Rockapella in NY
Sunday, December 11, 2022
Suffolk Theater
Riverhead, NY
In the afternoon, we called for a Lyft to Riverhead, because the LIRR wasn't scheduled to get us close to the venue. It showered most of the way there, and it was cold, so it was nice to be in a warm car the whole way.
Bro and I saw that there was a Cuban restaurant about a block away from the theater that had good Yelp reviews, so we ate there at Lucha Cubano. I ordered a Media Noche and plantains, and Bro ordered the Lechon. I texted Stacey to tell her where we were eating dinner, and she and Elisa joined us, so we moved to a bigger table. I hadn't seen Elisa since the cruise! I'm glad that they enjoyed my plantains so much that they got another order. They had a bar, so I had a Mango Mojito. Bro had a regular mojito. Later, Bro also had some kind of Adult Gingerbread or Peppermint Latte and enjoyed that, too. The food was great, and I was sorry to discover today that they closed down permanently just a couple of weeks after we were there.
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| Media Noche and Plantains |
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| Bro and his Christmas-y Concoction |
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| Scotcherbreadman and Nutcracker Drummer |
As we were leaving, I heard my name being called, and turned around. MJ and Ross!!!!! I was really excited to see them, because I had hoped they'd be there that night. I called out to Bro to come back inside, and there were hugs all around.
It had begun to snow while we were eating dinner. A White Christmas for a Rockapella Christmas show! I took video of myself walking in the snowfall, but it didn't come out right, which was a bummer, because it was just so pretty to be standing there.
The Suffolk Theater is a gorgeous establishment, with the restrooms up a flight of stairs, nice and big and roomy. Bro told me that there was a guy at the top of the stairs to tell you where the restrooms are located, because they're not right next to each other. I talked to him for a little while about the theater.
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| View from upstairs |
We had seats in the front row. I know you're not surprised. MJ's seat was right behind us. Ross was recording the performance for the guys. Elisa and Stacey were seated at the tables.
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| So happy to see MJ!! |
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Got a smile from CSL4. HI!!!
CSL4 is Billy Joel Tribute Act.
Hope We Hold
CSL4 said the Suffolk Theater is so beautiful. Agreed! Before the show, the host said that they have a lot of shows and events there, including a big bash on New Year's Eve. That would be a great place for a NYE party!
Dreidel
Cal and Manny were a lot of fun to watch during the breakdown. "Get happy!"
Silver Bells
JT was encouraging Geo to join the tenors, but Geo just couldn't keep up.
There was a guy loudly yelling out sutff during the show, and at first they thought it was someone heckling them, or maybe he was drunk. It took a little while, but we all realized that he had mental issues, and CSL4 would sometimes ask what the guy said so that he could understand and respond.
Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
Glow Worm
Fun to watch Cal watch JT rubbing his cheek after JT slaps his own mouth so much.
CSL4 said that JT was "slapping himself silly for the season slappily".
JT: "I felt like I was hallucinating there, but I enjoyed it."
It took about 3 times for CSL4 to get the right key for the next one. "Third time's a charm."
Winter Wonderland
Manny walked like a zombie, or maybe he was Frankenstein. He did not walk like Elvis.
CSL4: "It's winter out there, with icy roads, don't you love it?"
Manny has a classical piano degree. CSL4 saw him on stage and asked him to "please come sing with us" when he met him at the stage door. I love that CSL4 is a fan and waits by the stage door after shows! So NYC.
Simply Havng a Wonderful Christmastime
Manny gestured the way I would if I was singing his part during the Nutcracker portion. Rockin' out with Tchaikovsky! I like the little embellishment on "This time of year."
Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer
CSL4 so cute with all the emotions. Manny added antlers with his hands.
CSL4 liked the spinny chairs / stools.
At this point, CSL4 was still not understanding what was going on with the audience guy, and I could kind of hear him muttering under his breath about it as he pulled out his pitch pipe.
Merry Christmas, Darling
So buttery and yummy, that Cal.
CSL4 said that Geo was in Rockapella "from 2002 to 2016, but then he left us. We're so lucky to have George back in the house."
(I do not know why my notes say something about JT and "no more diapers, just"...something, but I feel the need to share that with y'all anyway.) He also said, "Comes around, goes around. Am I right?" Wow, I wish I remembered what all of this was about.
Wait. OK, I'm reading this again, and it has something to do with JT starting with Rockapella in diapers, and he'll be in diapers again. Don't you love how I just type out my thought process with no regard to the actual narrative?
Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer
Manny made the sign of the cross.
Don't Be Late
Manny was busy playing with the Christmas tree and something came off of it when CSL4 called because he was startled.
INTERMISSION
I went upstairs and talked to my friend, and he was enjoying the show. So were the ladies in the restroom.
Jingle Bell Rock
CSL4 is such a goofball.
Please Come Home for Christmas
Cal was making goofy faces during CSL4's attempts to get more cash.
Kwanzaa
Ah, Cal, that melisma!!
CSL4 pointed at me and asked what I wanted for Christmas.
Sher: "You guys!"
CSL4: "For us to sing a song, or for us to show up at your house Christmas morning?"
Sher: "YES!!!"
CSL4: "You'll need to make a formal request."
Sher in her mind: (OK, so he didn't say no....)
Phyllis wants a past dryer. CSL4 asked her if she was Italian. She said, "Ya think?!"
CSL4: "Why are there so many different names and shapes for pasta?"
