Viva Las Vegas 17 - Part 1

It's already been more than a month and a half since Viva Las Vegas 17 took place....which means we are that little bit closer to Viva Las Vegas 18!!!

I always have a lot of fun at Viva, but I would have to say that this year was my funnest experience yet!

We arrived on the Wednesday afternoon, relaxed, got dinner, snoozed and then headed to the pre-party at Big Al's (where the record hop is held during Viva).  I recommend going to the pre-party, as you get to catch up with friends, see a few bands, listen to some djs, dance, and get the party started!

 Haute Rockabilly Fashionista and I both rocked up in unintentionally matchy outfits!

As the pre-party is in the Orleans and full of Viva attendees, it's a good way to extend the weekender and make the fun last a little longer!

I may or may not have got a little over-enthusiastic, had a little too much fun, and wound up with a seriously un-fun feeling in my head the next day... 

Thursday: two redheads in the same post-pre-party boat...Lola Devlin and I smiling through a world of pain...

Let's just say, no alcoholic beverages were consumed by me on Thursday...but, a hearty brunch and couple of paracetamols later, the fun continued...

The vendors open for trading on Thursday afternoon, and there is usually a mad rush to go and get the first pick of the best stuff.  I however, could not face the crowds, and instead, got some dances in!

 Thursday afternoon jiving to AWESOME music on an empty dance floor!

By Thursday night, things had gotten a little bit savage...

 Loverboy having a howling good time in his 1953 wolf-head print, soft corduroy, gaucho shirt.

Obligatory Orleans hallway outfit photo in my zebra print, corduroy jumpsuit by Cassandra Cadillac.

I'm wild about this guy!

It was great to see San Francisco's Stompy Jones up on the main stage.  They are such accomplished musicians, and they put on a fantastic, lively, show.

I've seen this band many times, with various front men, and they have always been jumpin', with a style of rhythm and blues which I love to listen to and dance to.  I've only seen them a couple of times with Hank Maninger on vocals, and I have to say, I like the hint of rock'n'roll that he brings to the band, both in personality and sound.  

I really enjoyed their performance, and it looked like the rest of the audience did too!  I'm really glad that we caught their set.

Big Sandy enjoyed Stompy Jones' set too!

This year, the cowboy boot-shaped drink holders were missing, and were instead replaced with some weird two-part car-shaped thing that slotted together, and was apparently not a great example of design, judging by all the puddles of ice and spilled booze that I kept spotting over the course of the weekend.  What I did enjoy seeing, were the high-heeled leggies, strolling their way around the hotel...

Now, I don't play bingo, but every time I caught sight of one of these sexy gams, I had to suppress a strong urge to shout out 'legs eleven!', especially when I saw two of them next to each other!  But, I stopped myself from busting out the bingo lingo. Sad face...

Stroppy teen, number fifteen!

Talking of legs, this was the first Viva that I managed to wear high heels! I decided that after schlepping them half way across the world, I should at least wear them at the beginning of the night. I made sure to get photographic evidence....

However, when the time came to jump and jive (number thirty-five!) those puppies got thrown off!  I really have no idea how so many ladies can jive in heels, especially slip-on Pollys which aren't securely attached to the foot.  I attempted one dance in my Betsey Johnsons, and decided very quickly that a broken ankle would not match the outfits that I had planned for the rest of the weekend, and swiftly switched to flats!   

Now that I've bored you with my shoe woes, here are some photos of dapper looking gents, who don't have to worry about things like dancing in heels...

Music, shopping, dancing, drinking and people-watching aside, Viva Las Vegas is a place to catch up with friends, and I was so happy to be reunited with so many lovely people, especially those that I don't get to see very often.

I think that's more than enough for now, so I will save the following days for another post....to be continued...