#MonteBoktown is Back

Lets be honest. If you're not watching rugby live at a stadium, then the next best place is BOKTOWN! And not just any Boktown. But Boktown at Montecasino! You know, you just #GottaLuvMonte.

And guess what guys? Boktown is headed back to Montecasino this year to screen the Castle Rugby Championships games when the Springboks take on the Australian Wallabies on 20 July & the Argentinian Puma's on 17 August. 

The official Springbok supporters village will take over the Piazza providing a spot to relax & enjoy the game in an environment that is electric & where everyone is alive with that Proudly South African spirit. There will be live entertainment, DJ's, interactive activities for kids, food & drink aplenty to keep everyone busy the whole time. You'll also be able to spot & meet some SA Rugby legends & Bokkie - the official Springbok mascot. But that's not all! As always, Montecasino will have some great competitions with awesome prizes to giveaway.

So it's really not something that you want to miss out on. And for only R30, you should bring the whole family & all your friends! Grab your free drink for a pre-kick off party kick off with gates opening at 16:00 & kick off at 17:05.

Just a word to the wise. You do want to dress warm! It gets chilly out there once the sun has disappeared behind for the day.  

Book your tickets here today. 

#MONTEBOKTOWN

MALT - Barrel & Fire @ Monte

I love discovering new places in places that I'm always at. Popped in at Montecasino the other eve & headed to Malt Barrel & Fire. 

My initial thought was chilled pub vibes & I expected a pub-lunch kind of menu. Well, not entirely wrong, but Malt offers an unique 'gastro pub' experience with an extensive variety of food & drinks that is a gourmet version of any pub menu. 

I'm gonna start off with just telling you how cool the interior & decor is. Think industrial upmarket New York loft apartment. (Already I'm sold on just that concept to be honest.) The name 'Malt Barrel & Fire' comes from the 4 fireplaces & 4 burning barrels in the venue, & with a mixture of wooden & copper features & soft lighting, all add to the warmth of the restaurant & offering an incredible ambience for any night out. 

So on the menu, you will currently find a huge selection of malts - 16 draught beers on tap; over 40 bottled beers from all over the world; & an ever-growing selection of more than 80 different whiskies. Then not to forget, the list of cocktails & wine is one that I still think I need to work my way through, because they all look incredible. So you'll definitely find something that you'll like on their drinks menu. 

The food menu has been designed as to delight even the most discerning palate, offering the best fresh ingredients. Some of my favourites from the night include the Firecracker Ribs & the Pizza's. You could pop in here for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner or even that in-between meal snacks & get something light. Other dishes that I enjoyed were the fried haloumi, spatchcock chicken & chicken kebabs.

We had some real fun on the evening with a beer tasting, beer pong & whiskey tastings. 

So most definitely an up-market restaurant with cuisine & drinks to match, which makes it a new favourite spot at Montecasino.

#MaltMonte

Images - Blowfish Productions

Piazza Music Vibes at Montecasino

At home this coming holiday? Not too sure about what to do to keep busy?

Well, why not head on down to Montecasino's outdoor Piazza? And get into the holiday spirit & vibe to the tunes of Majozi, Watershed, Monark, Lloyd Cele, Lady Zamar & Mi Casa.

You will be able to enjoy the summer sunset from the 21st through to the 29th of December at a giveaway price of only R10 per person per concert! A total steal. You'd think it was Black Friday all over again. And ALL proceeds will be donated to the HOT919 FM - Hot Cares Programme.

21 December - Majozi

22 December - Watershed

23 December - Mi Casa

27 December - Monark

28 December - Lloyd Cele

29 December - Lady Zamar

With gates opening at 5pm & DJ's setting the mood until 18:30 when the acts take to the stage, you'll find yourself relaxing in no time.

Visit the casino & redeem R30 in free play casino vouchers using your concert ticket stub, or go have dinner at one of the fine restaurants on the premises.

Get your tickets from the Box Office at Montecasino or here.

Alternatively, you can win 4 tickets to the show of your choice too!

How to enter:

1. Like As Seen By Lloyd & Montecasino on Facebook.

2. Share the competition post on Facebook using #GottaLuvMonte

3. Tag the friends that you'll be dancing with at the Piazza Music Vibes.

#ItsAnIllusion

Mind Blown...

That's how I can describe The Illusionists right now.

A showcase of jaw-dropping talents from 7 of the most incredible illusionists on earth in my opinion. 

The acts include grand illusion, mind reading & disappearance. Definitely world class performers who have taken a leaf out of the books for their own showmanship from some of the greatest illusionists in history (think Harry Houdini).

What makes the show even better is the modern & contemporary aesthetic. The set & costume designs sure lend to the theatricality & the artistry that has not, to this level, ever been seen in South Africa.

