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I don't normally field questions here, but Peter asked this one, and I thought I'd clarify...
"Steve, I don't mean to sound like an a-hole with this question although I will probably sound like one. I hear that the song 'Bloody Mary' is based from a person from Dave Navarro's book yet you wrote the lyrics to it. Does that not seem a tad.. well, strange? You singing and writing and voicing your 'opinion' about someone you don't actually know? I know if I had someone I didn't know writing songs about me I'd feel somewhat confused and angry even."
Peter,
This is a good question on a really interesting topic. I find that anywhere I can get inspiration for a song, I am happy (and lucky) to do so. There exists a certain "writer's license". This is allowing oneself to see things through other people's eyes in the hopes of finding an emotion to write a song around. You could criticize Billy Joel for writing "Goodnight Saigon" because he never actually fought in a war, or you could say that his "writer's license" allowed him to express a fictional soldier's feelings in the hopes of allowing all listeners of the song to share that emotion. So that is my position in writing about anything - even other people's relationships, and events that have nothing to do with me. I figure that if the Spirits gave some inspiration- then the song wanted to be written.
Ok, now to the song "Bloody Mary" specifically. If you read past blog posts to when the song was written, it came about like this: The band were working on a new song, and I was in a lyric search mode. Dave's book had just come out, and he mentions a drug dealer named "Mary". There is no real info about her in the book, just the name. I was having dinner that night and saw "Bloody Mary" on the drink menu. All of a sudden the idea clicked. A seemingly glamourous woman cruising around the Hollywood hills, serving the demand of her elite clientele. On the surface glamourous, on the inside ...sad. I got the lyrics written over the next two nights, and told Dave. He loved the idea and told me that "Mary" ...wasn't even her name! - he changed the names in the book for privacy. So the "Bloody Mary" of the song doesn't really exist. She was inspired by the idea of a real person, but a person who's name I don't even know.
For what I can gather, the city of Nantes, France celebrates the life and works of Futurist/Author Jules Verne with a series of festivals and events. This parade happened last weekend. All I can tell you is that it involved a giant wooden rocket ship, a Sultan riding the head of a giant elephant, and a massive marionette walking the streets.
(Google translated from French)
Photos and Video
Info page
Whole Event
via
By request: "Bloody Mary" lyrics posted at The Panic Community.
Hard week. The rope holding different parts of my life together is becoming more and more frayed. Things snapping and falling away. Hard to keep everything together.
Last week was our TPC show on Tuesday, then I sang with Camp Freddy at a Sony Playstation party for E3. That was crazy. Sony rented the top of a whole hill overlooking Dodger Stadium in downtown L.A. for this party. About 5 thousand Sony employees and guests, tons of food and drink, and entertainment courtesy of Jimmy Eat World and Camp Freddy. Also playing were Mini-Kiss - the little people Kiss cover band.
During the JEW set - Jerry Cantrell, Dono and I had a little poker game going. I broke my rule of never playing dealer's choice games, and lost every dollar I put in. Man, I hate dealer's choice. Fucking wild card, Omaha, Draw, "Close one eye and who farts first wins" games can blow me. I just like Hold 'Em - so sue me.
The show was fun, but it was weird playing a CF show without Dave - he had a prior engagement and couldn't make it. We all missed him. Scott Weiland and Matt Sorum from Velvet Revolver played the show, as well as Brandon from Incubus. We talked a little bit - quite a cool fellow, and he sang the shit out of "Whole Lotta Love". Talked with John5 about his love for collecting vintage Fender Telecasters for a bit.
On Friday TPC played a short set to close out the MusicCares M.A.P award show. The show was honoring none other than our esteemed guitarist, Mr. David Navarro. M.A.P. helps musicians with drug and alcohol recovery, and Dave gave all the profits from the sale of his book to them so they made him this year's honoree. The award night was pretty emotional, it was also in honor of Rick Van Santen who died last year. Flea played trumpet for a tribute song sung by Bob Forrest from Thelonius Monster, a band called Year Long Disaster played, as well as a great short set from Jerry Cantrell's new solo project. I was in the dressing room next to them and heard them warming up a new song called "Malignant Man". Wow, some insane wicked dark three-part harmonies coming out of that room. Good stuff.
