My merry obsession with the Beatles has been well documented, both here and on Facebook.  Here's a new twist to it.  Mr. Smith discovered on Thursday that The Fab Four, a Beatles tribute band that performs regularly in Vegas, was playing the BeatLeukemiaBall (a fund raiser for leukeima research) on Saturday night.  Tickets for the dinner were crazy expensive, but tickets to just the performance were reasonable (what you would pay for a live show, and it benefited charity, so, cool!).  On top of that, it was a black tie affair.  Score!  We decided to go and make a spectacular evening of it. 

First, there was the matter of a tux for Mr. Smith.  I've never seen Mr. Smith in a tux, so I was all for this concept.  I wore the gorgeous red dress that I bought for Rod and Jeni's wedding.  Dinner at Pappas Bros. Steakhouse was amazing!  They really know how to pamper guests, and the food is beyond compare.  We talked to the couple at the table next to us who were celebrating their 22nd wedding anniversary (awww!).  They were Beatles fans too and were very curious about what we were doing given that we were easily the most dressed up people in the restaurant.

Then came the trip to the ball.  I've never seen The Fab Four before but had heard that they are very good at what they do, which was absolutely true!  We danced all night to one Beatles hit after another - Baby You Can Drive My Car, Hard Day's Night, Saw Her Standing There, Yesterday, Back in the U.S.S.R., Sgt Pepper's, When I'm Sixty Four - it just went on and on.  They did 3 costumes - early Beatles, Sgt. Pepper, and late Beatles.  "John" of course did Imagine by himself.  The poor chaps didn't really fit the early Beatles (I think they're a bit old for that), but they nailed both of the other periods.  And they sounded damn near perfect.

The thing I think may have been funniest is that John was probably rolling over in his grave!  Here's all these people in swank clothes, many of them very wealthy (judging by the prices for the tables), and they're dancing around and singing "Revolution" at the top of their lungs.  <giggle> 

Needless to say, I screamed as loud or louder than anyone, and today, my lungs are letting me know that was a mistake.  But it was so worth it.  The evening was damn near perfect.  And Mr. Smith looked smashing in his tux! 

So, I've listened to my 3 Beatles CDs all week. Abbey Road remains my fav of the 3, followed by Sgt. Pepper's, then Help! Oddly enough, G recorded Hard Day's Night and Help! earlier this month when VH1 was playing them, so tonight we watched both of them. They're funny and silly, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching them (though Help! was a little long). In the movies, they all seem so happy, they look like they're just having a blast. Every time they show Ringo playing drums, he's just grinning like a little kid. John was far more of a goofball than I expected. They also came across as being very charming. So I'm happy that I got to watch them.

Next up: the white album and Revolver - those are the 2 that have been suggested the most. I've been really surprised at the responses I've received from people about the Beatles, but more on that later. G is waiting on me, and it's late.

Thoughts on Las Vegas:

• The Deuce (the bus that runs up and down the Strip) is great and well worth the cost of the ticket.  However, it's a good idea to walk as much as possible in an attempt to pretend that you can work off all the extra calories you're going to ingest while on vacation!
• Mandalay Bay is a nice hotel, but the tram that runs to Luxor and Excalibur was down about a quarter of the time we were there, including midnight after a show when I was in heels.  Unacceptable.  I won't be staying there again.
• I believe that, since Vegas is less crowded during the week, there will be less smoke during the week.  Therefore, when I go back, I think I'll try to make it a nonweekend trip.
• I will always check the taxi for smoke before entering and insist on a different taxi if there is evidence of smoke (I learned a tough lesson this time).
• I'd forgotten just how scary it can be to wake up to an asthma attack.  I don't want to do that again.
• It's no fun to sit out for most of a day b/c of asthma.  But it does force downtime, which is not entirely a bad thing on vacation.
• "Love", the Cirque du Soleil Beatles show, is IMHO absolutely their best show.  I will undoubtedly see it again.
• It's good to hang out with friends.  It's good to make new friends. 
• The generosity of some people amazes me. 
• Glenn is a sweetie who takes good care of me.  I'm a lucky girl!
• While I love the styles at Bettie Page, they use crappy material for some of their dresses, which sucks given how expensive they are.  And yet, I have two new dresses - W00T!
• Why is it that I can't seem to adjust back to Dallas time, even though I'm exhausted?  That's not right. 
• Always, always, always make dinner reservations if going somewhere fancier than a fast food joint.  And allow more time than you think you need to get there and back.