Going Country in Cerritos

Home Free
Dive Bar Saints Tour
Thursday, September 19, 2019
Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts
Cerritos, CA

I drove down to Cerritos after work to meet up with Karla to see Home Free, my first time to see them live.  I arrived with enough time to drive around to get a bite to eat, and sat in my car at the parking lot.  KP saw me and came over to sit with me to chat while I finished eating. This was my first time at the venue and it is beautiful!  I agree with KP that Rockapella needs to perform here. They would love it.

We would purchase much closer seats, though.

I didn't know that my friend Gordon was in the audience that night until later when he saw this on my Facebook page.  APPARENTLY, he can see himself in this picture.  

Our seats were in the center section of the front row of the mezzanine.  I was too afraid of heights to look down for very long, but KP was happy to see we could view the soundboard.  There wasn't really a railing next to the steps, which is my explanation for someone palming my head as folks were being seated.  They didn't push down on my head, but it was almost like someone was about to massage my scalp for me, like one of those copper tingly things you find at the county fairs, or, of course, on Amazon.  Yes, it was weird.  No, I didn't know who did it.  Yes, I think I still have all of my brains and I don't think they were sucked out of me at the time, although I may have killed some of my brain cells with the Mystery Shot at Happy Hour the other night.

I don't remember the names of all of the songs, but I did buy a CD and a drink cozy because the name of the new album is "Dive Bar Saints", and that's me!  Except not in a Dive Bar.  Most of the songs they sang were from this album.  

• My favorite band member ever since I first saw them on "The Sing-Off" is Tim, the bass.  Very bass-y.  I like that they know that he's popular and give a lot of the lead parts to him.
• They had an Instagram contest, and whomever they chose would get to have a backstage pass after the show.  Neither one of us won.  You know who did?  A lady that sketched Tim when he made fun of her for taking so long to take their picture that she might as well have drawn it.

"Listen, 'Flip Phone'..."

• The songs were Tim-heavy, and I would have liked to hear the other guys sing lead a little bit more.
• Adam is an amazing vocal percussionist.  He gets to stand on top of the set table and solo for a really long time.  Guess that's because he's also the founding member of the group, but he also deserves the recognition.  He even danced when he did some "Billie Jean".  I mean, he's not the greatest dancer, but he did dance a little bit.  

The guys joining Adam at the end of his solo

• They've got a lot of lighting cues going on, especially during Adam R's drum solo.  
• They demonstrated some live "looping", which they learned from watching Ed Sheeran.  Pretty cool, and that's why they have that table on the stage,so that Adam R. could DJ the looping.
• Tim does most of the talking, probably because he's the funniest, and probably also because people love listening to that awesome voice.
• They sang "Elvira", and it made me very happy.  I love their version of that Oak Ridge Boys song.

• Then later they sang John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads", and I fought back tears. I remembered at that moment how sad I was when JD was in the fatal plane accident.  What a great songwriter he was.  Their version is beautiful.
• I wish they would have sung "Ring of Fire", and brought fellow Sing-Off performer Avi from Pentatonix on stage to sing it with them.  Well, maybe he wasn't there, but they were in his hometown, so he maybe could have made a guest appearance, right?  I wish for many things.
• I think my favorite original from this album is "Love Me Like That", and Austin wrote it, which makes sense why it resonated so true: it came from his heart.
• We got in line for the meet and greet, and KP talked to her Target Husband.  His wife is one of the "Home Fries", the moniker for HF's loyal fans, and was in line ahead of us.

Meet and Greet

• They don't really give us much time to talk to the guys, but I did get to tell Adam R that he was incredible.  I also told Tim, "You're my favorite.  Don't tell the other guys."  To which he responded by yelling to the other guys, "I'M HER FAVORITE!!!!!"  (I did not tell Tim that part of the reason he's my favorite is that he's friends with JT of Rockapella.)
• They didn't really gather round to take pictures with the fans.  I guess not everyone can be as personable and take time with their fans as Rockapella, and Home Free has got quite the whirlwind tour.

I had fun and would definitely go see them again!  Thank you, Karla!!!

Bye, Mitch

Rockapella in Newtown III

Edmond Town Hall

Saturday, September 14, 8:00 p.m.

