Films: Babylon, Baby Driver, & I Am Sam & Concert: U2 #1

So..  Viva Las Vegas! Made it, after all the planning, and some considerable amount of travelling.. and yes, that song was running through my head the whole way. After managing to squeeze most of what I wanted to take into my case on Tuesday, my first problem was Ryanair. Gee. So, we were kept waiting for nearly an hour on the stairwell, told that the plane wasn't ready yet.. Why? Because the replacement crew weren't there yet. Where were they? "Walking over.."

So, naturally, as I predicted, my flight was severely delayed. But the airport hotel in Shannon had assured me - repeatedly - that reception stayed open 24 hours. Across the car park I schlepped - naturally, I wasn't the only one! There was a line of us. Not anticipating the flight's exact arrival time, the hotel had locked their front door.. so it was a large reception committee that the receptionist faced, answering the doorbell!

It was nearly 1am by now, and she must have been tired. Which was probably why, when I told her my name and she dug out the details of people who'd already checked in online, she presented me with the form for some Austrian person - with the same first name. She asked me to check the details were correct - didn't take me long to spot, for one, the nationality. When I said it to her, an Austrian person popped up behind me and claimed that form - to be fair, the receptionist wasn't long coming up with mine. And it was so lovely to be back in a hotel - it's been so long! I did have a lovely, deep sleep - albeit rather curtailed, as I wanted to have breakfast before heading over for my flight to the States. My only quibble - apart from check-in - with the hotel was they didn't have the option of beans for breakfast. I love beans. :-(

The longest part of what I had to do at the airport was the queue for check-in for the flight - during which a guy came around checking passports, and asked what I was going over for. When I told him it was for U2 concerts, he remarked that several people on the flight were on the same errand! Anyway, when I finally got to the desk, I was delighted to be able to get rid of my bag - she said I wouldn't see it again until Las Vegas, I said "yippee"!. Weird feeling mind, not having the trolley bag with me as I mooched around the airport - again, it's been so long since I checked in a bag. After that, I got out some cash from one of their multi-currency ATMs, and preclearance was a breeze - just show my passport and boarding card, then have a wee chat with the border control guard - who remarked how lucky I was to have U2 tickets, while she was fingerprinting me.

Now, I got the list of films due to be shown on the flight, but it was subject to, well, them not being shown! And wouldn't you know it, not a single one from my list was shown, as I recall! Never mind - I was only delighted to see Babylon as one of the options - and one of the highest rated. That ended up taking up most of my transatlantic flight - it's a very long film! Set at the end of the Golden Age of Hollywood - around the time the talkies started - it stars Brad Pitt as a silent film star, struggling with the move to sound, and Margot Robbie as an ingenue, starting out in the silent film business, who's fabulously successful until, again, the advent of sound, when everyone can hear her lower class accent.

The beginning is gloriously Bacchanalian - seemed appropriate for my trip, somehow. Wild, lavish parties, no expense spared - a warning before the start of the film explained that I was getting the edited version. Sure enough, the nudity was blurred out. The whole thing is told from the point of view of a star-struck young Mexican guy, who ends up performing a lot of odd jobs for the film stars, and is utterly besotted with the whole business, working his way up through it.

As I say, the advent of the talkies proves devastating for the silent film stars - and, indeed, marks the end of the Mexican guy's involvement in the film business. It comes gloriously full circle at the end, as he wanders into a movie theatre in the 1950s and catches a showing of Singin' in the Rain, which recaptures the era, and in which we recognise the characters we saw at the beginning. Babylon might be a long film - but it's an epic, and a love poem to Hollywood. Highly recommended!

Well, it was now kind of too late to watch another film on that flight - I spent a long time scrolling and watched some tv. Slept some too. Delighted with all the free food and drink - and oh, they had these delectable little cacao powder covered chocolates with the main meal! I scoffed mine - and as luck would have it, the guy beside me was Vegan and didn't want his, so offered them to me instead! So I got two packs - lovely..

I had an hour and a half between flights in Newark - and just as well, the distance I had to walk, and having to take a shuttle bus to another terminal. They didn't specify on the boarding pass, but the letter before the gate identifier specifies which terminal it's in. Which I had to figure out. Anyway, I had plenty of time in the end - and lo, managed to get the esim working on my phone! So I could happily call my mother - and confirm that yes, she hadn't got her Tesco delivery. Again. I'd got an email to that effect just before my flight had taken off - but as usual, Tesco was giving nothing away. Indeed, by the time they got around to confirming my details, the slot had expired, so - they informed me - it could not now be delivered, and I'd have to put in another order. Just as well I wasn't stupid enough to wait for that confirmation - I already have an order scheduled for next week anyway, and it should work; I think what probably happened this time was something to do with the coupon I used - which Tesco had sent. There was something off about it - and indeed, that was the only thing I did differently. The main problem here, of course, is the complete lack of information from Tesco..

