January 12th gig at The Palms

What a slammin' night this was, OMG! Got a lot of shots to review (131 dumped into iPhoto) and select to post. We were packed, and the energy on the stage and in the room was about as good as it gets. Above, the moon was just too cool tonight, so I stopped in The Palms garage on my way in and shot this looking back east.

So, I get to the lounge and there's some private party goin' on "from 6 to 9" (right). The gear is all stuffed on the stage with the curtain closed.

Just about all of the seats are stowed, stacked to the ceiling, in the dressing room. Swell.

Some cat gets on their disco mic at 9 pm and says "we're gonna close down the bar in about 20 minutes, but you can stay if you want; there's a band tonight, uhhhh...Santa Fe..." Whatever.

Please do stay and hang, but step aside and let us set up the room.

Worked out OK. We got it all put together and started pretty much on time. Below, the dressing room "after."

Guest sit-in percussion artist tonight, wow! The talented and beautiful and so-nice Marcie Chapa from the Beyonce tour. She got called up twice, first for "Negrita," and then for the crushing "System of Survival" finale.

Some of you may have noticed that I was right up in Gil's facial hair tonight shooting (I hate to perhaps be a distraction during the show). Gil just got an endorsement deal with a brass mouthpiece manufacturer, and asked if I could zone in and get some usable promo shots. Done. bro'.

I put the Sony Alpha 350 in full-bore 14.2 megapixel large shot mode and fired away. I think we got some keepers. Shot a couple dozen close-ups. Still going through them.

Below, Jessica and Andy (our CEO of Soul) are diggin' the hang...

Below, Lenny and Tyriq with NFL coach Mike Tice.

Still going through shots in iPhoto. Getting late, may have to continue after some Zzzz's. Almost 4 am, getting way tired.

Below, Lorraine Fidler handling the Fat City Superstore for us. Thanks!

Much more to come. I gotta crash...

Oh, yeah, btw: Odyssey this weekend (click the image to enlarge). Bellagio, Fontana Bar, 6:30 pm.

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TUESDAY, UP AT THE CRACK OF NOON

More shots and thoughts...

The musical highlight of the night for me was the band's rendition of the renowned Kenny Loggins tune "This Is It?" Lenny crushed the lead vocal, and the cats incinerated the arrangement. That chart just blisters your brain cells, they wrote it specifically for the night Kenny sat in back in November.

Joey, we love ya, bro'. What a great drummer, and a great person. Though we have missed our Pepe, we will now miss you equally when Pepe returns to the gig in February (Criss Angel show is now gonna be dark Sundays and Mondays).

More shots...

Also in the house last night were esteemed industry guests Serena Henry, Air Supply drummer Mike Zerbe, Tom Fowler (Ray Charles, Frank Zappa, George Duke...), serial top hit songwriter Jimmy George, and some of the peeps from the electric string quartet Phat Strad. They have a new CD out.

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INAUGURAL BALL IN VEGAS NEXT TUESDAY

From the ad copy:

"THE PARTY FOR THE PEOPLE"

The Las Vegas Black Historical Society presents

"The Las Vegas Obama Inaugural Ball"
January 20,2009

The Plaza Hotel & Casino
Triple Crown Ballroom
1 Main Street
6:00 p.m.

This Black-tie Affair celebrates a once in a lifetime event and your chance to be a part of history in the making. Our gala event was designed with the people in mind. The same people who so greatly aided in the election of our 44th President, Barack Obama!! This is why our tickets are priced from $44.00. This is YOUR party.

Join us at 6:00 p.m. for cocktails and conversation where you will be meeting several Pioneering Blacks of Las Vegas. This is a special time for reminiscing, talking to old friends, meeting new ones, listening to good music, a celebration of fellowship!

Artist lineup:

Phil Flowers
Freda Payne
Genevieve
Bobby Rose
Tyriq Johnson

Also for your listening pleasure, the best of Las Vegas' Youth Groups and Choirs, Spoken Word, Magic and more......This array of talent will surely highlight this memorable night in American history.

Your admission also includes a serpentine buffet presented by the fabulous chefs of the Plaza Hotel and a complimentary collectable program souvenir book.

The upgraded seating also receive an Obama gift bag. Our VIP seating will also receive our special Obama gift bag and each table will have a Bottle of Champagne.

Click here for VIP Rates. Also at this event will be several assorted vendors featuring Obama and Martin Luther King memorabilia ...

For the remainder of your evening you can "Dance The Night Away" to our special guest star Las Vegas DJ!!! Yes this is the party for the people... JOIN US!!

Please visit our web site at:

www.lasvegasobamaball.com

This event is sponsored, in part, by:
The Ward 5 Chamber of Commerce,
Katherine Duncan, President

The Urban Voice Magazine
1240 West Owens Avenue, Suite 1
Uptown Las Vegas, Nevada 89106
(702) 646-2551
and
FLOWERS & FLOWERS ENTERTAINMENT

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LAS VEGAS JAZZ CONNECTION UPDATE

An email I just got from Carolyn Freeman:

Hi, Bobby,

Nathan and the LV Jazz Connection are off to Los Angeles. We are going to be at the Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave., LA 90034, Jan. 26th, 8:00 and 9:30. Bobby Shew and Tyia Wilson are both appearing with us. We are all very excited to get our first out of town gig.

Also, we are doing a mini concert locally at the Black Label, 3550 S Decatur, SE corner of Decatur and Spring Mountain, Jan. 17th, 2:00. Wanted to do a warm up for the band before LA. Would love to see you there.

- Carolyn Freeman

Check this video of the Spring Mt. Ranch concert I covered for the blog. Our own Nathan Tanouye conducting.


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