Newtown, CT

Dodie and I had seats again in the front row, this time on the rhythm section side.  Weff had 2nd row seats on the other side of the aisle.

I like that at the end of the video montage, the 2nd "A" in Rockapella looks like the one from the Avengers.  The guys changed their shirts since the last show, so that's a good thing.  All fresh and clean!

Rock Around the Clock

Jailhouse Rock

Scott:  "We're going to do a show in Newtown every night for 3 months.  We're trying to sell tickets."  I guess I need to move to CT, then?

Scott, regarding JT's throat mics:  "That always surprises me; never fails to get me.  He's so funky, that man."

Dancing in the Moonlight

I never noticed before that Cal and Bryant play off each other during this song.

Bad, Bad Leroy Brown

Satisfaction

Mitch chose Laurie to help him out.

Laurie:  "I just think I'm the worst singer ever..  I lip sync in church."

Mitch:  "That's the one place where you can't be judged."  He started to quote the Bible, then said, "That's for another day."

When Mitch got back to the stage and the guys set up to place their stools in position, Scott announced: Mitch has decided to take a position as a music minister, and this is his last night singing full time with us."  Much sighing ensued from the fan base, including the Posse, but he also received nice applause for his choice.  

Blessed

Yeah, we hate being right sometimes.  I sure am glad I bought that CD and had him sign it yesterday.

Moon River
Mitch complimented Calvin again, just between the two of them.  So cute.

Scott talked about Bryant's very full beard, and he just kept stroking it.

Scott talked about the records at his mom's house.   Mitch again gave him a quizzical look, to which Scott retorted, "You still haven't figured it out.  You're going to leave Rockapella not knowing what a record is.  All you do is shrug.  Google it."  Aw, Scott's gonna miss his young'un.

Paper Doll

Rock the Boat

L-O-V-E
Scott finally learned how to spell this with his fingers instead of using his entire body.

Middle
WAIT A MINUTE!  Mitch just pointed at me when he sang "Clowns to the Left".  What the heck, man?  He slapped Calvin on the back, and startled him.  Cal got him back, though, by taking Mitch's arm and entwining it with his so that he couldn't do any more than that.  They're so cute together.  Well, dangit, now I'm crying as I type this. 

Commercials
Bryant decided to sing "dark chocolate" a lot of times.
When Scott gave the pitch to the theme from the Today Show, he said to himself and everyone else, "That's the wrong key."
During "Ringworm", Scott kept on fake screaming, and yelled out, "HELP!"  Silliness.

Scott:  "I was singing about coffee so tremendously, and I got this lightning bolt."  He jumped off of the stage, and got distracted by the drinks in the buckets for the front row.  He called the beer "Rub Light".   He told us a story about Natalie coming home one day and telling him that her teacher was drinking "Rub Light" at school.  He asked her, "Bud Light?" 
Natalie: "Yeah, Bud Light."
Scott:  "It was Red Bull.  I thought we were going to have a scandal about a hopped-up teacher."

Scott picked Marilyn to go on stage with him.  She lives in Upper West Side of NYC.  Scott does, too, but not in her area.  He said that she wanted to sing. She said no.

Stand By Me
Marilyn sang:  "I don't know what to sing."  It was hilarious.  She knew the tune but not the words, even though Scott tried to mouth them for her.  She sang "Baby, Baby" instead of "Darlin', Darlin'", and then she sang, "I still don't know what to sing."  So funny!  

Ain't Too Proud to Beg
Mitch put his leg on her knee.  She was fine with it.  She hit Scott on top of his head.  Bryant almost knocked her off of the stool.  Then she started to dance with them, and when Mitch moved his butt toward her, she said, "I don't do that," and tried to walk away, to go to the stairs off stage.  So, of course, Mitch followed her... butt first.  Ladies and gentlemen of Mitch's church:  this is your new music minister!  

After they finally allowed Marilyn to go back to her seat, Bryant said, "Marilyn, I wanna hang out with you!"

Macklemore

JT is so excited about the new CD that he dropped his mic pack.  When he fills out his taxes, he notes his occupation as "Sad Clown".

Vocal Percussion Jam
I love this segment.