Dave accepted his award, it got kinda heavy and touching, then bam! He had to turn around and rock with the band. We played "Teahouse of the Spirits", "Left to Lose", and "Dazed and Confused". We decided to play the Zep cover cause it was a real industry heavy crowd, and we thought they would especially dig the classic touch.
This week was a mess. Dark, confusing. Let's just say that much, and move on to other matters...
On Friday, took my second 2nd place finish at Dave's Friday night poker game. Both times I entered the heads-up play as chip leader. The first time I couldn't kill off Greg Simon (which won him the poker nickname "The Cockroach" from me), and this time it was Anthony from the Dragonfly. We've played poker a few times, and never been heads up together. I had him, I really did, then he went all in with something like K 8 or something, I had Aces and called. Cracked. I tilted for a couple hands, then he drew super lucky again to knock me out. I should be happy with making any cash at all, God knows I need it, but damn, ...so close. But then again, so what.
For the past few nights I have been on all night patrol working on the new Panic Site "velvet version". It's coming along really well. Sometimes it's a true pleasure just to work on solitary creative stuff, just me and the pixels and the music playing. Once the design is complete, I turn it over to Robert Chafino to break apart and skin the old site that he has been rebuilding from the ground up. Hard to say when we'll be finished.
Here is a fascinating interview from the author of "Fight Club", "Choke", and "Diary", Chuck Palahniuk . Bingeing and purging, plague culture, and his new book, "Haunted".
It's pronounced "Paul - ah - nik".
Not for the faint of heart.
via
PalmOne Treo 600.
Be the very third on your block to enter the world of the "Smartphone" - everything in the palm of your hand: cell phone, internet, palm OS, SMS, the works!
note:
Slightly used...
I admit it. Went to see "Revenge of the Sith" tonight, and after much maligning on my part, I have to say I really really liked it. Maybe even loved it. Hated the first one, and didn't like the second one very much, but even with that avalanche of lowered expectation going in, "Sith" was pretty great. Go figure.
I could find a couple elements to critique, mainly concerning the speed of Anakin's descent into the dark side. Seemed like a scene or two were missing. What I truly enjoyed though, was the feeling of deep, tragic loss at the close of the film, akin to how "Empire" ended on such a sad, unresolved note. "Sith" ended and I found myself looking back on all the (good) Star Wars movies I have grown up with and being really thankful for them. A good save from Lucas- a strong ending/bridge to his twin trilogies.
It was so good, think I'll go watch the bootleg I downloaded...
Every year, I try to go to the E3 video game expo in downtown L.A. I went to some of the first E3's, I was paid by Wacom (the graphics tablet company) to go out there and demo art work drawn on the computer. I have had some strange odd-jobs while being a musician. As the years have passed, games have grown into a monumentally successful alternate reality breeding ground. I play some games, finish very few, but enjoy following the gaming world very much.
Ever since reading William Gibson's Neuromancer, the inevitability of human kind making itself God and creating a virtual world to have dominion over has been pretty clear to me. The rise of video games is one of the signs. "Virtual Reality", the catch phrase of a few years back, will come to pass, but it will take time and much technological development. Games will continue to grow and develop in terms of graphic beauty and believability, as well as diversify as experiences. The term "Games" will eventually become obsolete.
In tandem with this growth, the Internet will continue to grow, and eventually will be transparent and ingrained in every aspect of life. As they have been, the Online world and the Game world will continue to cross-pollenate.
Gibson's vision was that of an online "cyberspace" a term he coined when the book was written (in the 80's !). He wrote of computer users donning a headband with "trodes" as the connection to the machine. The user would then close their eyes and the virtual world of information would appear, seeming "real" and interact-able. No keyboard, no mouse, no "navigation menus", a complete alternate man-made reality made of information.
Ok, now think of the Web's evolution: it began as a giant interconnected bulletin board, absorbed both the radio station (Napster), and now the TV network (BitTorrent), on it's way toward assimilating or re-defining every aspect of human communication.
