Adele performing on 20 AUG 2011, at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

When Jacob and I first heard that Adele was playing at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, a cheer was let out in our casa that must’ve scared the neighbors.  To put it mildly, we heart her.  And we’re not the only ones. 

According to Billboard, not only is Adele’s second album, 21, the best-selling digital album of all time (with more than 1 million downloads, this year), but 21’s juggernaut single, “Rolling in the Deep” is the biggest crossover song of the past 25 years, appearing on a dozen charts, including (in chronological order) Triple A, Adult Top 40, Rock Songs, Alternative, Adult Contemporary, Hot 100 Airplay (all-format), Mainstream Top 40, Dance Airplay, Rhythmic, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, Latin Pop Airplay, and Hot Latin Songs. 

Adele basks in the glow of the iPhones (that apparently replaced Bic lighters) as she performs on 20 AUG 2011, at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

And no matter how ubiquitous the song becomes, like the singer herself, it never becomes tiresome.  Why?  Quality, that’s why.  Adele’s got chops.  She’s got voice.  She’s got flair.  Adele is the personification of what I preach, ad nauseam; to wit, why style always beats fashion. 

Adele gets soulful on 20 AUG 2011, at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

Anyhoo – we picked-up our friend Nicole, and raced to the Chelsea Ballroom.  We were rather late, and between her 4” heels and my as-yet-heeled-from-surgery knee, it’s amazing we got there, at all!  Through it all, I just kept muttering my mantra for that evening, “As long as she hasn’t sung “Rolling in the Deep” we’re good.”

Adele's foot-stomping sing-along version of "Rolling in the Deep" sent her fans into a frazzle, as she performed on 20 AUG 2011, at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

The VIP section in the Chelsea Ballroom allowed for a unique perspective, as we were immediately behind and to the right of the performer, looking out, over the audience.   While there, we ran into Alex Acuna and Paul Lowden, Jr. and some college buddies of theirs, as well as Jake Saady, Bryan O’Reilly, and the lovely lady from Blue Ribbon Sushi & Grill (whose name escapes me, at the moment).  And yes, there were tons of girls there, too – but I only had eyes (and ears) for Adele.

 

Futuristic go-go dancer in an LED skybox designed by Leo Villareal, at Bond Lounge at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

Après le concert, we chilled by the bar in the VIP for a bit, and waited for the herds to thin.  Then, we made our way down to Bond, which was packed.  Nicole and Paul had heard that Passion Pit was playing at the hipper than thou lounge with the killer lighting installations by my friend-in-law, Leo Villareal.

 

Upon arrival at Bond, we learned three things: one, it was actually a DJ playing the songs of Passion Pit (which, while not the groovy electropop outfit from Cambridge, MA, themselves, didn’t suck); two, Bond is hopping on weekends (seriously, yo; standing room only!); and three – much like any Vegas valet, no lounge/club is ever really “full” so long as you take a note from Jim Carrey in The Mask, and let Clipboard Johnny know that the name on the List is Mr. Franklin.