Flabbergasted

You know, I write my Pella trip reports for my own amusement, as well as those of the friends that I haven't driven away by my endless talk about Rockapella.  So I'm always surprised when I see that someone i don't know personally has read my blog. Hello, out there, all of you people that I don't know! :)


But today was just ... wow.  


Aura texted me as I was leaving work, telling me that Pella had tweeted about me.  I responded with "Shut. UP!"  She refused to do so, because it was true, and lo and behold, here it is!

RockapellaMusic Rockapella 

Simply having a wonderful pella time! http://bit.ly/hlpyYk

10 hours ago Unfavorite Retweet Reply

So I keep grinning as I remember all of the things I wrote last night. Then I wonder if they (whomever ones "they"are) have read the other trip reports. Then I wonder if they've read any of the Lines of the Day, because those are just wacko. Then I remember that they know that I'm silly, and all is right with the world because they still talk to me.

Sigh. I'm a happy, happy Rockapella fan today.

AAAAHHHH! They TWEETED about meeeeee! :)

Simply Having A Wonderful Pella Time

Rockapella at CalTech

Beckman Auditorium

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Pasadena, CA 

It's been a long time, folks.  A long time since I had last seen Rockapella, as well as a long time between this actual event and my posting of the blog.  I hope that, like my December Rockapella Time, it proves to be worth the wait.  And if not, I'm sorry. 

I took the day off on Friday so that I could bake for the guys and get pampered for the weekend's events.  When I found out that Ross and MJ would be in So Cal, I was happy that I would get to see them at the show.  Then it dawned on me that they might be able to help me out with the delivery of the goodies.  I had originally thought of going to CalTech earlier in the day to ask someone at the box office to deliver it to their green room, but Ross graciously agreed to help me out before the show.   I headed to the venue after church, got some help with the bags from my friend-in-law William, said a quick but excited hello to MJ, somehow delegated ticket distribution to my friends, and went backstage with Ross.  Mind you, I had not planned on the "going backstage with Ross" thing, but he tried to get me to see the guys anyway.  He's so good to me.  As he went into the dressing room to deliver the goodies, I stared at the backstage stuff: ooh, Santa hats!  A Grinch!  A pretty set!  I so, so wanted to take pics of stuff, but I was a good fan and didn't overstep my bounds.  The guys were still dressing up, so I couldn't see them before the show, but I hadn't planned on it anyway, and I was just happy that they were all present.  When one goes through a Rockapella Epic Fail, one tends to worry before December Pella So Cal shows.  I then met up with my friends in the audience.

It was an exciting group of spectators for me.  Along with my usual Pella Posse, consisting of Jeff, Wendy, Karla, Liz, Joe, Mox, Aura, Nicole and Kathie, I had 5. FIVE newbies:  co-worker buddy June with her daughter Emily; high school Friend Forever Lori and her hubby William, and church friend Jackie.  I love how I put all of this pressure on myself when in my heart I know that they'll love these guys.  And that they did.  

The PA announcer told us that the show would be starting shortly, and she sounded like we would soon be listening to an astronomy lecture.  It easy to feel that way in this auditorium.  The stage was pretty from the audience view, too. :)  There were two pretty red and white towers which were lit up from the inside.  I was seated in the second row, between newbie Jackie and my buddies Wendy and Jeff.  That was a happy surprise!  I was not pleased to see empty seats in front of us, though.  Hello, people with front row seats!  Where the heck are you?!  

I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day

Steven opened the show with the notes that we're used to hearing Kevin sing.  That was a little weird, but I got over it.  Nice chord during the lyrics "peace on Earth".  OK, they sing that phrase several times, but I do remember loving one particular chord that I hadn't heard in the song before.  

The guys were wearing gray suits with light gray shirts.  Scott was shiny shiny, and Geo was red-shoeless.  Scott announced that he was the Ghost of Christmas Fabulous.  

Hope We Hold

Scott said that last night they were in New Jersey, so this is a like a midnight show for them.  I smiled, thinking, "I'm really happy that they made it out here today."  Scott said that everyone here is so nice that "even the 7-Eleven is, like, pleasant!"  California has hit Scott with his use of "like".  :)

They demonstrated their individual voices with a roll-up of "Nuthin' But".  I think that they need to conjure up a special Holiday roll-up for these shows.  He and "the girls" could say "then the angels sing".  Yeah, they can use that.  Yeah, I would laugh loudly if they did.  

Dreidel

Scott won't do the Dreidel dance.

Silver Bells

Scott's tail is making me crazy, and not in a good way.  (The chord from his earpiece/monitor was hanging out of the back of his suit, and it was not connected to anything).  Scott stops music with his butt.  Geo is so cute not knowing the correct steps.

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

Angela, I think of you every single time they sing this song, even when I'm listening to the CD.  When they sing the last "Deck the halls with boughs of holly", Scott throws a right cross punch at John's face.  I don't think that's the type of "deck" the lyricist meant, but it was funny.  Scott's whistle was a little tamer than usual, but his whistle out-whistles everyone nonetheless.

Oh, those tower things are like the North Pole!  Or two North Poles.

Glow Worm

John LEAPT to the front of the stage to start his dance, and scared the people in front of him....as well as the people over in our section, worried about possible injury.  

Little Mary Snowflake

I swear that Scott gave a butt shot to me and Wendy on purpose.  I mean, HELLO, Scott's butt in the shiny, shiny pants!  How can I not look there?  Ahem.  Did Scott smile at Karla?  I think that he did in the first verse.  Whatevs.  Steven smiled at me TWICE during this song.