Something that makes the show very 'relatable', is the that the performers have gone that extra mile to make the show South African & include current events & local happenings in their show. My favourite for the night most certainly was Chris Cox, The Mentalist. Not just an incredible talent, but a funny guy & he had the crowd laughing & cheering at just how accurate his mind control & mind reading abilities are.

Probably one of the biggest crowd favourites is Darcy Oake, The Grand Illusionist, who makes the show when he disappears off stage like vanishing into thin air & even more, when he makes a real life-size motorbike appear on stage. You are literally left in awe & it boggles your mind as to how on earth they get it right. 

This is most definitely a show that I would highly recommend to persons of all ages. You sit there watching things unfold before your very eyes & you know it's not physically possible. All of a sudden you believe in magic all over again, & you just can't help it, but before you know it, you are excited like when you were back when you were a kid. 

I was fortunate enough to get to meet the The Grand Illusionist himself, Darcy Oake & he took us on a journey of magic & how it changed his life. (Completely by chance when his dad correctly, by complete luck, chose his card out of a pack of 52) 

If you want to see what everyone else has been saying about the show online, just check out #ItsAnIllusion & I'm pretty sure you will see that it's not just me raving about the show.

#ENTERTAINER2018

Savings on the Enjoyable & Unavoidable...

Lets be honest now. We all just love to get in on a bargain & save a few extra bucks where we can. And in this economic climate, I can say that I definitely am one that needs to save more & spend less. But also, I love going out for dinner & drinks or to the spa. (All the more expensive things in life...*sigh*)

But then... Earlier in 2017 I discovered The Entertainer! It's a lifestyle app that brings you thousands of offers at restaurants, bars, spas, beauty salons, leisure activity sites, retail & service stores, and hotels worldwide... They are available 7 days a week (excluding public holidays), all year round.

Now what are these offers you ask? Essentially, restaurants have a 'buy-one-get-one-free' offer... So if you redeem the voucher for that restaurant, it means that you will get to enjoy a complimentary meal, when a meal of equal or great value is purchased.

Hair Treatments, Mani's & Pedi's, Massages.

A visit to Bounce Inc or the local Driving Range, Ice Rink or Museum.

Photo shoots & prints.

Tailoring & Dry cleaning.

Even a few free night stays at hundred of Hotels in SA & across the globe. 

The offers are endless. Are you starting to do the Math? If not, I think you should. You can literally save thousands of Rand's with all these offers.

Quick fact. Did you know that worldwide, ENTERTAINER users have saved over R870 Million over the last year... (I'll let that sink in.) For SA, you can get the app for Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria & Durban. 

If you are not sold yet... How easy is it to use the ENTERTAINER app you ask...

Check it out.

1. Locate your ENTERTAINER App

 2. Open the ENTERTAINER App

3. Select your location.

4. Select your category.

 5. Browse through the hundreds of offers.

 6. Make your selection.

7. Check out the specific offering.

8. Click on Redeem.

 9. Enter your Pin.

 10. Have the Manager enter his Pin.

11. And you are done...

A few nights ago, we attended the JHB launch at the Parkers Comedy Club at Montecasino. A night filled with good food & drink & even better laughs.

Entertained by the likes of out emcee, Martin Davis, who has such energy & bounced across the stage & his attention flipping from table to table in the audience he had us all in hysterics. 

Other comedians for the night included Alyn Adams & Kedibone Muluadzi. And what a laugh it was.

So if you are like me & you love to save some extra cash to spend on something else, then you need to get on it and download the ENTERTAINER app here from the iStore & here from Google Play. 

And if you do it now... you can get it for only R295.00 instead of R495.00 here, giving you a saving of R200.00 already... (Tempting isn't it?)

#ENTERTAINER2018

#SaveWithASmile

Lord of the Dance - Dangerous Games

Michael Flatley...

A name surely almost everyone knows. Lord of the Dance - Dangerous Games is back by popular demand. And guess what Cape Town? For the 1st time they will be visiting you too. But don't despair Jo'burg, they will be up here too after their stay down in the Cape. 

Cape Town: Grand Arena, Grandwest - 8 to 13 August.

Johannesburg: Teatro at Montecasino - 15 August to 3 September.

A spectacular new staging of the traditional master piece. The precision & thrills of the original production. Dangerous Games, features new staging, costumes & choreography. With cutting edge technology, which includes a giant radiant flat screen, spanning the entire width of the stage, special effects lighting, dancing robots & world champ acrobats.

Combining the best of tradition with the exciting new dance & music, this latest iteration boasts some of the world's most outstanding young performers, directed by Michael Flatley & new music composed by Gerard Fahy.

