Last Day in the Magic Hallway

Rockapella in Laughlin

Day 5

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Harrah's Fiesta Showroom

Laughlin, NV

We woke up and started packing up our stuff.  FS had told us the night before that we were on our own for breakfast, which worked out perfectly because we wanted to use the Starbucks gift cards that KP's students had given her for Christmas.  Weff checked out of their room and we met them downstairs at Starbucks for breakfast.  Thank you, KP's kids!  

JeffEvs pointed out that there were balloons in nets in the casino to get ready for New Year's Eve.  Now that I noticed them, I dreaded going through the casino, but I braved it somehow.  We said goodbye to Weff, then went back to our room so that I could finish packing.  

Well, of course, we were in the Magic Hallway, so we saw Scott.  We high-fived him as we passed.  Wow, I had a lot of stuff which no longer fit into my luggage.  It's a good thing that we went to Target earlier in the week and I had bags to use.  We checked out of the hotel and made our way to Walgreen's, because KP wanted to have pictures of us for the guys to sign that night.  Thank you, Snapfish, for partnering with stores like Walgreen's so that we could pick up our prints in the store!  On our way to Walgreen's, we saw the big tortoise that we had seen the day before, and decided that we wanted to go back there to take pictures.

When we arrived at Walgreen's, the pictures still weren't ready.  Very tall Harry (he was 6'9", but was 6'10" until he went to Afghanistan and came back an inch shorter) said that they had not received many orders that day, so it should have been done by now.  Oops.  I forgot to click on the last button to order.  I finished the order on my phone (isn't technology wonderful?), and we waited as we shopped.  The prints were ready quite quickly.  He asked if we were from a radio station or something, I guess because our picture was of us with the band.  We told him about Rockapella, and he said that he grew up watching Carmen, so we liked him immediately.  Well, we liked him anyway because he was nice to us.  We paid for our stuff, and then I saw a Star Wars magazine so I needed to buy something again.  Daniel (at that counter) was nice, too!

KP needed cash, so we went to the bank, but the ATM wasn't working.  We decided to shop in the nearby bookstore to wait out the cars that were in the line at the drive-up ATM.  They had a lot more stuff than books, like collectibles and toys for geeks like us.  I'm really surprised that neither one of us bought anything, but somehow we controlled ourselves.  By the time we got back to the car, the ATM was fixed, so KP did her banking and we were on our way.  We thought that we were on our way to Buffalo Wild Wings, but never saw it again after we had left Walgreen's.  Oh, well.  Also, we almost forgot to get a picture with the tortoise, but I quickly turned when I saw it.  

Rudolph and Scotcherbreadman hitch a ride

We also took pictures by the river after I took a picture for a family, and they returned the favor.  

Harrah's in the background

KP bought Thank You cards at Target earlier in the week, and it was time to write them.  We went to Chili's for lunch and wrote our cards.  I cried while I wrote about half of them.  KP even wrote on Scott's that she needed to pause to hand me a Kleenex.  I'm just such a grateful mess!  

After all of the crying, we took pictures of the statue of Don Laughlin because pretty much every one of the guys that rode in our car told us about him, thanks to their shuttle driver's stories.  APPARENTLY, Don lives at the Riverside Hotel with his girlfriend, and his wife (ex-wife?) lives in a hotel across the way. 

Thank you for Laughlin, Don!

We also took pictures with the PellaMobile.

KP re-enacting opening the trunk for FFE

Sher re-enacting driving the PellaMobile

We weren't hungry enough yet for dinner, so we got dressed for the show in one of the women's restrooms.  I don't know why I forgot that there was a bigger restroom around the corner with mirrors that were separate from the sinks, but those would have been easier to use than the one we were sharing above a sink in a 3-stall restroom.

We went back to Starbucks to use the last amount on KP's gift card, and charged our phones while waiting to go to the showroom.  On his way to his room after dinner, Fred saw us sitting there, and pretended not to see us, then came over to say hi.  I tapped his shin with my shoe, and he told me not to get his pants dirty. My shoes are clean, Fred!  We saw a couple of the other guys walk by, too, but didn't want to bug them, so we didn't try to get their attention.

When we saw that most of the guys had already passed by after their dinner, we went to the Business Center to continue charging my phone and get out of the smoky casino with the balloons. 

The screen when we left the business center

 When I went to the restroom, I pushed a stall door and there was already a lady in there.  I apologized and went to another one while she proceeded to NOT close the door and continue her phone conversation with whomever, telling them that she was going to the show.  While washing my hands and putting on my lipstick, the restroom attendant also pushed the door onto the lady because she still had not locked her door.  Good grief.  She finally locked it, and then when she came out, she had a bottle of beer in her hand.  Well, no wonder she couldn't lock the door...she had one hand on her cell phone and one holding her bottle.  She was clearly drunk and about to go to the same show that I would be seeing.  I told KP about the lady.  She ended up sitting in the front row, center aisle.  Oh boy.

KP and I had seats in the second row again, and Karen was there.  Hi, Karen!  We saw that the 2 seats in the front row on the end were empty, and hoped that nobody would show up so that we could move.  We weren't sure it would happen, though, because the house seemed full otherwise.  

Rock Around the Clock

Pella Butts!  

Jailhouse Rock

Scott asked about New Year's resolutions.

Somebody said "Don't make one."

Scott:  "That's your resolution?"

Scott:  "Who's seen Rockapella before?"

<WHOOO>

Scott:  "You've been drinking!"

I wished that I had been drinking, but I was driving home tonight.

Nobody sat in the front row seats we wanted.  I told Karen that we would be leaving her, and moved.  We were now in our Happy Place, and we deserved it after 4 days of not being in the front row, goshdarnit!

Dancing In The Streets

Scott stopped dancing a bit too early.  Oops.

Glow Worm

Jeff had exited the stage, and then came back and stared at Ryan until he moved.  Tuning!  JT got applause for his face solo.  

Scott blew the wrong pitch for the next song.  Again.

