Saturday October 16 2021

Waking up around 11:20 a.m. in the hotel room at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.

 

Breakfast Bar and Tea.

 

Catching up on business at the computer.

 

Getting lost trying to find my way into The Arena where we’re supposed to perform tonight. Eventually, I’m on stage helping set everything up along with getting my keyboard rig figured out. There’s always these little things that have to be done that no one is delegated to do. The sound check goes smoothly despite an issue with the line checks on strings.

 

Sandwiches for lunch then a nice catered dinner of Salmon, Curry Veggies, Rice, and Cheesecakes.

 

 

We do our ELO show to a packed out arena – they give us the whole shebang here: video, photography, stellar sound, and the largest crew imaginable to help break down.

 

Afterwards, Rebecca and I get into all kinds of random activities – walking aimlessly around the casino watching people throw away their money at the roulette tables and slot machines.

...

Hitting up the arcade that we found last night. Chatting over fries then playing a few games – we manage to play the first three games free somehow – an employee swipes his card blessing us with a free Stranger Things pinball round.

...

After midnight a lot of things start to shutdown except for the clubs and bars. It’s weird cause it feels like we’re locked in the fanciest airport ever – no real idea how to get outside – stuck in an inside city that never sleeps. The Roadhouse offers a live country band covering all the pop hits – meanwhile girls in daisy dukes and cowgirl hats dance high up on a stage near the bar. Her and I grab a seat at the bar – sipping on a Tom Collins while she works on an Amaretto Sour – all around us bros with deep pockets get drunk while we stay very light sticking to only one drink, which has barely any alcohol to begin with. We have to talk loudly if we wanna be heard but it’s fun and new to be able to talk just her and I without any work responsibilities to worry about. Topics of conversation: wildest thing you ever did – being brought up in a Christian fundamentalist home – discovering how similar our childhoods were to some degree. There’s a charm in her eye that makes me nervous but also makes me feel like I’m in middle school again. It’s tough cause I would love to tell her certain things sometimes but I definitely should not and cannot for lots of reasons.

...

After they kick everybody out we continue on down the halls watching the people get weirder. At least four times people come up to us complimenting the performance from tonight. A man with dreadlocks who seems to be homeless appears to be following us – we lovingly call him The Dreadlock Ghost cause we’re convinced he haunts the halls of the casino and only we can see him! We park ourselves in a safe place on a bench near an escalator and observe all kinds of stumbling people. A random guy whom we’ll call The Sitter sits down next to us with a big grin but doesn’t say a word.

...

A well dressed black man approaches us holding a wad of cash and sporting snake skin shoes. He’s obviously had a few drinks but is super nice. We can barely understand his French accent but he tells us he’s originally from Congo in Africa. His name is Mike and for some reason he feels the need to prove it by handing over all his ID’s and credit cards one by one. I hold out my hand and voluntarily hold them. He gives us a story about how he lost his phone at a wedding and persists to use my phone to show all the places in the world he knows about.

 

 

Eventually, we make our way around the corner to the 24 hour Krispy Kreme and snag a couple glazed donuts – then calling it a night.