Bite of Las Vegas

Saturday was a hot one! The mercury reached over 90 degrees. Not exactly the best weather for an all-day food and music festival. It was pretty toasty out there, but then there was relief once the sun began to set.

Gates opened at 11:00 for Bite of Las Vegas, but Mike and I didn’t care to see Katherine McPhee or Parachute. So, we got to Desert Breeze Park around 2:30. Parking was free, but a long walk. Valet parking was available for $15.

I donated a bag of canned goods so we each were able to get a dollar off admission; we paid our $14 and we walked right in. We walked around the grounds to check everything out. We got freebies and stopped at spin to win tents, Mike won two Wranglers hockey tickets. I won a sun tea pitcher and glasses. There were quite a few local restaurants serving food; personal favorites such as Amore, Hash House a Go Go, Stripburger, Gordon Biersch, and Paymon’s were there. Water and pop were $2, Beer was $4 and most food samples seemed to be priced between $3-$5. Overall, prices were pretty reasonable.




There were rides for the kids and a rock wall. I also noticed that in addition to regular port-a-potties, they also had trailers that offered flushing toilets and running water. However, to use them you had to pay $3 for all-day access.

Uncle Kracker took the stage at 4:30 we waited about an hour beforehand so we could secure a good spot to watch the show. Meanwhile, Jimmy Stafford of Train took the stage, and we were told Train would not be performing. Pat Monahan was sick. That was a bummer. Blue October would now play at 8:00 instead of 6:30 and local bands now had the opportunity to play on the main stage. Neither of us particularly wanted to see Blue October so we decided to leave after Uncle Kracker.


Before Uncle Kracker set up, Le Reve from Wynn performed. It was the quickest performance I’ve ever seen. If you blinked long enough it was possible to miss it.




Uncle Kracker was great. They played Smile off his new album, Happy Hour, all his hits, plus All Summer Long since he wrote it with Kid Rock. So, even without Train it was well worth going.





I felt so old, though. I didn't feel I fit into the crowd, it was young teens or parents who brought their kids. There was a group next to us that were incredibly annoying - four girls and one guy. The guy was all proud that he was a self-proclaimed stoner. He's gotten better since his freshman year, he claimed. Now he only drinks and smokes – and he was sure to clarify he didn’t mean cigarettes. Two girls of the group were swooning over him. One was asking what his parents thought of him being a stoner and he said they were hippies so they get it. The other was fascinated with his lighter, running her finger thru it endlessly.

Also, Uncle Kracker sang The Joker by Steve Miller Band. He tried to get the audience to sing along, but it failed miserably. They were too young to know the words.


Crowds got really heavy by the time Uncle Kracker ended. We did a quick walk around before deciding to leave. Lines were longer, it was harder to get around, people were drunk. I was ready to go. I guess I am old. There was a long line to enter when we were leaving and a good number of cars were streaming in. Luckily, since we left early getting out of the parking lot was a breeze.

Even if it didn’t go quite as expected, I’m glad we went. It was a good time.