Welcome to Cali, Steven!

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. :)

The Stand-Up Comedian

Jerry Seinfeld -- LIVE!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Saban Theatre -- Beverly Hills, CA

Jerry Seinfeld, friend of Reprise's Artistic Director, Jason Alexander, agreed to perform live as a benefit for Reprise.  The person that was supposed to come with me became ill, so Liz agreed to take her place.  This whole "I'm sorry, Sherry, but I can't make it to the show that we already had tickets for" thing has happened way too much in the last few months.  Yes, it's for different reasons, and yes, I'm a forgiving person, but y'all are just way lucky that I have other friends that are spontaneous, and can fill in for you....most of the time.  Rant over.

Liz met up with me at my house, and we drove to the Saban, and had dinner at Subway across the street, because the sushi place was full and the hostess looked really unhappy and mean.  We went into the theatre, and marveled at the theatre's art deco style, which is currently being refurbished so that Liz can stop wondering about the holes in the ceiling.  I was a little bit distracted the last time I was there, so I didn't notice the decor all that much.  I had mistakenly asked some bouncer to ask about our seat location, and he didn't really know, but still helped me.  Later, I realized that I should have asked one of the people in the red vests.  Whatever.  We found our seats.  We got to see Carl Reiner come in through the door with the bouncer guy.  Cool!

Jason Alexander walked onto the stage, and talked a little bit about the raffle to benefit Reprise (the winner would be taken backstage after the show for a picture with Alexander and Seinfeld).  He said a couple of Jewish jokes, clearly knowing what made up the majority of the audience.  I've truly never seen that many yarmulkes at a show before that night.  He then told us a little bit about his friendship with Seinfeld, and introduced him.

Seinfeld was hilarious.  I hadn't seen him since my days at UCI, when he performed at the Bren Events Center.  He is as funny now as he was back then, now using the topics of marriage and parenthood as his observational humor.

Liz and I thought that he must have been following us during the evening, as he touched on subjects that we had been discussing, such as texting, tweeting, and going out/eating.  I loved the proximity of That Which Sucks to That Which is Great.  Loved the comparison of Girlfriend as Whiffle Ball to Marriage as War in Iraq.  I also enjoyed the way the home with the children has become like a private mafia, threatening to get rid of things the kids loved when they misbehaved, and taking the heads off of play-doh creations and placing them on the foot of the kids' beds at night.  

Afterward, Jerry and Jason took some questions from the audience, which was pretty cool.  They talked about how the network really didn't understand the show (The Chinese Restaurant episode in the 1st season had the network absolutely perplexed from lack of actual plot), but still went with it anyway.  You see, the "show about nothing" actually came about much like the show's "Jerry" television show!  The "Seinfeld" fan in me was very, very happy to see them two of them interact.

Jerry Seinfeld is still brilliant, and at the top of his game.  Comedy Gold.

Back In Time .. With Crispin Glover

Easter weekend, as always, was a busy time for me, and I just wanted to chill on Sunday after church.  Especially after those balloons, one of which hit me.  ACK!  

Linda sang with me in the church, and we decided to hang out afterward.  Mox joined us, and we saw "Hot Tub Time Machine".

• I wanted to hear "In Your Eyes" somewhere in the background, as a little wink to John Cusack, but that didn't happen.  We later found out that it was because that song was released after the time period that the guys visited.  Perhaps it was enough of a wink that Cusack was the star of the movie.
• I'm so old now that time travel movies back into wacky pasts now include my college days.  
• I loved all the guys, even Rob Corddry's character, Lou, the a**hole that everyone has in their lives, yet keeps them around anyway, because he's their a**hole.  
• SQUIRREL!!!
• Do you know how much I loved seeing Crispin Glover in a time travel movie again?  As soon as I saw him on screen, I said, "YES!!!" 
• I also loved the fact that Lou's usage of sports results had a better result than in the "Back to the Future" movies.  Well, except for that one bet.
• Hilarious use of the Russian language in fending off the ski patrol douches.  "Dos Vidanya!"
• If I was going to change something pivotal in my life, I think I'd go back to the 80s, too.  Told you I'm old.
• Kid 'n' Play were two people.  
• We were laughing so hard that when the Calexico earthquake struck during the movie, Linda thought that it was just us shaking the seats really hard.

