Friday October 23, 2009 – U2 Las Vegas

I flew into Vegas around 10am (cst), waited an hour to get my rental car and got to the hotel around 12:30 (pst). Tasha and I had lunch at the Red Rocks casino buffet where we were staying, and we were at Sam Boyd Stadium at the University of Las Vegas by 3. We saw Ruth, Melissa and Matt (who just married), Babette, Ayaz, Otto, Melissa. Bono stopped and signed autographs and talked with everyone waiting. Unfortunately, we were stuck behind the fence, so we just got pictures.

This is my favorite show of the tour – Tasha’s too! It was so relaxing and we were at the rail – side of Adam. Same set list as Oklahoma, except Bono sang ‘Viva Las Vegas’ after ‘Still Haven’t Found/Stand By Me.’ And during the band introductions before ‘Still Haven’t Found’ he called Larry the ‘Elvis of U2.’ And the vocals were really loud, so I could really hear Larry’s ‘Hey Hey Heys’ during ‘Boots’ again. I left the front rail at the end of ‘Vertigo’ so I could see Larry start ‘I’ll Go Crazy.’ I was back there alone again wearing my Larry Mullen Band tee but I wasn’t jumping and screaming this time, but he still saw me, smiled and waved. And then he went right instead of left, so I could follow him! I stayed back and watched the rest of the show behind the stage. He was facing the back during ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday.’ Then Bono came back and was singing to me. I took so many pictures of Larry behind the stage. I love it back there. Black Eyed Peas opened again, but they weren’t as good as they were in Oklahoma. Bill Clinton was at the show, but we didn’t see him. Larry’s dad was there too, but we didn’t see him either. We thought U2 would come out after the show, but they didn’t. Vegas set list:
Breathe
Get on Your Boots
Magnificent
Mysterious Ways
Beautiful Day / In God’s Country / Fix You
(band intros – Larry as Elvis)
Still haven’t Found / Stand By Me / Viva Las Vegas
Stuck in a Moment
No Line on the Horizon
Elevation
In a Little While
Unknown caller
Until the End of the World
Unforgettable Fire
City of Blinding Lights
Vertigo / All These Things Ive Done
I’ll Go Crazy (larry waved to me)
Sunday Bloody Sunday
MLK
Walk On / You’ll Never Walk Alone
One / Amazing Grace
Streets
Ultra Violet
With or Without you
Moment of Surrender

The U2 tour for this year is over, but it was great! My shows in order 1 Vegas, 2 DC/Oklahoma, 3 Chicago1, 4 Raleigh, 5 chicago 2, 6 atlanta, 7 Charlottesville. Now its Elvis and Vegas the rest of the weekend! Hopefully my fat burger veggie burger will settle soon and I’ll get tired and fall asleep.

 

Saturday October 24, 2009

Woke up at 8am, got ready and hit the slots. Played for about 2 hours and was down $33. Tasha woke up and we went to lunch at 11:30. We went downtown to Freemont Street to recreate the Still Haven’t Found video. I saw Joe Espisito, met him, and he autographed his picture book ‘Elvis Intimate and Rare.’ I was wearing an Elvis tee which he said he liked – twice. I told him I lived in Memphis. I asked if he was going to be there for birthday week, but he said he was going to be in Vegas for the opening of Viva Elvis Cirque de Soleil show. It was SO cool to meet Joe, and so unexpected! I was SO excited and nervous.

Got back to room after midnight. Had a wonderful Italian dinner with Tasha and her co-workers. So yummy! Then we played the slots for about 4 hours. I was down about $150. but at the end I’m up $33., so now tomorrow I’ll head to the Strip with $400 tomorrow!

Sunday October 25, 2009

So tired. Been a great 3 full days in Vegas, but I am happy to go home and not travel until Christmas. Tasha and I had pizza for breakfast then gambled for a couple of hours – she’s totally hooked now! She went to her meeting, and I went to the Strip. I gambled from 1:30 to 9:30 and lost $300. I was going to lose $440, but hit $170 on my last spin. I gambled in Ballys, Billy Bobs, Flamingo, Harrah’s, Imperial, Paris. I really love Ballys. I found Happy Days slots – 3 different versions. So cool! I left for the airport early because everyone said it was be so crowded. It’s empty. So I’ve eaten and now have 2 more hours to wait for my plane.

 

If you would like to see all my pictures from Las Vegas, please click http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=119169&id=734599167&l=b7991603d5