Rockapella at SLO
Christopher Cohan Center at Cal Poly SLO
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
San Luis Obispo, CA
It had been 4 months since I'd last seen Rockapella, and I was really looking forward to this road trip with my posse. I had reserved a rental car so that I could save my car from dealing with the mileage, plus I wanted us to be comfortable. So I rented an SUV. I was going to have Enterprise pick me up, but found out that my parents were already on their way to my house, so I asked them if they could take me there instead. So I waited. But they didn't get to my house before Liz did. Of course, as Liz and I were about to leave, my parents drove up, and got confused. That's OK. I asked them to watch out for Wendy, whom would be arriving shortly. They didn't remember ever meeting Wendy, but not many people were going to just be showing up at my house, so how hard would that be to figure out? Mom didn't know how she'd entertain Wendy, because APPARENTLY she's forgotten how to talk to people. Whatever. Liz and I went to the rental place...and then I realized that I had left my driver's license at home. DUH. So we drove back to my house, and Wendy was there, chatting it up with my dad. (Mom was gardening in the backyard. Thanks, Mom). Dad must have recognized that Wendy was one of my friends by the Rockapella hat that she was wearing. Thanks for keeping her entertained, Dad! So I located my driver's license and the 3 of us got in Liz's car to go to the rental place. Dad had offered to bring us, but I didn't understand why he felt he needed to do that. Liz was confused at first and thought that Dad had said that he would take us to SLO. We giggled, went to Henry's for our goodies, then returned to Enterprise, where I finally picked up the Ford Edge from a guy that looked a heckuva lot like Woody Harrelson. As I started to tell him what he looked like, he finished my sentence. He said that he was annoyed at first when people would tell him that because he didn't really like WH before, but he got to like him, as I said, "when he became a better actor." We all reconvened at my house, and packed up the Edge for our journey.
It was a beautiful day for a drive up the California coast. We enjoyed the comfort of our Edge, and ate yummy snacks. I pointed out the places where my family would go camping, and I marveled at how many campgrounds we'd actually been to back in the day. When we arrived at SLO, we went into town for lunch. Liz had done some research before we left, and we had decided on Big Sky Cafe. The bread basket included cornbread with jalapeno, which was delicious. I had A Really Tasty Turkey Burger with avocado and Swiss cheese, and sweet potato fries, and I was quite happy with my choice. It was fresh and yummy and I'd definitely return there whenever I'm back in SLO. Wendy and Liz also enjoyed their food, although I can't remember what they ordered. We then walked around town for a bit, and I bought a couple of wines at Central Coast Wines, including one that he termed "Sherry on Steroids". :) I can't be in "Sideways" country and not buy wine! Especially one with a nickname like that.
We checked into the Embassy Suites Hotel, and took some free lollipops sponsored by Parents of Ply Students to give to the guys. They had to switch our room from the one they originally had for some reason, so we had to wait a little bit for the fruit & cheese plate that I had ordered. Liz was too cold to wear whatever she brought, so we walked to the Forever 21 that was in the same block, and she bought a sweater there. Of course, that shopping trip wasn't without its own humor. Most of the clothes on display were for Spring/Summer, and we couldn't find the sweaters. Liz asked an employee where she could find sweaters. The employee told her that they were located in the carpeted section, past the other section. Ummmm...EVERYTHING was on the carpeted section, save for the walk space between each section of clothing. Seriously, can we be a little LESS helpful?! Sheesh. Anyway, somehow, Liz and I both resisted buying shoes that we wanted in the 2 shoe stores where we shopped. The fruit and cheese arrived at the hotel room shortly after we did, and we made sure to eat a little bit while getting ready for the show. I tried to get in touch with the guys to remind them of tonight's special event, then worried that they didn't get my message, but I did all that I could do at that point.
Since we would be celebrating Karla's 100th show that night, we bought some flowers for her, and plotted to have Fred give them to her. We dropped off Wendy at the front, so that she could give her extra ticket to our new friend, Nick. Then Liz and I had to think of a way to get the flowers to Fred without Karla seeing us. Let's just say that sometimes doors are open and we get lucky. The stage manager found us wandering around, and Liz asked her to give the flowers to Rockapella's sound guy, Fred. All she had to remember was "Fred. Flowers. 100th show."
We got to our seats: FRONT ROW, BABY! Karla and her family were in the seats behind us. We met new friend Nick, and settled in for Steven Dorian's Rockapella debut in California. While a guy was welcoming us all to the theatre, I could see Scott's blond hair glowing in the stage wing. Yay! I hadn't seen Scott in 6 months. I was happy. The show started in darkness, and I couldn't see my notes. A video played on the screen, showing aerial shots of New York and then a plane landing, while Scott sang "la la la...beat gonna be so sweet." So nice to hear your voice live again, CSL4! Rockapella then took the stage, all dressed in all black.
