Lovely Las Vegas: Swingin' with Matt Goss

Does anyone remember Bros? You know, the UK pop super-group featuring Matt & Luke Goss and their childhood friend Craig Logan? No? Well, I remember Bros very well. My sister, our friend Susan and I were a part of thousands of “Brosettes” back in the late 80’s, fans of the British sensation. I even joined their fan club called “The Bros Front” because we were desperate to get any and all information on a band that was so scarce in the US. After Craig left and after their second album, I sort of lost track of them. It wasn’t until Luke Goss appeared in a few movies my husband likes that I wondered what Matt was doing. Lo and behold, as we were driving through McCarran Airport with our newly born son in tow to show off to our Las Vegas family back in 2009, I saw a huge billboard with Matt Goss’ gorgeous face on it, larger than life. I vowed that we would see that show one day.

That day came last Friday, when I decided it was high time we take in Matt Goss’ show at The Gossy Room in Caesars Palace while we were on our Thanksgiving holiday with the family. I was SO excited to see his show because I purchased VIP tickets to ensure we would meet him. To really make the night special, I made sure my hubby and I were dressed in our retro finest. As we entered, a photographer took our picture, which we could purchase at the end of the show. Since we were VIP, we were treated to my choice of where I wanted to sit, so I sat us both right up front, taking in all of the musical action up close and personal!

I really don’t think words could describe exactly what we witnessed that night. I wasn’t sure what to expect, except to see more of what Matt did on The Queen Latifah show when he performed the single, I Do, from his latest album, Life You Imagine, which I thought was brilliant. Both my husband and I were in awe of what Matt brought to the stage. To say his voice has matured is an understatement. What I remember from the days of Bros has evolved into a strong, yet soothing voice where all of his feelings are reflected so powerfully. The show was interactive, energetic, entertaining, funny, full of emotion and lots of respect for those who came before him in that very hotel. His band was fantastic, back up singers were adorable, and those lovely yet sultry “Dirty Virgins” dancers complimented him perfectly, adding just the right bit of sexiness.

I knew Matt would perform some Sinatra songs (he did Lucky Be A Lady and I’ve Got The World on a String), but he also played his own takes on Hotel California by The Eagles and Superstition by Stevie Wonder. Matt also played songs off his new album, but what surprised me the most was hearing swing versions of Bros songs. In fact, he leads into the songs by saying something about he’s not going to play Cat Amongst The Pigeons, don’t ask him to play Drop The Boy, but he may play I Owe You Nothing (all off Bros’ first multi-platinum album Push). So in my excitement, I squealed out loud, “You have to play When Will I Be Famous!” Without missing a beat, on came a swing version of When Will I Be Famous, followed by I Owe You Nothing. It felt like I was a part of the act because it happened so organically, but I knew it was by design. Matt definitely understands that British patrons would know who he is and where he came from, in addition to diehard fans like myself, from back in the days of Bros.

There were definitely heartfelt moments, especially when Matt brought up the recent passing of his mother and that his step father was in attendance that night. I could tell that there was a lot of emotion coming out of him during the song Strong and another lovely song off the new album called The Day We Met, which I interpret as a song of hope and regret: the regret of a past love, but the hope of moving on and finding love again. The show ends with full energy with the song Lovely Las Vegas, Matt’s ode to the town that he has come to know and love in this stage of his career.

After the show, guests who were VIP were treated to a meet and greet, where you could have items autographed and take home souvenir pictures taken by a photographer. Originally, I was going to bring my old Bros 12 inch singles for Matt to sign, but I’m a bit glad I didn’t this time around because it gave us more time to chat with him. Matt is kind, gracious, funny, confidently dapper (his Christian Louboutin shoes were to die for) and extremely good-looking in person (I’m sorry, but I had to state the obvious). He was very complimentary towards us, mentioning to Deon and I how he really loved that we came dressed up to his show. I explained that I was a Bros fan back in the day, and that I wasn’t sure what to expect, but that I was pleasantly surprised and thought his show was spectacular. He thanked us again, and asked if we could spread the word about his show down in San Diego. He and Deon had a bit of a discussion about their toppers, where Matt mentioned he was going to be dabbling in millinery, designing his own line of hats. As we were leaving, Matt kissed my hand, did a double take and said, “Wait! Your hand was on Twitter!” This flattered and shocked me all at the same time because I did post a picture of my new manicure on Instagram (which is connected to my Twitter and Facebook accounts), which I did hashtag with his name!

Although the show was simply amazing, and I will definitely be back to see it all again, the highlight of the evening was after the show. First, I went back inside to get our picture with Matt autographed (pictured above), which resulted in another hug (*squeal*). After we officially left The Gossy Room to go visit Deon’s friend Katie at Planet Hollywood, we sat down in the casino for a bit to recover from all of the excitement. I went to take a picture of Matt’s poster when he and his entourage passed by us. We waved at him, and he waved back, then sauntered over to us and said “Group hug!” embracing the both of us. He asked what I was doing, to which I sheepishly replied “Taking a picture of your poster…” He then suggested “Why don’t we do a selfie?” REALLY?! Of course, my phone took that opportunity to fail on me because I used up all of the memory. I said exasperatingly, “My thingy isn’t working,” which prompted Matt to reply, “Your thingy isn’t working??” In comes Deon to the rescue and his phone was used to take the AMAZING selfie below, which I immediately put on Instagram. He then mentioned again how much he loved our attire and said we should dress like that every time we to out, and with a wave good-bye, off he went into the night.

What an amazing time, all thanks to an amazing man. Thank you Matt for making us feel absolutely special. You are a true entertainer, and an even truer gentleman. To my readers: if you are spending the weekend in Las Vegas anytime soon, I highly suggest and wholeheartedly recommend seeing Matt Goss’ show. You will be treated to one of the best shows on The Strip!

(Edited to add: Thank YOU Matt for Tweeting this blog post…YOU are so sweet!)