Satisfaction / Cupid

Hi, Steve!  I mouthed the words to "Can't get no satisfaction" when he sang them in my direction, and smiled.  Ah, memories of talking about people dancing and being satisfied.  Scott danced at us and we cheered him on, so he did even more.  Thank you!  

What is up with all of the people talking after that song?  It happened every night.

Scott to the Drunk Woman:  "Did you watch Rudolph with a light beer in your hand?"

He got a lot of laughter when he mentioned the Norelco Shaver.

Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer

Calvin is about to lose it.  Pretty sure it has something to do with the drunk woman.  Jeff pointed at us for "YAHTZEE!!!!"

My Cherie Amour

After the song, Steve tapped Calvin on the leg and said, "Good!"  

Ryan got a nice "CORNHUSKERS!" yell from the audience.

Ryan:  "Go, Big Red!"

Scott talked about Jeff.

Drunk woman:  "What does that mean, 'The Mozart of Spit'?"  

So Jeff demonstrated and spit, then said, "What can I say?"

Scott to Drunk Woman:  "It's like you're watching your TV." 

Scott then meant to talk about Jeff and called him "Steve".  KP corrected him.  Jeff shushed her.  Does he want his name to be Steve?

Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer

Once people heard the first line, they applauded.  This crowd is doing its job!

Sher:  "Shiny pants!"

Steve looked over.  I don't think he heard me.  Does he know that I stare at Scott's pants?

Blame It On The Boogie

Steve almost punched Calvin in the gut.  Ryan went all crazy, dancing downstage.  

Scott:  "Well, I hate to bring you down..." (to Drunk Woman): "I know I can't bring YOU down."

Commercials

Jeff pointed at Ryan when he said, "BUDWEISER".

Some guy in the audience: "You guys are great!"

Scott:  "Thank you, Mom!"

Someone else in the audience:  "That was Dad."

Scott forgot to sing at the beginning of the 2nd Almond Joy.

Was Jeff looking away from the peacock, or watching it fly away?

Ryan got 4 cymbal crashes at his butt today.  

Scott:  "That was pretty bad, wasn't it?"

After Dr. Pepper, Jeff directed his extra fizzy soda sound at us.  Thank you!

Scott:  "You would love having a Dr. Pepper after that song, right?"  To Drunk Woman: "Maybe not you."

I was afraid that his connection would be with that woman, but perhaps he was afraid she would get sick while dancing on stage with them, so he didn't choose her.

"Is that coffee you're holding in your hand?"  No, she drinks wine at night.  He told Sally that she looked lovely.  Aw, he's said that to me, too!  He asked her to sit on the stool, "free of charge".  Sally is a retired dental assistant.  

Scott smiled at her and asked, "What do you think?"

Sally said that his teeth were very nice.

Scott:  "I spent a lot of money on these."

Stand By Me

She sang a little bit, but when Scott sang more, she said, "I like this better."

Ain't Too Proud to Beg

When they sing "half a man", one of them mimed sawing someone in half.

Ryan:  "Sally, I got what you need!"

Yay, she danced!

Steve started to take her to her seat, then repeated what Sally told him.  "I look like your sister's friend?  Is he a dashing young man?"

Ryan:  "This audience is over the top, I'm telling you."

Macklemore

I raised my hands with the guys and Steve saw me and smiled, then we sang together, "another day of life".  I'm glad he knows that the song gets all in my head and I can't get it the heck out.  Not that I want that. 

Scott:  "There's one more thing we have to do, and you know what it is!" (To Drunk Woman): "You do not know what it is."

Carmen

KP informed me that Jeff kept touching his thigh.  

They all walked in circles during the final introductions.

"Where in Laughlin is Carmen SanDiego?"

Encore

All I Want For Christmas is You

The drunk woman kept pointing to Calvin, and it was throwing off Scott.  I was worried that she would grab Cal during the last song.  She did not.

Up On The Roof / Wonderful World  (off mic)

Audience:  "ooohh"

Afterward, someone in the audience yelled, "LET'S HEAR IT!"  

That was a fun show.  KP knew that Fred was going to leave kind of early because he had an early flight in the morning, so she brought him his Thank You card while I talked to Karen.  Karen's phone was doing weird things, and I couldn't take a picture to save my life.  Jeff asked me what I was doing, then tried to help, to no avail.  So I took pictures with my camera, and subsequently forgot to get her email address.  Thank goodness for Facebook!  She replied to a Rockapella post later to try to find me, and now we're in touch.

I took individual pictures of KP with the guys, and she gave them their Thank You cards.  I didn't want them to open them right there because I'd start crying again.   Steve said he'd read his backstage.  Scott read his in front of us and gave us big hugs.  I got all misty and couldn't handle it, so I stepped away so that I wouldn't completely lose my composure.  Steve remembered that I wanted to take pictures of us all 5 nights, so he made sure that we got it done.

One more for the road

Kameron wanted to take a selfie with us, but he needed to finish CD business with Jeff first.  Jeff apologized for taking a long time, thinking that we were waiting for him.   Not really, but OK, sure.  Steve stopped as he was leaving, and thanked us for the sweet cards.  I got really teary and he told me not to cry.  It's just been such a wonderful year of Rockapella shows and Steve House Concert, and he's a huge part of that happiness, so it was an overwhelming moment.  He talked to us for a bit, and meanwhile, part of the curtain thing fell down and hit me.  He asked if I was all right, and rubbed my back.  He asked where it hit me.  I told him "my butt".  I was NOT trying to get him to rub my butt, stop thinking that way! He still rubbed my back, though, making sure I was OK.  What a sweetheart.  I saw that Boz Skaggs had played in the showroom, and told him that I took a picture of it for Kyoko, since he sang Skaggs' song for her at the house concert.  Boz Skaggs, Frankie Valli, and Rockapella?  It's like the posters were summing up the year.  He said that he was going to go get a drink to help him sleep, and we said our goodbyes.