As it continues to evolve, can you say that Gibson wasn't on to something? Neuromancer didn't mention games per se, but the convergence of these digital worlds makes sense. Can we not expect game experiences blessed with complete believability not to collide with what we now call the Internet? How long until "The Sims" or "Grand Theft Auto" aren't just a simulations, but a true alternate realities where millions of people spend their conscious hours? Humans love escape, and the illusion of control. This progression is already happening, we are already on a path to realizing Gibson's worldview.
When I first read the book, I was struck by an overwhelming "of course" feeling. It was this feeling of sensing what was ahead that initially got me obsessed with computers and the Internet, at a time when there really was no Internet to speak of ('94). As time has passed, his vision only grows in it's plausibility.
This is what drives my interest with gaming and the gaming industry. That, and that games are just fun. I don't really play so much, but I do love finding out what is new, checking it out, and keeping up on advancements. Every few years, there is a "console war". Since Playstation 1 appeared and destroyed the stranglehold Nintendo had enjoyed on the market, more and more companies have tried to be the king of the hill and have the best box. I always have at least one console, the one with the best graphics. Had a Playstation 1, then a Sega Dreamcast, which I loved. When PS2 came out, I was underwhelmed ... the graphics on my Dreamcast were better (??). By the time Dreamcast was over, Xbox came out, so I skipped PS2 and jumped on that ship.
This week is the E3 show. Think of it as a multimillion dollar corporate gaming super-circus. 3 gigantic convention floors packed with booth after booth (more like pavilions) of the latest games, consoles, and gimmicks to get attention. If it's coming out in the next year, it's playable there right now. This is a great year to be there, with the PS3/Xbox 360 battle ahead.
Xbox 360 is the new Microsoft console, it comes out this November. They launched it on MTV on a gratingly fluffy 30 minute commercial/Killers concert last week. Not much info, but a pretty cool design, and promises of "the next level", "the future" yadda yadda yadda. The demos were pretty impressive (what small bits they showed). Seemed pretty exciting.
For like, five minutes.
Then Sony announced the PS3 on Monday and kind of killed them. I wasn't expecting too much, cause I really thought Sony under-delivered on PS2, ...but the demos of Killzone and Motor Storm are incredible. They're so good, that there is some critism online doubting how "real" the footage is. People are saying that the games can't possibly look that good, that the footage must be CG movies, not actual game play. The specs for the PS3 (on paper) smoke X360, too. We'll see, we're still a year from Ps3 being released, but this round of the console wars is going to be good one.
In the days while we still call them "games"...
Can't sleep. Fucking Red Bull. Also still pretty excited from the gig.
Tonight was really great. Easily the best show we've done, most everything clicked, and the crowd was fantastic. I had a strange guitar mishap, though. Around song 3 or 4 (The Loophole & Go On) my 6th string popped out of it's saddle on my guitar and made my musical contribution a little sketchy, til it was fixed. Also, somebody ripped off Chris' Budda pedal after the show. That was a drag, he loves that pedal and was bummed. If you took it and are reading this, I highly recommend that you look within yourself and take this Karmic opportunity to return it. It will make you a better person, believe me. Reminds me of something I had stolen from a Dragonfly show.
Back in the Skycycle days, like our first year, when we were a trio, I used to plug in a TV and an ancient Atari 2600 game machine in an let it loop on the intro screen to Air-Sea Battle. That's what I call "atmosphere". Sadly, some Karma-challenged tool swiped my precious 2600 and ended that bit of atmosphere for good.
Aside from that, the show was a blast. Here was the setlist:
We also played "Dazed and Confused" last. We're planning on playing it at the MAP awards on Friday, so we have been rehearsing it again, and it has been sounding really good, so we busted it tonight too. What the hell.
