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Brad Paisley At Casino Rama March 22nd, 2007 at Rama, Ontario, Canada
Submitted By That's Country
Mar 25, 2007
Where do I start? I was very excited to be going to Casino Rama because I had heard so much about it but never made it there yet. This was all about to change as Barb Blanchard (Country Music News) and I made our way to Orillia and Casino Rama last Thursday (March 22nd) to see Brad Paisley and to do a little gambling on the slots....
My day started off really well when I got to ride in my dream vehicle part of the way to Rama. Barb and I decided to meet at the Park 'N Ride at Hwy's 9 & 400, where I parked my van and got into Barb's brand new, fully loaded Chevy Avalanche. I'd always wanted one but my budget only stretched as far as a 2005 Montana SV6! It was every bit as wonderful as I dreamed!!!!!
I was astounded at the size of Casino Rama when we got there. It was a very beautiful structure and enormous, housing the casino, a very large concert hall, many banquets halls, as well as a multi-storey hotel. Inside, I was immediately taken by the selection of slot machines. They had machines for every budget going from 1 cent to $1 machines. They also had a very large area set aside for the tables. Barb and I chose some 5 cent video slots and made ourselves comfortable until it was time to go and eat before the concert.
I must say I wasn't prepared for the number of choice restaurants the casino has to choose from. There were 9 restaurants from a steakhouse to an all-you-can-eat buffet. We opted for the buffet where it was really hard to decide what to eat. Everything looked great (and tasted great too!). I should mention here that the meal was entirely free, paid for by coupons Barb had sent to her from the Player's Club card she held.
After our meal, we made our way to the Will Call to pick up our tickets and photo passes for the show. This was Brad's second night at Casino Rama so I thought it would be a little quieter but I was in for a shock. The concert hall was packed!
I was very impressed with Brad's show. I thought it was very original the way he brought his performance together with the monitor behind him. His whole show was interacted with prepared flash scenes on the monitor. One scene was what appeared to be Jimmy Dickens live from Nashville talking to Brad and another example was Brad doing a duet with Alison Krauss to "Whiskey Lullaby". It was flawless and very entertaining. My personal favourite was when Brad performed "When I Get Where I'm Going" (his hit song with Dolly Parton) to a backdrop of slides with the likes of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash to a final picture of Brad with Buck Owens.
Interestingly, Brad didn't have his own band with him. He had an assortment of musicians from across Canada, who were so good, we didn't realize it wasn't his band until Brad introduced them. I should also mention that Brad had a different coloured guitar for almost every song he performed other than the acoustic set. Every detail of the show was well thought out, which made for a great and entertaining night.
Brad also performed a new song from his upcoming album for us called "I'm Still A Guy" (at least I think this is the title). It's a fun song which brought the audience to its feet. It was kind of on the same level as "I'm Gonna Miss her", which makes me quite sure it'll be another notch on Brad's list of #1's.
I really enjoyed this concert and will give it 4.5 stars out of 5. The .5 deduction was for the hat which messed up most of my pictures!!! <grin>
After the concert, Barb and I made our way to the refreshment room offered for free to Platinum Club Members, where we relaxed with a hot drink and a small snack. We actually could have had a whole meal in the room as it offered soup, sandwiches, fruit and dessert. There was also a section for soft drinks and tea & coffee. Most impressive was the silver cutlery instead of the usual plastic assortment. Barb and I decided to do a little more time at the slots and then make our way back to our hotel.
It was a great day and I whole-heartedly recommend the Casino Rama experience to everyone. I'm already planning my return trip!!!