Tonight: OK, Jeff, nice pelvic action during the pause before the final "Tonight". :)
Scott introduced the band.
For You, For Now, For Life: Oh, his pants are tight, that Leonard boy's. Snug and Shiny.
Scott said that it was "so nice to be in SLO town." He then asked for the proper pronunciation of San Luis Obispo. For the record, "Luis" is not pronounced the French way, and the 's' is pronounced. He said that it took 3 flights for them to get here today. Liz and I decided that we really needed to be their tour managers for the West. Scott introduced Jeff as "the rumble 'neath Cal Poly".
Nuthin' But (aka ZIP)
Got To Get You Into My Life: This song was the first one tonight wherein Steven had the lead for the majority of it. He smiled at me. :) Hi, cutie!
Just My Imagination/Imagine: Jeff takes a break during this song. I like this arrangement of Smokey Robinson's famed tune, mixed in with my favorite John Lennon song. John takes the lead during Smokey's part, and Scott & Geo take the lead during Lennon's. At one point, John sings about having "2 children, maybe 3", and the other guys sing "three...four...twenty". They also sing a little bit of "I can see clearly now ", which is just cool the way it's inserted. Scott really is a fantastic arranger.
Tell Me What You Want: I feel like this is being sung in a different key, or with different chords, or something. That's weird, though, because Scott's still singing the same high notes. Anyway, Scott said that this "will be on our new record."
Scott said that " a new guy has snuck his way in." It used to be that their announcements regarding auditions for new members would go out into the trade papers and they'd get some interest, but now that the internet is available, they instantly had hundreds of guys responding like "Bam! I want the job." They brought 10 guys to Boston, and sang with them over 2 days. Scott said that the choice of Steven was a no-brainer. He's from Worcester, MA, and was working at Walt Disney World, which is "a great place to cut your teeth. He had experience with 7 shows per day, with different kinds of people, entertaining at the tip of a hat." At his audition, Steven sang his own song, as well as Rockapella's. They decided to include Steven's song in their show.
Cupid: Steven stepped into the audience, and saw a woman at the front row, and sat kinda in her lap. Her name was Sally, and she said "no" when he tried to have her stand up, so that's why he sat there instead. I like how he improvised that. Now I'm wondering: if he ever asks me to stand up, should I stand, or have him sit in my lap like that? Hmmm...
Bang, Bang: Another new song, written by Scott. Wow, it's energetic! They dance and spin all over the place, and we got lots of looks at the guys' butts. NICE. Hello, Booties! Geo even did some really high kicks at the end, almost like the ones I saw at Soweto Gospel Choir, but not as many, and probably not as high. Afterwards, Scott said, "Ooh, I need a nap."
Scott said, "Sometimes, we have shows and someone is there for their 100th time. Karla, are you here tonight?" Karla, in the second row, raised her hand. Scott said, "Sorry, I'm nearsighted." He had Karla step up onto the stage, and asked her to sit next to him while he interviewed her. He asked her what shows she remembered the most. Karla said that she remembered her "first show, this show, the night you (Scott) weren't here, his (Geo's) first show, his (John's) first show, and his (Steven's) first show." The guys and the audience were all amazed. Truthfully, Karla told me later, the one that popped into her mind first was Elliott's last show, but since she figured that not everyone in the theatre would remember El, she adjusted her answer. Scott then had Karla switch seats with John so that she could sit next to Steven while he sang the next song to her.
California Sad-Eyed Girl: Too cute the way that Steven held Karla's hand as he sang to her. She also lip-synced some of the background lyrics with Scott and turned to him during those portions. Karla was shaking, according to Liz, but I didn't want to see that because I was already nervous enough for her. Liz asked me to take pictures, because APPARENTLY Karla's family blanked out and forgot to take out their cameras. I would have taken video of the whole thing, but was afraid that the ushers would take my brand new camera away. Since it's a brand new camera, I'm still working out how to use it, but here's a pic of them during this song.
Karla got a hug from each of the guys, including Jeff, whom walked onto the stage after the song was over. The whole time, I wondered, "Where the heck is Fred with the flowers?!?" Karla then went back to her seat, and we all beamed at her.
During the descriptions of each guy, Scott said that Jeff "is at the acme of these performers" of vocal percussion. He also described Scott as "the man with the moves and the grooves." John said that Scott had "the energy of a 10 year-old boy," to which Scott said, "Thank you for saying 'boy'." He then asked Geo for his nickname for Scott, and Geo said, "Superman". :)
Paper Doll
Rock the Boat: Geo saw us doing the VP after Scott had instructed the audience to do so, and pointed at us. By this point, they had all taken off their jackets.