The Mellowdrone guys did a great "two men with an iPod" set first. Thanks to Jon and Tony for coming out and playing. Also thanks to Lyn (OldSchool) for coming all the way from Atlanta to see the show (!!!). It was great seeing all the TPC Community peeps, it wouldn't be a show without you! Also nice to meet theloopexperiment's Mike C. in person. And thanks for Nate (InnerTurmoil) for recording the show. Nate did the almost too-clear recording of the November Dragonfly show that appeared on the Internets. As I was singing tonight, I remembered he was in the audience, and that what we were playing and how the audience reacted was going to be spread around the world. Man, I sure hope that slipped string didn't wreck stuff too bad. Time will tell. Hey, once you play a show, you just let it up into the universe and move on. I feel though, that tonight's show will be a good one to have "out there". Also this is a great way for our non-Los Angeles friends to hear what we sound like these days. It's been way too long since we played live (a REAL show not a damn showcase), but all the work on the record has made that the reality. Having shows booked around studio time is a sure way to see that either the gig or the recording don't get the attention they deserve. Best to keep 'em separated.
Thanks to Kristen Lauck for selling Panic Stuff, my buddy (and Halo 2 bitch) Dan Cleary for videoing it, and most of all, Anthony Belanger from the Dragonfly for making our "L.A. gig home" good and homey. You rule. No seriously, you rule. Thanks for the deli platter.
Ok, let's give that sleep thing a try.
The Dragonfly
6510 Santa Monica Blvd.
Hollywood Ca.
323 466 6111
$10
Come early for a special set from Mellowdrone's Jon and Tony at 9pm. Afterwards it's a DJ, so stick around and get to know each other...
Love the ones around you.
Hope to see you there.
Lately I have been getting into del.icio.us. (If you know about it already, forgive this introduction) It's a new "social bookmarking" site. Apparently a clever programmer came up with an idea for a web engine that does two very cool things:
a) keeps all your favorite web bookmarks saved online on your del.icio.us page, and
b) shares the bookmarks with everyone on the web.
At first, I didn't get what was so cool about this, but I registered anyway (it's free) and started entering my favorite sites. You do this via a "bookmarklet" a button you drag onto your web browser and can enter in new sites with one click. You give each new bookmark a tag (a category) or two, and on the main del.icio.us page, anyone viewing can see your new entry.
Check out the main del.icio.us page....
Those links are the very latest ones from ALL del.icio.us users. At the moment, the links lean toward the tech-savvy type, but I have been finding some really good ones there. Since it is a real-time reflection of what all the users are into, it can be anything.
So here is my del.icio.us page. I will be adding my favorite bookmarks to it, if you want to keep up on what I am checking out online. There is also extensive RSS feed support.
Feel free to join up - it's not much to look at, but it's a pretty great example of some innovative experimental web programming with tons of potential, depending on what we make of it!
Ok, since I have been flailing with the updates, here are some more tidbits, in random-shuffle style. This should get us all up to date.
Panic News:
We are putting the last minute details together for our show this Tuesday. We haven't played out live since the December Key Club show and can't wait. Since then we have done lots of recording, and writing of new songs, so we will be playing many new ones. The new ones are "Teahouse of the Spirits", "Awake", "Left to Lose", "Blue Bruises", and "Said You'd Be". We go on at 10pm (now you know this isn't true. When I say 10pm, I really mean 10:15, 10:30pm-ish. It helps to get there a bit early, though, so I say 10pm.). Come early for Jon and Tony from Mellowdrone doing an acoustic set. After, a DJ will be doing his thing so hang out and meet each other.
Last week we got back to work writing new songs. We have one new jam (no title or lyrics yet), and one I wrote called "Listen" that we are working on. One of the "Project P" songs that hadn't been completed that we had jammed on as a band called "Elijah" we are also playing and thinking of taking out of the "Project P" cycle, and playing it with the current set.
Katamari Damacy:
Dave loaned Riss and I a spare PS2 he had lying around cause I wanted to try out this Japanese game, "Katamari Damacy". We started playing it yesterday and it's really strange. It obviously was created by a Japanese insane person, and that's what rules about it. Really simple, really addictive, and very Japanese. The soundtrack is fantastic, too. I won't bother describing it, because it will just make me sound insane, too. Check this out. Try the "What is Katamari Damaci" link. Got the soundtrack off Kazaa, and have been listening to that lately.
