Rockapella in Laughlin
Day 5
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Harrah's Fiesta Showroom
Laughlin, NV
We woke up and started packing up our stuff. FS had told us the night before that we were on our own for breakfast, which worked out perfectly because we wanted to use the Starbucks gift cards that KP's students had given her for Christmas. Weff checked out of their room and we met them downstairs at Starbucks for breakfast. Thank you, KP's kids!
JeffEvs pointed out that there were balloons in nets in the casino to get ready for New Year's Eve. Now that I noticed them, I dreaded going through the casino, but I braved it somehow. We said goodbye to Weff, then went back to our room so that I could finish packing.
Well, of course, we were in the Magic Hallway, so we saw Scott. We high-fived him as we passed. Wow, I had a lot of stuff which no longer fit into my luggage. It's a good thing that we went to Target earlier in the week and I had bags to use. We checked out of the hotel and made our way to Walgreen's, because KP wanted to have pictures of us for the guys to sign that night. Thank you, Snapfish, for partnering with stores like Walgreen's so that we could pick up our prints in the store! On our way to Walgreen's, we saw the big tortoise that we had seen the day before, and decided that we wanted to go back there to take pictures.
When we arrived at Walgreen's, the pictures still weren't ready. Very tall Harry (he was 6'9", but was 6'10" until he went to Afghanistan and came back an inch shorter) said that they had not received many orders that day, so it should have been done by now. Oops. I forgot to click on the last button to order. I finished the order on my phone (isn't technology wonderful?), and we waited as we shopped. The prints were ready quite quickly. He asked if we were from a radio station or something, I guess because our picture was of us with the band. We told him about Rockapella, and he said that he grew up watching Carmen, so we liked him immediately. Well, we liked him anyway because he was nice to us. We paid for our stuff, and then I saw a Star Wars magazine so I needed to buy something again. Daniel (at that counter) was nice, too!
KP needed cash, so we went to the bank, but the ATM wasn't working. We decided to shop in the nearby bookstore to wait out the cars that were in the line at the drive-up ATM. They had a lot more stuff than books, like collectibles and toys for geeks like us. I'm really surprised that neither one of us bought anything, but somehow we controlled ourselves. By the time we got back to the car, the ATM was fixed, so KP did her banking and we were on our way. We thought that we were on our way to Buffalo Wild Wings, but never saw it again after we had left Walgreen's. Oh, well. Also, we almost forgot to get a picture with the tortoise, but I quickly turned when I saw it.
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| Rudolph and Scotcherbreadman hitch a ride |
We also took pictures by the river after I took a picture for a family, and they returned the favor.
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| Harrah's in the background |
After all of the crying, we took pictures of the statue of Don Laughlin because pretty much every one of the guys that rode in our car told us about him, thanks to their shuttle driver's stories. APPARENTLY, Don lives at the Riverside Hotel with his girlfriend, and his wife (ex-wife?) lives in a hotel across the way.
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| Thank you for Laughlin, Don! |
We also took pictures with the PellaMobile.
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| KP re-enacting opening the trunk for FFE |
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| Sher re-enacting driving the PellaMobile |
We weren't hungry enough yet for dinner, so we got dressed for the show in one of the women's restrooms. I don't know why I forgot that there was a bigger restroom around the corner with mirrors that were separate from the sinks, but those would have been easier to use than the one we were sharing above a sink in a 3-stall restroom.
We went back to Starbucks to use the last amount on KP's gift card, and charged our phones while waiting to go to the showroom. On his way to his room after dinner, Fred saw us sitting there, and pretended not to see us, then came over to say hi. I tapped his shin with my shoe, and he told me not to get his pants dirty. My shoes are clean, Fred! We saw a couple of the other guys walk by, too, but didn't want to bug them, so we didn't try to get their attention.
When we saw that most of the guys had already passed by after their dinner, we went to the Business Center to continue charging my phone and get out of the smoky casino with the balloons.