Jingle Medley: Scott said that there was a "dark, seedy underbelly of our otherwise wholesome PBS career." I like how Steven grabs his own butt during Prep H.
John informed us that today was the 50th anniversary of the Motown recording studio.
My Girl: John chose Margaret, from SLO, who works as a member of the Geek Squad at Best Buy. Scott noted that she was the one who knew how "San Luis Obispo" was pronounced. Scott did all of the interviewing. As they were talking, Scott said, "We could have you jus tsit here at center stage," and Margaret answered, "I would really, really love that." Scott said, "We can have you arm wrestle Karla...I'm just kidding, Karla, I didn't mean to drag you into that." I said to Liz, "Karla would wipe the floor with her." Liz agreed. We stand behind our girl. Scott said, "We heard that you want to sing with us," to which Margaret agreed, as she is a singer. She said that her favorite song is "Don't Tell Me You Do", but Scott interrupted and said, "I don't know that song anymore." Really, he doesn't. We've witnessed that. So he suggested that she sing "Stand By Me." HEY, THAT'S MY SONG!!! Yes, I know that this is the song they always choose. No, it still doesn't placate me, so just stop it. Wendy told me later that I sang it better. My friends love me. They really do. Plus, I did the *whole* song, which Margaret didn't do. Yeah, I'm catty like that. Sorry, Margaret, but I just am.
Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Margaret didn't dance with Scott. I was, like, "What?!" Liz said that she was probably worried about a potential wardrobe malfunction (she was wearing a bare-shouldered top, and was well-endowed). She did eventually dance, though, with Steven, and then she danced with Scott, too.
George said that he was taking a shower, "and when that toilet flushed while I was in that shower, I realized that I could sing like a woman. That water hit me so hot, my voice sounded like this." He then sang a bit of I Will Always Love You. He continued, "My responsiblity as a bass is tobe masculine and strong, and to make the ladies' seats rumble. How many single ladies do we have today?" Liz thought that they should then sing Beyonce's Single Ladies at that point, but they didn't. That would have been frickin' hilarious.
Baby Girl: Yup, another new song, this one led by Geo, and it is a great ballad for him. During a part of the song, he sings "Say you're the love of my life" as the others sing "I will always love you", which is what he just sang a la Whitney Houston lyric-wise! NICE.
During his "Do It Rockapella" spiel, Scott said, "Margaret, you know what it is."
Where in the World is Carmen San Diego: I'm not sure, but I think I heard Scott sing "Graceland" instead of "Greenland". Then he re-entered the song late, after JT's solo. At the end of the song, bright lights from the back of the stage made for a cool silhouette of the guys, but if your retinas were burned out from this effect like many people, you might not have seen it.
Encore
Papa Was A Rolling Stone: That vocal percussion drumline had a different intro.
Scott thanked Fred, and also their new multi-media/lighting guy, Tim.
Up On The Roof/Wonderful World (off mic)
Meet and Greet
We thought that maybe Fred would give Karla her flowers when she went to see him at his sound board after the show. Nope. So I took a picture of the pretty organ instead.
In the lobby of the theater, Laura from wayback Rockapella shows and I talked for a bit, and she said that she is 80% sure that she would be going to Wales. Cool. She was dressed in a cute 40s-style. New friend Nick told us that this was his second Rockapella show, and he hoped to see us at many more. We met his dad later, who said that they were able to check out the campus for possible college possibilities. For that theater alone, it would be a good choice. It's gorgeous.
Sher, Wendy & Nick
Fred finally surprised Karla with the flowers -- really pretty pink tulips. She was happy. She didn't figure out that it was our doing until the next morning, but she was happy anyway. :) I learned that Fred always drinks orange juice after each show.
Karla with her tulips &Fred with his OJ
When it was my turn to take a picture with the guys, I ran up to them, and almost knocked down Scott. Yes, the man that already had a broken wrist. Sorry! I held on to John's shirt, though, and he and JT pretty much rescued me. It was funny and embarrassing and just so Sherry. As I was straightening myself up, John told me that I was wearing a pretty dress. Thanks, JKB! I waved to Steven and said, "Hi, I'm Sherry." Scott said, "You haven't met Steven yet?" and I said, "No, because Jeff didn't introduce me to him at Tampa" and hit Jeff on the arm. I apologized to him later on, and he apologized for my almost falling. So, OK, I'm going to blame JT for my making a fool of myself. NOT news.
We talked to George, and he said that Scott wrote "Baby Girl" a long time ago. Wendy is smart, and told me later that "Hanae" must mean "Baby Girl" in Japanese, since that is the song's title on Scott's new CD. Which I forgot to bring to Scott to sign. Sigh. Geo kindly called all of the guys back so that Wendy could take a picture with them. What a sweetie. He said that on the CD everybody gets their own song.
