I had this whole Country & Western thing going on in my head that I was going to do. Stuff about listening to Kenny Rogers on the CD player.

“Talking about BS and BJs and women we’ve known.
Our years in the service and just growing old
Too much comped food & drink with second hand smoke.”

I think I may have been channeling that old Tin Pan Alley song writer that Martin Short would play on Saturday Night Live. “Give me a “B”, a bouncy “B!”

Unfortunately, getting hit with a stomach virus Sunday afternoon upon getting back home sort of put a damper on that whole thing. It was difficult enough making it to the bathroom from the bed in the guestroom let alone making a dash from the computer room down the hall. One of those violent projectile emissions from both ends for over 24-hours kind of thing. Hey! What are blogs for if not sharing those special moments?

Caesar’s in Atlantic City is still fun and they are expanding quite a bit. They bought the old Boardwalk Mall (the one that looked like a beached ferry) and are turning it into higher-end shops with a walkway directly from the casino. Guess they are trying to compete with the expansion that Tropicana did the other year.

Frankie Valli (shown above in a recent publicity pic) and The Four Seasons (at least the latest incarnation of the group) were excellent. You can note some changes in the arrangements to cover for Valli’s slightly decreased high notes, but overall he’s still the same amazing singer he’s always been. You tend to forget that Frankie has been at this since the early 1960s (his first few hits with the FS are from that period) so he is himself in his late 60s. The FS look like the Backstreet Boys standing next to him, but were all quite good during their solo bits. Valli’s current back up band, directed by his long-time arranger Robbie Robertson, were really professional and every song was immediately recognizable. After all that is what you go to this type of show for anyway.

Hard to believe that after a little over twenty years of taking trips down to Atlantic City the place still gives me a kick when I'm there. The gambling part isn't what it once was, but I still love walking about checking out the new machines and watching things change. Las Vegas, where I've been three times also holds that same fascination.