Day 632

Rod Stewart was fantastic! I clapped my hands, I stomped my feet. I cried like a baby. For two hours, I totally forgot that I was in terrible pain. Stewart is an amazing survivor. The guy literally survived throat cancer and kept right on singing; some say even better than before. There aren't many original A-list rockers left who could still put on this kind of a show. Rod started his working career as a gravedigger and went on to make music history. He was friends with Ray Davies and briefly played with the Kinks. He joined Jeff Beck's band right after the Yardbirds. Stewart and Ronnie Wood were famous friends and wrote many songs together. He still tells people he learned to play the harmonica by watching Mick Jagger play in Newport Street clubs.

There's a lot more to this guy than Maggie May, even though everyone on the 4,000 seat auditorium knew all the words and were singing along on this one with tears in their eyes. The guy is a master at getting emotion out of a audience. I really wished I'd brought my camera to the concert. I never bring electronic devices to concerts anymore because they always get confiscated when you arrive and then you have to wait for an hour after the show to get your stuff back. Rod didn't care about cameras. He said he liked people taking pictures during the show. I actually recall him saying "Hey, it's your show guys. Have a party...dance on stage..do whatever you want." You have to be careful when you say that sort of thing in Vegas. It didn't take long before a large group of women actually did storm the stage. They were all quickly whisked away by security, although in fairness, Rod did personally invite them up there. The women were persistent though. Throughout the evening they would throw bras and even expensive Jimmie Choo shoes on stage. Rod seem perplexed about the shoes. He picked one up and sang to it at some point. Then he shouted out to the audience "Why do you just throw one shoe? One shoe is totally useless. Throw me the other one too."

It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening last night. This is my kind of rock n' roll. I never cared about totally fabricated PR creations like Lady GaGa. I never cared much for self proclaimed blues legends like Amy Winehouse who sing a few song and go kill themselves. Jeez guys, the blues is people like B.B. King and John Lee Hooker. You live a long, hard life and you sing about it. You don't sing a few songs and kill yourself.

I don't know what this world is coming to. I'm convinced though that it would be a much better place of there were a lot more Rod Stewart's and a lot fewer Mark Zuckerberg's. Sure, Rod isn't perfect. The guy's been married a million times. At least he's honest about his life though. I'm sure a lot of uber-geeks are still with their first wife because they're terrified of how much they'd lose in the divorce settlement. A true rocker is never terrified. One of my favorite Rod Stewart quotes is when he told somebody, "I not getting married again, I'm just going to go find a woman I can't stand and buy her a house."

Camp is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 631

If I told a veterinarian that one of my dogs was showing signs of pain in the spinal area, they would tell me to bring the dog in immediately for a CAT scan so they could identify the pinched nerve. When my doctor finally called me back and I explained my condition to him, he told me to put an ice pack on it. This, in a nutshell, is what is wrong with out medical system today. Veterinary Hospitals are for profit businesses that attract customers by providing the advanced services people want at prices they can afford. Doctors and hospitals operate by a completely different business model. Their customer isn't the patient. It is the insurance company that ultimately pays them. They know exactly what the insurance companies will approve and what they won't approve and design their care accordingly. I certainly don't blame the doctors. They're just trying to make the best of a very bad system. It is the insurance companies that are the bad guys.

I didn't tell my doc that I'd already tried an ice pack yesterday. The ice really didn't deaden the pain very much and the ice bag leaked as well, soaking my shirt with cold icy water. I think I'll stick with Bengay rub and my pain pills till I get home.

We had breakfast at the Bellagio this morning. I've always thought this was one of the prettiest hotels in town. The fountains are a work of art in themselves, and if you look up over your head in the main lobby, you'll see the most spectacular blown glass chandelier you could ever imagine by glass sculptor Dale Chihuly. Today, there were giant umbrellas hanging all over the place. I have no idea what the umbrellas meant, but they were quite pretty.

We're going to go see Rod Stewart tonight. Jeez, this guy makes me seem young. The guy's a senior citizen and he's dancing around the stage like Mick Jagger....who is also a bona fide senior citizen. Go figure. At any rate, I wish I had a little of whatever they're taking. Most of my memories of Rod Stewart are from the earlier years when he was playing in the Jeff Beck Group with Ron Wood. I also remember Every Picture Tells a Story being one of the best albums of the early 1970's. It will be fun seeing if the guy still has his chops tonight.

Bailey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day