my FIRST time to the STATES

[gilbert]

heyy

i'm going to the states for my first time
i have a gig in Las vegas i'm staying there for 7 days
so i said i would take the opportunity after i finish to go maybe to LA since its near Las vegas and stay there for around 12 days

can someone give me some guidance on what i can do??
(concerts,worshops,clubs,teachers.... Cheap motels)

i'm so excited for this trip since i live in lebanon which is very far from the music scene
i refused a 6 very well paid gigs just to make this trip work


thanks guys for your help

schedule:30 july to 7 august (LAS VEGAS)
8 August to 20 August (Los Angeles or if you recommend somewhere else)

[Whopbamboom]

Check to see what Steamers Cafe has going... maybe you can catch a good latin jazz concert. You'll have check the site closer to your dates to see what's being listed, as they don't list too far in advance. Click on the "calendar" link.

Steamers is a small jazz club/dinner house in the city of Fullerton. I seem to recall that it winds up costing $40 per person for food and the jazz, but I could be wrong.

http://www.steamerscafe.com/

[JohnnyConga]

WEll I hope u have transportaion and a "Thomas Map book" to get around or know sombody there or it aint gonna happen....if u have a car goto N> Hollywood to the "El Flamingo Bar" on Friday night and from there u can find out who else is gigging where and when....also type in Johnny Polanco at myspace and chek his gig calendar...."JC" Johnny Conga...

[gilbert]

thanks guys!!

i dont know anyone there and i dont have a car!!

so i'm gonna be like George of the jungle in the states

maybe i can find some giovanni paladium congas to buy

[JohnnyConga]

Gilbert believe me getting around L.A without a car is near impossible....forget buses u will be waiting forever.....It also depends on where you will be staying in L.A.???..."JC" Johnny Conga...

[Whopbamboom]

He's right about the bus system-- you can get around, but it's a big city and it's very time-consuming to do it that way. Plus you'll be spending hours walking wherever the busses don't take you.

If you have a lot of extra money you could hire taxi's. But that will get expensive.

Not sure if you can rent a car without going to U.S. traffic school...

[JohnnyConga]

Or have an "International License"....."JC" Johnny Conga... ???

[JohnnyConga]

BTW Las Vegas is over 4 hours driving time to Los Angeles and 45 minutes by plane...now if u want to "hok up" in Vegas John 'Dandy' Rodriguez is there and a host of other reat players now...look up Rick Arroyo at the Rio on Monday "Latin NIght"....he plays piano andis a friend of mine.."JC" Johnny Conga...

[gilbert]

thanks guys!! maybe i'll issue an international driving license!!

but do u know any cheap hotel or motel that is near the events

[JohnnyConga]

In Vegas there is NO cheap hotel...unless u want one that is full of the "downtrodden" and then u might get ripped off....you have to be careful here man...sorry but unfortunatly it can be a bit treacherous for foreigners that dont know there way around, even in Las Vegas....not everyone is as friendly as u might think...and in Vegas, ****, anything goes....for example...find a nice girl ,go to your room with her , you have fun , wake up and your wallet and all ur money is gone.....I just want to help u keep an "eye and ear" open when in Vegas or in L.A.....Im not trying to rain on your parade but , here u have to just be "aware, everywhere"..."JC" Johnny Conga....

[ozrivera]

Saludos Hermanos

Gilbert

I was getting ready to say, nothing is cheap in vegas. you can rent a car with an international drivers license.
but you should check before you get there.
make sure you take a credit card or several of them, just in case. by the way if you are going to see a show or a concert expect to pay at least $70. US. meals are also expensive.
best bet is to try to hook up with one of the brothers from here in the congaboard that is from that area that has a car and time.
like JC said be careful in Vegas and LA a lot of street characters there. but besides that youll love it, its unlike anywhere else in the world.

good luck

Oz

[Whopbamboom]

I think there are some good deals in Vegas--- the casino hotel rooms can be considerably cheaper than in L.A.!!! You just have to know where to go to find them.

For Vegas and surrounding areas like Primm and Laughlin, I use travelworm.com to find the best deals. For any other place in the U.S., I use priceline.com

Now, I have to say-- there are some real dives in Vegas that I would not ever go back to again. The Western and the Golden Spike are two on my own personal badlist. But the Plaza was pretty decent, and a good deal for the money when I stayed there. Arizona Charlie's on Decatur St. was OK overall, maybe an OK runner-up to the Plaza. I did not consider either of these places to be "dives", just basic places to stay that were also a fair deal for the money.

But of course, I just use those places to sleep and shower. I do not care about amenities when I travel.

You can get cheaper rooms at Whiskey Pete's or Buffalo Bill's at Stateline in Primm, and they are even nicer places. But you will have to drive, and gas is not cheap these days (though I have no idea what it costs in Lebanon). I think gas will be all of $3.50-4.00 per gallon out there. Not to mention the time it takes to make the drive each way to Vegas.

I should also mention that the rooms that you can book through travelworm, priceline, or similar site, are wholesale rooms. This means that they generally are not the very best available rooms in the hotel. For instance, you might get a nice window view of the roof of the casino instead of something better. Or you might be positioned near the air conditioning units which emit some noise. I never thought any of that was a big deal, but your tastes may be different than mine.

Oh, and I don't know if you can book a room on those online wholesale websites from Lebanon. I guess that might depend on the type of credit card you have??



Edited By Whopbamboom on 1182373186

[gilbert]

I think there are some good deals in Vegas--- the casino hotel rooms can be considerably cheaper than in L.A.!!! You just have to know where to go to find them.

For Vegas and surrounding areas like Primm and Laughlin, I use travelworm.com to find the best deals. For any other place in the U.S., I use priceline.com

Now, I have to say-- there are some real dives in Vegas that I would not ever go back to again. The Western and the Golden Spike are two on my own personal badlist. But the Plaza was pretty decent, and a good deal for the money when I stayed there. Arizona Charlie's on Decatur St. was OK overall, maybe an OK runner-up to the Plaza. I did not consider either of these places to be "dives", just basic places to stay that were also a fair deal for the money.

But of course, I just use those places to sleep and shower. I do not care about amenities when I travel.

You can get cheaper rooms at Whiskey Pete's or Buffalo Bill's at Stateline in Primm, and they are even nicer places. But you will have to drive, and gas is not cheap these days (though I have no idea what it costs in Lebanon). I think gas will be all of $3.50-4.00 per gallon out there. Not to mention the time it takes to make the drive each way to Vegas.

I should also mention that the rooms that you can book through travelworm, priceline, or similar site, are wholesale rooms. This means that they generally are not the very best available rooms in the hotel. For instance, you might get a nice window view of the roof of the casino instead of something better. Or you might be positioned near the air conditioning units which emit some noise. I never thought any of that was a big deal, but your tastes may be different than mine.

Oh, and I don't know if you can book a room on those online wholesale websites from Lebanon. I guess that might depend on the type of credit card you have??

thanks guys for your help!!

i just got the news when i'm in vegas i'm gonna be staying in the ceasers palace!!

but i'm gonna go to LA on my own expense and find somewhere to stay!!

as for the gas 4$ is cheap because in lebanon its 15$ per gallon

[CongaTick]

gilbert... did I hear you correctly? You did say FIFTEEN DOLLARS A GALLON!!!?

[Diceman]

We're paying about $9 a gallon in England, but $15 OUCH, and $4 OUCH!!

Whatever we pay, we burn too much of it!!

Diceman