I've Got Some Strings On Me

Rockapella in Sacramento

Friday, February 15, 2019

"B" Street Theatre at the Sofia

Sacramento, CA

The day started with me enjoying the nice hotel bed.  Ahhh...Nice.  After taking a shower and getting dressed, I went to the lobby for breakfast.  The hotel clerk from the day before asked me if I was ready for breakfast, and I said yes, so he told me to help myself to coffee and the food would be brought to the table.  I decided to sit in the sitting room and took the one table in there.  I saw that it was raining outside and longed for my hat.  The food was good and although it doesn't look like much on this big plate, I was satisfied.

Chile Relleno Casserole; Corn Muffin; Fruit

At 10:00, I called ad hoc and the very nice woman tried to get in touch with the manager but they weren't there yet.  I told her that we would be in Yountville that day and she said it was OK for me to go to the restaurant because someone would be there.  I packed my stuff and waited for Weff to pick me up.  In the meantime, Jenn told us that her flight was cancelled because of the weather back East and she wasn't sure if she could get another flight home.   She eventually met up with KP, whom had arrived for the Friday shows.  I waited outside for Weff, but they seemed to take a long time.  It turns out that Weff had passed my hotel instead of stopping to pick me up because they missed seeing it the first time.  

Thank you, Hotel Napa Valley!

We went to Yountville, first stop: ad hoc.  We didn't see anyone in the restaurant and I called the very nice lady again.  She said to try to go to the back entrance.  While we were on the phone, JeffEvs saw one of the employees and a woman came outside to greet me and get my information.  We decided to walk to Bouchon Bakery for snacks and coffee.  I chose a chocolate almond croissant, and we walked to the nearby indoor shopping center to sit for a bit while Wendy enjoyed her latte. 

Other croissants in the bakery

My croissant.  YUM!!!

I still had not received a phone call, so we went to Andretti winery.  Yes, Mario Andretti has his own winery! Weff had seen the information card in their hotel and saw that they have sweet wines, which are right up my alley.  OK, so wine itself is right up my alley.  

Fountain in Courtyard

I wonder if there are any race cars in there.

I like that not only did they have hooks at the bar for our bags, but they also had charging stations!  So smart, as it will keep people there longer.  Wendy and I decided to do the Delizia Tasting, as those were all sweet wines.

Cheers!

The Villa Andretti 2016 Moscato was very light,
and it is the most popular of the three, for good reason.

This was our favorite one today:
Montona Reserve 2014 Moscato.
Viscuous and very sweet.

The Montona Reserve 2009 Vino Fortissimo Zinfandel
was in the family of port wines.
Mmmm...port!

I enjoyed all of the wines, but wasn't looking to bring any home with me.  My luggage was full enough.  So I bought a hat in case ad hoc couldn't find mine.  Weff bought a bottle of the 2014 Montona Reserve Moscato.  I had hoped that his one would be eligible for the special prices they had available that day for buying by the case, and suggested that we could give some to friends.  Wendy made a face, like, "Who's sharing what now?"  OK, I guess all of it would be for us, but we didn't get a case.  

Wine barrel pieces with a quote by Mario Andretti:
"If everything seems under control,
you're just not going fast enough."

We walked around the winery a bit, and there was a little bit of break in the rain, so we were able to get some pictures.

I am always here during the time of bare vines.  Sigh.

As we were walking to the car, I received a phone call from ad hoc: they found my hat!  Yay!  We hadn't ventured too far away from town, so Weff kindly brought me back to the restaurant.  I was whole again!  And now I have two hats!

During all of this wine tasting time, Jenn still wasn't able to get a guaranteed flight, so she decided to stay in Sacramento, and I offered that she stay on the sofa bed in my hotel room.  We had a bit of trouble securing a ticket for her because they were sold out, but PellaPusher Magic happened, and a ticket was placed on reserve for her at will call.  Yay!  I met her at KP's and Weff's hotel to pick her up so we could go to my hotel room and get ready.  Luckily for Jenn, she had somehow packed extra clothing, and after a refreshing shower, she was good to go!

We had a little bit of trouble finding the parking structure, because I hadn't seen the venue nearby when we passed it. All was well, though, and we walked to the venue from the parking structure.

Jenn's name was on the special list, and I had two other tickets.  What?  APPARENTLY, since they canceled the second show, they turned all of the second show tickets into first (and only) show tickets.  So...I never actually had to make magic?  I'm seriously just figuring this out as I type this almost a month later. Whatevs.  Jenn ordered some water for us, and we waited our turn to go into the theater. While we waited in line, we noticed the photo that was being used for their promo.

Hi, Geo and Steve!  I didn't know you'd be here, too!

