Off To Vegas
Friday, January 29, 2010 I'm currently sitting at the airport food court patiently waiting to get in line for U.S. customs. Sounds strange doesn't it? But the thing is I can't get into customs more than 2 hours before my departure so I have a bit of time to kill. Thankfully I have my mobile internet stick on me now so I don't have to pay the stupid fees for airport wi-fi access. I never really understood why some places charge for it. It should just be free, even if it's going to be surfing at leass than optimal speeds & at a more restricted level (firewalls, proxies & all that).
But I'm going off track here. I am heading to Las Vegas to watch Utada live at the House Of Blues Mandalay Bay. This will be my first time seeing her in concert & I'm excited that it's in a more intimate venue rather than a large arena. From the reports I have read, her shows were amazing & have proven to be rather popular. The lineups to get into the venues have been quite long so I'm taking others advice & camping out early on Saturday.
For those who have been following my Selective Hearing site you probably read that I have been working on trying to acquire an interview with Utada. I won't bore you with the details & will just say that it's a long process & I'm hoping that maybe something will happen as a result of my request.
But that's rather secondary really. And yes it would be very kick ass to have some sort of chance to pick her brain for a bit but my intention is to go to her show & write it up as best & as objectively as I can. Those of you who have read my coverage of Hangry & Angry and Morning Musume will have a good idea of what to expect. Although the article(s) won't be as stupid long as those. Well.. Maybe.
As always all the music releated stuff will be at Selective Hearing while all the touristy stuff will be covered here. I'll be updating periodically through Twitter as well, with more detailed recaps of the days events coming later.
Anyway, off to stand in line.
G
I'm still at the airport. Getting through U.S. customs was a surprisingly painless & hassle free affair. Finding a power outlet to charge my laptop was a little bit of a feat but I found one not to far from my boarding gate. I'm cleaning up a few last minute details before boarding time. Like getting my laptop charged for my long stopover in Denver. I have a 3 hour wait there.
I figure perhaps I could finish my latest remix (Ayumi Hamasaki's Depend On You) if I can find an available power outlet near or around my boarding gate there. I almost had it done before I left today but other things got in the way. I figure if I can get at least the levels and arrangement done I'll be good for mastering when I get back home on Sunday.
Well almost boarding time.
G
I arrived at Denver International just after 2:30 PM & proceeded to check my e-mails. Well I got some pretty disappointing news which pretty much ruined my mood for the rest of the trip. So yeah I spent the rest of my time in Denver replying to e-mails and posting an update for my readers.
By the time I left I received a lot of condolence messages and comments about my post. The flight to Vegas was interesting though. I met a lot of fellow Canadians. I think there were more Canadians around me than Americans. Strange.
After catching a shuttle bus to the Mandalay Bay I got checked in by a cute Filipino chick with a dead sexy accent. Then I made my way to my room rested, showered and wandered back out into a few familiar hotels I knew from my last trip to Vegas in search of food. By food, I mean cheap food. I'll do the buffet thing tomorrow for breakfast.
I went to the Excalibur & played a progressive machine in hopes of hitting it big. I made $30, which is better than the $0 I usually make on slots in Vegas. I felt pretty good about that. Then I scoped out the House Of Blues and inquired about where I would line up for the Utada show & then bought another fedora from the shop.
After which I went to the Orchid Lounge in the Mandalay Bay to drink my disappointment away & to watch the piano lounge singers & some crazy guy groove to their cheesy sounds. I downed a few drinks & stumbled to my room to watch Hangry & Angry.
G
Sorry for the late update but I was kind of jet lagged from all the flying on my way home and spent most of yesterday sleeping it off. (after work of course) Anyway to sum up my Saturday in Vegas. The morning was spent trying out the buffet at the Excalibur and then after stuffing myself silly walking all the way to the Miracle Mile Mall. Looking back that was a dumb idea & I really should have taken the tram. Lesson learned for next time I guess.
My afternoon and evening consisted of all Utada concert related things which are covered here.
Sunday was spent hanging out with friends from L.A. and basically chilling out before heading to the airport. Again customs was not an issue and it was just the waiting that pretty much got to me. The flight out from the Vegas airport was uneventful and I connected in San Francisco. I thought I had an hour and a half wait so I started watching a video on my laptop.
When I popped my head up to see what was going on all the people around me were lining up so I had to rush to put my gear away & get in line too. Again, it was an uneventful flight & I spent the majority of my time watching the Hello! Project Elder Club graduation concert. When I landed back home it was a different story as 6 flights coming from the U.S. landed at the same time.
Customs was backed up and around 30 minutes later I was processed and went to pick up my bag which was already on the carousel. Strange since I usually have to wait about 20 minutes for my bag to even show up. Other than that there isn't much to tell.
It was a great weekend though & it was nice to get away.
