Man, I really needed a break. I hadn’t taken any time off since New Year’s, so it’s pretty much been nonstop nonsense since the start of 2024. Granted, it wasn’t all bad, given I’ve gotten tons of writing work done, been reading a lot more regularly, and have had plenty of films and new music to enjoy. But the daily grind starts getting to you after a while—you need a break. Thankfully, Las Vegas was happy to help with that.
Yeah, my friends and I were still kind of sore that our last visit didn’t turn out quite as planned, and Blue Ridge Rock Festival blew it last year (they still owe us our goddamn refunds!), so we said screw it and decided to give Vegas another shot. This time, though, instead of When We Were Young Fest, our destination was Sick New World, and oh boy, what a blast it was indeed. But we’ll get to that in a bit.
Putting the festival aside, I was just so excited for this vacation. Las Vegas, round two! A weekend spent with some of my best friends, getting up to all kind of shenanigans! Sick New World really ended up just being a bonus to what was already an exhilarating and rejuvenating weekend. From the get-go, this had all the makings of a top to bottom banger of a trip, and that’s exactly what it turned out to be.
Starting at 3 a.m. on Friday, April 26th, we headed to the airport for a very early flight. This way, we’d have all day Friday to spend in Vegas, between getting settled, exploring Resorts World (where we were staying; it offered a very convenient 10-minute walk to the festival grounds), going out to a very nice dinner, and, for me, going to a pre-show for the festival. The flight itself was…uncomfortable. At least, for me. I think I was just way too jittery and excited (and maybe tired). But as soon as we hopped off the plane in Nevada, I was ready to go.
It did decide to rain on Friday in Vegas, but nothing so bad that our plans were impeded. After picking up some mighty bagel sandwiches for brunch at The Bagel Nook, we arrived at Resorts World. The resort was outstanding, with a beautiful, golden aesthetic and plenty of flashy attractions to admire, from the sprawling casino floor to the wealth of bars, restaurants, and shopping spots. The place even had a miniature version of the Vegas sphere, as well as a night club and a day club (though we never had a chance to check those out).
Following a fairly mellow afternoon, our group headed out for our 5:30 dinner reservation at Primal Steakhouse. The viking/medieval-themed restaurant was, in a word, breathtaking. Between the godly cocktails and the endlessly delicious food—including the immaculate 32 oz. tomahawk steak we divided amongst our group—it was well worth the price point. This was the kind of dinner that makes you think, “Man, why can’t we live like this all the time?” I’ll tell you why: because you’d bankrupt yourself in less than half a year’s time. Oh well.
After dinner, we took a quick trip back to the hotel to change out of our formal dinner attire and into more comfortable clothes for the rest of our night out. While everyone else decided to do some exploring around the strip, I found myself at the Brooklyn Bowl for Wage War’s festival pre-show. I wasn’t going to be able to see Wage War at the festival due to a timing conflict with Polyphia, so I felt justified in spending Friday evening at this concert, and it proved to be a smart choice. It was exactly the sort of aggressive energy I needed, especially coming off of a roughly two-month stint without a show; it got me perfectly geared up for the following day. Top that off with a pleasant walk through Vegas back to the hotel, and I was all set for the festival.
Which brings us to Saturday and Sick New World. Man, what a wonderful festival this was. Like, I really don’t have a single complaint. Maybe some of the band timing conflicts, but even that is really negligible. For starters, can you imagine just how satisfying it is, after attending several festivals held in the middle of a fucking field, to go back to a festival held on asphalt? It makes such a huge difference. And proper facilities! And a well-organized staging and crowd management structure! And plenty of water refill stations and food options! All of this is before we even get to talking about the bands!
So. Many. Bands. Such a great lineup. In order from start to finish, we got to see: Spiritbox, Ice Nine Kills, Babymetal (one of the best acts of the day), Dayseeker, Bad Omens, Motionless in White, Danny Elfman (probably my favorite act from the entire fest), Wage War (only a little bit before I went to see…), Polyphia, Slipknot, and last but certainly not least, System of a Down (SOAD). And then tack on a couple others my friends got to see for good measure, like Alice in Chains and Kublai Khan. Maybe sprinkle in a little Bring Me the Horizon too. A near endless amount of wonderful live music to enjoy. We would have loved to see Sleep Token as well, but SOAD took precedent.
