A Friend in Town

Zombierella

I had a day off yesterday. Here in the Silver State it was Nevada Day, which is really on October 31st (the day it received statehood back in 1864) but to get a three-day weekend the powers that be shifted it to Friday.

I also had a friend in town, so we had a long day of playing tourist, which as so many people do in Las Vegas, means that I went to places I ordinarily do not go. Locals hardly ever go the Strip, but I did with my friend, who likes to come to Vegas not to gamble but just to soak in the ambience.

We started with a scheme to see the new NHL team, the Vegas Golden Knights, but neither of us were deep-pocketed enough to pay face value, so Steve used his Stub Hub app. We walked to the arena and waited until game time to see if the price of a ticket would fall to $45 or below, but it never did. We wondered at the people who were selling, deciding to get nothing instead of at least a pittance for their tickets. Maybe they got them for free and weren't willing to go low.

So, our hearts heavy, we wandered a little bit in "The Park," a very nice plaza built at the same time T-Mobile Arena was. There are some bars and restaurants and, most importantly, plenty of shade. Vegas in October can be quite lovely, so we had lunch al fresco at California Pizza Kitchen. I ordered the shrimp scampi pizza, and when I was about halfway through it the chef came out and said it wasn't cooked properly. I couldn't tell, but we got a free pizza out of it and between the two of us Steve and I finished it off. I also had a cocktail called the "Cucumber Revival," which was cucumber, pineapple juice, and agave. I had two and felt no pain.

We then looked for a sports book to watch the World Series game. We ended up at Bally's, which has a pretty big one. We sat in chair that are designed for bettors, with a TV screen in front and a counter for filling out betting slips. We watched the game on the big screen, without the commentary of Joe Buck, and between pitches talked about just about everything. I've been friends with Steve over thirty years and we never run out of things to talk about, whether it's sports, politics, or the entertainment business.

Once the game was over we headed over to our favorite dive bar, the Double Down Saloon. They had a lineup of surf-rock bands, which we both love. It took a while to find a place to park, but we saw about half of the opening band, Thee Swank Bastards, a local outfit, who were very good, and featured a burlesque dancer who stripped down to tassels for the last song.

Next up was The Boss Martians, very well known among surf bands, who had a very powerful set. The opening act was Messer Chups, a Russian band who are on an American tour. Their music, based in the surf idiom, with covers of reliable surf songs like the James Bond theme and the Munsters theme, was also a bit more experimental. I was particularly please that the bassist looked like a model. According to Wikipedia, her names is Svetlana Nagaeva, or ZombieGirl, or Zombierella. She reminded me of the back-up band for Robert Palmer in that old video "Addicted to Love," except she could actually play.

The evening ended for us about two in the morning. I'm sure there will be more excitement