I got perked-up when I saw Blues & Brews was returning to the Colorado Belle
for Easter Weekend. It was dubbed the Ninth Annual, although Marnell-Sher did
not do a Eighth Annual in the traditional end of September weekend.
I burned-up my Pioneer birthday offer to book weekend nights to go with my
usual Pioneer Getaway Nights. Julie at the front desk always takes care of me
and gets me my room keys before lunch for a room on the backside of the good
rooms.
The set-up in the parking lot for the event was the usual arrangement. The
stage faced west in the slanting parking lot. Camoflauge netting cut down the
sun's glare. Rows of tables and folding chairs provided seating. Booths
surounding provided food and beverage, if needed.
This was a true parlay weekend. I signed-up for the Golden Nugget "Slam
Dunk" Blackjack Tourneys. I did one tourney on Thursday starting with the 9am
first round. The plan was to see Chris Hiatt in Kokopelli's Lounge at the
Edgewater that night, which was kicking off the B & B events. I didn't make it.
Nine O'clock is too late on a school night. Actually, I was signed-up for a
Friday 9am session and had a long day already. I thought Chris Hiatt was
headlining at EW all weekend. Turned out I was wrong.
Friday arrived with just beautiful weather. I had another close chance to
advance in the tourney, but had to rebuy for 12:15pm. I pulled out all the
stops in my fourth attempt splitting my tens on the last hand and got into the
semi-finals at 2pm. A push by another player, I had "the low", beat me out of
advancing into the Finals/Money round. I had to wait for the Wild-Card drawing
at 3pm before calling it a day for cards.
The B & B festival was scheduled to kick-off at Noon. I got over there about
3:30pm. Chris Hiatt was in the middle of a set to my surprise. Knowing the
SRV Tribute band was part of the weekend sold me on the parlay weekend.
Chris Hiatt was the only performer not managed by the Las Vegas group:
https://www.blueslasvegas.com/Home_Page.html
All the other artists are:
John Earl and his Boogieman Band
Micheal Burks
Lady J Huston and the Fireballs
Brad Wilson
Junior Brantley
Chris Tofield
John Earl and Micheal Burks have done most of these festivals.
All the acts seemed to be energized by the setting and circumstances. Brad
Wilson was part of the festival for the first time...a cross between Gary
Bussey and a Beach Boy.
Each act did a 70-75 minute set and then came back hours later for another
one. The schedule, posted outside and in the casinos, ran ontime. There were
15-20 minutes for equipment changes...they all used the same drum kit.
The PA stacks were old friends at least on the front end..."JBL" stands for
FUN in my youth.
Theye were selling food and beer at a reasonable price. A 16 oz draft of
decent beer (Sierra Nevada/New Belgium) went for $4. The drink police did not
bother patrons who brought their own, even in glass or cans. The smoke police
only bothered the cigar smokers, though the cigarette smokers had to keep a low
profile. New Nevada law you know.
Even on Saturday night one could find a random seat. The trash/clean-up crew
stayed on top of things during these 12 hour days. One cocktailer, Sky and
her red hair, busted it for hours.
It is rare for me to be in Laughlin on a Saturday night, but what a great
experience. Lady J and the Fireballs had Kokopelli's to herself. Every table
was open in the Colorado Belle with the usual Dixieland band playing by the
front enterance/pit. The band was playing in the Boiler Room and outside in the
Great Circle the main acts were putting out. The joint was a jumping!
Sign me up coach for the next edition.
Bluestreak<BR><BR><BR>**************<BR>Create a Home Theater Like the Pros. Watch the video
on AOL Home.<BR>
(http://home.aol.com/diy/home-improvement-eric-stromer?video=15&ncid=aolhom00030000000001)</HTML>
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