And so to the second flight, where again I had a middle seat, and this time, no food or drink for free. Hey-ho, I had some water left over from the first flight, and some chocolate I'd bought before. As for films, I now picked Baby Driver, in which a young hotshot driver is forced to be a getaway driver for crime boss Kevin Spacey. Jamie Foxx is one of the criminals he hires for his heists, who becomes suspicious of the taciturn young getaway driver, who always has his earpods in.. Very good film, with, as you'd expect, many thrilling car chases. Highly recommended, again.

Last up for flight films was I Am Sam, a heartwarming film in which Sam (Sean Penn) is a low-IQ man who ends up having a little girl (Dakota Fanning) with a homeless woman. She's not interested in raising her, so he gets the job, and loves it - his neighbour, Dianne Wiest, is happy to help - but when his daughter starts to get a bit older, her IQ exceeds his, and Child Protection Services get involved and decide this isn't healthy for her, and to foster her out: to Laura Dern and her husband. The distraught father manages to get Michelle Pfeiffer as his lawyer - pro bono, she finally agrees to, to save face with her colleagues. And it's a lovely film, Sean Penn playing an endearing character, and Dakota Fanning predictably adorable.

Anyway, those were the films I could squeeze in.. the people in the row in front of me were playing a multiplayer quiz game, so I decided to join in. I could see one of their screens, and noticed that passenger was getting far fewer right than I was - sure enough, when I joined, all of a sudden I was coming top! To be fair, a lot of the questions were European-centred. Cue much muttering among the people in front of me, about who I was and wondering where I was sitting, and musing that they should sit beside me to get the answers.. ;-)

My quiz was cut short by our arrival in Vegas - gorgeous views of the mountains as we came in: I just wish I'd been by the window, could have got more shots! What's more - you wouldn't believe it - as we landed, we could see the Sphere, a blue-green projection standing out against the mountains.. the thing is friggin' massive..

First thing I had to do in the airport was find my way out - through the slot machines! A long walk brought me to baggage reclaim - thankfully, a flight attendant had told us what belt the baggage was on. I called my mother, who'd asked me to, and started to research my ways out. I'm staying in the Hilton Vacation Club Polo Towers. Got a good deal on flights and accommodation with Expedia. 

I'd booked it because it's halfway between the airport and the venue - didn't check how long it'd take to walk, though! Get this - a two-hour walk, or one hour on public transport - or a 10-minute taxi ride! Jeez - naturally, I took a taxi. Tried the apps, but they needed to send me a validation code, and messages sent to me are taking forever, if they get through at all. So I ended up with a regular taxi. Which was fine - a kind of "taxi usher" assigned the people in the queue bay numbers, and it all moved quite fast. My driver - from Desert Cab - was friendly, and oh wow, the view of the city as we approached! They say it's at its best at night. Anyway, as he dropped me at the hotel, he was busily telling someone that business was booming (I'm not surprised, with them being the only option). Meantime, I discovered I could pay by card, so decided to do that - now, the internet assured me that the average tip for a cabbie is 10-15%. The machine, however, wouldn't let me give less than 25%! I'm making sure to pay cash in future..

At the hotel check-in, I fancied the receptionist was a tad surprised at the length of my stay! She asked me for two payments - not quite sure what the second one was for - and I ended up having to use two cards, as the one I'm using for travel, I'm only loading money onto as I need it, and I hadn't anticipated this.. Anyway, finally, I wearily entered my room - on the 10th floor:

That's the view from my balcony. Yes, I have a balcony: unusual for here, apparently, where there's a history of people flinging themselves from them.. The room also has a kitchenette and an ensuite - lovely comfy bed, too. The only quibble I have is the door to the connecting room, which isn't soundproofed, so we can all hear each other..

After I'd rested up a bit, I headed out to eat. Not everywhere was still open, but I said I'd try the Hard Rock Cafe, just down the road, which was open till midnight. There's a lot of construction right outside (earplugs required to sleep, even at my level), but once you figure out your way around it, it's fine. (Even the cabbie got lost, on the way in.)

