to hear more from them.
So, the moral of the story: Don't go see a band in a bingo hall. Splurge on a real venue, and you'll see a MUCH better show!
This is my porky pug. She kinda looks like a big fat ham with a head and legs. It's no wonder pug and pig are one vowel off.
I love three day weekends. Something about having that extra day off makes going back to work so much more bearable. I had a busy start to my weekend, and then a lazy end to it. It was perfect.
Friday after work, Donald and I took off to Laughlin for a quick trip. It took us about 5 hours to get there, including the time we stopped for dinner, but we talked the entire way. One of the reasons I love being with Donald is that he's so easy to talk to. We never have awkward silences or a lack of conversation. So, while sitting in traffic wasn't pleasant, at least the company was excellent. We stayed at the Aquarius hotel, which was actually pretty nice. They have a smaller casino than we expected, but it was still well laid out. I adore any casino that has a No Smoking section of slot and table games for those of us who don't like to breathe in smoke from the person sitting next to us. We wandered around for a while, played a couple of slot games, and then went up to our room. We slept in Saturday morning (almost missing checkout time) and had a lovely brunch at the buffet. (People watching is by far one of my favorite activities, and let me tell you, there were plenty of interesting people to watch.) After brunch we hit the casino for an hour or so before we had to go back home. Donald wandered over to play blackjack, while I made a beeline for the Goldfish video slots game.
Now here's where I have to explain a little. I love video slots. I think they're cute and fun and quite entertaining. I'd play them even if I didn't win money. I also get excited when a bonus game pops up, regardless if it's my machine that gets it, or one next to me. When I sat down on the middle machine of a 3 machine strip, I had an elderly woman on either side of me (It's snow bird season in Laughlin, which raises the average customer age from 40 to 72). These women were not there to have fun, apparently, based on the glares I got any time I wiggled or clapped for a bonus game. (For the record, I'm not loud and obnoxious about it. In fact, I'd bet you couldn't even hear me two seats over. I'm quietly excited about the game.) Finally both women left, and a nice and friendly woman sat down. She and I had a great time exclaiming over bonus games and lamenting when we got crappy numbers. Her husband was standing behind us and remarked that he hated slots and could't understand what we were so excited about. Twenty minutes and a lot of fun later, he decided to see what the fuss was all about and sat down at the machine on the other side of me. At one point, the woman (who's name I never got) remarked that she'd never met anyone who got so excited when OTHER people won money. I can't help it! It makes losing money much more acceptable if you have fun while doing it! Actually, I ended up almost doubling my money, so when we left there, I was in a fantastic mood.
We drove back home Saturday afternoon and hit up the Anti-Valentine's Day hockey game at CBBA. We got there a little late, so we missed out on the Dark Knight bobble head giveaway, but at least the Reign won and put themselves back in first place in their division. After dinner at BJ's we went home and crashed. Something about sitting in a car for 4 hours makes you REALLY tired. Sunday started the lazy portion of my weekend, as I didn't get out of my pajamas until near 5pm. We had dinner out in Orange County with my parents and sister, and picked up Mia who was being puppy-sat while we were out of town. Since I also had Monday off, I spent the day in bed on my laptop watching movies and doing some work on my new website (which will hopefully be ready for a March debut!). I was well rested when I returned to work on Tuesday, which is something I haven't been in a very long time.
All in all it was a fantastic weekend. I hope all of you have a fantastic Valentine's Day, or a rockin' Single's Awareness Day, whichever you choose to celebrate!
As much of an anti-social person as I am, I love to go out dancing. I am not
at all good at it, but it's something I truly enjoy and don't do often enough.
My favorite type of dancing has always been country line dancing, and I've
learned a lot of different dances. Last October while we were in Arizona, Donald
taught me how to two-step, and we had a blast. About a month after we got home
from that trip, I found some different dance classes nearby and asked him if
he'd be interested in going with me. To my astonishment, he actually agreed! So
next Tuesday we begin a 6 week dance class on Beginning West Coast Swing. I
couldn't tell you what exactly West Coast Swing is, but if you do a search for
it on You Tube (as I did) you'll find that it has lots of twirling on my part.