Carmen SanDiego
I love seeing Scott look at the screen to watch the clips from the TV show.  They were such babies!!!

Encore

Rapper's Delight

Scott:  Would you like to hear another song?
Random audience member: "Free Bird!"  Ah, good times.

Up On The Roof / Wonderful World  (off mic)

Meet and Greet

Mitch told us that his ministry is at Elevation Church in Melbourne, FL, which isn't too far from his current home in Coco Beach.  I said, "Mitch, one last time", and showed him my camera.  He didn't even need to ask me what I was requesting.  

This video was supposed to be longer, and would have included me singing backup for him, but when he flipped it around for a video selfie, the camera must have switched off.  

Wendy asked him to sign his arm.  I don't know how she was going to avoid washing it for a while, but he sweetly obliged.

Too bad we didn't have any tattoo equipment on hand.

I told Mitch what I almost said to him the day before about the thing in his pants melting.  JT overheard and said, "I beg your pardon?!"  
Sherry:  "They were going to pay me cash to say that to you, but I didn't get a chance to do so."
Mitch: "Well, I'm glad you didn't.  And now I think I wish you hadn't told me."
Sherry:  "I had to confess to you, though!  Because now you have your new job!"
Mitch: "You really didn't have to."

Mitch said that he also left his Monster Jam job, which made the Rockapella guys feel better because he was putting his whole heart into his new role, and he didn't choose Monster Jam over Pella.  

Bryant said that his beard was cut 3 inches from the side of his face recently, and said that the beard says evil things, like when BV calls Mitch an asshole (for leaving them).

Sherry, Bryant, and his evil beard

Scott wants to come to California, but they're not getting the gigs.  We need to get to work on our campaigning, PellaPosse!  Dodie told him that we made her go to a forest after watching "The Forest".  Scott said that those Japanese movies can be scary, and he told Dodie how much he loved living in Japan and learned the language.  Dodie needs to listen to the "Live In Japan" CD so that she can hear Scott speak fluent Japanese. It's really cool.

Sher and Scott Selfie!

Calvin said about Mitch: "Good riddance.  Nobody's going to pee on my leg anymore."  He said he got Mitch good when Mitch slapped him on the back tonight.

Typical.
I miss his mischief already.

JT is going on his second year living in Colorado, and is deciding if he wants to stay.  I think he should move to Los Angeles, but I didn't tell him because I'm shy.  (Shut up!)

He didn't want to be too close to the camera for this picture,
or I would have mad sure our faces were closer together.
Yes, I'm shy.

MJ wanted to get a picture with the West Coast Posse before everyone dispersed.

We also got one of the diehards with the Pella.

After giving lots of hugs to Mitch and the guys, we went back to the hotel.  We relaxed and had some tea before going upstairs and saying good night.

The next day, we had some time to spare between checkout time and airport time, so we drove around in our quest to find the Turtle XING sign.  We ended up at the same park we had been to in the rain the day before, but this time we were able to walk around.

I went through a gate to see if I could walk to the sign, but there was no sidewalk or pathway, so we had to drive around to get to where we needed.

Totally Worth It

Then I put the wrong airport into the Waze search.  Luckily, JeffEvs realized my error before we went too far out of the way, and we got to the airport with plenty of time to explore and eat lunch.

We didn't have to wait at Midway as long as we had the other day, thank goodness.  Our flights this time went much more smoothly, and we made it home safely.

I'm going to miss Mitch's energy, his smile, and his singing of "Sherry" to me every time he saw me.  I wish his successor the best, but I do hope he can sub whenever they need him.  Yes, I hope this for all of the former Rockapella guys.  :)   I hope to keep in touch with him because I have something to send him, and because he said I was Family.

Hi, Dodie!

Love you, Mitch.  Come back to California some time, and the Posse will show you a good time!  Hey, we have a Palladium for you if you'd like to sing worship songs for us.  :)

Mwah!

Newtown 2: The Forest Bugaloo

Rockapella in Newtown II

Edmond Town Hall

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Newtown, CT

Dodie went downstairs ahead of me for breakfast because I woke up late and still wanted to take a shower.  They didn't have waffles this morning, which was disappointing for Wendy because she was looking forward to having one.  I did like the pressed juice that they offered, as well as the yummy smoothies.  I like that they have a nice variety, and that they offer healthy choices.