I soon came across the cafe, where there was no trouble getting seated, and service was flawless - which is, of course, the best thing about a country where tipping is the norm! Funnily enough, I caught sight of a hilarious scrolling banner across the Strip - advertising, of all things, Nine Fine Irishmen! which is an Irish pub, if you were wondering. "The best Irish food.. The best Irish beer.. The best Irish mayhem.." I'll really have to pay them a visit at some point, eh?

Meantime, I decided on the chicken tenders - with onion rings instead of chips - and a large glass of NZ Sauvignon Blanc. They measure in oz here, and a large is 9oz. Very much London prices (i.e. high), and they charged $4 extra for the onion rings. Believe me, they know how to charge.. The tenders weren't particularly tender either - rather chewy, in fact, and I wouldn't have them again. Anyway, I had ice cream for dessert - wanted chocolate, but they only had vanilla. Which I had with chocolate syrup - she also suggested caramel, which I agreed to - each syrup cost an extra $1.80, as it turned out. To be fair, it was delicious.. Now, they seem to have a policy here of taking your card away to pay the bill, and only charging the basic price to it, leaving you to provide the tip in cash. Which is really awkward, considering I only had $20s! She had provided terrific service, and I didn't want to leave without giving her anything - so she got a $20 tip, lucky lady. Which came out as a bit more than 25% of the bill. Ah well.. 

Shopped at Walgreen's on the way home, for water, breakfast stuff, and wine - they didn't seem to have fruit - and made sure to pay in cash, to get some change. Of course, I was way too tired that night to blog.

Yesterday.. my first of four U2 concerts, which are of course the reason for my being here. Quite by accident, I managed to score a ticket in each of the four sections, so I can review properly! And wow, the reviews of the first were terrific.. this new venue features groundbreaking visuals, it seems - and some audience members had to leave, after they got dizzy. Haptic seats, too - this was going to be some experience. Now, over the weekend, I decided to check the tickets - and lo, none were displaying in my account! Cue a panicked email to Ticketmaster (TM). 

Following which, oddly, the tickets suddenly all displayed! Relief.. I was still worried about having to have the tickets scanned going in, because TM doesn't let you screenshot them, so it depends on having an internet connection at the right moment - and you know what that's like. But they did say to store them in Google Wallet - which I'd never used - I got interested when I read something about not having to depend on an internet connection! So I installed it - and saved all my tickets to it! And I checked - sure enough, you can still access them without an internet connection. Well, fantastic.. interestingly, I accidentally saved two of them to each of my Google accounts! (I have had two since I lost my phone, and had to create a second instance.)

PS I emailed TM to say don't bother, I dunno why, but it's all working now. TM subsequently responded to say they can't answer questions about events in the States, I'd have to get onto their American branch! Two observations - they were happy enough to sell me the tickets, but not to respond to questions about them? And they obviously didn't read the content of the email, where I said all was now well.. typical customer service, eh?

I had a late start - ate breakfast in my room, watched two Elvis movies back-to-back on tv (he's big here) - ironically, Viva Las Vegas was coming on as I left! and found the hotel business centre. Which has terminals, and keyboards - much handier for blogging. Even if it - annoyingly - does log me out every 20 minutes. And where I am now. Started the blog - but quit when it was time to phone my mother - I call her mid-afternoon Vegas time, which is late night her time, before she goes to bed. Decided to walk to the Sphere - a much shorter walk than to the airport, it seems! and that I'd eat wherever I came across.

Jeez, it turns out to be a nightmare to walk the Strip! Interesting, sure - but you can't hardly go any distance without having to climb stairs or an escalator, mainly because of engineering works, and usually resulting in you crossing the road. Plus, looking for Google Maps' suggested route to the Sphere, I got completely lost in Harrah's, and ended up having to return the way I'd come in! Anyway, with the venue opening at 6.30, I decided, once it passed 5pm, I'd stop at the first decent-looking eatery. Which turned out to be the Outback Steakhouse. Where I was seated after about a 10-minute wait, in a window seat.. I had my back to the sun, which was fierce enough that a couple of ladies offered an adjacent table insisted on being sat somewhere else. They really didn't need to be so fussy - the sun was setting not five minutes later!

I'm generally suspicious of burgers - they're sure to have something I don't like in them, and I get tired of picking stuff out of them. And I didn't fancy pasta, which they also offer - so thought I'd go for steak. Which, predictably, ain't cheap - the cheapest cut was sirloin, so I went for that. It comes with two sides - I had fries and seasoned rice. Think he was a bit surprised I didn't have salad, but I ain't a salad person. Also had some bread. Had the Californian sauvignon blanc, the new Zealand being too expensive..

