Not just another talking fountain: The Palazzo

Aesthetics
B-: open, airy, muted colors
Touchy Feely
D: not much, some water
Layout
B: flows pretty well, doesn't feel too big
Bathroom
?
Games
?
Attractions
B: Living Garden Show is free and very nice. Also shops, gondolas
Comments
Today I went to the Venetian for breakfast with a cousin who is in town for the weekend. After we parted ways, I decided to explore a little. Fergie is going to be playing there on New Years Eve, so I wanted to check out the venue (as if I can afford to go!). I wandered around a little (played a dollar on Gold Fish) and found myself in the Palazzo. The Palazzo is a casino that was a bit of a mystery to me. I don't remember hearing about it opening, and I was a little confused about its connection to the Venetian. Turns out there is actually a physical connection. Just like the Grand Canal Shops turn into the Venetian casino, the Venetian casino turns into the Shoppes at the Palazzo which turn into the Palazzo casino! So I wandered through the whole spectrum, which was actually a pretty short wander. When I got to the Shoppes I noticed a lot of people sitting around a little mall fountain/courtyard area. Saw a sign for the Living Garden Show, and realized I must be just in time for some cheesy Las Vegas "the shops are alive" experience.
I decided to check out the show and was prepared to be underwhelmed. These kind of mall shows tend to be pretty simple, and after a while in Vegas you get the attitude "you seen one talking fountain, you seen 'em all!"
Since I hadn't staked out a spot to watch from, I wound up just taking the escalators up and down four or five times. This turned out to give me a great view and none of the crowds. At first it just looked like three "statues" had come to life in the fountain and were doing a Luau type dance to some pretty, piped-in opera music. On my second trip up the escalator I realized: there's water shooting out of their fingers and heads! It was a very cool effect. The music, the water, the statuesque dance...I could feel the beautiful sorrow of these ladies eternally encased in stone, overflowing with water.... Very nice.
Then, when the last song (they did 2) was coming to its close the crowd started exclaiming "Look at the trees!" There on the second floor (where I had just been four times already!) were two vines/trees growing on some columns/doing a tree dance! I scurried back up the escalator (now there were more people going up) and got a close look at the tree people. They finished their dance and the security folk that were with them told us to back up. They started walking out through the mall, stopping to pose for the cameras and do some fancy tree moves. How cool. They were slowly making their exit when I headed back down the escalator. The fountain ladies were down there and they were out of the fountain, walking through the crowd--a couple of people with mops following right behind! They slowly made their exit through the mall. The whole thing was oddly touching and really cool. Definitely a free attraction worth catching!!!