I really enjoyed this movie.  Then we went to the mall and found out that it was closed, save for Borders and the restaurants.  I read "Where the Wild Things Are" and "The Velveteen Rabbit" while we waited for Glenn and Cindy joined us.  We had dinner at Bar Louie, where I had two yummy martinis.  Thanks for hanging out with me, everyone!

Fiddle Me This

Barrage

Friday, April 2, 2010

Lewis Family Playhouse -- Rrrrrrancho Cucamonga, CA

I was planning on going to see Barrage with Wendy and Jeff, but Wendy needed to stay home with her dog, so Linda agreed to take the ticket.  She asked me what Barrage was, and I couldn't really describe it much more than "violins and stuff", since I had never actually seen them when they were playing regularly at Disneyland.  No, I didn't think to look it up on the website first, or tell her to look it up. That's too easy.

So off we went to Rrrrancho Cucamonga, and we had plenty of time before meeting Jeff for the show, so we shopped.  Yeah, I bought shoes.  Don't judge.  How could I resist when they were buy one, get one free?  Shhhh...don't tell Linda that the shoes I got for her birthday were so inexpensive!  :)  (I gave myself the free ones).

We met up with Jeff, and he told us that Wendy didn't believe that a group on TV included fiddle players who danced around while playing the fiddle.  She swore that it was some kind of recorded music that they were listening to, but Jeff was a believer, and we were about to find out if Wendy was right.

The show began, and 5 fiddle players took the stage, with a drummer, a guitarist, and a keyboard player.  It was lively.  It was rocking.  They DANCED while playing their fiddles.  Yes, Wendy, fiddle players can dance, too!  Oh, and they can sing and dance at that same time.  These people were dang talented.  

The orchestra geek in me took over.  I played the violin for 9 years, and if anyone had ever shown that I could do this stuff eventually, I would have practiced my ass off!  No giving up the violin to the Bro for me.  Alas, I am too old for all of that jumping around now...but I digress.  They were quite the virtuosos, these fiddle players based in Canada.  

They played rock, country, Irish jig...just about any style of music I could think of, except rap and hip-hop.  Maybe they're working on that, too.  I don't know.  After the intermission, I pointed out one of the songs to Linda:  "Orange Blossom Special".  Now, they had already done my favorite Country Bear Jamboree song, "Ghost Riders in the Sky", and you're telling me that they're going to do a Billy Hill and the Hillbillies song, too?  Oh, my heart!  That's the song that they opened with after intermission.  No, they didn't do the "Train Thang", but they did do some choreography that made them look like train wheels moving.  It was cool.

Throughout the show, I was wishing that Bro (current owner of the family violin) was there to watch all of this.  He would have eaten it up with a spoon.  But the part that made me miss him the most was when they played "Por Una Cabeza", otherwise known as the Tango from "Scent of a Woman".  That fiddle player can dance!  I have memories of Bro trying to learn that song on the violin, and playing it over and over again.  Bro, seriously.  If they ever go to AZ, you NEED to see the show.  Heck, I'll go with you.  Oh, and then I missed Brady, because they played one of his favorite songs, ColdPlay's "Viva La Vida".  Awesomeness.

I was in awe of the virtuosity of everyone, including the guys not playing the violins.  The drummer had a great solo during "Sing, Sing, Sing", and the guitarist was amazing during the Latin music portion of the show.  I waited, though, to see if the violinists were going to play something from the Virtuoso of Violinist Composition of all time:  Paganini.  Toward at the end of the show, I got what I was waiting for.  It was just a small portion, during "Devil's Nightmare",  but I was still happy.  This wasn't a classical music concert, but they all had a classical background, so it would only be natural for them to have some Paganini in their repertoire.  