Poker:
Dave, in the wake of his massive win in Vegas started up a weekly poker game at his pad a couple weeks ago. One table, No-Limit, tournament style, my favorite game. The first night, he won and my buddy Sean came in second (only the top two spots pay). This last Friday, it got down to heads-up (last two players) between yours truly and Dave's friend Greg Simon.
Greg and I had had an argument/discussion about poker a few weeks back: he asserted that it was all luck, and I, rightfully spake the truth: that poker a combination of luck and skill, and by no means is it all a game of chance. Well I must say, for a new player to No Limit hold 'em, he played very well. So well, that despite my massive chip lead heading into the heads up action against him, I could not bounce his ass out!!! Every time I tried to make a move on him, he stayed alive and doubled up. I started calling him "The Cockroach". Which, when I think about it, may sound kinda bad, but if it sticks, is a pretty kick-ass poker nickname. I have dedicated myself to seeing that it sticks. We traded off the lead back and forth for about 45 aneurysm-inducing minutes, then finally he bested me.
Well, done, mate.
But we will meet again.
Days Ahead:
These last couple weeks back from Vegas have been pretty hard for various reasons. One of the reasons I haven't been posting. But as with all hard times, they come, they go, then you are stronger because of them. These next two weeks should be pretty interesting with the gig on Tuesday, I will be singing again with Camp Freddy at an E3 show on Thursday, then another charity show on Friday for the MAP awards where The Panic Channel will do 3 songs.
Then on the 24th, Dave, Carmen, Riss & I are headed to Vegas to see the final Contender fight at Caesars Palace. We all love that show, and they invited Dave to be there. I have never seen a prize fight in person, and I'm stoked. Thinking about getting some more ink while we're out there, too.
"Want to hear God laugh? ...Tell him your plans"
Al Swearengen - Deadwood
Saturday morning (April 30th). I slept in, and by the time I woke up, Riss had arrived.
We got some blunch with Dave and Jerry before they went off to play in a special celeb/poker pro No-Limit Hold 'Em tournament. Dave had said that he didn't know if he was in the mood to play (we had CF sound check just 2 hours from the start of the tourney) but he said "what the hell" and entered. I really, really wanted to play, but seeing as that I am not a celebrity, a poker pro, or had 500 bucks to spend to enter, I had to watch the fun from the rail. Watching and not playing got painful, so Riss and I joined the CF crew at the pool. this was my first time at the Hard Rock pool, and let me say...all the rumors were true. It's pretty crazy out there. Like if you were watching some cheesy show like "Las Vegas" and they had a pool scene with a bunch of models, and it looked completely unreal and fake, ...well, that's what it was really like.
We kept checking in on Dave, and after 2 hours, he was STILL playing, and doing great. CF sound check start time came and went, and he was at that point ...at the final table! The field, which included alot of the celebs brought to the hotel for the weekend, and a load of poker pros (Jennifer Harman, David Williams, Evelyn Ng, Chip Jett) had been worked down to Dave, and Joey Fatone from NSYNC celeb-wise, and just Evelyn NG representing the pros. The purse was 10k for the winner, but Dave was short-stacked and knew that he had to get to sound check, so he came over to Riss and I and whispered "next semi-good hand I get - I am going all-in - we gotta get outta here". Well, he did just that. And doubled up twice, knocking two players out and drawing super lucky.
Now he was the chip leader at the final table. It was clearly time to hunker down and concentrate (although the "devil may care attitude" was working pretty well). I went to sound check to run my song a couple times with the guys. Like I've said before, the sound check portion of a CF show to me, is pretty fun in itself. All the singers, guitar players, girlfriends, wives, friends, etc. make it a full-on scene. As always, Michael Des Barres had me in stitches, and Terri Nunn couldn't be sweeter. Got to meet Rob Zombie, and John 5. Dave comes breezing in after a while, and wouldn't you it... he took that shit down! Won it! This time, not for charity (as he says, he was playing for the Carmen Electra shoe fund) they gave him a stack of 10 one thousand dollar chips. So needless to say, he was in a pretty good mood. We all finished up the sound check, and took off to our separate Vegas worlds until dinner.