Kameron took a selfie with us and we are now Facebook friends.  We wished him luck and thanked him (he got a card, too!).  We saw Steve at the bar while on our way to get me some caffeine and protein at McDonald's, because it was time for our drive back.  While I was waiting for KP to get her food, Jeff walked by and waved goodbye.  

The Magic Hallway

The drive was as dark as it was on the way in, but this time we were prepared for the hills and we basically knew where we were going, so it was all good.  When we stopped at a gas station to use the facilities, a guy had his window rolled down as he loudly sang along to the Jackson 5.  I almost went up to him to sing along with him because I was in a good mood and wanted to keep myself awake by being silly.

We returned the car to the rental place after I got my car and we packed it up.  Then I drove KP back to her house so we wouldn't have to worry about her roommate picking her up.  I figured I might as well, since I was still wide awake, and didn't want to have to deal with alarms in the morning.  I returned home at about 3:30 a.m., and wrote a final haiku to post on Facebook before finally falling asleep.  

That was a great way to end a great year.  Thank you, Posse, for being there, especially KP.  Thank you, Rockapella, for making all 5 days memorable, whether it was on stage or during your free time.  I now have even more reason to love you.

Next up:  Laughlin Road Trip Epic Haiku Post

PusherPix 01/08/16

Lunch today at The Counter:  turkey burger w/ spinach, fried egg and applewood smoked bacon on Hawaiian bun, with onion strings.

PusherPix 01/07/16

Each Metro station has a different look.  This is part of a tile mural at 7th & Figueroa.  The other tiles also have movie themes, and I'll likely share them here in future posts.  I chose this first one because Chewie!  And Kong!

PusherPix 01/06/16

Happy Epiphany and Little Drummer Boy Day!

PusherPix 01/05/16

Oops.  Forgot to bring this to Laughlin to give to the (belated) Birthday Boy.

PusherPix 01/04/16

Popcorn bucket fezzes are cool.

PusherPix 01/03/16

Want a tangerine, guys?

Welcome to the Riverside

Rockapella in Laughlin

Day 4

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Harrah's Fiesta Showroom

Laughlin, NV

It's Black Bear Diner day!  FFE did not meet us downstairs because he was still asleep, but FS did, and we were on our way.  Since I had only mapped out what direction to go, I didn't actually memorize the address, so I asked KP to look it up.  I don't know why anyone assumes that I'm ready with everything when I'm just as freaked out as everybody else, but whatevs.  The restaurant was much farther down the road than IHOP, so FS asked concernedly, "Where are you taking me?!"  He should rest assuredly that we would not kidnap him, because without him, we can't hear much during a show.  

We happily arrived at the Black Bear Diner in Bullhead City, and sat down at a round table with 6 chairs.  Aw, we had an extra chair for FFE, but he wasn't there.  He texted me while we were eating breakfast because he and JT needed a ride to the music store.  I told him that we could take him today after we returned from breakfast. I ordered oatmeal because I was still kinda full from our late meal the night before.  So did Wendy.  We were puzzled when our oatmeal came with a side of butter.  I've seen butter on the side of grits, but not oatmeal.  Is that a thing?  KP ordered a waffle with a bear claw imprint.  FS asked for a taste of it later because they make it with sweet cream.  JeffEvs had a meal that included biscuits the size of his head.  It all looked good, and I forgot to take pictures.  I was a bit distracted.  FS ordered a chocolate cream pie after he was done with his regular meal.  It was big.  It came with several spoons for him to share, but I wasn't hungry.  After breakfast, FS took a picture of us by a sculpture of a bear family.  I don't know why I'm the only one that makes sound effects when taking these pictures, but it made everyone giggle, so I'll just continue doing that in order to have pretty smiles in my pictures.

RAWR!!!!!

We returned to the hotel, and I wanted to drop off people, but didn't know how to get there.  FS told us to go the back way.  JeffEvs advised that there was a way to go under some walkway, and somehow we found it.  I parked in the trailer parking until FFE and JT came outside.  KP and I stayed in the car while they greeted FS and Weff, and I told Weff that we'd contact them when we returned.  

The guys needed "as many pitch pipes as possible" for the NYE show,  so we headed back to Bullhead City.  JT told me to go some back way (he was using Google Maps, not Apple because he's not in denial), and then it was my turn to say, "JT, where are you taking us?!"  I started to see familiar stuff, like the Target we visited a couple of days before.  Then I brought up the fact that the Adult Book Store would be coming up, and we told them how mortified we would have been had we actually stopped, and then found one or more of them outside as we were exiting...or vice versa.  FFE:  "That's just an understood 'this is just between us' moment."  JT was concerned that I either didn't have enough, or had too much porn.  Perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned the store, but I thought it was funny.  Perhaps I'm the one who is too comfortable now.  I mean, later on, I told him my theory that he thinks I sleep like a princess because I'm waiting for a kiss.  He neither confirmed nor denied my theory.

We found the aptly named "Music Store".  FFE went straight for the guitars, sat down with one, and started playing "Blackbird".  I had to confirm my reservation for New Year's Eve, so I pretended not to freak out that all of this was happening, and returned Catal's phone call. JT purchased the pitch pipe.  I thought he needed a bunch, but he only bought one.  We were ready to go, but FFE was still playing.  

JT:  "You want to hang for a little while?"

Aw, how cute.

JT:  "I mean, you're playing so beautifully, I don't want to interrupt."

CUTE!!!

FFE:  "No, we can go."

I would have been OK with having another little concert right there, but refrained from telling him so.

FFE was hungry.  I could have eaten more food because I never did finish my oatmeal.  KP was not going to say no to taking him to breakfast.  JT had already eaten, but was willing to go somewhere so that FFE could eat.  I didn't know where to go, but FFE had spied a restaurant across the street that had a lot of cars in front, so he thought it was probably good for the locals.  He wanted Huevos Rancheros like he had when he was in Monrovia.  I asked JT to search for Mexican Breakfast in the area.  Nobody found any very quickly, so FFE again voiced his idea to go across the street.  Well, OK, then!  

