A few days off usually means time to kick back and surf the net while eating too much food with horrible nutritional numbers. Not this time baby! L and I looked at the room rates for this week in Las Vegas and landed a deal at Circus Circus for $35.00 a night! Couple that with crazy cheap air fare and we're hangin' in Sin City for $200.00 a piece.

We're traveling with Your Pal Eddie Sal and his wife and best friend Ellen. Their first flight was delayed and ours was cancelled, but we're all here safe and have already burnt some of the proverbial midnight oil that always gets burnt in Vegas.

Our first stop tonight, "Bally's", brought an old memory bubbling to the surface. I played that casino in 1985 when I was with David Julian and the Playmates. It was called the MGM Grand at the time and the stage was on a raised, open lounge in the middle of the main casino. One gig in 1985 started like most. We loaded in, got set up and hit the first downbeat right on time just like the casino demanded. We were in our high waisted pants with gangster style coats and ribbon collar shirts. Everything was clean and pressed, and the band was sounding good. Halfway through the first set and in the middle of Hello by Lionel Ritchie, I looked at the drummer (Joe Bergeron) and said, "Cover me, I'm sick". I put my bass down in the middle of the song and made my way as fast as I could without running, to the nearest mens room. 60 feet from the door of the rest room, lunch decided to visit me through a reversal of sorts. Now, at a jog and not wanting to be sick in the beautiful casino, I caught lunch in my hands and on my chest. Quickly into the bathroom, I stripped off my jacket, shirt and tie and washed them in the sink. I dried them as best I could with the hand drier and was back onstage after just 2 songs. Ah,,,,memories!

The Dunes (gone), was our first gig out here. The Mint (gone too) was our gig downtown in the Freemont section. The Frontier gigs were my last before flying home to Virginia and tonight when we passed it, we saw that they're in the middle of tearing it down too. Time marches on and things change. Accept and embrace the changes or not, but these memories rock!
Robbie: Ladieeeeeees and Gentlemen! The MGM Grand Hotel and Casino proudly presentsssssss,,, DAVID JULIAN AND THE PLAYMATES! 1,2,3, You ought to be havin' fun, Put your troubles on the ruuun, the best things in life are free!

Lovin' this town!

Peace,

Robbie

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December 11, 2007 Late Night in Las Vegas again

Casino after casino after casino and it's all too much fun for this grown man to handle. Las Vegas is so much more than just casinos these days though. Although the gambling is still here, the casinos themselves are just as much of an attraction. The main lobby at The Venetian is absolutely stunning and The Bellagio is not to be missed. Paris is not only beautiful but the view from the over 500' tall Eiffel Tower is amazing. Old Vegas is disappearing but certain places still stand. The Riviera, The Mirage, Circus Circus, The Tropicana, and others are still here. They don't have the glitz of the new, mega casinos, but their "Old Vegas" charm brings people flocking to pull the handles and roll the dice. Hell, we even saw BIG Elvis performing in Bill's Gambling Hall at 3pm. He was awesome!!!

Lunch? Bellagio's buffet filled that ticket quite well. Display after display of antipasto, fresh fruits, soups and stew, braised baby squash, leg of lamb with mint jelly, glazed pork roast, soy marinated fillet of beef, etc etc etfrickincetera, and I'm not even gonna take up a bunch of space with the dessert that the 4 of us put away!

The shows are absolutely top notch out here and 4 tickets found us wandering into Bally's for one of the longest running and most traditional Vegas style shows, Jubillee. Singers, dancers, hard body guys flying over the crowd on silk wings, bolo wielding gauchos, asian contortionists , and topless beauties with feather head dresses were all on the bill. Rather than miserably fail at trying to describe the show, I'll only tell you that we were blown away by the costuming and the choreography, and the dancing, and the sets.

All the reasons we loved this show are just a few of the reasons for it's longevity. Three cheers to the over 120 person cast for a job perfectly done.

It's hard to grasp the fact that not only these shows, but the incredible hotel/casinos, and the whole Vegas concept, started with an idea. I have an idea and we learn a song. The Vegas show teams have a idea and BOOOOOM Cirque Du Soleil has another SRO show on the Strip. We've sees Cirque's Zumanity and can't wait for to catch their new show; Beatles Love.

Please do yourself a favor and plan a trip to this marvelous place that is Mecca to entertainers from all over the world. Lynley and I spent just a bit over 200 bucks each on airfare and 4 nights at Circus Circus. The airfare was typical and the room is so-so at this older property, but the prices have made it all ok.

Lynley and I are happy that Eddie and Ellen made the trip. We're all having a ton of fun and even though we're still here, we can't wait to plan the next trip to Las Vegas. In fact-Lynley is planning it as we speak. Ok, twist my arm, February's good.

It's late, I'm tired. Missing old friends.

Peace,

RoBear

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December 12, 2007 Late Night in Las Vegas

It seems like everybody out here has an act and that includes cab and bus drivers. A Romanian cabby kept dropping F bombs the whole time he was trying to get us to go to a gentlemen's club with no cover and free drinks. A bus driver that was heckling passengers called me a stalker and told me to get off of his bus after I told him he rocked. An Ethiopian cabby couldn't read the engine warning light and he blew his engine during our ride back to Circus Circus last night. We walked the last 75 yards and left him cranking and cranking and cranking, wondering why "It no go". Wild.

The 4 of us went to Cirque De Soleil Mystere tonight and were blown away again. Lights and costuming and dancers, Oh My! It's Cirque De Soleil and it's Las Vegas, so you know you're seeing the absolute best in the world. Cirque has a bunch of shows playing in town and we really want to see every one.

During a late night stop in The Sahara, we met the restaurant manager who just so happens to book some of the entertainment there. Well, she has our card and Eddie's and she's waiting for promotional stuff from both of us after we get home. Wouldn't that be sweet? Walk into a casino restaurant and fall into a really cool gig. Only in Vegas!

Our favorite band this trip has been "Chaze" at the Stratosphere. 6 pieces playing dance, pop and rock tunes from 1960-90ish. Great sound, great look, and a great rapport with the crowd. Gonna look for them again when we come back.

Lynley hit for 35 to 1 on the Roulette table at Sahara. 0 was good to her and her winnings covered my non-winnings. I'm down a bit, so is Ellen, but the real loser this trip is Eddie. Luck wasn't on his side until he started to loudly channel the ghost of Elvis, but by then it was too late. The damage was done and his donations to casinos all along the strip are much appreciated I'm sure. Next time I think he needs to wear the jumpsuit. The gambling was a ton of fun, the food was stellar and the shows are memories that I hope stay in my head forever.

Get loose and get out here. Las Vegas is still a great vacation destination for adults who need to unwind and forget about life for a few days. Leave the kids at home and have all the fun for yourselves, you'll be glad you did.

Peace,

Robear