Friday night we went out to see Liam Sullivan perform at the House of Blues in the Mandalay Bay. You may also know Liam as Kelly the girl obsessed with shoes. For the SO and I it was the first time seeing Liam perform live. She had not seen any of the videos on the web so it was a new experience for her. The opening comedian was especially funny, and a Vegas local. Being a long time fan I was delighted to see the new video for "Let me Borrow that Top." Which has not been released publicly yet.
The venue itself was beautiful, and was a joy to look at. Accousticly it was right on, and security was tight but polite. The drink prices were a little steep ($9.75 for a Bud Light and a Diet Pepsi), but not too crazy when you add the "concert venue tax," and the "Vegas strip when you are not gambling tax." Ticket master was a beast as to be expected. The $15 show tickets for center of the house seemed to be unbelievable. By the time the tickets were actually purchased they ran about $27 each with new fees added each time we clicked on a screen. The will-call window was not seperate and so we also had to wait in line behind two girls who had brought the two windows to a halt either for leering or trying to decipher what they wanted. 
In order to try to cut the line, we decided to eat at the House of Blues as well. The venue was beautifully decorated with folk art, visages of great blues artists, and homages to the past. It turned out the "skipping the line," was unnecessary. We wish we had known that however. Service at the HOB, for those in the "know," was sluggish. We had to ask for our check early to make sure that we could make it to the show on time. The medium well grilled flatiron steak sandwich was served at most medium-raw, without enough time to correct the error by the time it arrived. We muddled through and it was still a decent burger with the garlic aoli and ciabatta bread making the sandwich worthwhile. My SO opted for the "Crispy Catfish Nuggets," but found it to be too gamey to be palatable. She did however go crazy for the sweet potatoe fries and spicy tartar sauce. Perhaps our experience was biased since when we rushed to leave I found my pants stuck to the chair. A large wad of green gum had been placed there by a previous patron. An ice cube managed to solve the problem, and management was quick to offer to pay for cleaning or replacement for the slacks. 
The casino floor itself was large and open. We watched several people hit some large bonus rounds, and hit a few ourselves. For a stip casino, the slots seemed to be rather decent with the payout percentage. It was crowded, both before dinner and the show and afterwards. The crowd seemed fairly young demographically, and quite energetic. We only stayed for a short while, but will do more exploring later.
Perhaps the only shortcoming of the show was that there were too many videos shown that you could have seen on the web. The DVD's menu options being visible on the screen and the DVD for sale afterwards not being the most discreet thing in the world- whatever happened to suspension of disbelief? The difference is when you watch them on the web you are normally the only one in the room. Watching the video with a roomfull of people who can sing the "Shoe" song along with you is a very different experience. I know that when you are with a group you are more likely to laugh, and this was no exception. Regardless, we wanted to see more of Liam and more of Kelly live. Rachael Lawrence made a suprise appearance toward the end of the show. I was hoping to see her and Liam sing their "Relationshit" song, but was not disappointed in her cameo.
It was great to see the loyal cult following. From the model bear couple who had custom printed tees especially for the event, to the group in front of me that had made their own home-made tees that advertised for Cunningham's "Isreal-Palestinian Conflict Muffins," this was a show for the fans. There was even a mother who brought her three daughters, and a large sign that said, "WE LOVE KELLY!" spelled out in glitter paint. The fans were not disappointed either.
If there were any two things that stood out it was the desire to see more live material in a live venue, and to have a tighter show. I know that Liam is primarily a television and video actor, and so this might have been the reason for it. Normally a show that starts at 7:30 should start at 7:30. Holding the house for half an hour can be expected if you want to make sure every seat is filled, and perhaps people in Vegas normally arrive late. The show did not start until after 8:30 and had a few technical glitches that could have been fixed by stronger management or tech. I also understand it was the first time on the road, and so that may be a big part of the problem. Other than that it was an enjoyable time and something I would definitely encourage others to go an see.
The venue itself was beautiful, and was a joy to look at. Accousticly it was right on, and security was tight but polite. The drink prices were a little steep ($9.75 for a Bud Light and a Diet Pepsi), but not too crazy when you add the "concert venue tax," and the "Vegas strip when you are not gambling tax." Ticket master was a beast as to be expected. The $15 show tickets for center of the house seemed to be unbelievable. By the time the tickets were actually purchased they ran about $27 each with new fees added each time we clicked on a screen. The will-call window was not seperate and so we also had to wait in line behind two girls who had brought the two windows to a halt either for leering or trying to decipher what they wanted. In order to try to cut the line, we decided to eat at the House of Blues as well. The venue was beautifully decorated with folk art, visages of great blues artists, and homages to the past. It turned out the "skipping the line," was unnecessary. We wish we had known that however. Service at the HOB, for those in the "know," was sluggish. We had to ask for our check early to make sure that we could make it to the show on time. The medium well grilled flatiron steak sandwich was served at most medium-raw, without enough time to correct the error by the time it arrived. We muddled through and it was still a decent burger with the garlic aoli and ciabatta bread making the sandwich worthwhile. My SO opted for the "Crispy Catfish Nuggets," but found it to be too gamey to be palatable. She did however go crazy for the sweet potatoe fries and spicy tartar sauce. Perhaps our experience was biased since when we rushed to leave I found my pants stuck to the chair. A large wad of green gum had been placed there by a previous patron. An ice cube managed to solve the problem, and management was quick to offer to pay for cleaning or replacement for the slacks. The casino floor itself was large and open. We watched several people hit some large bonus rounds, and hit a few ourselves. For a stip casino, the slots seemed to be rather decent with the payout percentage. It was crowded, both before dinner and the show and afterwards. The crowd seemed fairly young demographically, and quite energetic. We only stayed for a short while, but will do more exploring later.
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