Across the street was a little restaurant called Da Place.  I asked if it was like "Da Plane".  We were all wrong, and it's actually called "D'Place Cafe".  I swear, the sign had an "a" after the "D".  Hey, I see our booth in one of our pictures on the page!  It's the one to the right of the corner booth if you are looking at the picture.  Now that I look at the name of the place, it makes sense that we went there.  My family calls ourselves "D'Saints".  It was meant to be, I tell ya.  We ordered our food, and the guys talked shop.  KP and I needed to use the restroom but somehow didn't go until way later.  Then I almost broke the door (or, more likely, my hand), trying to figure out if it was locked.  There was only one stall, so I went back to the booth and listed to more shop talk.  I love witnessing the creative process anyway, and when it's my guys, it's like a little piece of my kind of heaven.  They were talking about their next CD.  I suggested originals, because I had met a guy recently whom was an old school fan and prefers their originals, even though he also thinks that Scott is a genius when it comes to a capella arrangements.  So now they're seriously thinking about that.  You're welcome!

JT asked me what I do for my job, and I told him.  He seemed surprised.  JT:  "Why don't I know this already?"  Well, you don't talk to me, that's why.  At least not about normal stuff until this week.

I told FFE that I needed to tell Glenndy what he thought of Star Wars.  FFE:  "Who?"  Sher: "Glenn and Cindy."  FFE: "I thought you said, 'Glenndy'."  Sher:  "I did!  It's their supercouple name."  FFE:  "Oh!  Tell Double N and Cindy that I liked it.  Except for Kylo Ren."  JT has a crush on Daisy Ridley.

KP voiced her love for Stephen Arnell's abs (this is the reason she watches "Arrow").

JT:  "Abs are overrated.  You have to just eat salad and stuff."  FFE agreed.  They both like "Game of Thrones", and I told them that I was planning to binge watch it someday.  Because dragons.

I asked FFE how he liked his Spanish Omelette (the closest thing he could get to the huevos rancheros).  He said it was OK, "but not as good as the one at our place, by your house."  JT wanted to know what we were talking about, and how we had a place by my house.  FFE reminded him about the house concert.  I told JT that if he ever has free time when he's in LA, I'll take him to some good eating places, including Nano Cafe.  Mmmm....Nano.  

I asked them what they were doing for the day.  FFE:  "Jeff wants to go bowling."  JT:  "I do?"  FFE: "No, Jeff, of Wendy and Jeff."  JT:  "You have more than one Jeff in your life?  Oh, THAT Jeff!" 

The two of them decided that they would form their own group and name it "Country Club".  You read it here first. 

On our way back to the hotel, the guys talked more shop, this time regarding a video that they will be recording when they're all together again in NYC this January.  Hint:  Sweets.  :)  FFE tried out the pitch pipe, which, of course, made it his.  I think it was supposed to be JT's, but that wasn't happening anymore.  I don't know why they didn't just buy 2 of them.  At one point during the drive, somebody said the word "dick", probably when we were talking about Sean's music.  I repeated it and hit FFE and we laughed.  JT:  "Why did you hit his leg?"  So we told him about the raffle at the house concert.  My favorite part of this moment is that JT actually wanted to know what was going on.  (Hi, Dodie!)

When we returned to the hotel, Weff had just finished up playing in the arcade.  We asked FFE if he wanted to go bowling, and he was up for it, so we agreed to meet back downstairs in a few minutes.  So we split up and then reconvened.  This time, Wendy did not call shotgun, because FFE needed to be in his rightful spot, as he had been when we went to the music store.  We returned to the Riverside Hotel for some fun and games.  I parked on the 3rd floor this time, because FS wasn't there to boss me around and make me go to the wrong floor.  We went through a labyrinth to try to find the bowling alley, and couldn't find it.  I asked an employee, and she told me to follow the signs.  Bitch, please.  If I saw the signs, I wouldn't have asked you.  Then we found the signs, which none of us had seen coming from the other way.  Weird.  The bowling alley was reserved for league play for a little while, so we looked at movie times.  Well, they looked at movie times.  I got my fortune from Zoltar.  Funny, he gave me the exact same fortune as the pirate at Neptune's Kingdom.  None of the movies were close to starting, and Star Wars had already started the trailers.  I pointed out to Steve that there was a poster of the Kingston Trio.  They sang the version of "Zombie Jamboree" upon which the Rockapella version was patterned.  We decided to go to the car museum.

In the car museum, I serenaded my friends while listening to all of the songs from the 50s and 60s that were playing through the speakers.  Wendy did the Twist.  I don't know why they had random gaming tables on display.  They had pins from visitors who came all over the country in a display case.  They also had random decorations, as if someone said, "I don't want to get rid of this.  Let's put it in the car museum."  The cars were pretty cool, and we all decided on our favorites.  I liked that one of the features in some of the cars was a Kleenex holder, but my favorite was a 1961 Corvette.

Let's cruise!

Steve saw a Route 66 t-shirt in the hallway that he thought would look good for his solo gigs, so we went to the gift shop.  Alisa was very helpful and I got a set of postcards of the car museum for cheap.  She was REALLY helpful with FFE, but who wouldn't be?  I asked her how to get to the Riverwalk, and she gave us directions.  Wendy memorized them for me because she's good at that kind of thing: "Left, right, down, left".  KP and I tried to remember the landmark details.  Her directions were perfect!  My friends started the walk along the river, and I took this picture.  I shouted at them, "I'm taking a picture of your butts!"

KP:  "And she's not even drunk!"

FFE:  "She's not?"

He told me later he was kidding, but we had a staredown at the bowling alley before he admitted it.

Butts Along The River

We didn't walk very far, just to the next hotel, because of time constraints.  We did, however, take this gorgeous selfie that I will cherish forever and ever.  Good idea, Sher!  Thanks for the long arm and for fixing the angle so we could have the water in the background, FFE!  Thank you for the use of your iPhone6, KP!

