Tomorrow

Tomorrow is Monday. I don't normally go to work on Mondays because I'm usually working Saturdays but Gaga was on a Friday and no one really cares that I drove to Riverside, CA to see Chris Botti on Saturday. Technically that wasn't really work so it's back to the grindstone. 

I don't mind though. Coming up on Sunday, April 3 is the Academy of Country Music Awards (ACMs) at the Grand Garden. ACMs come with some of the greatest people I've ever worked with. I'm not a fan of country music - at all - but they make this event so fun. Yes, it gets nuts and occasionally we butt heads but then have a good laugh at the end of the day. My friend Erick has the 2nd best laugh on the planet. (1st goes to Adam: you know you deserve it!) It kinda sounds like Barry White suffocating while moaning and inhaling, "AH, OH." Deliciously absurd. I love it. Nothing better than a laugh that makes you laugh.

I love this show for other reasons too. This was my first awards show I help construct operationally from the ground up. It's kind of like my baby, my legacy for when I leave the Grand Garden. I'm extremely proud of the relationships I've built with them and even more proud of the sustained friendships. That's what makes this job great, tolerable even. You can put up with douchebags in house for 24 hours or ridiculous clueless convention clients for shows like this. At the end of the year you just hope the good ones outweighed the bad ones. If they did you smile to yourself thinking of the memories. If they didn't you pat yourself on the back for not telling anyone to go fuck themselves... at least to their face.

And on that note, I think I'll call it a night. 

03.25.11 Lady Gaga @ MGM Grand Garden Arena - Las Vegas, NV

Lady Gaga

I'm not a big Lady Gaga fan. Much like country music, heavy metal, rap & hockey, I appreciate the genres but I'd never buy a ticket to see any of them. The beauty of my job is I get to see the inner workings of these events and have a deep appreciation for things other than just the music or sport.

Big Monster

Much like Bon Jovi, Gaga has a couple of early entry groups. One was a VIP Gold Hot Seat which was a ticket package that entitled them to a VIP room. The second group was the Little Monsters. They got to enter the floor 15 minutes before the general public to jockey for positioning along her stage. I had so much fun watching, interacting, tweeting, being entertained by these guys. The outfits ranged from jeans and a tee to full blown costumes. I admire the commitment and bravery it takes to pull off some of this. For me, simply diverging from my traditional black Talbots is what I consider fearless.

Best people watching all year

The production team Gaga had was stellar. Yes, we had challenges throughout the day but they didn't freak out. They treat us with respect and get the fact that they're 'in our house' and work with us as a team to accomplish the same goal. That doesn't always happen. More often that not we get the I'm-gonna-get-what-I-want-by-being-an-asshole attitude. Either way the job gets done but it's so much more fun when you work with people who 'get it.' And the people who aren't assholes get what they want a whole lot faster than those who are.

DJ opener

Gaga has a female DJ to kind of warm up the crowd. I caught her enough to take a quick pic. Reminds me of a rave club DJ, not that I've ever been to one. The crowd was still trickling in. Aside from the early entry, the arena was only about 1/2 full.

Opening for Gaga around 8.30ish was Scissor Sisters. Admittedly I've never heard of them but prior to the show started following them on Twitter. I'm actually bummed I missed them because judging by their interactions with fans on Twitter, I might have enjoyed it. I was dealing with typical fight night stuff: handling guests, managing employee gripes, taking care of VIPs (or people who think they're VIPs and aren't but I don't have the heart to tell them they're not) and hanging with the crew.

Gaga appears

Gaga hit the stage around 9.45p, late. But she hit with flair. Her show is a mish-mash of your typical concert, theatre, broadway & performance art. I know everyone compares her to Madonna but when you see her show it's hard not to. And I don't think that's a bad thing. She is ripped like an athlete, dances like a stripper on a pole and sings the crap out of her songs. I only caught about 4 songs but liked what I saw. The energy from the crowd was definitely helping the overall vibe. The Little Monsters love their leader.

