Shawn Mendes closed out his arena tour at the end of August at the Arena at Mohegan Sun.  I had bought a ticket near the back of one of the sections and they actually ended up sitting me on the ADA platform which probably worked out better for me, being able to see and not having to stand at all – especially after my back had been hurting from all the brother band shows in a row 😉  

Upon entering, we were given a bracelet that we were told to turn on before Shawn got on stage because it would blink along with his music.  This was definitely the highlight of the night for me.

Alessia Cara opened, which was a big reason I decided to go – I love her songs on the radio! She had a ton of energy and was a lot of fun and a lot of positivity! 

Shawn had 2 stages –  I was just about in the middle of both.  Except he never really seemed to face my side when he was on the B-Stage – which also included a giant white rose that moved up and down depending on which stage he was on.  He also had his back to me whenever he played piano on either stage so that was a bit of a disappointment.

And if I thought Alessia had a lot of energy – Shawn tired me out running all around the stage (usually with a guitar strapped to his back) after just a couple of songs! The whole crowd blinking and showing different colors on their wrists definitely was a sight to see. I really wish that the bracelets could be used again (They had a recycle bin on the way out for them, which I didn’t end up using as I was too busy being felt up by a young girl who clearly had no idea what she was doing as she ran out passed me and then ran by me again in the opposite direction as I was trying to exit and not be assaulted.) because they are really cool! But only would work if the whole venue was in on it.  Much more fun than cell phone flashlights, I think! You can get colors and blinking – to the beat! 

Overall I was very impressed with Shawn and kind of wished I had gone to the show the night before too.  Ahh well, next time! I just wish that the parents at the casino didn’t make a human wall trying to find their children when it is time to exit.  Some of us want to just get back to the casino and try to win some money from a Panda… (I didn’t win this time.)

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I was supposed to see Ben Folds at Mohegan Sun a couple years back but due to bad weather wasn’t able to make it. When my friend told me she could get us some free tickets to the upcoming show (and tour kick off!) I jumped at the opportunity to see Ben again. We had some decent floor seats for the show. Savannah Conley opened the show and played just her and her guitars for about 20 minutes. Violent Femmes was up next. I felt like this was sort of a weird pairing for a tour but the crowd seemed into it and it was a lot of fun to watch all the people slowly jump up and start dancing as their set progressed. They definitely had some interesting instruments on stage – a huge giant saxophone like thing (sorry I don’t know what it’s actually called) that was taller than the guy playing it and a grill that was being used as a drum. Ben’s backup band had some interesting instruments as well – a cello, no bass guitar but a bass harmonica? And the drums were a tiny version with no bass drum he said because they had no bass guitar. Three songs into the set, Ben said they decided that Mohegan Sun needed a jingle so they wrote one backstage and played it, it was basically just the band jamming out and singing “Mohegan Sun, yall!” I thought this may be something they did every night but the other setlists I looked at after this show don’t note it, if they did! Ben’s set was incredibly entertaining and he ended with the audience singing 3 part harmony. I thought it was a great way to end it, though the audience wanted more and even once the house lights went back on no one wanted to leave just yet!

The reason for my trip to Vegas was to see Robbie Williams, I have loved him since about 2000 but he hardly ever comes to the states and I had vowed that if he ever did a show here I’d have to see him. My friend Myka felt the same way, so when he announced his residency and there were dates that would work out, I snagged us some tickets (and commemorative tickets as well!) and we started planning the trip!

I had bought the back catalog of all of the CDs I didn’t have yet, and had this big plan to do reviews and “The Road to Robbie” posts and then ended up never having a chance to listen to any of them (damn Grad School)  I also didn’t end up looking at any spoilers of the setlist or hardly any photos at all and went into the show completely blind.

Turns out I didn’t have to do any of the back catalog listening because the majority of the songs were covers and the few he did that were originals, I already knew. The show was everything that a Vegas show should be – it started off as a spectacle from the get go – with show girls passing out candy and posing for photos with the “Robbie Live in Las Vegas” sign. Mimes in his face paint. And my favorite – bell boy running around with “SPECIAL DELIVERIES FOR MR ROBBIE WILLIAMS” – giant candies, knickers (ONE SIZE FITS ALL!), big gay balloons and fan mail.  He had 8 dancers and a backing band and even had his father come out and do a couple of numbers with him.

This honestly was one of the best shows I had ever gone to and I was kind of bummed that I was only going to see it once – I kind of want to see it every night.  He did tease he may do a “pointless North American tour” and while most Americans don’t know who he is (a lot of international accents in the audience!) I do hope that he comes by a bit more often if he can! (Or maybe I just need to get myself to England to see him?)