I had two more free buffet passes plus a buy-one-get-one-free for the Gold Coast buffet so I went there on Saturday night with Cherise, Mandy, Spencer, and Kiefer. Five people and only one of us had to pay! Gotta love all the free crap you get in this town. I got a bottle of Foxhorn merlot which I think is now my favorite wine, but alas I've been unable to find it in Smiths, Vons, or Albertsons. It's good to know that it's always available at the Gold Coast buffet, although probably at a pretty steep markup. I really want to get some to enjoy at home, so I'll probably make a trip to Lee's Discount Liquor because they're bound to have it somewhere in their extensive selection.The buffet was good as always, and this time it was not seafood night which was good because I'm not a big fan of eating seafood from a buffet. It's also nice not having to watch people stuff their fat faces with crab legs. Mandy and Spencer (and Keifer for that matter) don't drink wine so I had about 3/4 of it and Cherise had the rest. I was feeling pretty good by the end of the meal when we seperated with the Farstads and then Cherise and I took the free shuttle bus down to the strip and started walking to Venetian where Cherise had two free tickets to see Blue Man Group courtesy of the company. We stopped at O'Sheas on the way to get out 2 for 1 beers at the Dublin' Up bar but that place was completely packed and music was blasting so we skipped it. Next we went into Harrah's and after some wandering found Toby Keith's "I Love This Bar & Grille" which I had another 2 for 1 drink coupon for. The country music was a-blastin' and there were even some folks doin' some line dancin' out on the dance floor, but I couldn't tell if they was doin' the two step or the East coast swing...
Finally we made it to Venetian and stopped in front of Tao to see if perhaps my landlord was working, but we were quickly ushered away by a large black man who was obviously in charge of making sure the riff-raff didn't get too close. So we headed into the Blue Man theater and down to our seats which were in the 5th row, just a couple rows behind the people who were in the "splash zone" and covered in protective plastic. This is actually the 4th time I've seen BMG, and the third time I've seen it in Vegas. I really love the show and I don't think I'll ever get sick of seeing it. This time was memorable because we actually got to be part of the show! As we were sitting there waiting for it to start we were approached by a man who asked us if we had ever seen the show before and if we'd like to help them out with something. I thought he was going to ask one of us to go up on stage and with my crippling shyness there was no way in hell I wanted to do that, so I started to say no, but then he said we'd be helping out with the "late arrivals" thing. I had to think for a second but then it finally sunk in. In every show there's a point at which some "late" audience members arrive for the show, and as they are walking to their seats the entire show stops and a huge spotlight shines on them. Not only that, but they are put on a huge video screen on the stage which flashes a huge sign saying "LATE ARRIVALS!" The entire audience then laughs at the poor embarrassed people.
I never knew if this was real of part of the show, but now it's clear that the people are pre-chosen because on Saturday night we were those people! The guy took us from out seats and led us to the back of the theater where we were seated behind everybody so that nobody could see us. He then left us and told us an usher would come get us when it was time. Cherise had no idea what was going on and didn't want me to tell her. I was nervous as hell and regretting my choice to accept as each minute went by. Finally about 15 minutes into the show an usher came and grabbed us. He took us down to the floor where it was pretty dark and we stood in the entranceway for a few minutes, and then all of a sudden the show stopped, the lights started flashing, and the Blue Men stopped and stared. The usher started leading us to our seats, and after a few seconds I guess the audience caught on to what was happening and started erupting in laughter. I was trying to hold myself together by just walking and staring at the floor. When I did look up I saw our big fat faces right there on the massive video screen for all to see. What a strange feeling....... Finally the excitement died down and they went back to their show as I tried to melt into my seat.
So I've seen the show four times but I can say that this was definitely a first! For those who have never seen the show, sorry if I just spoiled one of the "secrets" for you!