Besties

We figured that we could walk back to the bowling alley because league play would be over.  But first, I needed another shot along the river.  The hotel in the background is the Aquarius.  I had to sing the song from "Hair" every time I saw it.  I can't help it.  My brain has too many songs in it.

Only FFE heard me ask everyone to turn for the picture.

We had a much easier time finding the bowling alley after our walk.  They all played while I fetched refreshments.  (I was the girlfriend in college that took score, because I didn't want to break my nails after so many years of being required to cut them to play the violin.  Now that I'm obsolete due to the automatic scoring, I am the cheerleader and refreshment person.  Maybe someday I'll bowl, but that was not the day).  Nobody used their actual name.  Is that a thing?  Because now I can't bowl until I can figure out a cool name.  Peter Chip won.  Kawawa changed her name to Dasher by the end of the game, because it was more appropriate (her goal is to not have any dashes on her scoreboard, because that is the symbol for a gutter ball).  Bud and Trixie were happy to break 100, although Trixie's arm hurt because she was using a ball that was 3 lbs heavier than she normally uses.  Poor Trixie.

Trixie's got her game face on..or her arm hurts.

Pretty sure Refreshment Girl should be serving, not eating, but whatevs.

We got in the car, and a song came to me, so I started singing it.  "I can always tell when you've been driving my jeep."  I was driving a Jeep, after all.  FFE was happy that it was in my head.  I never did see the DeLorean that everyone kept mentioning when we would pass by the hotel.  APPARENTLY, we passed it downstairs when we returned from the Riverwalk.  We drove back to the hotel, and got FFE back so he could deal with his hotel reservation.  The rest of us ate dinner at the buffet.  This was the view from my seat at the table.

They have shows here?

It's good that I took that picture when I did, because the guys came out the door next to it about 10 minutes later.  Calvin spotted us, and they all waved to us.  They eventually ate at the buffet, too, but nowhere near us.  They may have paid the employees to seat them elsewhere.  I don't know for sure.  

We got ready for the show.  All of us were dressed in blue, and we hadn't even consulted each other.  Then we got lucky and were able to ride in the Pellavator.

Happy Girls on their way to their Happy Show

We said hi to Kameron, Tim knew that KP didn't need to be shown to her seat, and I ordered a 7 & 7, and this time the bartender asked if Sierra Mist was OK instead of just pouring the thing.  He did make it nice and strong for me, though.  Thank you!  My seat was situated house left, next to Weff.  KP was situated house right.  There were empty seats next to me, and I hoped that some folks wouldn't show up so that we could move closer to the center aisle.  

Rockapella

Rock Around the Clock

Hi, Steve!  

Nobody got in the seats next to me, so I moved down 2, and still left 2 seats open between me and the next person.  That felt better.

Jailhouse Rock

I think that extra train sound is new.  It wasn't the regular "choo choo", but it was the whistle this time.  Perhaps they added it during today's rehearsal.  Or they were just excited.

Scott:  "Happy New Year to you!  What is the worst resolution someone in the audience made tonight?  Lose weight?  That's a bad one.  Quit Gambling -- we can't condone that here."

Dancing In The Streets

Steve:  "All right, all you resolutionists, I need your help right now."

Steve and I sang "Dancing in the Streets" to each other.  Steve walked to different sides than he did yesterday.  Perhaps they changed the blocking during rehearsal today, too.

Glow Worm

I love that Scott is multi-tasking during Jeff's solo, holding his own microphone, singing the counter-melody, holding Jeff's microphone, and watching Jeff.  That's a lot to do.

Scott:  "Did you hurt your face?"

Jeff:  "No comment.  I suffer for my art."

Scott:  "That reminds me of an old joke I used to tell:  Does your face hurt?  No? Because it's hurting me."

Satisfaction

Thank you for the stage love, Steve!

Scott:  "Has anyone got the Christmas / New Year Blues?  You've had that, too?  Is that why you're pulling the slot machine over and over again?"

The crowd liked his mention of the Norelco shaver.  He talked about the Island of Misfit Toys.  The squirt gun:  "If it can't shoot jelly, why can't it shoot water?"  The Charlie in the Box: "Why can't you just change your name?"  

Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer

Dasher is over on the other side, Steve.  I pointed her out for him.  It must be so confusing to them when we're not all sitting together, but I love that he made the effort.

Scott:  "Ohhhhh....Jeff's an angry elf."  To someone in the audience:  "What song do you want us to do?"

Audience member: "Any of them."

Scott:  "Well, we know one of those, so that's good."

My Cherie Amour

Steve looked at me at one point when he sang "My Cherie Amour", so I smiled and winked at him.  Have I told you that I'm really glad that we moved to these seats?

Scott to that same audience member when she clapped for Worcester: "You're so considerate. You request 'anything', you clap because no one else does..."

Scott regarding Nebraska being in a bowl game;  "What is it, 250 bowls now?  When I was a kid, there were only 4 or 5 bowls." I love that Lola is part of Ryan's regular bio. 

Scott:  "Jeff doesn't get to talk very much because his lips are very busy."

Scott, mocking Ryan: "I went to the University of Nebraska, that's why my brain is so good."

Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer

"Stiff upper lip, Grandma."  This reminds me of Jeff and Steve discussing the way British people talk.

Scott:  "It seems like some people thought that was funny."

Blame It On The Boogie

Ryan is now out of control, too.  You are going to fall off of Thacher Island!  Calvin scared himself.

Commercials

Scott: "We didn't want it to get out, but as we have growed up..."

Shockolate.

Scott was looking at Steve and Steve was pointing at him while Scott said his line all by himself: "And then you must have it!"  Much laughter from Sher and KP.

Why is the peacock flying away?

Ryan got 2 cymbal crashes from Jeff and then ANOTHER one for his butt on "Preparation H".  

Scott:  "That's as bad as it got right there...and she loved it."

Jeff did a little salute during Dr. Pepper.

Scott:  "That should be HUGE!  Not a penny."

Scott's connection was with Jenna from Chicago, whom is retired from being a firefighter.  Scott asked if she still reacts when she hears sirens.