Here they are in 2007:

At the end of the show, the male violinists jumped off the stage and played in the aisles of the audience, just to show Wendy that they were actually playing those things.  But Wendy wasn't there.  Bummer.

I didn't buy a CD because I couldn't decide on one, and I heard that they were going to produce a new DVD this year with the current cast, so I'm going to wait until that comes out.   I will definitely try to see them again when they return to SoCal.  

Oh, Happy Day

Soweto Gospel Choir

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Smothers Theatre-- Pepperdine University

Malibu, CA

Back when I was ordering season tickets for this season, it was in order to obtain tickets for Rockapella as a subscriber.  One of the performers that I was going to see was Susan Egan...whose concert ended up being the same day as Rockapella's in San Luis Obispo.  Oh, the irony!  As a subscriber, though, I was allowed to switch my tickets to another show, and decided on  Soweto Gospel Choir.  Linda and Lori were able to go with me, so Lori and I drove to Malibu and met up with Linda there, who was smart enough to have chocolate to share with us before the show, because we hadn't had time for dinner beforehand.

Wow, this choir was absolutely amazing.  They had wonderful voices.  They were wearing beautifully bright-colored clothing.  They exuded spirituality and grace.  They clearly were having fun on stage, and I wished that I was in the choir with them, even though I knew that my voice could not hold a candle to the richness of all of theirs.  They did some incredible African dancing, which just made me want to go home and try to kick my feet up over my head and clap, just to see if I could do it (I can't).  They even performed a piece called "In the Canteen", which was a percussion performance with dining utensils, much like "Trashin' the Camp" from Disney's "Tarzan".  Their songs included original material, as well as arrangements of songs familiar to an American audience, such as "Amazing Grace", "Bridge Over Troubled Water",  "One Love", and "Oh Happy Day", which was my personal favorite American song of the evening.   

Here's a little bit with the dancing that I can't do:

Yes, there were plenty of moments when I didn't understand what they were singing (despite the short translations recited beforehand), but they were filled with such glory and happiness that I beamed nonetheless.  Linda said to me at intermission, "You are just loving this, aren't you?"  and I teasingly said, "Oh, I can't stand it!"  I smiled from note one until the last one.  One of the choir members was celebrating a birthday that night, and they sang "Happy Birthday" to her.  Lori and I had just been talking about how nice it is to have a choir sing that song in harmony, and there we were, listening to it, and it was great.  I was really glad at the end when we were encouraged to stand up and dance along, because I'd wanted to do so for most of the evening.  

I was uplifted, I was happy, I felt blessed.  

What an amazing end to my subscriber season at Pepperdine. 

Introducing Little Miss O

I have been slacking, and have been a Bad Tita. I haven't even written about the newest addition to D'Saints yet!

Back in December, V & Bro were waiting for their newest child, who decided not to be born on the due date of December 17. The crazy, intuitive person in me wished really hard that the child would be born on the 19th, because then the kid would be blessed with a great number, not unlike the Tita. And what to my wondering ears should appear but a call from the Bro, saying his daughter was here! On the 19th! A Santos Girl on the 19th. She's already got a LOT going for her. :)

Brady absosmurfly loves his little sister, and adorable pictures have been taken of the two of them. I visited them in January, so that I could spend my own birthday with the girl that I will spoil for the rest of my life with great fashion and shopping tips.

This was my view for most of my birthday. I was a Happy Tita.

...and here is Miss Fussy-Fuss, awake.

Welcome to the world, Olivia Harriet! May your life be filled with joy, your ears be filled with good music, and your closet be filled with fabulous outfits.

