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The Who Launch Pop-Up Magic Buses in Los Angeles

In celebration of their recently announced 2019 North American MOVING ON! Tour, The Who have launched a series of pop up Magic Buses straight from the 60s in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City. The buses are inspired by The Who’s iconic song “Magic Bus” and compilation album, Magic Bus – The Who On Tour from 1968.

Fans in Los Angeles can see the double decker buses now through February 10th as they hit the streets from Santa Monica to Hollywood and over to Downtown L.A.. A full map of the buses’ routes can be viewed HERE. Fans who spot the bus can also enter a sweepstakes for a chance to win two premium tickets to The Who’s tour stop nearest to them.
Post a picture of the bus on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #MagicBusEntry and follow + tag @LiveNation in the image for your chance to win two premium tickets to the Los Angeles tour stop. Sweepstakes ends Feb 10, 2019 at 11:59pm PST.  See rules here: http://bit.ly/MagicBusRules.

Filling my Home with Music

The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.


Picture of Maya, our dog

As a storyteller, I'm always looking for ways to get inspired and motivated. But when creation happens in between life, school, and everything else that gets thrown my way, it's hard to stay or get in the mood.

Several of my friends recommended that I listen to music to get focused. And, while I love my earphones,  I like to feel music when I'm home.

I also like to pace and move from room to room, to think, get recentered, and sometimes find the words that weren't pouring onto the screen. Using our stereo in one room and my computer in another, I was in a catch 22: I need music, but I also need to pace.


Moving to and fro different rooms made me lose my focus once the music that was helping me get centered in one room, was impossible to hear in another. That, and, Maya was always chasing me around trying to figure out when I would just stand around talking to myself...

Then I discovered the Google Chromecast Audio.

Google Chromecast Audio

The Google Chromecast Audio is a small device that plugs into digital speakers (or to your receiver if you have standard speakers like I do), to stream music from your favorite APP's through your home WiFi.

The best part about the Google Chromecast Audio is that you can group Chromecast audio devices together so you can listen to the same song on multiple speakers in different rooms in your home.

Cellphone using Google Chromecast Audio

Google Chromecast Audio was very simple to set-up on our receiver by using 1/8 plug to stereo RCA cable and directly onto our digital speaker in our office. Once installed, both my hubby and I downloaded the Google Home APP on our smartphones and tablets to stream music from Pandora, iHeartRadio, NPR, Spotify and Google Play Music via WiFi.

While Google Chromecast Audio doesn't support iTunes, Google Play Music grabs the iTunes library and loads it into the Google cloud automatically. Once in the cloud, songs in the iTunes library can be played with Google Chromecast Audio.

Maya following me from room to room

We also found is that streaming music with our WiFi produced a higher quality uncompressed sound that doesn't drop out.- which is a huge plus for my audiophile husband.

But the best part? 

Being able to move around my home and listen to the same music no matter what room I'm in.

The Rat Pack is Back at the Rio All Suites Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas

My hubby and I were invited to enjoy the show after a nice buffet at the Rio All Suites Hotel & Casino.  The following is my true and honest review.

The Rat Pack is Back cast
Photo Courtesy of the Rat Pack is Back
Get ready to sit-down in a 60’s inspired theater setting with VIP round-tables for four; be waited by waitresses serving yummy drinks (the best white Russian I’ve had – ever – was served here), and a live big-band to enjoy Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Joey Bishop and Sammy Davis Jr – impersonators - when you buy tickets to see The Rat Pack is Back at the Rio All Suites Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

This hour and a half show really takes any fan of the era to that time.  Starting with Dean Martin (our personal show favorite), Joey Bishop pops in for comedic relief between songs, classic standards, and racy jokes.

If the impersonator is anything like the real deal, Dean Martin was a hoot and a hard drinker in his time – and sexy.  Very.

Sammy Davis Jr., although a great dancer and singer, looked nothing like the real deal.  Hubby was OK with that. I couldn’t get past it.

The Frank Sinatra impersonator was absolutely incredible.  Not only did he look like identical to Frank Sinatra, his mannerisms, his voice, and his discrete sexiness made all the women in the room swoon.

Which takes me to this fun fact: Everyone in the room was older than us.  Everyone. 

Frank Sinatra made a remark about it when the band was playing a solo, he interjected while looking straight into the crowd and saying: “To everyone in the room that is under 30, this, what you hear, is called music.”  He was looking straight at me (God bless my genes!)

Folks in the audience that were my parents and grandparents age laughed in unison.  My hubby and I nodded in agreement.

It was incredible to realize that I knew, by heart, every single song, and although it didn’t seem to be – at first – the type of who anyone under the age of 60 would enjoy, trust me, we did.

The songs are amazing; the performance is spot-on (if you’ve seen any of the Rat Pack films of the era you will get what I’m saying here).

The costumes, rather, the suits, were great.  The only thing that was missing, as I was looking around, was everyone in the audience dressing with 60’s skinny suits and beautiful dresses.  Had I known how spectacular the show was, I would have made it a point to dress-up in 1960s fashion – even if the couple next to us was dressed down in T’s and shorts (this still being one of the reasons Vegas gets a bad rap).

I highly recommend that when traveling to Vegas and wanting to get a little bit of old Vegas in your trip, you add “The Rat Pack is Back!” to your show-watching list.

Show plays nightly at 7 p.m., and tickets can be purchased here.

Enjoy!



Together with my hubby, we received complimentary tickets for this show and a buffet dinner.  No other compensation was provided.  Unless noted, photos are my own.
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