Las Vegas NFR Week Review
Las Vegas is known for many, many different things. After living there for 8 years I can honestly say that Las Vegas provides you with absolutely anything and everything you could ever want to do in life. Vegas is the home of many exciting events and conventions. One of the events that I personally look forward to annually is the National Finals Rodeo (NFR). This is when the whole town literally turns into the Wild West! Cowboys are EVERYWHERE!! Every hotel plays country music hoping to entice the cowboys to come in and gamble, dine, drink and see shows!!
Two huge Country music acts have just rolled into town and kicked off their run in Vegas during this NFR season! Shania Twain and Tim and Faith! I was very blessed to be able to go to Shania Twain at Caesars Palace, the NFR at Thomas and Mack Center, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill at the Venetian and ending with Leann Rimes Christmas Special at the Las Vegas Hotel (LVH). Because of my good fortunes, a friend of mine asked me to write a review so I can share this journey with y'all!
My incredible week began with Shania Twain at Caesars Palace. I have to admit, I walked in a little skeptical after reading about her vocal problems and other issues. But on the other hand I had read a very complimentary article discussing the elaborate costumes which were made by scratch and how she diligently worked on every detail regarding the show. The first few minutes of the show I was blown away with her grand entrance from an elevated motorcycle (Cirque style) with a video game backdrop. The 47 year old super star looked stunning in her tight fitting costume! She was struggling vocally in the beginning of the concert and I think it was a combination of getting used to singing every night after such a long hiatus as well as dealing with the dry desert air. Her vocals progressed throughout the concert. She engaged with her audience immediately and if you aren't a fan of her music you would be drawn in by her beauty and charm. She comes out into the audience quite a bit and one of my favorite parts of the show is the camp fire sing along section where she includes a few members of the audience to sit on the rocks by the camp fire and sing with her. Her husband, Frederic goes up into the nose bleed section and brings a couple of people down to sit on stage with his wife. There are several set changes and the band looks like they are having a ball up there. The band actually becomes a part of each set complete with costume changes. When you go to see Shania there is absolutely no picture taking allowed!! The main reason for this is the safety of her horses which are brought out a couple of times during the show. You DO NOT want to spook a horse in this venue! She ended the show with the coolest production of "Man, I Feel Like A Woman" that I have ever seen. The house was packed and a definite must see! In this showroom I have seen Celine Dion, Bette Midler and Elton John but Shania Twain was my absolute favorite!!
Friday night was the Soul 2 Soul concert put on by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill at the Venetian where the Phantom of the Opera ran for 6 years. They cleverly opened up their concert with Faith Hill's huge 1995 hit "Let's Go To Vegas" from the back of the house, walking through the audience towards the stage. After the second or third song, Tim opens up to the audience and says hello while Faith is off doing a costume change. Faith had beautiful gowns, but didn't move at all except to fiddle with her in-ear monitors, adjusting the levels at her back. I found this to be very distracting. She didn't address the audience until half way through the show when she and Tim had a little "sit down and get personal with the audience" session. Then she sang an Aretha Franklin song and her charisma came out and she looked like she was finally enjoying herself (maybe her in-ears began working properly). Tim generously gave out a guitar to a very thrilled audience member. They closed the show with an intimate version of their 2007 hit "I Need You" and then walked out into the audience and said good bye. I walked away from the concert feeling that this couple was truly in love and that in itself was a warm and beautiful sensation.
All in all it was a wonderful and exciting week at the famous National Finals Rodeo! You could see amazing big production shows or enjoy a myriad of other acts all over town. Whether you are a Country fan or not the town is filled with excitement.