Drink Me -- *Not* a Vampire Tale

I hadn't seen "Alice in Wonderland" yet, and Cindy was willing to see it again, so after a fun dinner at BASIL, we saw the movie in 3-D.  I had never really been a fan of the Disney animated version, because the storyline freaks me out.  Since this is live action, I wasn't sure that I wanted to see it, because the posters were kinda freaking me out already, hence my apprehension.  But this was a Tim Burton film, with Johnny Depp: how could I not give this great quirky partnership a chance? 

• I'm really glad that I gave it a chance.  I ended up liking it a lot better than the original.  Maybe I'm more grown up and accepting of it, maybe it's the Burton/Depp thing.
• I already liked Mia Wasikowska from the HBO Series "In Treatment".  How funny that I only know her as someone with something going on mentally in both shows.  She did a great job in this film.
• So are all live-action 3-D movies going to have little floaty things all around?  Because I never see that many in real life.
• I liked trying to figure out who in Underland matched the people in..um..Overland.
• The film didn't scare me as much as the posters did.
• Loved Anne Hathaway as the White Queen.  She was just so cute walking around and talking with her arms raised all of the time.  I especially loved when she talked about her sister's abnormal head.
• Helen Bonham Carter cracked me up as the Red Queen.  At one point, though, I thought that she was going to have some pies made out of the card people, because that's how I think of her now.  Off with her head, and put it in a pie!  OK, she didn't actually say that.  But I loved that EVERYTHING was heart-shaped.
• I missed the Tweedles hats from the animated movie, with their differently-lengthed thingies.
• I love the background characterization the Johnny Depp used to help design the Mad Hatter: mercury poisoning and red hair and madness. 
• Johnny Depp and Tim Burton together are GENIUS.

I enjoyed that movie more than I had expected.  I hope you do, too.

Swooning for Free

PaleyFest 2010

Thursday, March 11

FlashForward

When my friend Glenn had offered to buy tickets to PaleyFest for me and my other friends, I couldn't afford the seats I wanted, so I passed.  But a few weeks later, Aura saw that Goldstar was offering free tickets to the event, and I jumped at them.  Seeing Joseph?  For FREE?  Are you frickin' kidding me?  So off we went.

I arrived really early, because I went there straight from work.  My tickets wouldn't be ready for awhile, so I sat in my car and caught up with a couple of friends on the phone.  Aura called to tell me that she was running late and traffic was being evil.  So I picked up our tickets (after leaving the confirmation in the car -- duh), and walked into the Saban Theatre.  I found Mox sitting in the same section, so I sat there, and eventually waved to Glenn and Cindy, whom were sitting in the front orchestra section.  

I actually wasn't sure that Joseph would be there, seeing as his wife had just given birth to their child the day before, but, like my friends said, "She's done, though, right?  Why wouldn't he be there?"  I just figured he'd want to bond with his child, but OK, whatever.

We were given a rough cut of the first 20 minutes of the first show of the return from hiatus.  Whoa.  They stopped the film at quite the cliffhanger moment, and the whole audience let out a collective "AUGHHHH!"  

Then the actors, the writers, and producer from the show were introduced, and I tried to remain calm.  I think I did a good job of it, considering the fact that I was so busy staring at Joseph and smiling, thinking of unzipping those zippers on his jacket...Oh, hi, there.  Well, it didn't help when Joseph himself said that the cast has porn names for each other's characters, especially when our group had just been discussing porn names the previous weekend.  For the record, Joseph's character's porn name if "Mark Bangford".


I kind of lost my mind at that point, but I do remember Dominic Monaghan wondering about the kangaroo.  I also laughed at the fact that Sonya Walger was teasing Brian Byrne about not knowing the show was based on a book.  Dude, you're ON the show!  The exchanges between Courtney Vance, Jack Davenport, and Dominic were hilarious.  John Cho was funny, as well, and I loved his reaction to the question of movies vs. television.  Kinda snarky, but I still liked it.  

