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Sunday, November 09, 2008

Girl's Nite Out

Last night Amy and I caught the Robin Thicke show over at Mandalay Bay. We started the night at The House of Blues restaurant, it seemed fitting since that's where the show was. We were lucky in that the show started at 7:00 but he wasn't going to come on stage for about an hour, so we had plenty of time for dinner before the show. The waiter talked me into some drink that was pretty much all Bacardi with a splash of cranberry juice and something else... I was feeling NO pain by the end of dinner. Guess I'm a cheap date anymore.

I have to say that Mandalay Bay is my favorite Strip resort. A lot of it has to do with their spa - I treat myself to an entire day there at least once a year and seriously, it's heaven on Earth. But I also enjoy the atmosphere... the food... and being a parent I dig the Shark Reef. Oh, and the concerts on the beach, man those kick ass. However, I'd never seen a show at the House of Blues before last night. It's a very small venue, and the way it is set up is pretty cool, but the acoustics? They're bad - really, really bad. Thus the show was small, intimate and the atmosphere was right, but we couldn't hear any of his lyrics. Lucky for me I knew quite a bit of his songs, but poor Amy had no idea what he was singing about. Even when he talked between songs one had trouble understanding. Our seats weren't all that great, either... it's always a crap shoot when buying tickets online and you don't know the seating. If I ever make it back there, I'll know next time.

Hey, at least he was really fun to watch... how can you not enjoy this view?

His voice is really awesome, he doesn't need any recording tricks to help it... and anymore that's highly respectable. (Amy said his voice sounds like Justin Timberlake and yes, I guess he does!) I was reminded again why small venues are such good places to see a show, it was an intimate experience and you could tell he and his band were enjoying themselves (not to mention he was friendly and interacted with the audience). Overall I'd probably only give the show a 6.5 out of 10, because although I really enjoyed seeing him and having the experience, the acoustics were a big problem, it's important to me to hear the lyrics!!
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3 comments:

Cupcake Blonde said...

I have had the same problem at House of Blues. You would think since they are a concert venue they would fix the problem. But at least you still enjoyed yourself.

JoeinVegas said...

Try the Ovation at Green Valley - it's pretty nice (but Jazz, not the hip hop stuff). Hey - Chris Botti there the day after Thanksgiving, go listen (and look at) that guy. We caught him last time, but seeing his return to Aliante (want to see the new place)

Nik said...

Mmmmm, that's such a nice picture, thanks much for the eye candy. I hate it when concerts get ruined by the venue that they're held in. I've been to a few concerts now where the show was ruined by the acoustics. Why don't they put more thought into booking shows at acoustically challenged venues? If I were a performer, I'd be pissed. It's good to hear you were able to make the best of it though.