Which, knowing my predilection for tripping over air, will make this one
entertaining class. I hope they have a good first aid kit.
I am in the process of moving this blog to a bigger and better site, with more flexibility for me design wise. I didn't, however, realize what an undertaking this would be. I have to relink all my posts, and reorganize all the pictures before I can get it working right. So I've been spending a lot of time on that, and not so much time actually writing content. Oops! Also, if you're not popping in here by way of a reader, you'll notice that the Steelers masthead is still up. The design specs for this site versus the new site are very different, and rather than do everything twice, I'm just focusing on the new one. So we'll just pretend that I'm leaving it up as a tribute to the recent Super Bowl Champions, and not because I'm too lazy busy to do another one.
In addition to all the site fixing, I've been doing a bit of online shopping. A friend of mine has a well documented obsession with greeting cards, and has pointed me in the past to several Etsy shops where super cute cards can be purchased. I was in need of a card for an upcoming baby shower, so I went back to her suggestions and found exactly what I was looking for. And a cute valentine's day card (which I can't show you because he reads this blog). And some birthday cards. And some thank you cards. It is becoming an addiction for me. I cannot resist the cuteness. And I don't even really send cards! But I can imagine getting these adorable things in the mail and it makes me so happy. So now I want to make others happy!
I'd show you all the cards I bought, but then it wouldn't be a surprise if you receive one. So you'll just have to trust me when I say they're cute. My favorite shop is RobinsonsNest and you MUST take a look. She has lots of sweet cards and wine glass charms and other odds and ends. She's incredibly nice, and extremely fast at responding. I asked for a couple custom items, and though she's busy right now, she did say she'd let me know when she got them up. I went back and bought more cards just while writing this post, because her service is so great, and the cards are just awesome. (She's not paying me to write this, FYI. I'm just that darn pleased with her stuff!)
Last week I ventured out to Los Angeles with my mom and sister to check out Phantom of the Opera, which has replaced Wicked at the Pantages Theater. I've seen Phantom before and liked it, so I was excited to go and see it again. It was a little bittersweet, however, because Wicked is by far my favorite play and I was sad to walk into the theater and not see it.
Phantom was good. Not as spectacular as the last time I saw it, but enjoyable nonetheless. The guy who played Phantom was awesome to listen to. I got goosebumps when he sang. The woman playing Christine was ok. She had an amazing voice, but her acting flipped back and forth to over the top (and not in a good way) or very stiff. She left a lot to be desired. The balance of voices in the production was also a little out of whack, it seemed. Carlotta, for example, has a loud operatic voice and it's lovely. But when the cast sings as a group, she completely drowns out the rest of them, and you can't hear anything they're saying. It would have been better for everyone involved if they'd turned down her mic so that she blended with everyone, rather than blowing them away.
I have always loved the music in Phantom, and had the soundtrack at one point (It got lost in one of my many moves, I think). My favorite song from the play, however, is on a Barbara Streisand CD. She sings "Music of the Night" with Michael Crawford, and just thinking about it gives me chills. It's such a beautiful song, and while many people don't like her, the woman has an amazing voice that blends beautifully with Crawford's. I could listen to it over and over without growing tired of it.
Phantom will be here for the next few weeks, and Donald and I will be seeing the final show on the 21st. I'm hoping that the issues they had the first time I saw it will be fixed by then. I'm also hoping that I'll be a little more accepting of it not being Wicked, and I'll be able to enjoy it more.
Why do you look at me that way?
I was at my parent’s house playing Rock Band with my sister, and Mia decided to join us. She’s a big fan of Rock Band, generally choosing to sit directly on a guitar (while you’re trying to play), or laying across your lap so any movement is damn near impossible. She got a little tired of being bumped with the guitar while I was playing, so she moved herself to the arm of the couch, propping her chin up on the back. I don’t think the picture adequately shows how uncomfortable she looked, and yet she was there for a really long time.
My dog, she is nuts.
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