Part 2 of my Vegas story Happy Loyals after BeLIEve!

Of course I had to check out the Mindfreak store (oh, I’d already checked the card in the glass door…every time I passed by during the weekend it drove me nuts…hahaha). It was great to be in there, to see the display items (among them, the motorcycle vanish jacket, the Billy Gibbons guitar and the wonderfully cheesy Justin Case outfit) and to just soak up the atmosphere, sit on the couch for a minute – and spend some money. I didn’t buy TOO much, but it took a lot of self control not to! Was bummed that they didn’t have the 2009 calendar – guess I’ll have to order it online. Got dressed and headed for the theater…the gorgeous theater! I had been in it twice before, when the Blue Man Group was based there, but it’s completely different now, very welcoming and at the same time kind of strange – perfect for BeLIEve. My seat was second row, in the right side section – nice! Many people have posted details about the show and I won’t repeat everything, but here are some random thoughts… I loved it, I truly did. By the end of the show my face hurt from smiling so much! I know that a lot of that came from just seeing Criss do his thing right in front of me instead of on tv…even illusions that I’d seen before on Mindfreak were more special because I was there and I was watching them happen LIVE and they still floored me. Criss’ personality really came across, and the audience Saturday night was into it – of course it included a lot of Loyals who’d bought tickets for that date in order to get the meet & greet. We cheered and applauded and gave Criss all the love we could, and he deserved it. And, btw, I had no idea that he’d have his shirt OFF so much…THAT was a delicious treat! The Cirque aspects of the show were fascinating and beautifully done…the rabbits, the birds, the moles, Crimson & Kayala, and my favorites, the Ushers! The show is unlike anything I’ve ever seen…it’s not Mindfreak, it’s not Cirque, it’s a magical combination that works best if you go into it with no preconceived ideas. I just let myself sink into the unique world of BeLIEve and reveled in it. After the show, still grinning like idiots with joy, Jessica and I grabbed a quick bite and had a few drinks and some video poker at Liquidity before going back to the BeLIEve theater after the 10 pm show for the Criss vigil – would he or wouldn’t he come out and see us? A bunch of us hung around outside the BeLIEve store for quite a while and eventually we were rewarded! Out came Criss, and he was as gracious and sweet as he’d been at the meet & greet earlier – talked with everyone, hugs, pictures, as adorable as he could be. When I went up to him for my picture he remembered me from the M&G and of course I told him I loved the show…if I said anything else I don’t remember – I was kind of shocked that I was actually getting another moment with him, completely unexpected! It was wonderful. Celebration followed – six of us had a few drinks at Flight, the bar right across from LAX, talking and being silly and laughing and then I said to Kelly (witchywoman) – “Behind you! Criss!” and we all jumped up – there he was AGAIN, walking through the casino with a couple of guys! We all just kind of called out “hi Criss!” and left it at that…but what a nice treat! More drinking, more laughing, bed at about 4:00 a.m. What a DAY!