Madness @ House Of Blues

Another older band to check out! These are usually hit (Leonard Cohen) or miss (Bad Brains) but a risk that need to be taken.

Needless to say a right decision was made.

After dinner at Hussong’s in Mandalay Place, I walked into a relatively packed House of Blues with Erik & Dave and got our regular spot, down the front on the left hand side. We only had to wait a few minutes before we were graced with the presence of the 10 piece English legends. And from the get go it was all good. The crowd, a lot of which were English – and a lot older than I (it’s nice not to be the old guy at the show for a change) – reacted with wild abandon when the band started with One Step Beyond. Madness then proceeded to give Las Vegas a lesson in great ska shows over the next hour plus. Songs were somewhat familiar to me but the energy of band and the crowd made this a night to remember. It wasn’t until the last four songs that I got to hear all I wanted. House Of Fun, Baggy Trousers, It Must Be Love & Our House finished off the set, and the crowd was going nuts. After a brief break, we got a 3 song encore which left me wanting more. Unfortunately we did get Chas Smith coming back out to thank the crowd, wearing nothing but a towel – which was taken from him by the saxophone player. Leaving him to walk off stage nude as the crowd roared approval again.

I love going to concerts, and there is nothing better than a good one. But tonight I’ve never been so glad to see a show. The thought of reading about how good this show was would’ve been devastating. I wonder what the chances of ever seeing Madness again are.

The Crap Facts

This is my 325th concert.

This is my 40th concert at House Of Blues.

This is my 121st concert in Las Vegas.

This is my 121st concert in Nevada.

This is my 133rd concert in the USA.
Madness are the 390th band I've seen.