GA floor

The show is a GA floor meaning: no seats, everyone stood. I used to hate shows like this but I'm growing fonder of them. Security hates them because when there is a problem it's so hard to get to it quickly. And because people are drinking and standing in close proximity for such long periods of time, people always pass out. But what's cool for me on GA floor shows is we create 'moats' on both sides of the floor. Kinda like safety corrals so we have unobstructed lanes from the back of the arena all the way up to stage right and left. I love these lanes because I can move around the floor quickly without bumping into people.

Virgin Moble m&g winner

It's no surprise to anyone that Gaga is extremely pro-GLBT. She does a gag in her show where she calls an audience member from her (tour sponsored Virgin Mobile) phone. It's actually kinda cool. His phone rings, spotlight hits him, his face hits the screens and he freaks out. It was actually really heartwarming. He was so excited he started to cry. "I am here because of you. This is why we all love you Gaga!" I think he was from Brazil. He was so adorable. He got to be a part of the meet & greet after the show.

I had pre-arranged with the tour rep to have my meet & greet guests escorted stage right after Paparazzi. From there they'd watch the final 2 songs and be brought backstage immediately. If you've never been stage right or left for a major concert, it's kinda cool. The sight lines are awful and it's just full of production people but it makes you feel kinda special.

Kids waiting for Gaga m&g

I was in the middle of dealing with a guest so I hustled backstage to meet up with them after the show. I had 1 Japanese couple who just got married and 2 girls who's daddy was a player. They were all adorable. This meet & greet was approved at the last minute so none of them knew it was happening until they arrived. The bride didn't even have anything for Gaga to sign so she had her sign her purse. In all honesty, if our casino thought it was important enough to get her into it, she could afford to buy a new one. The 2 girls were about 18 and very sweet. From Oklahoma I think. Somewhere in the south. Thick accent. The newlyweds and teenage girls were the 2nd & 3rd groups to meet Gaga. The first was the Virgin Mobile winner. He was even cuter in person. It's amazing what an effect Gaga has on these kid's lives. She gives them hope thru music. Being gay now isn't what it was 30 years ago. We've come a long way but it still can't be easy in some communities. The never ending bullying and self-destruction is devastating to so many kids and families. It give me hope that someone like Gaga can inspire and truly tell these kids to hang in there. You were Born This Way and it's ok.

Paparazzi (actually legit press)
waiting for escort to shoot show

After my guests did the meet & greet we started to walk out of the dressing room hallway when the tour rep called out my name. He wanted them to hang out because Gaga wanted to give them some bracelets. They were just those rubber things a la Lance Armstrong but the fact that she didn't want them to leave without giving them something was really insightful to me. She wasn't just going thru the motions of the pics and autographs. I've seen enough of them to know. She was actually looking AT these kids. Powerful stuff for a petite thing who wears meat.

I'm still not a big fan of her music but I'm a huge fan of her message. Well done Lady Gaga. Well done.

For more (terrible) pics from my (terrible) work BlackBerry camera head to my Facebook Gaga pic page.

Set List
Dance In The Dark
Glitter And Grease
Just Dance
Beautiful, Dirty, Rich
The Fame
Love Game
Boys Boys Boys
Money Honey
Telephone
You And I
Monster
Teeth
Alejandro
Pokerface
Paparazzi
Bad Romance
Born This Way

Born This Way

I'm headed to my next Chris Botti show on Saturday. It's in Riverside, CA - short jaunt from Vegas. Just what I need to recharge my emotional batteries before the true madness of the Academy of Country Music Awards starts next week. But before then comes Lady Gaga on Friday. Her new single Born This Way is #1 on Billboard and #1 on Top 40. 