Phyllis said they all had a "different mouth feel".
Bro said that if they had picked him, his time on the stage would have been shorter. Yeah, the conversation with Phyllis did take a while. :)
(I am now imagining CSL4's impression of Phyllis Diller, and I can't stop giggling.)
Santa Claus is Comin' to Town
Yay! Phyllis was such a good sport!
CSL4: "I know that pasta dryer is on its way. You sang fine. It was a bad key for you and you still stuck with it and sang harmony!"
Manny was freestyling, it was fun.
Geo: "Some of stuff that we performed, I must have been out of my mind." He still has the range, as he noticed when the "hot water hit me" in the shower, and he told us to watch his butt when he sings high. I mean, he TOLD us!
He said, "Just being up here has been a blessing. Being a part of the connection with music is amazing. You should feel privileged to be a part of this history, because these guys have been doing this over 30 years."
Not the usual segue, but I had tears in my eyes. He was just so sincere about his enjoyment of this time with the guys.
Grinch
Cal bowed to Geo afterward, in a "We're not worthy" way.
CSL4: " So that's what hot water does to you? I wasn't sure where you were going with that." He continued after thanking George, "That's a perfect sentiment for the next song."
Auld Lang Syne
I'm all emotional again.
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
I liked JT's picture with the drum, wearing an Underdog shirt.
Angels We Have Heard On High
Encore
All I Want for Christmas is You
DO IT ROCKAPELLA!
Carmen
They had a breakdown portion. Geo did his bass thing. Cal was doing a scratching vinyl thing. Manny chanted "PBS". CSL4 was dancing. It was awesome.
Hold Out for Christmas
CSL4 really enunciated the "p"s on "jeep" and "cheap".
Meet and Greet
The guys just kinda hung out afterward again. Elisa had made Hamantaschen cookies, which the guys love, so they were happy to see her and her bags of cookies. I gave them all cards with our photo from Friday's meet and greet.
CSL4 approached us as we were waiting for Geo to stop talking to a guy, whom, we found out later, is his future brother-in-law. CSL4 asked what we did yesterday (they had a show in New Hampshire), and we said that we stayed in Farmingdale because Stacey and the Today Show told us to stay away from Manhattan because of Santa Con. He said that they did a funny bit on SNL about it last night. The hosts were Steve Martin and Martin Short. He's loved Martin Short since forever. He hasn't seen their live show and I recommended it. He loves "Only Murders in the Building". I still need to see that episode of SNL.
We told Manny that we would try to see him in Vegas, and he said to send him a message if we do. (The schedule didn't work out for us, though, so I'm sorry, Manny!) A couple of days later, Manny included me on his Insta reel as he showed the card I gave him and talked about how awesome Rockapella fans are. I was, like, THAT'S ME!!! Love you, Manny. Hope to see you again with Rockapella.
I only got a moment with Cal and JT just to wish them a Merry Christmas and give them their cards. It's just so good to be able to talk to them and get hugs again after all of this COVID blech.
When we talked to Geo, he told us about the guy he was talking to, and said that he would be proposing to his girlfriend at Christmas time. So when he posted it later on FB, I thought, "Hey, I knew that was going to happen!" Geo said that now that he's a manager, he can get away more often to do gigs because he trusts his team. He did need to fly out late that night, though, because he needed to get back to work, so Armand would be performing the next day in Boston. I'm hoping that this all means that maybe we'll get to see Geo again at other shows, as long as they're weekends.
After saying bye multiple times, we finally left the theater. Elisa drove us back to the hotel because Stacey went with someone else, and Elisa doesn't like to drive by herself in the dark. It was very kind of her, and saved us Lyft money, and we also got cookies of our own to taste. :) Also, Elisa is hilarious, so I like to hear her stories of first meeting Rockapella and how she gets to spend time with Sean and El sometimes. So cool.
The next day, Bro and I took the train back to LaGuardia.
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| Snow at Farmingdale Station |
I was too early to check my luggage (cannot load more than 4 hours ahead), so I did some repacking of liquids and decided to just carryon my luggage. Bro was just hanging out and watching planes, so I joined him in the fancy place until it was time to board.
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| Dodgers and Giants of old |
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| View of Manhattan skyline |
But then, THEN! There was a huge mess at my boarding gate because flights were delayed, and they didn't have the organized lines due to the fact that Southwest shared those particular gates with JetBlue (you'd think they'd just have them available nearby since this is a regular thing, but whatever). They also had a couple of flights going out of the same gate at relatively the same time. I don't know how all of that works! They finally moved the other flight to another gate, so they didn't know how that works either. Also, there were at least a dozen wheelchairs waiting for the people to get off of the plane we would be boarding, so that took forever. We were told that the flight crew was late because they were stuck in traffic. Don't they always tell us to plan to be at the airport early? Do they not take their own advice?! When we got onto the plane, the flight was delayed even further because people could not just allow the attendants to check their carryon bags once the bins were full. I, like, wanted to scream. I mean, hello, I checked my bag at the gate. Why couldn't they?
The timing wasn't too bad, so Bro was still around at LAX when my flight landed. I stayed at his house and my dad picked me up the next day.
Despite the airport trouble, I had a great time, and I was really happy to see the guys sing their Christmas show, and most of all, I was happy to see George perform again! What a treat that was.
To end this blog post, I leave you with this video of a very cool fountain at the food court in LaGuardia. Turn the sound on, and enjoy.
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