Foxwoods Resort Casino - Fox Theatre
Mashantucket, CT
June 6, 2015
The last time I was at this venue was in 2004 for a "Weird Al" Yankovic concert. Also, the last time I was at this venue, it was in Ledyard, CT. Yes, I realize the casino is in the Mashantucket Pequot Indian Reservation, which is in Ledyard, but the thought of the whole casino resort getting up and moving was funny to me. Also, it's much more fun to spell.
I was pretty excited about the concert as I remember the venue being nice, with all seats having a good view of the stage. Jackie and I would also get to see our friends Skye and Steve again. Unfortunately the date fell on the same date as a yearly traditional barbecue that I love to go to. I probably would have attended the barbecue and left early, but when the 4:00 pm show was added, that became impossible. I did stop by the barbecue early for about 10 minutes before leaving.
I really enjoyed the drive up as there was very little traffic as it was Saturday. Plus it was sunny and warm, so I had the top down on my convertible the whole ride up and back. I did get a little sunburned, but it was worth it. The casino has changed a bit since I've last been there, as the area around the casino appears to have been built up a lot more.
The two shows were fun. For "Tacky" Al walked through the public hallway outside the theater. He got in everyone's face as they were trying to walk by. And he even kept blocking some lady by walking in front of her. Then for the second show, there was a ton of people waiting for him, most likely people from the first show who didn't go to the second show, or people who decided to enter the second show late. For that time, he stood on a woman's scooter and danced with her, and took a selfie with some teenage girls. It's a lot of fun to see Al's entrance for "Tacky" each time. Each show is different!
In the first show, there was a little trouble with the videos during "Smells Like Nirvana", but didn't affect the song. It was back to normal for the second show. Also during the first show, Al seemed to aim the water at the first row only, while Al went back to drenching the normal first half of dozen rows at the second show.
At the second show, during "Wanna B Ur Lovr", Al was all over some woman in the front row. He was sitting on her lap, then went over to her a second time at the end of the song and tried to lick her. The way he was all over her, I'm thinking she had to be a Close Personal Friend Of Al.
There were a few minor changes to the video clips from previous shows. He shortened the Michael Stipe interview, and a few of the clips in the "Eat It" montage, and added Paul McCartney to give the Al's Brain clip some context. Bob Groder got to sing "Yoda" at the second show.
It was a totally different crowd both show. For the early show, no one did the "Fat" bounce, no one waved their arms during "Amish Paradise" until Al prompted them, no one took out their cell phones until Al prompted them, and there were maybe only a handful of foil hats. For the second show, there much more people participating without prompted, and lots of foil hats. I wonder if the early show was more casino regulars who just decided to catch a show while they were there, and the later show was more fans only.
We were sitting a bit further back for both shows and it's definitely a cool show even from the back of the theater. I said this before, but I love the new lighting, especially for "Dare To Be Stupid" and the encore. If any complaint, it would be that I wouldn't mind seeing the band lit a little brighter.
I was sitting with Melissa Sullivan, Steve, and Skye for the first show and Jackie for the second show. I met up with Bob, Jacinta, Ethan Ullman, CB Johnny and even got my picture with Flat Stanley! We ate at Fuddruckers between shows.
At the end of the night, while I was waiting for Melissa and Bob to finish their Mandatory Czar Obligations, I won $180 on the slot machines, which totally paid for the three tickets I bought! So, yay! Thanks Foxwoods for the free shows!!!