Going to Paris this weekend

Don’t I wish…….

Actually, I’m going to the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas .

I’m finally following through on one of the promises I made to myself the last time I got out of prison, which was to treat myself to a Barry Manilow show if I survived.

No front row seats for me this time(they’re just too expensive at the new venue), but I did score a 2nd row seat for Friday’s show and a 12th row for Saturdays show. My lungs have been a little dodgy the last couple of day, so I hope the Las Vegas climate doesn’t aggravate them too much(some of the hotels and get quite smokey).

To make things a little more interesting this time and save a few bucks, Id thought I’d take the train instead of flying. I earned enough frequent mile points on Amtrak for a discounted ticket . Unfortunately, there’s no actual rail service into the city of Las Vegas itself, so I have to ride on an Amtrak thruway bus for the desert portion of the trip. It’s all good though, because it gives me a chance to catch on some other projects that require me to sit still for a while. 10 hours each way on a train should help with that.

This will be the first time Ive seen Barry’s show since he moved from his old digs over at the Hilton last February. The reviews on this new Paris show have been really positive.
During his 5 year stint over at the Hilton, I saw his show 16 times, including 2 times for free when they were taping a special show for PBS.

What’s kinda funny though, is lately I haven’t really been listening to a lot to Barry’s music. Ive been on somewhat of a Beatles and Chicago kick for the last couple of months. Some of the remastered older Beatles stuff is pretty awesome. The band Chicago, was a very powerful band back then…and still is now.

But this weekend is all about the crooner. Barry Manilow is still one of my favorite arranger/singer/songwriter/performers of all times. After 30 years of concerts, he’s going stronger than ever. He puts on one hell of a show. Definitely worth traveling all the way to Vegas for.

Just by coincidence, the ET midnight marathon is this weekend. It’s tempting, but I think I’d rather see a show in a nice air conditioned theater, than take a midnight trek up the side of a mountain in the middle of the Nevada desert. Been there, done that..