Here is TVGuide.com's clip of the event:

They had a Q&A afterward with the audience, and I was happy that someone acknowledged Joseph's new daughter (Congratulations, Joseph!).  I like the question on the PaleyFest site that asked if he would do any theater in L.A., but nobody asked that there.  I was way too shy (yeah, me!) to ask anything, and didn't even go up to the stage for an autograph.  I figured that Joseph and I needed to meet in more memorable circumstances....plus, seriously, I was too shy!  There was the star of my favorite movie of all time, speaking in that awesome accent, and...oh, I'll probably just faint if I ever met him for real.  


I had a fun time, though, and I get to say that I had been in the same room as Joseph Fiennes.  Thanks for the Goldstar tip, Aura!  


This is, unfortunately, the best picture that I took of Joseph that night.  We were kind of far away, and I think I might have been shaking a little bit.  ;)  Still....swoooon!

Better Than A Hallelujah

Amy Grant

March 4, 2010

Smothers Theatre -- Pepperdine University

Malibu, CA

It's been a long time since I saw Amy Grant in concert. It must have been in the late 80s or early 90s, as I had been listening to her music at that time, thanks to my college roommate, Jen. I sang Amy's song "Say Once More" at Jen's wedding, so we have a special connection there. Jen was supposed to attend with me, but a family emergency arose, and she couldn't make it. Bummer! Luckily, my friend Lori was available to take her place, and we made our way to Malibu.

Amy looks great! She sounds great, too. The Smothers Theatre is such a nice venue for the sound that she's currently putting forth. When I saw her in concert before, she had a HUGE following, and we saw her at a sold-out concert at the Pond in Anaheim. We were in seats that required binoculars in order to see her at her keyboard. But at the Smothers, we were about 6 rows back. Not too shabby! She also never played the keyboard, but played her acoustic guitar instead. Really nice and intimate.

She did a few of her old songs, but it was mostly the secular stuff, like "Baby, Baby". She also did a few new songs from her new CD, "Somewhere Down the Road", including "Better Than A Hallelujah". I'm more familiar with her Christian songs, so I was really happy to hear some of her old songs, like "El Shaddai", which is Lori's favorite. If she had sung "Thy Word", I would have been beaming, since that's my favorite, but I was still happy.

She even did some of her real old school stuff, which I didn't know, but her loyal fans were happy to hear them, as a few of them had made some requests earlier on the tour. They had been following her for 4 nights of shows in So Cal. Hmmm...I wonder what it's like to be such a huge fan of someone? ;) She was very grateful for those fans, and even called out the most vocal one in the crowd. That was cool.

The songs from her new CD sound like she's gone back to her acoustic roots, and they're lovely. I need to get that CD.

Welcome back, Amy! It's been way too long, and I hope you don't wait another 10 years until you share more new music with us.

Above the Clouds

I know, I know:  "Sher, where the heck have you been?  You haven't posted in oh-so long!"


I still have tons to post, and promise to do it before the whole Pella trip, but today is a special day.


A long time ago, in a land not so far away, I met a boy whom became a great big deal in my heart.  We lost touch a while ago, but now thanks to the land of the internets, we're communicating again.  He's been there for me through a couple of rough patches, as well as through a lot of good times, and I still cherish him quite a bit.  We've grown up now, and things have changed, but there will always be a soft spot in each of us that remembers the good old days when we didn't have the responsibilities that we do now.


It was so long ago that we didn't have digital cameras, but I wish I did have a picture to share with y'all.  The one in my mind right now was never actually photographed:  one night, we fell asleep on a turnout up in the San Gabriel foothills, and when we woke up, we watched the sun rise up above the low-flying clouds below us.   The beauty of that was amazing, and when I sing Thompson's "Alleluia", it's one of the images I see -- one of the images that reminds me that God is present.  Without that particular guy taking us up there, that moment of pure peacefulness and joy would never have happened.  That's just one of several moments that will stay in my heart forever.


