On Monday I enjoyed the greatest  entertainment bargain ever!

I have spent my entire life looking for the perfect New Years Eve.
Apparently 100,000 other people found it a long time ago.
That was the reported attendance at the Insight Bowl Block party
but it never seemed that crowded. It just seemed fun.

Its held on Mill Ave. in Tempe which is sort of a Bourbon St anyway
but on Dec. 31st it is spectacular. "Festive" doesn't come close
to describing it.  Carnival rides, multiple bands on multiple stages,
beer gardens and a huge stage for the headliners.

Who were the Barenaked Ladies and they ROCKED! Jesus, they opened with "One Week," their biggest hit,
and it just kept getting better and better.  You can tell the guys love
to play together and the jokes kept coming! They even referenced local
heroes the Gin Blossoms.

These guys can really play and you gotta love a band who already has a song
called "Alcohol" to play on New Year's Eve.  "Brian Wilson Said" "Its All Been Done"
and "Apartment" were other highlights of the more than two hour performance
which concluded with fireworks and the sing-along "If I Had A Million Dollars."

Here's the best part: Admission to the block party is free if you buy a ticket
to the insight Bowl game. I bought one for $15.  Then I saw a barnburner football game
between Oklahoma St and Indiana.

Football and rock and roll for fifteen bucks: total.
All within walking distance of each other and my hotel.