And yes. It will be the 1st time that the show will be visiting Cape Town & naturally it will be returning to Jo'burg due to the popular demand & rave reviews from back in 2015.

So Michael Flatley made name back in 1994 at Eurovision with his innovative, unforgettable & groundbreaking choreography. This was definitely one that changed the world of dance as a whole & in particular Irish dance forever. I mean, how could he not? 35 taps per second! That's some serious fast footwork. 

This is just a show that has been breaking box office records & thrilling audiences around the globe for over 2 decades already. You really don't want to miss out on this one!

Tickets on sale:

Computicket - www.computicket.com

Big Concerts - www.bigconcerts.co.za

Check them out:

www.lordofthedance.com

Twitter: @lordofthedance

Cirque Éloize iD

Cirque Éloize iD is here again...

So I saw this show 2 years ago, back in 2014 when they toured to Johannesburg at The Teatro at Montecasino. All I'm going to say is that I am very excited that they are back in SA for another show. The bewildering, high-energy production, which incorporates acrobatics and street dance will blow you away.

Starting off in Cape Town on 16 November and after only 15 performances the performance moves up to Johannesburg and will be back in the Teatro at Montecasino from 30 November until 24 December.

Under the direction of Jeannot Painchaud, Cirque Éloize iD is brought back to SA to you by Showtime Management after having been enjoyed by over 3 million people in over 4000 shows in almost 500 cities across the world in 50 countries since it's very first show in 2009. (If this doesn't scream International, then you should read this last paragraph again.)

Acrobats, Aerialists, Trail Bikers, Hip-Hop & Break Dancers have come together to create a society, in which 2 groups celebrate everyone's distinct identity with its high-energy blend of circus art & urban dance. Most definitely a production for the young at heart and featuring an inspiring soundtrack & innovative video projections.

The cast of 15 have worked together with composers Jean-Phi Goncalves & Alex McMahon to incorporate innovative multimedia elements with a rock & electronica inspired soundtrack.

"The runaway success of the show's first season in 2014 says it all - this is a unique & massively exciting show for the whole family," says Hazel Feldman of Showtime Management, who added. "This mind-blowing fusion of new theatrical circus and urban dance is an absolute must "do" on every year-end calendar!"

The trampoline-finale is quite spectacular. The energy & poetry of the show will surpass your expectations and is guaranteed to leave you in awe. This is honestly a show like no other and if you have not seen Cirque Éloize iD, then you have never seen anything remotely similar in SA.

Tickets are available from Computicket.

And we are running a competition on social media, where you can win 1 of 2 Double Ticket to the opening night on 30 November 2016 at Montecasino. 

How to Enter:
1. Follow me on Twitter: @Lloydi_Boy
2. Tell me who you will be bringing with you to the show and remember to use the #FLSwithLloyd

The Biggest Snow Show

#SlavasSnowShow

For those of you who have not yet heard, but #SlavasSnowShow is in town and boy will it blow your mind.

It is not easy to describe the performance and to tell you what the story is about really. So there is a clown, who goes on an adventure. And as the audience you get to travel with him and encounter all the interesting individuals and characters that he meets along the way.

There is no actual talking, but some mumbling and foreign words that you can make out. Instead, the show is told through the actions, facial expressions and music. Think back to what a Charlie Chaplin movie was like. This time, imagine it is a live performance of that movie & it is in colour with surround sound and you are in the show.

From songs like Mas Que Nada to O Fortuna the musical score is there to take you on a journey of emotions as you sit in bewilderment watching things evolve on stage in front of you. This is a rather interactive show with characters walking off the stage and into the audience, over and on the chairs. Then promptly opening water bottles and "making it rain" right there where you are sitting.

I never thought that I would sit inside an actual theatre and experience a snow storm along with every other theatre goer in attendance. You hear the wind and suddenly everything goes dark and with the bang of the O Fortuna, a bright light hits you from the front and there is a gush of wind from off the stage and it literally snows and you are part of this incredible theatrical display.

One thing I would most definitely say is that you need to be open-minded when coming to watch this. This is not your ordinary musical or theatre production. This is a theatrical experience that will bring out your inner child. (After the show, I was laying in the "snow" on the theatre floor having the time of my life playing like a little boy, throwing the "snow" in the air and making "snow" angels.) I think that children would love this show purely because they would watch it out of a different viewpoint as an adult. We tend to over-complicate things. So just watch it and watch it the way like a child would watch.

You seriously should not miss out on this opportunity to see this. On stage at Montecasino in Johannesburg until 14 August and then in Cape Town at the Artscape Opera House from the 17th to the 28th of August. You can get your tickets at Computicket.

Share in your experience online using the #SlavasSnowShow