After breakfast, we lounged for a while, and I saw that a movie was starting on HBO called "The Forest".  I started watching it, not realizing until later that it was a horror film.  Uh oh.  Weff knocked on the door just as the main character had fallen into a hole and was being approached by a school girl in a Sailor Moon-type uniform, and when she looked up, she had Zombie Face.  Creepy!  Dodie was happy to get out of there, even though we both had gotten sucked into the movie.  I do want to watch it later to see what happens, and Dodie just wants to know what happens, but not actually watch it.  I will be watching it in the day time, and away from trees.

Dodie had mentioned that on a different trip, she went to a knitting store with a friend.  She found one (near the Target!), and we all decided to go with her to A Stitch In Time.  I wanted to find stuff for cross stitching, but they didn't have any of that because they're knitting snobs or whatever.  Just kidding.  Dodie offered to make something if any of us wanted anything, and I found this cute hat.

It's even named after one of the local towns!  I paid for the materials, and Dodie is excited to have a new project.  It's a win-win!

We then wanted to do some exploring, and Wendy found a park/hiking area called  Overlook Park.  She tried to shush me when I saw all of the trees and announced "FOREST!"  Dodie was worried that we would ignore a "Do Not Enter" sign, as they did in "The Forest", but there weren't any.   Yes, we voluntarily walked into a wooded area after being scared by a movie about getting lost in a forest.  I tried to calm down Dodie by reminding her that the movie was set in Japan, and the warning in the movie was to avoid the forest at night, and it was still daytime for us. 

 I worried about ticks and insects and thought of Chunk in "The Goonies":  "I hate nature!" whenever a bug went by me.  (I've got some insect bite issues at the moment).  Along the path, we found a picnic table, and this thing.

My Google Lens app said that it was a Tussock moth caterpillar back when we first saw it, but I've done more searching, and it appears that it was a caterpillar of the American Dagger moth.  I'm sure glad we didn't touch it because it may or may not have been poisonous, and cause a rash, and I already told you that I've got insect bite issues.  So...YIKES.  

We saw red "X"s on some of the trees, and JeffEvs said that they mark the path of the trail.  I don't know, it was creepy, and it didn't help that at the beginning of our hike, JeffEvs said that the hotel in "The Shining" was called "The Overlook Hotel".  GREAT.  He couldn't wait until after we were safely in our car before telling us that?!

Also, Alien Elves built a Stonehenge here

We tried to see if we could find the cool "Turtle Crossing" sign that we had seen while traveling to the venue the previous day, but didn't have any luck.  Instead, we decided to eat at a Thai restaurant called "Thai Delight", based on Yelp reviews.

The server was very nice, and the food was beautiful and delicious!  I enjoyed my not-spicy Drunken Chicken dish.

Dodie learned how to make carrot flowers
because of this prettiness.

By this time, it had started to rain, so we were glad to be indoors and watching some car with lots of smoke careening into the parking lot to get to the auto shop next door.  We then went back to the hotel to get ready for the first show of the day.

When we arrived at the venue, we were again in one of the only cars in the parking lot.  We were early and didn't feel the need to go inside, so we sat in the car for a bit.  We watched other cars arrive, and not quite park next to us.  Instead, they would move up to the space in front of them.  We also had a space in front of us, but JeffEvs refused to move up to that space.  We laughed as each car that arrived would do the same thing as the others, and JeffEvs refused to budge.  Ya gotta love a guy with principles.  

My view from the back seat.
Notice there is no car immediately in front of us.

As one of the cars arrived, we thought the people getting out were MJ and Ross.  Then we were sure it was them because Rockapella also arrived (yes, we were there before them!), and they saw the guy that looked like Ross and waved him over to say hi.  Yup, it's Ross!  I was really happy to see MJ because she had just recently had a health scare, and I was glad she was well enough to be there because I hadn't seen her in what seemed like forever.  If you are new to my blog, you probably don't know that MJ and Ross were a couple of the first people with whom I made friends while waiting in line for a Rockapella concert.  We go WAY back in the Wayback Machine.  