Dinner was tasty, and afterwards we went and checked out the Nine Inch Nails show. As you could expect, a different world than the Coldplay show the night before. So cool to see the same room filled with two huge bands with dedicated fans, but bringing such a different energy. The Nails show was absolutely great. The songs, the pacing, the intensity was so strong and satisfying. Trent obviously has been working out, his arms were frigging HUGE. Jeordie looked perfect in the band, and the guitar player was my favorite. He looked like he was going to wreck himself every time he moved, he fell off into the space behind of his Marshall cab, smashed a perfectly good Les Paul, and just gave the stage the abandon that paired up so well with Trent's songs. The back of the stage had this giant (must have been LED's) light panel that did all kinds of hypnotic patterns and seizure-inducing rhythms. It was a truly fantastic show, I am really looking forward to seeing the L.A. date when they come around.
Right after the NIN show, it was time to head down to the Body English club for the Camp Freddy show. Now, picture you will a full house of Nails fans, let loose into the innards of the Hard Rock Casino, and meshing up with the standard weekend super-throng of partiers there to dance, gamble, and get into Body English. At every turn, there was some long line of people waiting to get into something and the entirety of it all seemed just on the edge of getting out of control. As if the crowd, were it to decide to grow fierce and unruly, the Casino in no way could ever handle it. Anarchy.
Body English is two floors down below the main casino floor, and we had to have security squeeze us all by the masses so we could get to the backstage area. I got a glimpse of the crowd in front of the stage, and it was insane. So many faces, arms flailing around, bodies everywhere. From a distance, it looked like one gigantic organism with a thousand faces and two thousand arms outstreched. The show began in a flash, and the core band (Dave, Billy, Stephen, Chris, ...Dono was on vacation with his wife) kicked it off. Cantrell sang the first couple tunes and then was joined by Terri. Mark McGrath, Steve Jones, Rob Zombie, and Billy Duffy were on for the next few tunes, then around song 8, I was up. As soon as the backstage door opened, I felt a hot push of human-heated air as I wiggled my way through the partiers to the stage. Once there, the guys launched into "She Sells Sanctuary", and like I said before, this time was special because I got to sing it with Billy Duffy from the Cult. I have always loved this song. Fuck. What fun. As usual, when the gig is going good, it streams by like a colorful blur of hands, smiles, screaming, and wafts of strange perfume. Looking around in all this bedlam and seeing my band around me, with good buddy Billy Morrison, and my anchor: Stephen Perkins' smile behind the kit, you just can't beat it.
The show was extra long that night, Robbie Williams sang "My Generation" from The Who, Annbella Lwin, Michael Des Barres, David from Disturbed (who KILLED "Whole Lotta Love"), Tone Loc, and some of the CF standards. I think the setlist was something like 20-25 songs. Biggest CF show yet.
After, Dave and Carmen had to be driven back home to L.A. so Riss and I kicked it with them, had an interesting chat about UFO's and Scientology, ate some room service, and saw them off.
What a night.
Left the next day, back to Los Angeles. One more ticket on Hotshot Air.
Thanks to Camp Freddy (especially Billy) for bringing me along, and Brent Bolthouse and his great people, Deb and Jennifer who made whole weekend happen. It was really nice to be included.
Sometimes when I have a big post to do, I procrastinate horribly. Let's set the way-back machine to two weeks ago, and I will try to re-assemble what a great weekend it was.
(start shuffle: now playing: Kate Bush - The Morning Fog)
Friday afternoon all the guests of the Hard Rock Casino's 10th anniversary weekend flew out to Vegas. We took a private plane, a new experience for your erstwhile narrator. Apparently musicians, actors, and generally wealthy folks use these things called "private airports" for their unique aviation needs. This one was near Burbank airport, a one room check in/waiting area, then you walk out on to the tarmac and get on the plane. Everyone in the mini-airport (which I will affectionately call "Hotshot Air") I recognized from TV or was a member or guest of Camp Freddy, or I recognized and couldn't figure out where the hell from. Where is imdb when you need it?
While waiting for the plane, I kicked it with Billy Morrison (who had a shiny new PSP) and his wife Jen. They are the nicest frigging people ever and it's always a treat to hang with them. Chatted a bit with Jerry Cantrell and Billy Duffy.