Went to the loo, which has a code - happily, a staff member happened to be nearby, and told me what it was. When I came back, the wine and bread had arrived. The wine was excellent. The bread, I was a bit suspicious of - it had a very dark colour - but it turned out to be delicious. So was the rest of the meal - but lo, that steak defeated me, and I just couldn't finish it. Ah well. He did the same thing with the bill as the Hard Rock Cafe, leaving me to pay the tip in cash - I plonked what cash I'd got in the supermarket on the table, and made a break for it.

It took half an hour more to get to within sight of the Sphere:

Ooh, the anticipation.. well, it had to wait a while longer, as it took me 10 minutes to walk to the end of the queue. I thought, surely this must be the queue for standing tickets - mine must be different. Eh, nope.. and I was half an hour more in the queue. Basically, they haven't a clue what they're doing.. something they might want to iron out for future performances.. As we got closer, we could see people entering via the bridge from the Venetian - general consensus was that was probably a better way in!

As we got closer, we passed the floor entrances, and finally figured out that our best entrance was the Plaza. Someone also remarked, as we passed under this massive dome, that it had only just occurred to him that it could be scary..

No kidding, its sheer size is intimidating. It was something of a miracle when we finally got in. I passed several merchandise stands - but it was now so late, and the queues were so long, that I said I'd pass for the night - after all, I'll be back! Anyway, I kind of wanted to see the show first, see what was appropriate to buy.

Very space-age inside:

Escalators took us to the upper levels:

Given the steepness of the stairs, I was so glad there were railings down the middle! so I got my seat without too much hassle. The screen - which surrounds the seating - at the beginning resembles the interior of a metal sphere, all nuts and panels:

So, that's the view from (the side of) Level 2. Down in the standing area, a dj operated a kind of popemobile version of a Trabant! (As I explained to the person I got sitting beside me, these were hung from the stage during U2's Zoo TV Tour..

They were late starting - nearly 9pm, rather than the advertised 8. Shortly after the band came on, the metal casing we were sitting under began to crack, dust falling from the splits opening in the seams between tiles.. and there began a roller-coaster ride through the most incredible graphics the world has ever seen.. What a combination, this venue with its incredible capability, and a band known for their incredible stagecraft..

I hadn't been going to take photos of the first concert - but found myself completely unable to resist, when Even Better Than the Real Thing came on:

And as for One - well, it's always brought out a crowd reaction:

But look what happens when the Sphere gets a hold of it!

These graphics are jaw-dropping. Nobody has seen their like before..

It is actually nice, though, when they drop the graphics for a bit - as the lady beside me remarked afterwards, she was able to concentrate on the music better. Still, who's complaining - these are the first concerts where they've ever played Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses?, and the graphics, are again, breathtaking:

Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World starts with a real sheet - knotted - being raised to the interior surface of the Sphere. Which then scribbles a balloon on top (looking like Bono's handiwork). And this ends up being the song he drags a woman from the crowd for! (Last night, she was from Paris.)

For their new single (Atomic City), they display a spectacular landscape of Vegas (which used to be known as that, for the bomb tests nearby):

..which is then dismantled, in reverse time-lapse, until a bare landscape is revealed:

..and you'll never guess what song gets played then! Yes, Where the Streets Have no Name marks the bit of the set where we finally feel we should stand - and I was delighted to see everyone stand around me! Achtung Baby songs don't really lend themselves to that. The screenscape switches from dawn, through full daylight, to dusk and night - and I was reminded of my mother asking whether these were outdoors. Because, under this massive sky, it really does feel like it..

The set finishes with Beautiful Day, and a montage of Nevada's native animal species:

The couple beside me asked, at the end, where this ranked in the 78 U2 concerts I've now seen. Oh, I don't know - how could I decide? Definitely near the top, not at the top - except in terms of stunning, unprecedented graphics. Leaving those aside, though, it was oh so good to see them live again. I felt really close to the stage - well, it is smaller than most places I've seen them - and Bono was in fine voice. Much of the night was a tribute to Elvis - until Bono forgot the words, halfway through Suspicious Minds! Bono gave a sheepish grin, and that was the end of that. It felt so intimate though, this concert.. definitely memorable, I'm really looking forward to the others, mind - as I say, I'm in a different level for each, and it'll be great to compare!

One thing I'm not looking forward to is the walk back, which nearly killed me last night. I'd broken the outbound journey with a meal, you see - the return journey was torture, it was so long. At least I got to see where I'd be tonight - of which, more anon.

Even if I hadn't been too tired, I couldn't have blogged last night by the time I got back - had a job interview this morning. Which went pretty well - my horoscope tells me that "hope conquers fear"..