He will deny it until the bitter end, but for the record this is how it went down. While enjoying breakfast at one of the usual spots on a Saturday morning listening to This American Life, I get this text message:
Sebastien: Oh my, air supply playing in macau next week! I hyperventilating with excitement.
I replied thinking the show was sold out. Why I knew that or thought that, who knows. But later I checked and it was not sold out.
Sebastien: Alright, but i can only go on friday. Working sat night. That work?
Sebastien: If anyone finds out I tell them you forced me at gunpoint, holding hte gun sideways all LA gangsta style n shit yo!
We also discussed what to wear, and HE chose the 80s theme. So, on a Friday afternoon we hopped on the ferry and made the 1 hour journey to the legendary Macau.
It was raining. Real bad. But it didn't matter cause we picked up a deck of Uno cards at the ferry terminal.
The show was at the Sands Casino, and we were a bit early so we threw down. Long Island Ice teas and shots of jaeger for everyone!
But that was not the case for everyone. Let me tell you a little bit about Macau. It's considered the "Vegas of Asia" and brings in more money than Vegas and Atlantic City combined. There's an MGM Grand, a Wynn, and a Venetian that is the third largest building in the world. However, Macau does not embrace the lunacy that is Vegas. There is no strip, there is no kitch, just a lot of money and serious gamblers.
You will see there are no pictures inside the casinos, because you're not allowed to take any. We were also not allowed to wear our sunglasses, and Sebastien his hat. LAME.
So while everyone else was gambling, homeboy and I were enjoying our beverages at the bar (which was only occupied by a few others drinking TEA!) Occasionally some dancers came out, and we rocked out in our seats and everyone was staring at us like we were the entertainment. We must have looked like aliens to them.
The lobby of the theatre felt more like we were going to an opera. It was really stiff and kinda awkward cause no music was playing. We met an American couple from NYC who also seemed a bit stiff. We ran up to our seats which were the front row center of the upper deck. Behind us were a couple of chicks from Denver who were roaring with laughter at us the whole time.
I have to admit, it was arguably the best concert experience ever. I say that because it was really awkward and we made it so much fun. Other than the 6 of us Americans, everyone else was Chinese and painfully quiet. It was like watching a movie. They didn't even know when to clap. I think at first they were terribly annoyed by the dancing styles of Sebastien and I, but by the end of the the old dude next to me was rockin out and doing some lasso moves! We are the dance revolution!
The music was actually pretty great and I recommend Ultimate Air Supply if you don't have it. We got the whole two rows of the upper deck to rock out, and towards the end when Air Supply invited people to dance in the aisles, Sebastien took it as a personal invitation to go and dance at the front of the stage. It was badass.
This is weird writing with no pictures.
We were astonished at how much fun the show was, and as we cruised through the casino, moving to the beat of whatever music was playing, we found ourselves suddenly surrounded by security.
"You can't dance here."
We asked if it was ok to dance in the bar area, close to where the real dancers were, and they said, no, no dancing allowed at all. And we were shown to the "riffraff" exit. We didn't want to be in their uptight casino anyway, but the worst part was Sebastien lost his claim ticket for his umbrella. Lame again.
By this time we were wandering around aimlessly looking for food cause we were starving. On the hunt, we came across some broke down building with a bowling alley in the basement. The lights were off, and there were no attendants, so we decided to play one frame gratis.
After more aimless wandering, we decided to head to the Venetian.
It was pretty strange to see this massive structure virtually empty. Maybe it was because of the wicked rain, or maybe it's because Macau sucks! At this point we were delirious with hunger. Sebastien thought he saw a sign that said cookies and got all excited but it was for coaches.
We ended up at a monkey themed restaurant and the food kinda sucked. The grilled cheese that I ordered was not a grilled cheese, but whatever.
Refueled, it was time to gamble.
Once again, no pictures allowed in the casino. I knew I was over it when a server came by our black jack table with coke, water, and milk tea. I asked if I could have a cocktail, and she said she would have to ask the manager if it was ok.
After dropping a bit of money, we were kinda bored and tired and needed to kick it up a notch. After taking a recommendation from the concierge we headed to some club where the DJ wanted to borrow my glasses.
It was the kind of place where they go around giving you tequila shots in a test tube, but it was leagues more fun than the other places and we continued the dance revolution there for five more hours!
We exhausted all our best moves, got on the ferry and passed out listening to Chicago... which we dream will be our next Macau concert experience. Ran home in the rain, one umbrella down, when Sebastien commented the rain was so bad it will probably flood. I didn't think it was possible. But when I woke up to lots of noise around noon, looked out the window, and found my street was flooded a few feet high!
Final word on Macau: I didn't get to see any of the portugese architecture which probably would have been cool but other than that it's like Vegas... if you take ALL the fun out of it! If you go, plan on bringing the party yourself.
