Well, gang, it finally happened to me. My computer crashed on me while I was on vacation. I truly thought I was safe because I had an outside backup hard drive—touted as the best. Well, let me tell you it wasn’t. I lost all my email contacts (fortunately I had printed it out and have it to be downloaded by a friend…each name has to be typed in). And, believe me, I have a lot of names to be inserted into my rebuilt computer.
I had no idea what I was going to do. I tried getting a friend to help me, but he had gotten out of the repair business. So, I ended up signing for a Cox program where they come in and take over the computer, and find out what happened and do what they can to make it work again. But, first, I ended up taking the computer and the backup to Office Depot. They did what they could for me, but the backup stopped backing up in 2015. And, no email was saved at all. Very few files were saved, and what was saved was rather out of date. But the plans by Cox and Microsoft came through. I now have an operating system called “10” which is totally new to me. Oh, heck, “7” was new to me a long time ago too. I will survive.
Anyhow the Laugh Factory has a great line-up this week. Headlining this Friday through Sunday (July 29-31) will be the “Back to the Future” star himself, Tom Wilson. He will have Brian McKim featured with the hosts, Josh Florhaug. Showtimes are 8:30 and 10:30 p.m.
Tom Wilson is one of the top comedians in the country! His solid standup and hilarious music combine for a unique package in live entertainment. Wilson can be seen on a new one-hour comedy special for Image Entertainment, “Bigger Than You,” and has made appearances on “The Tonight Show,” the “Late Show with David Letterman,” “Good Morning America,” the “Today” show and “CBS This Morning.” He has also appeared in 30 feature films, including “The Informant,” his Saturn Award-winning performance as Biff Tannen in the classic “Back to the Future” trilogy, and co-starred in the hit comedy movie “The Heat.” Wilson also voices many characters on Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” and has been a recurring character on many TV series, including “Ghost Whisperer,” “Ed,” “Freaks and Geeks,” “Help Me Help You,” “Titus,” “Big Love” and more.
Fresh off his appearance on “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,” Brian McKim was a semifinalist on Season 7 of NBC’s “Last Comic Standing.” He is a writer and professional stand-up comic who has performed in all 50 states! He has appeared on numerous network, syndicated and cable TV shows and on “The Bob & Tom Show.” He is also the co-author of “The Comedy Bible: The Complete Resource for Aspiring Comedians.”
Is Josh Florhaug the kid you picked on in high school? Well he is back and has a microphone! Florhaug takes a raw look at a timid life telling stories of a kid who did things a little differently, from cheerleading to living with his girlfriend. He will have you feeling bad for him, but laughing the whole time. You can also watch Florhaug on Showtime’s “Pauly Shore Stands Alone.”
The Laugh Factory is located on the mezzanine level of the New Tropicana Resort on the corner of Tropicana and the Strip. Tickets are priced at $34.95 to $44.95. Call 702-739-2222 and ask for the box office or call 1-800-829-9034.
THIS AND THAT QUICKLY:
House of Blues Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino together with Carlos Santana announced the 2017 performance dates of An Intimate Evening with Santana: Greatest Hits Live, marking the fifth year of performing at the intimate venue for the guitar legend. Tickets for the newly announced performances will go on sale Friday, July 29 at 10 a.m. Tickets for the remaining 2016 dates are currently on sale. All shows begin at 8 p.m. 2016 performance dates: Sept. 14, 16-18, 21, 23-25 Nov. 2, 4-6, 9, 11-13, and the 2017 performance dates: Jan. 25, 27-29 and Feb. 1-4. House of Blues Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay has been home to Santana’s live concert since 2012. Fans have partied all night within a few feet of the musical icon with the La Zona Fiesta tickets. The popular VIP packages will again be available for purchase with customizable experiences that include limited edition photos and specialty dining/beverage packages featuring stage-side dining.
Tickets for An Intimate Evening with Santana: Greatest Hits Live start at $99.50, plus applicable fees and go on sale Friday, July 22 at 10 a.m. Tickets are available by visiting House of Blues.com/Santana, MandalayBay.com, Ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000. For additional information, visit santana.com. A CITI presale began Tuesday, July 26 at 10 a.m., visit CitiPrivatePass.com for more information. CITI is the official credit card of the concert series. The M life, House of Blues, SiriusXM, Ticketmaster and Live Nation presale begins Thursday, July 28 at 10 a.m. A portion of all tickets sold will be donated to The Milagro Foundation. Milagro (“Miracle”) is a charitable foundation supporting underrepresented and vulnerable children and youth in the areas of arts, education and health. The Milagro Foundation was created in 1998 by Carlos and his family to benefit children worldwide. Another contribution will be made to the House of Blues Music Forward Foundation. Founded in 1993, Music Forward Foundation accelerates real-life skills for youth using music as the bridge to success.
For 40 years and as many albums later, Santana has sold more than 100 million records and reached more than 100 million fans at concerts worldwide. To date, Santana has won ten GRAMMY® Awards and three Latin GRAMMY® Awards. He won a record-tying nine GRAMMYs for a single project for 1999’s Supernatural (including Album of the Year and Record of the Year for “Smooth”) as well as three Latin GRAMMY’s. He has also received the Billboard Century Award (1996), was ushered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1998), received the Billboard Latin Music Awards’ Lifetime Achievement honor (2009), and was the recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors Award (2013). Among many other honors, Carlos Santana has been cited by Rolling Stone as #15 on their list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.” And, with the 2014 release of Corazón, Santana surpassed the Rolling Stones and is one of only two music acts in Billboard history to score at least one Top Ten album for six consecutive decades from the 1960s on. April 15, 2016 marks the release date of Santana IV, the wildly anticipated studio album that reunites the revered early ‘70s lineup of guitar icon Carlos Santana (guitar, vocals), Gregg Rolie (keyboards, lead vocals), Neal Schon (guitar, vocals), Michael Carabello (percussion) and Michael Shrieve (drums). Santana IV debuted at #5 on Billboard’s Top 200 Chart and marks Santana’s fourteenth Top 10 album.
Well, gang, hope you don’t mind this getting out a wee bit late, but I have no choice.