DH has been to Vegas many times, he reckons he spent nearly 2 months in a one year period for work. It's my first time. People say it's like Disney for grown ups and I think they are right. Even as you leave the air port, the streamlined efficiency of the cab service makes you relax, as their competent smiling efficiency takes hold. I thought about how to catch a cab from JFK is all chance and chaos, and wondered why they couldn't set up this smooth system (20 cabs fill up at once, drive off, 20 more cabs swoop in, the line jumps forward, you're in your cab within minutes.)
But you don't want to read about me nattering about cabs. We're staying at
the Venetian, a huge, huge hotel thousands of rooms in this faux roman decadence complete with canal and a mock St Martin's Square in perpetual twilight (pictured above.) All very glam and clever. The only problem is that the hotel is so big, each individual guest is small potatoes and their service is appalling - everything takes for ever, and even to complain takes 10 mins on hold before you can talk to a human. To our amusement the music from Phantom plays endlessly in the elevators, as the 90 min version of the Phantom of the Opera is playing here. The elevators are very luxe, there are paintings on the ceilings in true baroque fashion, and the faux canal is fun, but I don't like it here and we won't return.
Vegas itself, on the other hand, has been a blast. So far we've seen 2 shows - a preview of
Peep Show (which opened tonight) and
Love, by Cirque de Soleil, music by the Beatles.
I've not seen much burlesque, so I can't judge Peepshow against other shows of it's kind, but it was kind of... unerotic. The woman whose body I liked best was Mel B. (pictured above) ex Spice girl (Scary Spice) the rest were just too skinny or Barbie doll for me, not quite real enough. The skits that were more classic porn - girls bending provocatively over cars, girls in cheerleader uniforms stripping down to g-strings - they worked least for me. The scenes where there was some emotional content (even if that emotion was laughter) worked better. The girl flirting with her salacious stuffed bear, the girl falling in love with the amazing guy in the bath (great acrobatic scene) but even there, the emotion was all veneer. As a piece it didn't work for me, though I imagine as it beds in it will get better.
But then I hadn't seen any other Vegas shows, so didn't really have anything to compare it to. Tonight we went and saw Love at the Mirage. My goodness - dreams made flesh. Just so many beautiful, beautiful images, set against such classic music. To listen to the music, so wonderfully produced, to see those images, to be in that moment. I just loved it. I can't rave enough. I've seen about 4 Cirque shows, but they were all travelling shows in tents. This is the first one I've seen in a theatre that was purpose built for the show. Oh the things they could do with light and movement. It was both graceful and evocative, and very moving. As we walked out, I wanted to go straight back in and see it again.
And tomorrow we go to La Reve ... many things to look forward to!
