For the last couple of years, Geoff has been my lifeline to rock concerts, from the usual Camp Freddy gigs to Metallica, Iron Maiden and other loud things.

But this time, while we were both attending a trade show in Las Vegas (NAB), we managed to end up at a Franky Perez (FXP) gig, at out usual position: by the stage! If you haven't heard of him before (which would not be surprising), he is amongst other thing the guitarist of Scars on Broadway, a resident guest of Camp Freddy and potentially the best voice in LA these days. We were in for a treat!

The best part of the gig was that the band was playing at home, almost for friends and family. So after having met with the father of the guitarist, we ended chatting at the end with most of the band, joking about their sound issues through the night.

All in all, a so not Vegas night out and a very good gig!

 

Enjoying a night out in Vegas with our Domestic team, I finally accomplished a geek's dream! I had a drink at Quark's bar at the Vegas Hilton. Be ready for the full Star Trek experience, including blue Romulan beer and strong cocktails.

Not only did I follow our Cruft-Meister's advice and tried the fantastic "Warp Core breach" (head still hurts) but I met my very first Klingon (not a really nice guys), my first Andorian and last but not least, my first (caged) Ferengi (greedy things these Ferrengis)

Next visit to Vegas, I'll get my picture taken on the bridge, pronouncing the magic word: "Engage!!" [not really visible on a picture, I know.

Walking the floor in Vegas, I couldn't help noticing this German company booth and the fantastic style of one of their staff...

The full classic style including mullet haircut (remember Rudi Voller?), the large mustache and the color blind matching tie and suit... I know, I'm a bitch.

OK, I seem to have been moaning and bitching a lot about Vegas or the US (despite loving it over here) over the years, but waking up this morning, I found a fantastic thing in my mini bar...

A can of cold Starbucks' Double Shot Expresso...

Oh my, oh my!!! I heard about it, but never tasted it...

Done! Love it...

Addicted!

Next step in my little tour, Las Vegas, Nevada... First night in, instead of the usual brainwash (understand here the pre-NAB party), we decided to stay "in" at the Mirage's Sports Bar and had a couple of drinks with the boys...

Around 11:00 pm, some of us started to get hungry and headed towards the first available food proving solution, i.e. a New York style deli. And as per usual, I had to be stupid and believe that portions would be of a sensible size. anywhere else in the US, portions are huge. Here, they are STUPID!

So I ordered my little sandwich called a "Woody Allen" sandwich, 1/2 pastrami, 1/2 corned beef, hoping that it would be close to a Ruben's Sandwich served at Selfridges in London... What a fool I am!

First, on my left (the small one), the Ruben's Sandwich. Toasted bread, Pastrami, mustard, gurkin on toasted rye bread at Selfridges, the land of the good looking and shiny people (RRP: £7):

And on my right (the stack of crap), the Woddy Allen Sandwich, at the Mirage Hotel, Las Vegas, the land of the fat people wearing shorts, socks and sandals (RRP: $12).

There is enough food on that for a family of 4.

The fork is a full size fork, not a pocket thing and the 2 white things are the slices of bread around the meat...

Estimated weight, 4 lbs. Honestly, this should have a warning from the office of the Surgeon General guys: "Eating kills!" or "Eating this will cause a slow and painful death", the same way we have it on cigarettes in the UK.

You may wonder, but I didn't finish it!