I had my first official conversation with Steven, and I also introduced him to Wendy. He said that they would be going to Paris sometime during the trip to Germany, although they won't be performing there. Wendy said that she'd find a way to get to Paris if they'd have a show there, and you know what? So the hell would I. I'd like to see them in Germany, too, though. I need to renew my passport. Anyway, I said that I'm going to ask him to be my friend on Facebook now that he knows who I am. I also learned what I should include in his goodie bag when they're in So Cal for their holiday shows. Not that I know when any of them are or anything like that. Steven was very friendly and I could just stare at that face all day. Wow. He's a hottie, just like Scott said.
I joined Liz as she was talking to Scott about his arm. It is going to be awhile before it heals, but he's left-handed, so it's OK. (The injury is on the right). He showed us his scar, and said that it still hurts a little bit. He doesn't remember the incident at all, and doesn't even remember going up to the roof, but his wife told him that he was saying obscenities. He said that the Vicodin helped him a lot with the pain, even though he was foggy for the show in New York when he was on it. We talked to Scott about Steven, and he said that Steven plays guitar, and wrote a California song, "Malibu Grand Prix" which is actually about the speedway amusement center that is located in lots of places, but we're just going to claim it for ourselves. :) Scott said that his daughter Natalie is now 10, which makes me feel really old. He lamented that he had forgotten to take a picture of her stuffed animal today, and we mentioned the monchichi that he had on stage at Vegas. Jesse is still playing the drums, and I told Scott that I was really happy to see him play in Tampa. The most important part of our conversation, though, is that I told him that I was reading the Rockapella notes on their website. I had tweeted to my friends that he had written about their "long-cherished friends on the west coast", and that I had joked that he was writing about my friends and me. He said, "Yeah, actually I was thinking about you guys!" Aw, thanks! I TOLD y'all! :)
Since the concert had started early, we were out of there before 10 pm. We went to Denny's for an enjoyable early breakfast, and then went back to our hotel.
It was a great day, and I'm glad that not only were we there for Karla to celebrate, but I loved the fact that the 3 of us were together. Liz and Wendy: I love traveling with you gals, and I thank Rockapella for enabling me to meet wonderful friends.
Thoughts regarding Steven and the New Rockapella Sound:
I'm going to preface this section by saying that I actually *never* like the new sound at first when I hear the newest member. I've just been so used to the sound right before him that it always takes a bit of an adjustment. Yes, this includes the time that Kevin started. He just wasn't Sean, not rock enough, but I eventually got used to the sweetness of his voice, and like his version of "A Change In My Life" more than Sean's. I didn't like Geo's attempts at being like Barry during intros to "Zombie Jamboree". I didn't like that John's voice made the baritone of Elliott become a thing of the past. So I didn't really want to hear Steven in all of the previews that Rockapella provided on their website. If I didn't like the other guys even when I heard them live on the first listen, how was I going to like a recording? The fact that I became addicted to them sprang forth from seeing them sing live. I briefly heard one recording and decided that I needed to reserve my judgement for the real thing.
Now that you know that...I like Steven's voice. I like his stage presence. He still has some more meshing to do with the other guys in order to get their perfect blend, but he's well on his way. He brings a great energy to the stage, and as I've mentioned above, he is gorgeous. At times during the show, I felt that the chords sounded wrong, and I'm not sure if it's because they've changed them a bit to adjust to Steven's voice, or maybe Steven needs to sing out more when he's inside the chord. But to all of the Kevin fans, just don't expect that you'll hear Kevin or anything really near his. Kevin's voice was unique. I miss Kevin's stories terribly, and I tried not to miss him too much, as I told him that morning on Facebook. He said that I could still miss him, but to have fun anyway, and that I did.
One of the guys needs to step up to the plate and start telling funny road stories. I'm hoping that it's anyone but Scott, as he does enough up there! Someone needs to take the reins on that story thing, even though I do love to hear Scott talk about stuff. The group's sound needs a little work, and maybe with all of the recording that they're doing right now, they'll get it down. The only thing that I really, really don't like is that they're having Steven sing "California Sad-Eyed Girl". To me, that is Kevin's song on stage, and Scott's song on his CD. I only like those two in the lead. Sorry, Steven. The selfish part of me wanted my last wonderful memory of that song to be the time we sang with Kevin in the lobby in Malibu, and that memory will live forever. So I selfishly wished that it would not be recorded without him. I'll really miss his voice during that song on the new CD.
We all need to move on, though, to the new Steven era. Welcome to the group, Steven! I look forward to seeing many more concerts with your new style. I mean, hello! It's still Rockapella, and they're still my favorite reason to travel with my friends. :)
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