It was, in my opinion, a perfect day. Granted, I don’t think my legs have ever hurt that bad after a full day of shenaniganry. And I say that having been able to take an hour break, during which I walked back to the resort, showered, rested for a bit, and put on some fresh clothes for the evening (mainly jeans in the event it got chilly out). Still, the pain was well, well worth it. Would I have loved to do another day of it? In the moment, probably not. My body was in too much pain. But looking back on it now, yeah, I could definitely go another round. But hey, we can always go back another year…
In any case, that brings us to Sunday. We gave ourselves just enough time to sleep in before heading out to a wonderful brunch at The Pepper Club, a very fine and vaguely fancy establishment connected to The English Hotel. There, I enjoyed the best Japanese chicken and waffles I’ve ever had. It was also the only Japanese chicken and waffles I’ve ever had, but hey, that just makes it all the better, right? Afterward, we retreated to the resort to hang out by the pool for a while. This marked my first time ever swimming in an infinity pool, which might’ve been cooler if the view off the side wasn’t that a construction zone. Oh well.
For the rest of the day, we found ourselves back out on the Vegas strip, as we took to exploring the Cosmopolitan and the Bellagio. We also made sure to properly make a pit-stop at the Taco Bell Cantina, which offered the usual, appropriately adequate fast-food experience. But hey, at least the place looked pretty cool.
The Bellagio featured a beautiful botanical garden, which changes theme with the seasons. For the spring, they had a giant tea party going on, like something out of Alice in Wonderland. It was a magnificent sight.
Back in the Cosmopolitan, in addition to exploring the casino floor, we stopped in at two of the resort’s speakeasies. The first was the Ski Lodge, which, true to its name, was designed very much like a ski lodge. The entire venue was comfortably chilly, with dim lighting and walls sprawling with memorabilia themed after a nice, snowy mountain getaway. The servers all dressed in skiing outfits, and there was even a dude dressed up as a penguin at one point, with a nice three-piece suit and a penguin mask. The highlight of that spot was the smores, though, with delicious, house-made marshmallows, white chocolate, and penguin-shaped gingerbread cookies. What a treat.
The other speakeasy highlight was The Barbershop. The joint was, in fact, a barbershop out front, but after we headed into the back through a hefty steel door, we were greeted with a beautiful metal and whiskey bar, with leather couches and seating arrangements and a bar littered with golden, amber bottles. It was certainly one of the nicer bars I’ve ever found myself in. Our server, Tony, who created the whole menu, treated us to some of the best whiskey cocktails I think I’ve ever had. Have you ever watched a bartender smoke a cocktail glass right in front of you on the bar counter before serving you your drink in that glass? I hadn’t until that night, and it was awesome! My friends also got to take home a signed flask.
To cap off the night, we returned to Resorts World for a bit of light gambling. I say light because we didn’t keep it going very long after the one blackjack table we tried out absolutely screwed us. I’m not one to get all conspiratorial, especially with something as trivial as gambling, but when the dealer gets three straight 21s off the draw in a row, something just doesn’t feel right. The roulette machines were a bit kinder to us (all on red all night, baby), but when all was said and done, I was down about 50 bucks. Which isn’t terrible, all things considered.
With that, though, our weekend of debauchery came to a melancholic close. Heading back to the airport Monday morning for the flight home, I really did not want to leave, which is very unlike me. Usually by the end of vacations, I tend to fall into the mood of, “Yeah, I’m ready for the comforts of home again. My own bed sounds nice right about now.” But nah, fuck that. This was one weekend I never wanted to end. But I guess that’s what makes good times like that all the more special, right?
So, yeah, a vacation much-needed, a trip well worth it, and a time most lively. Don’t think I’d trade it for anything, really. Big shout out to my friends for making it a weekend worth remembering. And if you made it to the end of this recap, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed my vacation ramblings.
Anywho, until next time! Peace!