I took a trip to Las Vegas a couple weeks ago, for the Rock in Rio USA festival. I went to the pop weekend, because I'm a big Taylor Swift fan. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see the first American show of the 1989 World Tour, plus take a solo trip to Vegas. I used to have an aunt and cousin who lived in Vegas, so I've been there a bunch of times with my dad, but never by myself.
The first day, I saw Charli XCX, Echosmith, Ed Sheeran, and Taylor Swift. I'd seen Sheeran before, because he opened on Swift's last tour. He's really fun to watch, and his set was really good. And Swift was great too. She played almost all of 1989, which is a fantastic album, and only three old songs (plus part of a fourth, "Enchanted," in a mash-up with "Wildest Dreams"). I think it's interesting that Swift seems to have almost no interest in the past-- she's always moving forward. And the songs that she still feels compelled to play-- "Love Story," "I Knew You Were Trouble," and "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"-- are dramatically rearranged. So she's still making them new.
The second day, I saw Empire of the Sun, who I'd never heard of before, but enjoyed a lot, plus Joss Stone, part of John Legend's set, and Bruno Mars. I wasn't too impressed by Mars. I like his music, but his live show just doesn't do a lot for me. It's like he doesn't quite have enough material for a headlining show, so he uses some filler to pad-out the set list. And it kind of shows. But I knew going in that all the acts I really wanted to see were on the first day. Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran made the trip worthwhile, so everything else was just a bonus.
A few months after I booked my trip, I learned that the Billboard Awards were going to be in town while I was there, so I decided to get a ticket to that too. I figured, how often do I get to attend an awards show? And I'm glad I went. I mean, the highlights for me, just like at Rock in Rio, were the things that Swift and Sheeran did. Am I obsessed? Yeah, kind of, right now. But it was cool to see Kanye West too. I know a lot of the crowd booed him, which doesn't make sense to me, but I was glad to see him. I saw him open for U2 back in 2005, but he's done some great stuff since then. I'd like to see him live again someday.
...So yeah, this was a really good trip. Since I was by myself, I was able to decide where I was going, when I was going, and all of that. Yeah, it probably would have been more fun if I had a buddy (or a girlfriend) to go with me, but not everyone has the free-time I have. And the trip was kind of expensive. Like, $1100, not counting meals and gambling. So not super expensive, but that's pretty expensive for me. I got a second job right around the time I decided to go (which was October of last year), so I just put aside all of the money from my new job until the trip was paid for. I figured, I'm not used to having that extra money anyway, so I won't miss it a while longer.
Anyway, part of the excitement of going by myself, I guess, was the idea that maybe I'd meet someone there. Either, like, a festival weekend hookup, or even just another solo traveler who felt like hanging out and enjoying the scene together. I don't know, maybe that kind of thing only happens in movies. If it happens in real life, it doesn't happen in my life. Tinder was totally dead. I guess I assumed a music festival being in town-- besides the normal party/tourist crowd in Vegas-- might help me get more matches. Wishful thinking, I guess.
Of course, there were a ton of cute girls all around me at the festival too, but... well, approaching people is hard for me. For one thing, everyone seems to travel in groups. Or pairs, at least. It's awkward to try to single someone out from a group. And kind of rude, actually. And I know that girls are there to enjoy the music, not get hit on by some creepy old guy. (At 34, I don't usually feel old... but God damn, I feel ancient when I think about meeting a girl. Like "Holy shit, you're 34? And you're not married?")
I'm probably too nice for my own good. And I think too damn much. I'm not usually a drinker, but I made a resolution to have a few drinks on this vacation, to try to loosen myself up. I guess I didn't drink enough. I did have a chocolate-coconut martini at the New York New York. It was a good idea, but I think I discovered that I don't really like vodka at all. It got harder to swallow the more I drank. Oh well. I drank enough to get my $12 worth.
I ended up rambling a lot here, but I guess that's kind of why I sat down to write this. I needed to ramble somewhere; and I don't feel comfortable writing about the relationship stuff on my public Facebook page. So I spill my guts to strangers. Ah, the wonder of the Internet. =)