Jenna: "I keep saying, 'Thank God it's them and not me.  It's cold there.'"

Stand By Me

Jenna sang only a little bit.  She almost went down the stairs before Steve stopped her.

Ain't Too Proud to Beg

She danced, though!

Ryan:  "Ain't too proud to beg for Jenna!"
When Scott and Jenna were dancing, Jeff walked up behind them and watched closely.  I don't remember him doing that before, but it was funny.

Macklemore

This is the song that was in my head and in Steve's head while we walked along the river.

Instead of "Do It Rockapella", someone yelled "CARMEN SANDIEGO!"  Oops.  No, it wasn't me.  No, I do not know him.  

Where In the World is Carmen Sandiego

At this point, I realized that I had hardly drank any of my 7 & SM, so I drank it kind of quickly.  Steve saw me and smiled.  I think they like it when I'm drunk.  

Again, they did not leave the stage.

Encore

All I Want For Christmas Is You

I love Scott's solo, too.

Up On The Roof / Wonderful World (off mic)

I thought of Bro's happy, happy face when he danced to this with Veronica at their wedding.  I love that face.

Meet and Greet

I was telling the posse that Jesse was over there, and he looked up at me because I was louder than I thought due to my drink.  I waved and got all embarassed.  Karla took individual pictures of me with the guys.  Thank you, KP!  I told Scott that I loved his solo during All I Want for Christmas Is You.  Sher:  " It was ON!!!"  He probably likes it when I'm drunk, too.

KP took individual pictures of me with the guys.  Thank you, KP!

Steve pretending to do a candid pose, while I am not.

The real pose, complete with photo bomber

Kameron the Ticket Taker took pictures of the posse with Rockapella.  He had us do some poses with us doing high kicks, and we tried not to fall down.  Here's the real one.  

Pella and the Posse

We said good night to the guys, then went up to Weff's room to debrief and eat the pecan chocolate bourbon pie that I brought, thanks to one of my co-workers.  We sure had a lot to debrief.

What an awesome day! Thank you, everyone!

Next up:  Day 5 / Day of Tears

PusherPix 01/02/16

Rudolph can borrow my lights if his nose gets tired.

I Like Star Wars

Rockapella In Laughlin

Day 3

Monday, December 28, 2015

Harrah's Fiesta Showroom

Laughlin, NV

Our morning started with FS wanting to know if we were going to Black Bear Diner.  We informed him that we would be going there with Weff the next day, so we needed to think of something else.  KP asked him if she should bring her coat, because we didn't know where we'd be going.  He told her to bring her coat, and the car keys.  Well, I guess FS is now comfortable enough with us that he makes demands!  He said that he would ask the guy at the bell desk.  So we put on our coats, brought the keys, and met him downstairs.  I didn't think that we were on the correct floor because FS wasn't standing there (he's always there before us), but he just wasn't in my line of sight.  I mean, Sher, the Dreyer's Ice Cream place is not on any of the other floors.  What are you thinking?  We all went to the bell desk together, and the guy recommended, yes, Black Bear Diner.  We told him that we were going there tomorrow, and then he proceeded to name IHOP and Denny's.  Well, OK, then.  I hadn't had IHOP in a while, so I made an executive decision and said we were going there.

Our view from IHOP

Our server's name tag said "Little Bit".  Her real name was Katie, but that's what everyone calls her because she's little.  FS wanted Silver Dollar pancakes, which weren't on the regular menu, but Katie fixed it so he could have an adult-sized portion.  KP wanted the same thing, but as she had already ordered the same drink as FS, she decided not to freak him out and ordered something else.  I had Bananas Foster French Toast, which was tasty. We talked about his wife.  Fran teaches the 5th grade, and would rather teach a bunch of different subjects rather than just one all day long.  After breakfast, FS wanted to get some cookies at McDonald's next door because the ones at the hotel were more expensive.  We waited in the car.  He came back without cookies.  APPARENTLY, they didn't have them yet.  I asked him if he wanted to go back later, but he declined.  Maybe he's not TOO demanding.  :)  I told him I would need to cut across a bunch of lanes to get to our immediate left turn, and then it wasn't so bad.  He said that he drives in New York and it's much worse.  Yeah, this wasn't downtown LA or anything, so I had no problem.  But FS doesn't even have a car, so whatevs.  We told each other that we'd meet later, which is good that I mentioned it, because his friends had not told him what time or where we'd meet.  Sigh.  Boys.

As we approached the elevator lobby, we ran into FFE, whom was on the way to the gym.  He said that he needed to work out so that he could have popcorn later.  I told him not to tire himself out to much, and that we'd see him later.  KP and I kicked back in the room while I blogged about Sunday.  I couldn't concentrate very well, but I tried.  Then we got ready to go to our movie.

We went downstairs at our planned time and met up with JT, FS, and RC.  The only one missing was FFE.  RC kept being funny and asking crazy questions, like, "About when does the Starship Enterprise appear?"  I told him that I was going to hit him. While we were waiting, JT, whom had seen the movie before, took KP and me aside to talk about the cameos that we needed to look for.  While he was doing this, he held our hands because he was excited to see the movie again.  FFE finally got downstairs, and the guys told us that they decided to just pile into my car because I guess FS told them that we had an SUV and it was only about a 5 minute drive anyway.  Yay!  JT said he'd get in the trunk.  Then FFE decided he would do that instead.  FS decided that he was riding shotgun for the whole day because KP had given him permission earlier for breakfast.  Ummm...that's FFE's seat.  But that's OK, I'll just freak out and try not to give a concussion to my precious cargo as I drive them all around without seat belts.  It's good that I didn't know that the folks in the backseat were also unrestrained, because I was nervous enough as it was.  We drove to the Riverside Hotel.  FS told me to park on the 2nd floor so that we could be on the same floor as the walkway that passed over Casino Way.  Well, he was wrong, and we still had to go up one floor.  We all gave him a hard time, because all of us are like that.  