We were not in the second group, so we didn't think we'd get seats toward the front, but I saw that most people were going in one direction, and I went the other way, and there I was in the front row with 4 empty seats.  MAGIC!  But wait.  We needed 5 seats.  JeffEVs said he would sit by himself a couple of rows back so that the women could all sit together.  Aw, how sweet!  He also figured he could get a better camera angle from his seat.  All pictures from the show itself that are posted here are courtesy of JeffEvs and Jenn.  Thanks, guys!

They changed the opening video to include John!  Cool!  His nickname was "Hot Sauce".  I don't remember him liking hot sauce, but I might be having issues reading my notes again.  

Rock Around the Clock
Scott was wearing the heart from last night!  So cute!  Bryant looked at me while singing "tell me that you love me".  I love you, Bryant!  :)

See the paper heart on his lapel?

Jailhouse Rock

There was a lot of audience participation during "ohwayohhohhwayoh".  Scott excitedly yelled, "YEAH!"  Bryant's low, low "San Antone" even had Scott reacting with awe, bending down on his knee.  Cal is on fire!  

All About That Bass

Scott talked about all of the rain:  Congratulations on water.  Did anyone see us in Napa last night?

Front row PellaPosse:  WHOOO!!!!

Scott:  No one?

Scott:  We were in Napa Thursday, Friday night in Sacramento, Saturday...on a plane.

Jeff gave his beat.  Scott:  From Napa Love to Sacramento Fridays!

Dancing in the Moonlight

Why??? Why are people singing behind me singing out loud????? Grrrrrrrr.....

Bad, Bad Leroy Brown

Upon singing the lyrics of "soles of a big man's foot", Scott showed us the white soles of his shoe.

Scott called CJ "Bad, Bad Cal".

Satisfaction

Cal and I smiled at each other, and Bryant sang to Hannah.  Yup, John and Cal started spelling too early again.  Scott looked at them and smiled.  John asked audience member Didi to join him during Cupid.

Scott talked about John filling in:  John was with us for 10 years, then hasn't been here for a long time; he moved on to better and bigger things.  I don't know what could be better than Rockapella.  He learned all of Mitch's parts.  He's some kind of musical genius.  He sang Cal's part before, and now he knows Mitch's, and soon will know all of the parts.  

The versatile JKB

Moon River

Scott gave a shoutout to Bryant's wife, Hannah, and Bryant informed us that they met while singing together in Vocalosity.

Scott:  You have that to blame for that.

Scott asked Hannah if she'd be changing her name.

Hannah:  Jury's out.

Scott also gave a shoutout to Hannah's mom, Raylene.  JT said something about Aerosmith. 

Scott:  Dolly Parton wrote that song about her: "Raylene".

Scott:  "Jeff started singing in Rockapella when he was 6 years old.  So cute."

Paper Doll

I love the way JT brushes his leg like a drummer would brush a high hat cymbal.  Cal smiled at KP and me when he saw us doing the hand motions during "I'm guessing he's rounding up."

Uh oh. Scott was looking at me while I was writing.  Hello...hi!  Move along, nothing to see here.

What Lovers Do

Bryant: "How about a little avocado?  Or some Napa wine?

<Power Point Fail>

Commercials

Scott: We sold our souls to the corporate devils.

Lady in audience: All right!

Scott (with shocked face):  <gasp> Sacramento!

Bryant showed us his butt, and we all shouted, "WHOOOO!"

He mouthed to us, "Thank you!"

Me, sending thoughts to the girl singing behind me: "OH MY GOSH, GIRL, SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!" When the people in front of you are leaning forward in their seats, it's because they want to hear the band better, not you!!!  I'm still mad.  

Scott asked Terry from the audience if she likes coffee.

Terry:  I do enjoy a good cup.

Terry is from Rocklin, and is pleasantly retired; she formerly worked for Sacramento County.

Scott said that he got the vibe that he should call her up on stage because she sings fantastically.

Terry: I do.

Stand By Me

I beg to differ.

John needed the pitch so Terry already knew not to leave the stage.

Ain't Too Proud To Beg

Bryant did some pelvic thrust dancing at Terry, then started apologizing to Terry's husband, showing him his own wedding ring.  Terry did all of the dances with them!  Yay!

Macklemore

Bryant talked about the new CD, and JT played Vanna and posed for him.

Jams, Vol. 2

Vocal Percussion Duet

Bryant is clearly learning from the master!  He knew his own stuff before, but I'm hearing a little bit of JT's style in there, too.

Rock the Boat

I love how John acts like he's just learning the dance, when I'm pretty sure he's the one who choreographed this entire song.  Bryant is on FIRE!

Carmen SanDiego

Sher, to Scott: Dance, Baby!

Scott:  That's what I do.