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| The screen when we left the business center |
When I went to the restroom, I pushed a stall door and there was already a lady in there. I apologized and went to another one while she proceeded to NOT close the door and continue her phone conversation with whomever, telling them that she was going to the show. While washing my hands and putting on my lipstick, the restroom attendant also pushed the door onto the lady because she still had not locked her door. Good grief. She finally locked it, and then when she came out, she had a bottle of beer in her hand. Well, no wonder she couldn't lock the door...she had one hand on her cell phone and one holding her bottle. She was clearly drunk and about to go to the same show that I would be seeing. I told KP about the lady. She ended up sitting in the front row, center aisle. Oh boy.
KP and I had seats in the second row again, and Karen was there. Hi, Karen! We saw that the 2 seats in the front row on the end were empty, and hoped that nobody would show up so that we could move. We weren't sure it would happen, though, because the house seemed full otherwise.
Rock Around the Clock
Pella Butts!
Jailhouse Rock
Scott asked about New Year's resolutions.
Somebody said "Don't make one."
Scott: "That's your resolution?"
Scott: "Who's seen Rockapella before?"
<WHOOO>
Scott: "You've been drinking!"
I wished that I had been drinking, but I was driving home tonight.
Nobody sat in the front row seats we wanted. I told Karen that we would be leaving her, and moved. We were now in our Happy Place, and we deserved it after 4 days of not being in the front row, goshdarnit!
Dancing In The Streets
Scott stopped dancing a bit too early. Oops.
Glow Worm
Jeff had exited the stage, and then came back and stared at Ryan until he moved. Tuning! JT got applause for his face solo.
Scott blew the wrong pitch for the next song. Again.
Satisfaction / Cupid
Hi, Steve! I mouthed the words to "Can't get no satisfaction" when he sang them in my direction, and smiled. Ah, memories of talking about people dancing and being satisfied. Scott danced at us and we cheered him on, so he did even more. Thank you!
What is up with all of the people talking after that song? It happened every night.
Scott to the Drunk Woman: "Did you watch Rudolph with a light beer in your hand?"
He got a lot of laughter when he mentioned the Norelco Shaver.
Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer
Calvin is about to lose it. Pretty sure it has something to do with the drunk woman. Jeff pointed at us for "YAHTZEE!!!!"
My Cherie Amour
After the song, Steve tapped Calvin on the leg and said, "Good!"
Ryan got a nice "CORNHUSKERS!" yell from the audience.
Ryan: "Go, Big Red!"
Scott talked about Jeff.
Drunk woman: "What does that mean, 'The Mozart of Spit'?"
So Jeff demonstrated and spit, then said, "What can I say?"
Scott to Drunk Woman: "It's like you're watching your TV."
Scott then meant to talk about Jeff and called him "Steve". KP corrected him. Jeff shushed her. Does he want his name to be Steve?
Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer
Once people heard the first line, they applauded. This crowd is doing its job!
Sher: "Shiny pants!"
Steve looked over. I don't think he heard me. Does he know that I stare at Scott's pants?
Blame It On The Boogie
Steve almost punched Calvin in the gut. Ryan went all crazy, dancing downstage.
Scott: "Well, I hate to bring you down..." (to Drunk Woman): "I know I can't bring YOU down."
Commercials
Jeff pointed at Ryan when he said, "BUDWEISER".
Some guy in the audience: "You guys are great!"
Scott: "Thank you, Mom!"
Someone else in the audience: "That was Dad."
Scott forgot to sing at the beginning of the 2nd Almond Joy.
Was Jeff looking away from the peacock, or watching it fly away?
Ryan got 4 cymbal crashes at his butt today.
Scott: "That was pretty bad, wasn't it?"
After Dr. Pepper, Jeff directed his extra fizzy soda sound at us. Thank you!
Scott: "You would love having a Dr. Pepper after that song, right?" To Drunk Woman: "Maybe not you."
I was afraid that his connection would be with that woman, but perhaps he was afraid she would get sick while dancing on stage with them, so he didn't choose her.
"Is that coffee you're holding in your hand?" No, she drinks wine at night. He told Sally that she looked lovely. Aw, he's said that to me, too! He asked her to sit on the stool, "free of charge". Sally is a retired dental assistant.
Scott smiled at her and asked, "What do you think?"
Sally said that his teeth were very nice.
Scott: "I spent a lot of money on these."
Stand By Me
She sang a little bit, but when Scott sang more, she said, "I like this better."