Thanks for being there for me, Aaron, through the most influential times of my past, and through the stress of the current.  You're still the best therapist I ever had.  


Happy Birthday!


(Ssshhh..the rest of you...don't tell him about Rockapella being the *other* best therapy I've ever had.  He'll get jealous).

I'm On A Horse

My favorite commercial airing these days is this one.







The actor, Isaiah Mustafa, looks and sounds a lot like Rockapella member George Baldi.  Look at George.

Sher & Geo

Now back to me...I mean, the Old Spice guy.  Mr. Mustafa was on The Ellen Degeneres Show a few weeks ago.  Ellen asked him if he remembered the script, and this link shows him doing the entire spiel that he had memorized and done so often with the many, many takes they did to get the commercial just perfect.  He doesn't look as much like George there, though.

This link on YouTube is an interview with the ad guys for the commercial.  It's about 20 minutes long, so you'll need some time, but it is amazing how, in the world of CGI, most of it was done without that particular technology.

Is it wrong that I would have preferred the tickets to the thing I love (Rockapella, DUH!) to the diamonds?

For a More Seductive Coffee Break, indeed!

OMG,

It's Joseph, reading.

As if I wasn't excited enough about Flash Forward returning tonight, I have this to watch online, too!

The Carte Noire Readers - Homepage

Oh, that's right. I have another blog post to do. Oh, well, that one will have to wait. I'm too excited about this NOT to share it with y'all.

Read to me, baby!

Do Something Big: Shaq for Be The Match Registry

Thanks, Shaq!

DLR LotD 03/05/10

Disneyland Resort
Line of the Day


Friday, March 5, 2010


"I keep picturing her doing things to herself."  -- Cindy, after Dodie showed her what "ruching" means, at Catal


Porn Name of the Day:  "Ginger Bits"


Goood night, everybody!

The School of Life

The other non-football related movie that I watched on Super Bowl Sunday was "An Education".

• I'm still trying to find out why Jenny was alone, standing out  in the rain with her cello and no umbrella in the first place.  Nobody else needed a bus ride home?
• I liked the score.  Lovely.  I want the soundtrack.
• Ah, the things we overlook for love when we're young.  Part of me wishes that I was that innocent again.  Part of me is really glad that I'm not. ;)
• Let this be a listen to all of you young gals out there:  if your boyfriend is a con artist, you are probably being conned, too. 
• So does everyone mature when they go to France?  Or do they only mature when they lose their virginity there? 
• Nice car, David.
• I felt sorry for the kid who played in the orchestra with Jenny.  So innocent and adoring of her, he just had no chance whatsoever against the sophistication of the Dude With The Great Car.
• Great performances throughout by all of the cast.  Carey Mulligan is awesome, as were Peter Sarsgaard and Alfred Molina.
• I was annoyed by Helen because she so willingly accepted things the way they were, and never bothered to tell Jenny the truth about David.  I mean, at least Danny got upset about the whole thing.  But I guess they were used to David fooling around by the time they met Jenny. 
• I knew that I had seen Olivia Williams (Ms. Stubbs) before, but couldn't place her until I actually looked at the movie's website today.  DUH.  She was on "Dollhouse"!

This was an excellent movie.  I'm still listening to the music on the website.  I really need to go get that soundtrack.

A Little Bit of Football on Super Bowl Sunday

I'm not a big NFL fan, so instead of watching the Super Bowl, I opted to make a movie day for myself.  I kept in the spirit of the day, though, and chose "The Blind Side" as one of the movies.