We got in line for tickets, then got in line at the door after having our ticket stubs taken, because we were waiting for the people in the theater to leave after their show.  Meanwhile, JT asked if we could get concessions while we were eating, and that was allowed, so some of us went for something to eat.  Some people had smuggled stuff in their jackets and/or asked their friends to do so for them.  KP and I thought of bringing the Star Wars Cheez-Its, but we couldn't think of a way to bring them discreetly and eat them quietly.  It's a good thing, too, because RC told KP that it drives him crazy when somebody brings loud food with loud packaging to the movie theater.  FFE did not get popcorn, so when I got mine, I offered him some.  At that point, he started to sing Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons' "Sherry".  I cannot tell you how happy this made me.  I told him that one of my dreams was for him (or one/all of them) to sing that song to me, because it's my happy song, and I listen to it when I need a pick-me-up.  I also have it in my head when I'm wearing a red dress, because of the lyrics.  He kept singing it.  He had sung it when he was in a Jersey Boys show.  I asked if he was tired of the song.  He said no, and sang more.  Seriously, somebody up in the heavens likes me.  Someone else joined him for a few bars, maybe JT.  I was just lost in Sherryland.

We were finally allowed to go into the theater, and we got comfy, 4 of us in one row, and 2 of us behind that one.  Have I told you yet that I was warm this whole time?  At first, everyone else thought that I had lost my mind, but then people started to agree with me, and jackets and hats came off.  I put the popcorn bucket between us so that FFE could share with me because I never finish my popcorn unless it's a kid-sized one. He told me to throw some at RC because he was in front of us, and because I could.  So I did.  RC turned around, and I tried to throw a piece into his mouth, and I missed it by about half a foot.  I told him that my aim was bad, and that's why my Star Wars badge says "Stormtrooper".  I talked to FFE about Bro agreeing to make him an Old Fashioned the next time he comes to the house.  I also told him that Bro and I were thinking of going to Nashville in the summer for drum corps, so we talked about that for a bit.  You know, like "What is drum corps?" and that kind of stuff.  When he left for a minute, I talked to RC, whom was telling KP that he strictly follows movie theater etiquette.  Noted, and thank you from those of us who don't need a running commentary of what others think of movies while we're seeing them for the first time.  RC offered to switch seats with KP if she couldn't see over the heads of the people in front of her, but she was perfectly fine.  What a sweetie, though, right? 

The trailers we saw were all of movies to which I'm looking forward:  Captain America Civil War, Zootopia, and Batman vs. Superman.  The theater was full, but the audience was pretty quiet.  It was soooo different from when I saw this opening morning at the El Capitan. The screen went dark.  The Lucasfilm logo appeared.  The crawl started.  I was watching Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens again.  Due to the quiet in the theater (I think some people may have heard RC and shut up), I was able to hear some lines that were buried under audience laughter or gasps during my first viewing.  I totally forgot to watch for Simon Pegg, not that I would have recognized him anyway.  Impressions:  FFE liked the movie, but didn't like Adam Driver in the part because a) he doesn't look like his parents (JT said that he could have his mom's eyes), and b) FFE has seen him in funny stuff, so he couldn't take him seriously.  JT happily caught the cameos he wanted to see.  RC and FS like the movie, too.  I informed FFE about the person playing the stormtrooper keeping Rey in the room.  They're all going to need to see it again, except for JT, who needs to see a comedy or something next.  

On our way to the car, we decided that we had time to get food before the guys needed to report to work.  JT was confused because of the weird time zone issues there, thinking that we were an hour later than actual time.  We decided to go to In N Out.  KP told the story of Logan at the In N Out in Livermore.  JT told me that he pictures me in bed, sleeping like a princess, flat on my back with my hands folded.  I advised him that this was very much not how I slept.  Thank you for thinking that, though!  Wendy later told me that she's going to slip a pea under my mattress to see if I can feel it.  Before leaving the In N Out parking lot, we had to wait for FS because he walked next door to get cookies at Subway.  He brought them in, and RC proceeded to eat them.  Ummm...those aren't for you!  What the...?

We all piled into the car again and drove back to Harrah's.  We all wondered about the weird shoe prints on the beams across the ceiling of the structure.  (Oh, man, I forgot to take a picture!).  The guys thanked us, and went to their rooms to get ready for rehearsal.  Weff had arrived, so we went to their room and told them about our awesome day, as well as the other days' shows.  We told them that the shows are hybrid shows, so there are some holiday songs.  
Wendy:  "Do they do 'Angels We Have Heard on High'?"
Sher: "No."
Jeff:  "Do they do 'Jingle Bell Rock'?"
Sher: "No."
This kinda put a damper on their excitement.  Sorry, guys.
Then we decided to get ready to watch our friends sing and dance on stage.

We went downstairs, and had the same ticket guy, and said, "You and your phone".  Oh, Kameron, you know you love me and my technology!  I tried to order a margarita, but they didn't have any sweet and sour.  So I asked for a 7 & 7.  They poured Sierra Mist.  Sigh.  At least it didn't taste yucky.  We were all seated house right:  Weff and I were in the second row, and KP was behind us.  Jeff saw that they had the voice changers on the little stage, and asked if they were there on the other nights.  I don't remember.  Hmmm...

Tell Me Something Good / Rock Around the Clock
Yay!  The crowd is better today!  

Nobody was seated next to Jeff, so KP sat there and we moved over a seat or two.  So did the lady next to me.

Jailhouse Rock
Aw, Scott's happy that the crowd is responding. 

Scott:  "Has anyone here seen Rockapella before?"
Scott to the lady next to us:  "Hi!  You were here last night, too.  Thank you for coming back." 
See?  He's happy.

Scott is Jennifer Lopez.

Dancing in the Streets
Steve lifted his leg and I laughed.  Jeff's thrusts are still too few.  Steve pointed at our Jeff.  

Scott:  "I saw people dancing in the streets along the Colorado River today...Ha, I didn't see that."

Glow Worm
Hmmm...did they modulate the key where they usually don't?  Jeff faked out Steve and didn't try to hit him this time.  