Our seats were in the front row, with Weff being on the opposite side of the aisle from Dodie and me.  Hmmm...this time there was no announcement forbidding photography or video.  Someone was taking a lot of photos throughout the show.  Dodie pointed her out and I said that she was probably an official photographer because hello, she was going on to the steps of the stage and nobody stopped her.

Front Row Smiles

Rock Around The Clock

Scott: "Welcome to the afternoon show of Rockapella!"

Jailhouse Rock

Mitch smiled at me as they sang "Sure would be delighted if you'd come with me..."  HI, MITCH!!!

Scott talked about hanging out in Danbury, and how old the area is.  "There be witches and everything!"

He asked, "Who has seen Rockapella before?"  "Who saw Rockapella last night?"  "Who will be seeing Rockapella later today?"  Of course, the diehards cheered every time, prompting one of the guys to say that it all sounded redundant.

Dancing in the Moonlight

I love that when I see a bit of the choreography in their opening video, I know that it's from this song.  Also, I kind of sort of do it with them. A little.

Bad, Bad Leroy Brown

He's a bad mamma jamma.  

Satisfaction

Scott hopped back to the tenors for some reason, which made them laugh.  Mitch copied him.  Connie was chosen to sing along with "Another Saturday Night".

Moon River

Scott talked about the other vocal groups Bryant has been in, and said, "We have changed our name to Vocapella".  Cal said that Scott is a musical genius, to which Scott kiddingly responded in a fangirl voice, "That guy's wonderful.  I LOVE him!"

When Scott heard someone react upon hearing Tommy Dorsey's name, he said, "The ghost of Tommy is here from 1300."

Paper Doll

Scott and Mitch slap their (own) thighs before the fast part starts.

Rock the Boat

I love how Cal intently watches Scott to learn the Love Slide.

Commercials

An audience member responded to Scott's line of shamelessly promoting themselves for the corporate buck by loudly saying, "Say it ain't so."  Scott: "Sorry it's true."  That person tried to go on, but Scott stopped them by saying, "OK that moment has passed."  Don't interrupt the flow of the show, people.  Only the guys are allowed to do that.

During the first Almond Joy commercial, I kept giggling at Mitch's facial expressions, especially his eyebrows.

Almond Joy 3: Bryant raised his eyebrows at the tenors.

Preparation H:  Mitch started by saying, "Sorry, Wendy."

Wendy:  "You gotta do it."

MITCH SAID WENDY'S NAME FROM THE STAGE!  OK, I'll calm down now.

Scott felt the need to get off the stage and announced, "I don't need stairs because I'm in ... (jumps down)...incredible shape."  I'm surprised he didn't land with his fist on the ground like a superhero.  Hmmm..maybe Steve took his cape.

Scott talked to Allison and asked what kind of coffee she likes.

Allison: "Anything."

Scott: "You had the perfect chance to back us up."

Stand By Me

Sing it, Allison!!!

Ain't Too Proud to Beg

When Bryant lost his mind, Mitch pointed at him and said, "You!  You're ruining the show!" as he chased him away.

Great job, Allison!

Macklemore

Mitch cracked up Cal, and it reminded me of the old days with Kevin and Elliott giggling at each other during shows.

During tax season, Jeff writes as his occupation "Pretty much unemployed".

Vocal Percussion Jam

Carmen SanDiego

Scott gave a very long pitch for Bryant.  I wonder if they were having some issues hearing each other at that moment.

Encore

Rapper's Delight

I need a recording of this song.

Up On The Roof / Wonderful World (off mic)

We didn't really talk to the guys at the meet and greet because we knew they needed rest before the next show. Scott didn't even attend, so he was probably hungry and reserving his energy.  Instead, I took a picture with Ross and MJ.

We walked a couple of blocks in the rain to get something to eat at Dere Street Steak, which, APPARENTLY, has transitioned to "Cloud 9" since we were there.  They had good drinks, but took a while to get us our food, so we took it to go and ate it as we walked back to the venue.  I'm glad I had ordered finger food.  My bacon wrapped dates were delish!  Too bad they're no longer on the current restaurant menu.

I'm glad it only sprinkled a little bit on our way back to the venue, because we were too busy chowing down our food to hold umbrellas.

Next up:  Newtown Show #3