Me: "This Hotshot Air scene is quite impressive"
Duffy: "Oh, mate, you're spoiled now... you can never go back."
Shannon Elizabeth and her friend Heather (who Dave and I played poker with on that E! show) were there, so all in all there were a bunch of people I knew so I didn't feel too fish-out-of-water.
There was one of those weird little Paris Hilton dogs scampering around and when it got near me, I stifled my involuntary "kick little yipping dog" reflex, but only just barely. After about an hour we boarded Hotshot Air, and began to get this Vegas weekend business started.
Once at the Hard Rock, everybody checked in and went to their rooms. This first night (Friday) I was alone, as Riss didn't get in til Saturday morning. There was nothing to do until a big group dinner at Nobu at 8:30, so I got on my walking shoes and went for a jaunt down the Vegas strip.
The Hard Rock is about a mile off the strip, and the strip is a few miles long. I decided to go visit the Wynn, which was about as far from the Hard Rock as you can get in Vegas. Long walks are great for a multitude of reasons. Long walks on The Strip are experiences in themselves. Tourists on holiday, sun weathered local faces, mascara bleeding from crying eyes, dumb man-animal drunkards wobbling down the streets, and swarms of prostitute flyers being distributed all in the hot desert air. People act so strangely in Vegas. I've always found it fascinating. Like all these months of repression get an outlet (usually an unhealthy one) in the world's playground. The energy of the city is what I find attractive. An amazing outpouring of drama, both the joyous and the miserable. I got an eyeful of it all on my walk, which took about 45 minutes.
Checked out the Wynn casino. It had opened just the day before so everything was really jumping. Took a look around the giant man made mountain (more like a hill), the casino area, and the stores. Overall, it seems really like Bellagio II. Very, very much like Bellagio in terms of the casino and stores design, and the color palette. Of course this means that it’s very nice, but it didn’t hit me over the head with originality. I never got to check out the inside of the hill, the area with the waterfall cascading over the giant video screen. Apparently this is where the big water feature extravaganza deal is, but both times I went to check it out, it was closed. While I walked around the stores, I walked right by Steve Wynn, he was just touring around talking to people. The Wynn is, as you would expect, very nice, and up to the Wynn standard, but didn’t leave me with any real impression of breaking any new ground. After, I walked back to the Hard Rock.
Dinner at Nobu was tasty and extravagant to the point of being completely ridiculous. Huge plates of sushi and teriyaki and all of it was the best of whatever it was that I had ever had. Again, it was courtesy of the Hard Rock. Tara Ried was eating at a table just across from us, and was wearing a black evening dress that went pretty much down far enough to expose the top half of her ass cleavage. Insert your own joke here.
After the dinner, Dave and Carmen and the Freddy posse headed over to the Coldplay show. I am starting to see the benefit of staying at the Hard Rock: if you have show tickets, and want to stay in a great self-enclosed environment, this is the place. It was nice going from the room, to dinner, then to a concert all in the same relatively small hotel. The Coldplay show was good, I found myself liking the songs from the new record the most. I especially liked the title track “X &Y”.
After the show I was on my own again, so I took off to the room for some well deserved blow and hookers.
No, actually... my cards-gravity kicked in and I went back to the Wynn to try out the new poker room. I started walking once more thinking that I would get in a cab at some point, but again just enjoyed the walk and listening to my music and thinking, so I walked the whole way again. This time it was a full blown Friday night and man, motherfuckers get their drunk on! Wow, full-on alcohol research 101. It’s a mythical and mysterious line that divides joyful celebration, and pathetic mind-erasing substance abuse. I saw plenty of both, though it’s hard to tell them apart in the moment.
The poker room was nice, but the poker gods were not. Donated most of my tiny personal Vegas stash to the “Help Steve Wynn make his 2.7 billion investment back” fund. Good luck Mr. Wynn getting the remaining 2,699,999,700 back and breaking even!
Walked back to the Hard Rock. While not a profitable night, it was a great time all around, and I did get a weeks worth of cardio walking up and down that damn strip.
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