We just returned from yet another trip to Las Vegas, having attended the 2006 edition of the Amazing Meeting. Yes, that meeting was amazing, but the purpose of this post is to discuss altogether different: Las Vegas shows. Over the years we’ve seen a number of them, so I figured the time was right to start collecting some info about them, similar to what I did with my concert list.

Here they are, in alphabetical order:

• Bite
  Somewhat standard topless Vegas show, but with the added twist of everyone being vampires. The thing is, is sounds worse than it actually is. Far from being a great show, we left thinking “eh, that actually wasn’t too bad.”
• Blue Man Group
  BMG is probably your best bet if you are only going to see one thing in Vegas. My only disappointment was that it was essentially the same show that we had seen in Chicago a couple years earlier; I’m not sure why, but I assumed it would be different. Still, it’s well worth seeing.
• Bottoms Up
  I debated whether or not to count this one. It was one of those things where you get a free ticket as long as you buy a couple overpriced drinks, but even for being free I felt like we paid too much. I’m not even sure this is still showing anywhere, but if it is, keep walking.
• le Reve
  I was somewhat skeptical going into this one, but I was quickly won over. The performances are amazing. So much was going on at any one time that I’m sure I missed most of it. One of the few shows that I would actually consider seeing a second time.
• (Midnight) Fantasy
  This was another of those “hey, let’s go see a typical Vegas showgirl kind of show.” Was it terrible? No. Was it awesome? No. Actually, I think our favorite part of it was being able to joke about how “Midnight Fantasy” started at 10:30pm. Maybe they overheard us, because I notice that they have since renamed the show simply “Fantasy.”
• Mystere
  I found this to be excruciatingly boring. As such, I really can’t tell you too much about it, other than there was a giant snail that seemed to appear for no reason.
• O
  For years, people have been telling us that O is the best of the Cirque shows, so we finally got around to seeing it on our most recent trip. There’s no denying that the acrobatics and the staging are impressive, but the overall show left me quite unsatisfied. I really think if they cut the dreadful clown skits they could improve this show immensely.
• Penn & Teller
  What can you say about Penn and his chatty partner? It’s well worth the trip to wrong side of I-15 to catch their show.
• Prince
  Although it’s probably not considered a “Las Vegas show,” Prince has a standing engagement at the Rio, so in that respect he’s up there with Carrot Top. The 3121 club is relatively small, maybe 1000 people if it’s crammed full. We were only about four people back from the stage, which was an incredible vantage point for watching one of the all-time greatest performers work his craft. The only drawback was that we had to stand for over three hours before he hit the stage, so be sure to have comfortable shoes.
• Zumanity
  Worth seeing, but keep your expectations in check. The theater is quite magnificent and is almost worth the price of the ticket alone. The show itself doesn’t really have any problems, but I kept thinking that it should have been better… as though they were holding things back more than they needed to. I understand it’s been revamped a bit since we first saw it, so maybe they’ve taken care of some of the problems.