After the great Red Rocks gig we spent the following day driving to Las Vegas. We arrived in Vegas around 9pm on a Friday night, getting two rooms at a Motel 6. Shades and I were each on a bed, in a room together laughing. Laughing because here we are, Friday in Vegas and we're sitting in a hotey. Not just sitting there, but indulging in my rom-com joy in watching What Women Want. I think people think we're idiots for not exploring Vegas on a Friday night, but that's not me. There's not much Vegas in me.
We loaded into the House of Blues, located inside some shopping mall/gambling wasteland of un-culture called Mandalay Bay. I was excited to meet up with my sister Kim and her girlfriend Amber--two of the coolest people in the world. Cool not because of their sartorial sense, or what great music they listen to, but cool just 'cos they are. They are, along with my sister Becky, my heroes.
We played the show and again, the crowd loved it. I'd put it up there with one of our best shows ever. It was that great. Afterward I partied backstage with my family and got to meet Amber's family too. That is one of the benefits of touring & traveling: you get to meet and hang with your people, your tribe. So as we were hanging backstage we heard the Tenacious D's set cut short--someone was stabbed in the crowd with an icepick. Game over, and everybody left.
The next day we loaded into San Diego and I was chilling with Kyle Gass on the backstage patio. He was saying how he'd never experienced something like that and asked if I had. I told him, of course, dude--I'm from Detroit. I remember playing at a popular club in Detroit and gunshots ringing out while we were playing. Someone came onstage and told me to stop the show, which I had to. I'd also seen a guy get his guts cleaned out with a knife, with him holding them as he stumbled. I don't think my parents would have let me down there had they known--those things happened when I was a teenager. Ah well, I think I turned out alright. I guess I wasn't helping the Detroit reputation with KG, but it was the truth. For all the "yes we can" attitude that is around the city I should have been a better ambassador.
Anyway, we played a giant outdoor open air theater and played another triumphant gig with the D in San Diego. It was a polite crowd, and since it was a Sunday night, one got the feeling it felt more familial than most gigs. It reminded me of the Boston gig--well mannered, and "yay, good job band!" type vibe.
Up next was the Wiltern in Los Angeles. Having played two gigs there with Robert Plant, it was good to get back. Really, I just like saying that. It's kinda cocky, and I know, but I don't care. I earned it.
All the best,
eddie
Today’s high according to Jerry Sprinter‘s thermometer: 91
Photos by Shades
