Last evening was our first opportunity to view the setting for the summer's outdoor concert series at the casino soon to be formerly known as Caesar's. It seems to me that this year's slate of shows is being used to help re-brand the facility as the Horseshoe (Harrah's); be that as it may, it remains a non-essential edifice to this non-gambler's jaundiced eyes even if the music was pure excellence.
I'll never forget entering Caesar's Indiana for the first time in 2002. For me, it was (and remains) something almost unspeakably tacky, almost to the point of physically repellant. It's nothing against my many friends who have jobs there and profit from it … and nothing against the money that the casino has brought into the community under orders from the state as a precondition of doing business. Now as always, let the buyer beware, and the savvy divide the proceeds.
But watching the roving groups of the ill-dressed in their University of Kentucky jackets (hint: they didn't go to school there, if they can locate Lexington KY on a map at all) gawk and drool in amazement at the plasticized surface glitz designed to make it easier to part them from their cash made for a disquieting experience – and still does. Casinos may actually be just another entertainment option, yet there's something profoundly sad about the spectacle of people tithing scant wealth for even more elusive hope, when a standard certificate of deposit would yield greater dividends in the end.
Shawn Mullins opened Sheryl Crow's performance on Saturday night, introducing his 1998 number one single "Rock-a-Bye" as, "A medley of my hit." Roughly half of Mullins's new album, "Honey Dew," was performed by the singer-songwriter and a crackerjack backing band, and to this casual listener, the songs sounded truer to his Southern roots than previous, more mainstream efforts.
Sheryl Crow, on the other hand, is almost gloriously mainstream, combining sassy pop rockers with the occasional countryish ballad designed to jerk the occasional tear from female eyes. Crow shares with Mullins a band that boasts fabulous musicianship, as well as a new release, "Detours," which was amply previewed, obviously is the work of a mature artist, and includes a couple of songs protesting the idiocy of America's sitting regime … words almost surely lost on the casino crowd.
Of course, an audience composed primarily by people my age or older, most of them seriously swizzled on bad beer and watery cocktails, wanted the hits -- damn it! -- and far too many of them hilariously attempted to sing along with Sheryl as she obligingly threw out the radio tunes. Keep it in the shower, guys. It was painful.
Both Mullins and Crow were superb, and we richly enjoyed the evening in spite of my venomous preconceived notions about the nature of the gambling industry and my (accompanying) contempt for the cultural incomprehension of my aging brethren.
In particular, I'm constantly thankful for the many advances in technology that have combined to make concerts more enjoyable. The music was loud enough for a mild buzz in my ears afterward, but remarkably clear and undistorted all in all.
By the way, the venue itself is composed of bleachers, rather smallish plastic chairs and seats, and an indoor clubhouse (luxury box?) in the rear that faces the stage. I'm assuming the indoor facility exists to air-condition the wealthy and assorted high rollers during summer's mosquito-laden heat and humidity, although last night was cool, crisp and joyful in this regard. Plastic seats on the ground, center stage, are the more expensive ones, many apparently taken by members of the casino's "we lose here regularly" cadres.
All of it is located between the indoor casino complex and the looming, Ceausescu-esque hotel, adjacent to the housing unit's car park, which might someday be dry-walled in, given HVAC, and used to house the homeless from both Indiana and Kentucky. I'm sure they have money to lose, too ... right?
Originally posted at MySpace under Music.
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