She's been to the Grand Garden Arena before. Last August I think. I didn't get to see much of that show because there was lots of patron drama throughout so I vowed this time I'd try and take in as much as I could. Last time I got stuck talking down a bi-polar mad woman who may or may not have been doped up on something, or maybe she wasn't doped up on something and that was the problem. It was exhausting but part of the job. Unfortunately that lasted for over an hour before security dragged her away. I felt bad for the first 30 minutes she pleaded her case to me why she should be allowed back into the arena after being kicked out and I actually was sympathetic and tried to help her, but by minute 31 I was ready to be done with it. I love me some Botti but I'm never going to pitch a tantrum and bawl my head off because I didn't get to see him or threaten harm to myself or others if he doesn't get my personal message. It's when you witness the desperation and true fanaticism that you start to feel for celebrities. I get that they shouldn't bitch that every toilet seat they sit on isn't a new factory sealed one but no one deserves to be hunted by crazies. 

People come out of the woodwork when the arena has high-demand, high-calibre artists. Not only friends, business associates & acquaintances asking for hookups but employees who give every excuse in the book why they need to be at this show. It's comical. There's a page on Facebook literally called I hate people that only call me for free tickets. Close to 31,000 people like it. There's nothing more annoying than getting a text or DM from someone you haven't spoken to in ages asking for a hook up. 

I hope to do a full blog on Gaga just like the past couple of shows. So hang up the Telephone, put on your Poker Face, tell all the Boys Boys Boys that you're Starstruck & Speechless but oh So Happy I Could Die. Tell Alejandro & the Summerboy you're done with the LoveGame & the Bad Romance and that you're gonna Live Your Life making Money Honey, just Chillin. And with that Eh, Eh Nothing Else I Can Say. 

I Need A Dollar

My friend Beth, Hopcraft & me

Today was a lazy day. Woke up late, tweeted for a bit, opened the blinds and laid in bed with the dog while the sun hit our faces. At some point he nudged my hand with his snout as if to say, "Hey fat ass. Get up and take me for a walk." So we did. It was chilly for the first day of spring but I like it crisp. George Bennett didn't mind either. 

I managed to shower and go get a haircut and pedicure. I told myself I could treat myself to the pedicure but only if I went grocery shopping afterwards. I absolutely loathe that pedestrian task. I know, I know. I should be grateful for the luxury, and I am. Doesn't mean I'm going to stop bitching about it. Aside from the actual act of picking out the provisions I think the part that irritates me more is knowing that I have to actually DO something with it when I get home. Cook. Or more accurately, prepare. I don't really cook. For the past several months my idea of cooking consists of chopping chives, green, red & yellow peppers, carrots and ham into little bits, throwing that all into a big bowl with spinach, some fresh pepper, dill and parmesan with a drizzle of vinaigrette. Sounds lovely and it looks nice but after eating 100 bowls of it, it gets old. If someone wired $15 million into my account the first thing I'd get is a personal chef. No question.

While chopping those vegis today I listened to a great new artist named Aloe Blacc (@aloeblacc). I was turned onto him from a tweet from the Cosmopolitan (@Cosmopolitan_LV). They're the new hot Vegas property. I know I shouldn't give props to a non-MGM Resorts International hotel but you can't deny the truth. They are tremendously smart about using social networking sites and they're doing all the right things to create a buzz and attract the right people to their hotel. I still haven't been there but I hope to take M to STK (if things go well). Even if they don't go well I owe Chef Hopcraft a drive-by. He's been at STK (@STKLasVegas) for over 4 months and I have yet to see him in his new digs. He used to be the Executive Chef at my Happy Place, Seablue (@SeablueLV) before he defected to where the beautiful people play. I love that kid. He's the kind of guy you want at your party. He's not the life of the party, he IS the party. Some of my favorite memories are after hours at Seablue with him at the bar shooting back tequila, sneaking a couple cigs. 

I Need A Dollar so back to the grind tomorrow. Lady Gaga is on Friday. Her production team is so cool to work with and her fans are crazy-fun so I'm looking forward to that show. Plus it's on a Friday so I'll have a rare 'normal' weekend off. Bonus.