Scott:  "Are you ready for some Rolling Stones?  Yeah, I love those fellas...but I can't remember what key it's in."

Satisfaction

Scott:  "Who had the best Christmas?"
"WHOOO" from various audience members.
Scott:  "Ah, prove it."

Scott regarding the annual Rudolph airing:  "I would wait at 4:00, 4 hours early in case something would happen.  I didn't even own a watch; we were a very poor family."
He talked about Yukon's axe:  "He's prospecting for peppermint."
Crowd:  "Oooooh."
Scott:  "Mic Drop!"

Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer

Scott:  "Are you all having a good time? Well, that makes one of us.  Just kidding!  I'm loving every minute of it."
(I'm just happy that he's still up there after that almost-non-encore the night before).

Scott, in response to someone calling out for Motown: "Motown!  We're talking about Motown! Bing Bong!"

My Cherie Amour
I really enjoyed the "la la"s today.

Scott, regarding Steve's Boston accent:  "Have you ever seen that movie, 'Ted'?  That's Steve."
Steve:  "Not the bear."
Scott mentioned that Ryan was from Nebraska.
Audience member: "HUSKERS!!!"
Ryan:  "I love it."
Scott:  "What was the day when they said, (pointing to Ryan) 'You get all the vocal chords.' 
(pointing to himself) 'She gets none.'"

Scott:  "Jeff has been our vocal percussionist for over 20 years.  He started when he was 12."
Scott:  "His mouth is otherwise occupied." <snickers from the audience> "Now, now, now...what happens in Laughlin..."

Grandma Got Run Over by A Reindeer
Oh, the girlfriend is wearing PINK!

Scott:  I can't help but think that some of you seem to be laughing at our tragedy."

Blame It On The Boogie
Scott is out of control.

Commercials
Taco Bell -- Pitch, Scott?  "Grab it."
A couple of drunk women that were in the back booth seats walked up to the front row and sat down.  
Scott:  "Hello!  Hi!"
Scott regarding Dr. Pepper: "Not a penny."

Scott: "Something just occurred as I was singing my coffee song...could you come tell my friends about your love of coffee?  Is Folgers your preferred brand?"
Elena: "100% Columbian"
Scott:  "We are talking about coffee, right?"

Elena builds locomotives.

Stand By Me

Ain't Too Proud to Beg
Sigh.  The drunk woman's head is in my line of sight.

Ryan:  "We've been in Harrah's all over the country..."  
They have?

Macklemore
I used to call this "Thrift Shop", but have heard the guys referring to it as "Macklemore".  It might also be called "Macklebrate", so this might change again.
Steve smiled at JeffEvs.

Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego?
Jeff and Steve touched fingers at the end.  They're in agreement!  

They didn't leave the stage. Instead, they stayed for the encore.  Interesting.

All I Want For Christmas Is You

One more!

Up On The Roof / Wonderful World
I am going to cut off that drunk lady's arm.  She obviously doesn't need it, because she keeps waving it in the air, blocking our view.

I may have been a bit tipsy, but oh my goodness, they were much more tipsy than me.

Yeah, so they never used those voice changers tonight.  I wonder if they were there for the rehearsal, and they never put them away.  Maybe they're doing the song on New Year's Eve.  I don't know.  Maybe they have them there in case Scott decides to do it on a whim.

Jeff hurried over to the guys to give them the Sharpies that we asked Weff to bring because the guys had been using ballpoint pens on the other nights.  I introduced myself to the lady who had been sitting next to me all night.  Her name is Karen.  She will also be in the same seat on Wednesday.

You know what he sings?  "SHERRY"

I told the guys that I was drunk.  Ryan and Steve both said, "Good for you!"  Wait.  Were they mocking me, or were they jealous?

Meet and Greet Day 3 with Steve

I don't remember what was making me laugh.  Might have been KP.

I asked Scott why he didn't join us for the movie.  He said that Jesse arrived today, so he needed to wait.
Sherry: "Jesse's HERE?!"
Scott:  "Yes."
He was, like 10 feet away from us.  I'm blind.  Well, he also cut his hair and is wearing hipster glasses now, and has grown a mustache, so I've got that going for me.  He lives in Brooklyn now, producing music and stuff.  I talked drum corps with him.  Scott told him that I am the fan that really likes drum corps.  That's me!!!  I told him that it would be really cool if he could go to Indianapolis and see his family the same week of drum corps finals, and he'd be watching it in the same building as me.  Yeah, that's a weird dream of mine.  He doesn't even need to sit by me.  Well, unless his dad comes with him, then they need to sit by me.  :)  I told him of my love for Vanguard, and he said, "Yeah, SCV.  Their percussion is soooo good!"  He likes to go to the indoor shows (WGI).  Had other people not been there, I might have talked his ear off about all things drum corps.  Seriously. He said that he just couldn't see himself taking off for a whole summer to do that.  

With Mr. Leonard

With 2 Mr. Leonards

The posse and I went to the Beach Cafe for dinner, which is the 24-hour restaurant that KP and I went to for our first breakfast with Fred.  My corned beef hash was yummy. 

Piranha on table

 Wendy called shotgun for the next day's activities.  She's quick, man.  We got to ride in the one elevator that had the Rockapella sign in it.  Yay!  KP dubbed it the Pellavator.

PellaPusher in the Pellavator

 

Next up:  Day 4 / Back to the Riverside Hotel

PusherPix 01/01/16

Happy New Year!  I've decided that my daily challenge this year is to post a picture every day, preferably original ones. 

So here we go, the first PusherPix post of 2016:

Putting stuff away from the road trip.  

Hippo Chip Clip for the win!

Harmonic Journal 12/31/15

Harmonic Journal
Thursday, December 31, 2015

"Last Night" by Scott Leonard, as performed by Rockapella

DLR LotD 12/31/15

Disneyland Resort
Line of the Day

Thursday, December 31, 2015

"OK, on the count of 5..." -- Cindy, at Catal