• I've always liked Sandra Bullock, though I don't enjoy every single one of her movies.  This one has gone right up there as one of my favorite Sandy movies.  I'm glad that she took up the challenge for this part, as she's done a great job with it.
• Having been one of the lucky people in the world that doesn't know what it's like to live in the projects, I'm always amazed by the people that are able to succeed despite the time that they live there.  It's interesting to me that Mr. Oher went through all of the foster homes and just kept trying to stay in places that were away from his original home.  That is, at least between the times that he needed to be with his mother.
• I was moved by Michael's mother wanting the best for him, even though she hadn't been able to give any of that to him  herself.  She had plenty of kids, and a drug habit, but, at least in the movie, she didn't want him to see or hear anything that was bad for him.  She'd rather that he stayed away.  Understandable, and totally opposite of the mother in "Precious".  
• I'm an idiot, and didn't recognize Tim McGraw without his beard and cowboy hat.  I knew from the opening credits that he was in the movie, but by the end of the film, I thought, "Where was he in the movie?"  Duh, Sherry.  He played Sean, the dad.  
• One of my favorite lines of the movie was Sean Touhy saying, "Who would have thought that we'd have a black son before meeting a Democrat?"  Kathy Bates, the Democrat, was awesome as usual.
• I really enjoyed the scenes with the recruiters coming to the Touhy home, mainly because I liked seeing what they had to offer to SJ as part of their promise to Michael.
• Actually, I pretty much loved all the scenes that featured SJ.  Jae Head was hilarious.
• I liked the sweet sibling relationship that developed between Michael and Collins.  She could have been one of those rich girls that shunned her very different family, as other movies portray.  Yet she was just like the rest of the Tuohys: accepting of Michael as a family member, and not really caring about what the other girls thought.
• I like how Leigh Ann Tuohy never wanted anyone to see her get emotional, so she would just walk away whenever it seemed like tears were surfacing.  So I cried *for* her, naturally.
• This is a movie more about family than anything, which is probably why I liked it so much.  I like sports movies, too, and this movie was a nice blend of both for me.

Watching the movie was a great way to celebrate Super Bowl Sunday...and the Saints won!  That's me!  And they have a fleur-de-lis as their helmet symbol!  But I wouldn't have been disappointed if the Colts had won, since they have a nice,albeit concessions-challenged, stadium. ;)

DLR LotD 02/15/10

Disneyland Resort
Line of the Day


Monday, February 15, 2010


"No response?  I'll take that as an Okie Dokie." -- Billy, to Sherry, at the Golden Horseshoe

A Light in the Darkness

I had been wanting to see "Precious" for a long time, ever since I saw a couple of the actors being interviewed on "The Ellen Degeneres Show".  I knew that it would be an emotional movie, though, so I put it off during the holidays,  not really wanting to deal with all of the crying that I knew would happen.  Awards season had started, though, so it was time for me to start seeing the "serious" movies that I had put off until now.   Tissues for tears at the ready, I finally went.

• Precious' fantasy segments were cute.  Once I understood what was happening, I would get a smile on my face every time she daydreamed, especially when she was imagining herself as a star.
• I didn't know that alternative schools like Each One/Teach One existed.  How totally neat.  I'm glad that those schools are there to give students a chance at getting an education outside of the systems that have failed them.
• Wow, Mo'Nique.  I was amazed by her performance.  I hated her character, and when she's talking to the social worker at the end of the movie, I was just ... floored.  Her accolades are well-deserved. 
• Gabby Sidibe was amazing, too. You wouldn't think, seeing her performance, that she is actually such a bubbly person in real life (as evidenced in the video link above).  And to think that this was her first movie role EVER?!  Wow.
• Mariah Carey was great, too.  Funny how it takes her being almost unrecognizable for her to garner the respect from the acting community that she has now received. 
• I wish that all teachers were like Paula Patton's character, Ms. Rain.
• The food just all looked gross to me.  Except for the fruit that the nurse (Lenny Kravitz) was eating.
• Loved Sherri Shepherd's look when she met Lenny Kravitz.
• Yes, the tissues were needed. 
• Amazing film.  I love that feeling of hope that I had after watching it.  There was so much that was disturbing, yet, through it all, there can still be a light in a person's life.

A must-see movie.  Just remember to bring your hankies. ;)