Cal is having none of that deep knee bend business

Encore

Rapper's Delight / Uptown Funk

I love that they are rap-singing in harmony!  I freaking love it too much!!!

Up On The Roof / Wonderful World (off mic)

Yup, she was singing again. Somebody (I think in her party) shushed her.  That wasn't the first time.

Off Mic

Meet and Greet

I asked John if he was done for this stint with Pella, and he said that he would be doing more shows in March and April.  It's been great to see him perform again with the guys!  I've missed that smile, and his soulful voice.

I gave a special thank you gift of brownies to JT, and his eyes lit up when I said they were from Bouchon Bakery.  "There's a Bouchon in Yountville? I need to go to Yountville."  I told him we had an awesome dinner there last night.

I only talked to Calvin for a little while.  I just needed to hug him because I love his hugs!  

I also gave a special thank you gift of shortbread cookies to Bryant.  We talked about the PellaPusher Magic I used today, and he said to me, "Are you kidding me?  You'll ALWAYS have strings!"  Soooo sweet.  I hope I don't ever have to use them again, though, so I can keep in good standing, you know? 

Scott overheard KP talking about her former student's pillow art, and she made one of KP, too, which is adorable.  I had seen the pillows when I went to the Stan Lee memorial tribute in Hollywood.  I told him that I freaking LOVE the new encore song (I said a different "f" word).  He said it was "Rapper's Delight" from the SugarHill gang, and I asked him what he called their version.  He said, Rapper's Delight / Uptown Funk, and said, "Maybe we should actually name it something."  I told him that I was wondering, "Are those tritones?!  What IS that?  I love that you're actually singing and harmonizing!  Seriously, I LOVE it!"  He said thank you, and told us that it was really hard to learn, but it does sound great now that it's come together.  I asked if they'd be doing Lady Mine live, and he said they'd definitely be doing it, but they didn't want to make John learn it because he was already learning a lot of material.  I excused myself from the conversation, much as I didn't want to, because I wanted to talk to Hannah before she left.

I introduced myself to Hannah, and told her that her husband is awesome.  I guess Bryant had mentioned me before, because she gave me a huge hug, and thanked me for taking care of Bryant by bringing treats and being so good to him and the guys.  Awwww, that warms my heart!  I also met Raylene, and she talked about her drive up through the rain from So Cal.  Yikes!  That was some hard rain, and I'm glad she made it safely to Northern California.  Bryant came up to say hi again and I told him to share the cookies with Hannah and Raylene, which he would have done without me telling him to do so, but I wanted Hannah to hear me so he couldn't do otherwise.  :)

I then went back to my posse and put my arms around Scott's and JeffEvs' shoulders to join in on the conversation.  I have no idea what they were talking about, though.  Maybe we were talking to Robin about how tired she was because she has some issues going on.  I don't know.  I was just ready to eat.  We said bye to the guys, and stood near the promo slide show so we could take a selfie.  It seemed like forever until the guys were shown again, but we did it!

Pella Photo and the Posse

We also wanted a picture of the guys on the show list.

KP is pointing as if we don't remember who we saw tonight.

JeffEvs asked the Sofia bartender where we should go for eats and drinks, and he suggested "Ink", which was a block away.  So we walked over there, and didn't have to wait very long before taking over a small table.  The people at the table next to us left, so we had enough room for all of our food and drink.

See? Eats and Drinks!
I actually forgot this was on the sign when I wrote about it above.

Jenn and I said goodbye to the posse, and went back to our hotel to talk about the awesome time we had until we finally got tired and fell asleep.  

The next morning, we ate breakfast at the hotel and decided to walk around Old Town Sacramento while waiting until we were hungry enough to eat lunch.  We somehow refrained from buying stuff.

Down By The River

It was then time for me to bring Jenn to the taco stand I try to go to whenever I'm in Sacramento:  Chando's Tacos.

Carne Asada and Ensenada-Style Fish Tacos

I'm happy to report that Jenn loved the carne asada taco!  She will be taking her husband there the next time they get a chance to travel to Sacramento together.  We went to the airport and waited a while for our plane.  As we waited, I told her a story that made me remember a friend and I wondered how he was doing.  So I looked him up on Facebook and we're back in touch!  You see, I believe that when you think about someone you haven't seen in a long time, it's a sign that you should contact them.  It was so great to chat with Tim whom I haven't seen in about 20 years.  I hope that Rockapella has a show in Oregon soon so I can take an extra day to visit him and meet his wife and kids, and a grandkid!  Wow.  I'm old.  We flew home and I dropped off Jenn at her house before making my way home.

It was a great Valentine's and post-Valentine's Day with the PellaPosse and my favorite Valentines.  Thank you, all, for the smiles that brought me sunshine through the rain.