Here I am at another VIP event, somehow:
Ah, so that wasn’t me, that was the very pretty (and tall) model Ha Anh. What, you don’t like looking at pretty girls?
Alright, here’s me at the last Friday’s grand opening of Hard Rock Cafe in Saigon, the first in Vietnam (there have been fakes before):
Thanks to well-connected friends Tommy and Eduard and Jin, I somehow cheated my way into this invite-only party. Main event: DMC from Run DMC! (Yes, this is picky, but a bit disappointing to have just 1 of the 3 people in the group, and yes, I do know that Jay is dead)
Although the event started at 6 PM officially, everyone came much later- we got there closer to 7. DMC was scheduled to go on at 8, but as I expected, it was well after 9 before he got on. Got home at 11ish.
The key points of the night:
- Free booze! Solid mojitos, sponsorship by Coors Light, they even had the cold-activated bottles! (I learned about these on my last trip back to the US) The odd thing is, I don’t think I was aware that Coors Light was sold in Vietnam. Budweiser just came in about a year ago. First drinking of 2010!
- The venue is pretty nice. I expect it to be pretty damn expensive to eat/drink there, which removes me as a regular customer, but if they become a good booker for international acts, I could definitely see myself heading there pretty often- I might have to ask for a raise though. I heard a rumor that they’re going to try to bring in Billy Joe from Green Day, maybe on an acoustic session. How they can possibly make the finances work out on that, I do not know, but Vietnamese do make decisions on ego (see Hoang Anh Gia Lai’s sponsorship of Arsenal at Emirates Stadium for an example).
- A lot of stars and celebs as you would expect. After all, stars got me in the event in the first place!
- I didn’t think the audio configuration was too good. I had a great spot in the middle of the room, but I couldn’t make out what DMC was saying, even when he was just talking.
- In food, I’ve heard some really good things (Kevin and others) about their chicken wings and nachos. Unfortunately, while there was some solid food throughout the night, neither flagship product came out. Weak!
- No, I do not know why the Hard Rock Cafe has a grand opening with a rap act. Run DMC is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, however. Also, there is no way most people there knew of Run DMC. Even I don’t really know their music that well.
Some more pictures from the event below, see the Gallery on Smugmug for all:
Recent Comments