Sunday, May 23, 2004

Jazz in the Park

After a week of solid work (my first sitting in an office in years) we relaxed some yesterday. Went to the evening's Jazz in the Park and enjoyed the beautiful weather and listened to some music.
The LV Parks & Recreation put on a series of free concerts in the Spring. We attended some last year and really enjoyed the events. They are held at the County Center, close to downtown. Starting at 8 and usually for two hours or so. Some pretty good presentations. Last night was a big band, that filled the area with music. I took some pictures when we arrived, but most of the music was after dark and we just listened.

You bring your own chair or blanket, and sit on the grass with your cooler of whatever and food. Most people did bring along refreshments of choice. As you can see, it's near the Stratosphere, that tall symbol that we can see from almost anywhere in the valley. The weather was great - it started out at 84F, with southwest winds gusting 15 to 25, and humidity of 20%. The woman in front of us started with a backless halter top, when the music started she put on her sweatshirt top, and by intermission she was wrapped in a blanket. You can see her shoulder at the very left in the above picture. It probably was down to 78F by then, and she was cold. Must have been a local that was ready for the warm summer weather.
The County center is an interesting building.

Made of brick and stone, it's rather positively a southwest image.
We had some friends visit a few weeks back, and took them to see Viva Las Vegas at the Stratosphere. It's an old style Vegas show, with a singer, magician, comedians and dancers. There were five dancers, and looked to be topless. I don't mean unclothed, I mean girls that get dancing jobs at shows like this one can't usually afford plastic surgeons to get the enhancement they need for big time topless evening shows. They were still attractive. It's nice to be in a town with enough shows that almost everyone can get a job, even without talent. The comedians were real old time - jokes right out of the 50's. This show has been playing for 12 years, probably with the same comedians and the same jokes. With a coupon you get a free drink - I did a coke, but for a few dollars more you get a fancy thing in a fancy glass.

Well, it's really a plastic cup about two feet tall that looks like the building. The straw even imitates the roller coaster on the top, and the red light bar too. I thought it pretty tacky - you can see everyone leaving, and walking down the strip holding these. Most of the large casinos have a 'signature' drink that they serve in a plastic cup that looks like their building or emblem. Paris has two - an Eiffel Tower and a Balloon. It's not legal to walk down the street and drink, like in Nawlins, but there aren't many cops on the strip, and they don't seem to care.
I said the weather has been great recently. The upcoming week looks to be fine - high in the upper 80's, low at night around 65. Winds - last night was really blowing - and some clouds. A nice May to lead us into the summer. Had a great sunset a few nights ago -

I really liked the cloud, shows winds out of the west. Taken from my back yard looking towards the back, which is west, yes.

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