After a last minute aborted trip to Vegas a few years ago due to a system issue that my manager at that time decided to make me stay to handle, it has been a place that Sharon has been yearning to visit.

Finally this year, amidst the release of the new operating system, the system was stable enough to allow me to finally be gone for Vegas. And so we did…

We stayed at New York, New York, a pretty busy place that er… resembled New York… the room itself was fine, though the hotel did place us into a room that need a long and winding road before we reach it.

The weather was almost kind to us, except the Friday where it was over 110/43 degrees, and we felt that we were walking around in a open-air sauna.

We watched two Cirque du Soleil shows, namely O at the Bellagio, and The Beatles – Love at the Mirage. O was simply breathtaking and it was amazement after amazement from the beginning till the end, where the performers were greeted with a standing ovation. I don’t want to point to any spoilers, except to say that it’s worth a trip to Vegas just to watch it!

Having been so impressed with O, and with decades of admiration on The Beatles’ work, i was tempted to watch Love too. Sharon was kind enough to arrange for a summer promotional ticket price, and there we went!

The Love show was pretty entertaining, and tears of joy came down my cheek when i get to experience the Beatles’ music in such an arena. The show wasn’t as amazing as O, but i see it as a celebration of the love that fans all over the world have for this great band.

At the Mirage, prior to the show, we went to our first pub together in USA, the Revolution, based off the Beatles’ song. It was constantly playing songs from the band, and video clips of past media shows… a great little place.

There were some really nice touches, of audio clips of the band and some nice interpretation of their music. I totally enjoyed it, though i also feel that it could have been much better.

The son of George Martin remixed the music, but it wasn’t as good as DJ Dangermouse’s seminal work on The White Album+Jay Z’s Black Album (The Grey Album), nor a bootleg megamix that i’ve enjoyed in the past. Perhaps they already have plans for a sequel later..

I also bought a bag, and a notebook, both based on the Abbey Road album. They were the only ones that i can afford after these two shows!

Since Sharon has been away from Singapore for so long, it was actually a good way for me to explain the increase in people that i’ve experienced in Singapore along the Strip. It was that crowded at all times.

Other than the Strip’s craziness, we did a small detour to the Red Rock canyon. That was a good breather! Phew…

Now..it’s time to plan for Tokyo and Singapore near the end of the year!