New Year's Eve With Jimmy Eat World at the Big Casino

I've always wanted to do something, oh, I don't know, glittery on New Year's Eve. Usually I end up watching the ball drop from my couch (no glitter there). Last year I contemplated buying Goo Goo Dolls tickets but cheaped out or chickened out or something. So this year I said no to all that imminent boredom and disappointment and started thinking. I didn't want to go to a club (the bf and I aren't really club kind of people, despite what my wardrobe may sometimes suggest) or some lame dinner buffet. So, I hoped somebody decent was playing in AC, and low and behold, Jimmy Eat World was coming to Harrah's. (I'm perfectly aware of how uncool the phrase "low and behold" sounds. But I couldn't seem to stop myself.) I'd never seen a show at Harrah's, so this upped the appeal. And although I've never been a fan of Jimmy Eat World's biggest hit, "The Middle," I also knew from experience that even songs that sounded mediocre on the radio were often fantastic live. Plus, I liked "Big Casino", "Laugh it Off," "Chase This Light," and some of their other stuff. Best of all, the show provided an opportunity for me to wear an electric blue leopard dress that I picked up for $17 at Macy's last summer. (I'm sure there's a post about that in here somewhere.) I couldn't really think of a place other than a casino where such a garment would be appropriate.

So, how did the show measure up? It was mostly fun. The Concert Venue at Harrah's was kind of a generic space, though, a little large and not distinctive like the Borgata's Music Box or Showboat's House of Blues. Also, they used those neon strobe lights, which are annoying and obscure everything (I should have realized what was coming when I read the warning about possible nausea and headaches upon entering.) But the music was good. And, just as I'd suspected, "The Middle" was better live than recorded. They played it at the very end, only after the crowd demanded it. (You know how that goes.) You know what's funny, though? I thought that the songs I already liked were better recorded than live (so much so that I ended up listening to them on CD on the way home). Oh, and I almost forgot. In honor of New Year's Eve, there was one of those giant nets of balloons above the stage, to be released at midnight. Only it . . . wasn't. The band made several jokes about this, in their slightly dorky way (no f this, f that bombs from them. Well, maybe just one). I think they may have started playing again, only to have the balloons slide down later. It was kind of anti-climactic. But much better than falling asleep sleep in front of the ball. So, mission accomplished.