Piano Man...Again?!?! (Dueling Pianos - Harrahs Hotel & Casino)
I really enjoyed watching Kim's friend Matt perform his piano show at Planet Hollywood on Friday and she mentioned there were a couple actual dueling piano shows in Vegas, one of which Matt performs at on Sundays at Harrah's. We decided to go check it out and see how it was. My only dueling piano experience to date was the Kansas City Meet Up and Howl at the Moon. We got to Harrah's early as the Piano Bar usually fills up fast. Not sure what time it started but they were doing karaoke when we arrived. OMG, some of those singers were AMAZING. Unlike the people who thought they were great on Friday at PH, these people really had talent!
We were there only about 5 minutes or so when the weirdness began with people smiling and attempting to strike up little conversations with us.
My friend Kim (bundysmom) is from Dallas so I was basically surrounded by the Texas peeps so when things got heated between CA and Texas songs, I couldn't resist but to join in. Ultimately, I gave Matt $40 to make them stop playing Texas songs and go back to CA songs which drew mean stares from Kim! LOL.
Towards the end of the evening, my dear friend from Texas was pretty drunk and not happy with me that I didn't want to accompany him back to his hotel room down the strip. It was interesting to say the least. His friend Jared and his wife Amanda ended up having to walk him back otherwise I think he was going to pass out right there at the bar. Apparently he had been drinking since like 6am..
As the night wore on, more interesting people watching opportunities presented themselves through various drunk girls dancing, one of which was about to strip to a good portion of the bar. Nice. The older gentleman who thought he was quite the ladies man and proceeded to make his way around the entire bar in his snazzy white sportcoat, buying women drinks, and kissing their cheeks! And then, there was a guy at the bar who was dancing around and talking to most of the ladies who looked incredibly familiar. Can't figure out why or from where but even my friend Kim said he looked familiar. She thinks I have a picture somewhere with the guy.
There were other interesting tidbits to the night. We saw the lady from Friday night at PH in her white top that was jiggling and dancing behind us. There was some drunk lady that almost slammed into Kim's shoulder (she just had surgery and is in a sling...uh, hellooo) who came up trying to talk smack but was too drunk to really get out a coherent sentence! And then my all time favorite was the large lady who kept dancing at the bar and continually hitting my head with her rear end.
It was fun though - we stayed until the very end. As we were walking out and Kim was saying goodbye to Matt, I accidentally ran into someone (literally) who turned out to be a very nice business man visiting from Orange County. Who knows, I might see him on my trip down next month.....only time will tell! :-)
Another long night though...by the time I got Kim dropped off and back home, it was well after 3am and I wanted to be up by 6am for work. Dang that Kim!! HA HA HA
We arrived around 8:15pm or so and karoake was going on but we managed to get a couple seats right around the rim of the pianos. I love the set up here at Harrahs as you have several choices of seating - small bar tables scattered throughout, actual high back bar seating, and then the perimter of the pianos themselves. We opted to sit right in the middle of the seats by the pianos, with our back to the bar itself.
Seating is free and did not appear to be any drink minimums. The karoake singers here definitely appeared to be regulars and some were excellent singers.
Matt arrived on stage at 9pm along with Joey and Scott who also duel at NY NY Hotel as well. What I liked about this venue is with the three piano players - they would rotate so there was never a break in the show.
The crowd at Harrah's was definitely different than that at PH. We had some people sit down next to us from Texas and Kim was on my other side who also is originally from Texas. I admit to getting sucked into the dueling when it was a war between California and Texas, ultimately giving Matt some money to stop the Texas songs. LOL.
The energy and vibe in this place was awesome. Everyone was dancing around and having a great time. There was plenty of space to walk around and dance without ruining everyones' view.
All three of the guys worked well together and played off each other very nicely - there was never a dull moment in the house. The bar drew quite a crowd of passerby's and some eventually made their way in and hung out for a bit.
Overall, I'd have to say the venue itself is the best for watching the show as there is not a bad seat in the house and if you aren't fortunate enough to get a seat, there is plenty of standing room with a clear view to the stage.
Although Matt only duels on Sundays at Harrahs, I've been told the regular show during the week features a set of female twins who are absolutely incredible as well. I did not have the opportunity to see their show this trip but will update my review next time I am in town and see them perform.
For more information on Matt Newbold, see my other review and visit his website at: www.mattnewbold.com