Ain't Too Proud to Beg
When they sing "half a man", one of them mimed sawing someone in half.
Ryan: "Sally, I got what you need!"
Yay, she danced!
Steve started to take her to her seat, then repeated what Sally told him. "I look like your sister's friend? Is he a dashing young man?"
Ryan: "This audience is over the top, I'm telling you."
Macklemore
I raised my hands with the guys and Steve saw me and smiled, then we sang together, "another day of life". I'm glad he knows that the song gets all in my head and I can't get it the heck out. Not that I want that.
Scott: "There's one more thing we have to do, and you know what it is!" (To Drunk Woman): "You do not know what it is."
Carmen
KP informed me that Jeff kept touching his thigh.
They all walked in circles during the final introductions.
"Where in Laughlin is Carmen SanDiego?"
Encore
All I Want For Christmas is You
The drunk woman kept pointing to Calvin, and it was throwing off Scott. I was worried that she would grab Cal during the last song. She did not.
Up On The Roof / Wonderful World (off mic)
Audience: "ooohh"
Afterward, someone in the audience yelled, "LET'S HEAR IT!"
That was a fun show. KP knew that Fred was going to leave kind of early because he had an early flight in the morning, so she brought him his Thank You card while I talked to Karen. Karen's phone was doing weird things, and I couldn't take a picture to save my life. Jeff asked me what I was doing, then tried to help, to no avail. So I took pictures with my camera, and subsequently forgot to get her email address. Thank goodness for Facebook! She replied to a Rockapella post later to try to find me, and now we're in touch.
I took individual pictures of KP with the guys, and she gave them their Thank You cards. I didn't want them to open them right there because I'd start crying again. Steve said he'd read his backstage. Scott read his in front of us and gave us big hugs. I got all misty and couldn't handle it, so I stepped away so that I wouldn't completely lose my composure. Steve remembered that I wanted to take pictures of us all 5 nights, so he made sure that we got it done.
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| One more for the road |
Kameron wanted to take a selfie with us, but he needed to finish CD business with Jeff first. Jeff apologized for taking a long time, thinking that we were waiting for him. Not really, but OK, sure. Steve stopped as he was leaving, and thanked us for the sweet cards. I got really teary and he told me not to cry. It's just been such a wonderful year of Rockapella shows and Steve House Concert, and he's a huge part of that happiness, so it was an overwhelming moment. He talked to us for a bit, and meanwhile, part of the curtain thing fell down and hit me. He asked if I was all right, and rubbed my back. He asked where it hit me. I told him "my butt". I was NOT trying to get him to rub my butt, stop thinking that way! He still rubbed my back, though, making sure I was OK. What a sweetheart. I saw that Boz Skaggs had played in the showroom, and told him that I took a picture of it for Kyoko, since he sang Skaggs' song for her at the house concert. Boz Skaggs, Frankie Valli, and Rockapella? It's like the posters were summing up the year. He said that he was going to go get a drink to help him sleep, and we said our goodbyes.
Kameron took a selfie with us and we are now Facebook friends. We wished him luck and thanked him (he got a card, too!). We saw Steve at the bar while on our way to get me some caffeine and protein at McDonald's, because it was time for our drive back. While I was waiting for KP to get her food, Jeff walked by and waved goodbye.
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| The Magic Hallway |
The drive was as dark as it was on the way in, but this time we were prepared for the hills and we basically knew where we were going, so it was all good. When we stopped at a gas station to use the facilities, a guy had his window rolled down as he loudly sang along to the Jackson 5. I almost went up to him to sing along with him because I was in a good mood and wanted to keep myself awake by being silly.
We returned the car to the rental place after I got my car and we packed it up. Then I drove KP back to her house so we wouldn't have to worry about her roommate picking her up. I figured I might as well, since I was still wide awake, and didn't want to have to deal with alarms in the morning. I returned home at about 3:30 a.m., and wrote a final haiku to post on Facebook before finally falling asleep.
That was a great way to end a great year. Thank you, Posse, for being there, especially KP. Thank you, Rockapella, for making all 5 days memorable, whether it was on stage or during your free time. I now have even more reason to love you.
Next up: Laughlin Road Trip Epic Haiku Post
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