Scott said that they found Steven singing at Walt Disney World for "The Lion King", although I think that he would be perfect as Aladdin.  Then Scott called SD a "diamond in the rough", and I was, like, "Dude!  He IS Aladdin!"  No, I did not say that out loud, but Wendy and I gave each other knowing looks.  

Scott then said that Steven had to learn a whole bunch of new songs, and then he had to learn a bunch of holiday songs, so they decided to do something brand new for all of them...which "could be really brand new awful."  

Simply Having A Wonderful Christmastime

This is the Paul McCartney song, with Steven in the lead.  I liked hearing the interesting chords leading up to the scat section.  

Scott asked the audience if anyone had watched "Rudolph" on TV the previous week.  YES!  And I thought of him the whole time!  It wasn't just you and that guy over on that side of the audience.  Scott said that he consults Rudolph.com for the daily news, which "doesn't change that much, really."

Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer

George sang to me!  HI!!!  John totally cracked me up with his buck teeth during the breakdown.  

John announced that no, he was not done with his Christmas shopping.  I was shocked.  He's usually totally done and bragging about it by this time.  Like me.  But, like me this year, he wasn't done.  His family was doing a theme this year of "Connection".  So he invited us to call someone on the phone for the next song.  I was too busy writing all of this down to call anyone.  

Merry Christmas, Darling

I can see Scott's friendship bracelet.  I bet that's from his daughter.

Jeff clapped his hand quickly on his leg afterward.  I don't know why I noticed that enough to write it down, but there you go.  Scott called JT "The Yukon Cornelius of Spit".  John calls Scott "Spaghetti Legs Malone".  John said that their songs are arranged by Scott, who knows exactly who they are vocally.  When they first get a song, John looks at the chords and thinks, "This man is crazy! but he writes it just for us and it's amazing."  Applause, Mr. Leonard, applause.

This Christmas Day  

This sounded like it was in a lower key.  Nice low "You", George!  The guys were not liking Scott's butt getting closer to them as he "makes new friends", except for Steven, who gave him a fist pound once Scott turned toward him properly.  

Christmas, Don't Be Late

Scott: "Ready, John?"  John (whispers):  "Bring it!"  Scott:  "Steve?  Steve?  STEVEN!"  Well, it's nice that the new guy's name still works with the intro, Karla pointed out later.  :)  Jeff interrupted his drum solo by telling us that his first apartment was in South Pasadena.  The guys returned from the drum break with "Gimme gimme gimme that thing".  I like how Steven had a tousled look because he was the late one.  Scott wants a Justin Bieber DVD.

INTERMISSION

I said hi to all of my peeps, making sure that they were enjoying the show so far.  Well, they were all smiling, so I was happy.  Nicole, Karla and I discussed the fact that some chords were sounding strange, most likely because the sound system wasn't at the right levels and we were missing some notes.  

Christmahanukwanzaakoliday

Yay!!!  This is the new song that Scott previewed for people on his mailing list last year, with Scott-only vocals.  I love this song, and I enjoy the audience participation.  Scott: "Castrati!" (audience silence)  "Just me, then."  Wheeee!

Jingle Bell Rock/Ukrainian Carol

"Ho!  Get your dance on!"  I'm loving the rhythm section during the megaphone portion.  Steven turned on the siren during the applause.

Christmas Without You

Scott gets dizzy when doing pirouettes.  He has a lot of funny moves with the mic stand, like he's incompetent or drunk or both.  

Happy Kwanzaa

Habari gani, what's the news?  Lion King in the house!  

Steven used to watch Carmen SanDiego and feels like he's Mark Wahlberg in "Rock Star".  He asked us to give it up for the guys, who stuck their heads out from behind the curtain.  Cute.  The guys had gone to Finland earlier in the year, and saw Santa's original workshop in Lapland.  But they wanted to see the new workshop.  Steven:  "I want to see where my Millenium Falcon was built!"  So they went to the North Pole and walked into Santa's office.  Santa said, "Rockapella!  Huge fan!"  Steven:  "Who knew?"  Santa told them that JT's really good with that beatboxing, but used to drive his parents crazy.  As the guys toured the workshop, Steven wandered around and got to see the Naughty And Nice List.  One of the people in the audience was on that list.

So Ross brought Chloe up to the stage, who had a deer-in-the-headlights look on her face the entire time, even as she sang along with Santa Claus is Comin' To Town.  She wants purple roller skates.  Scott asked Steven, "Which list was she on?"  Steven:  "The nice one, of course!"  Awwww.  Scott sang, "He knows when you've been bad or bad".  Jeff walked onto the stage dressed as Santa.  Chloe pretty much didn't notice him because her eyes were wide open at everything else.  He even followed Ross and Chloe as Chloe was returned to her seat.

George said, "As you may know, I like to sing...like a woman." He led us all in "Silent Night".  Our section sounded especially beautiful because we had Linda, Kathie and me in it.  :)

Grinch

George and Jeff were in Santa hats, and then all of them were wearing them!  Well, that explains the Santa hats backstage, which I had completely forgotten that I'd seen.  Then they brought out the plush Grinch that I saw, which was propped up on a mic stand.  I like how the tenors stretch out their individual mic stands during "39 1/2 foot pole".  No, it's not as lewd as I might have just written.  Then they put duct tape on the Grinch's mouth and around his hands and yelled lyrics at it.  I giggled uncontrollably.  Wendy rubbed her cheeks afterward, she had laughed so much.  My cheeks hurt, too. Scott:  "That Grinch is too short."

Scott:  "This is a talented audience!"  George: "And they were in harmony...in any key."

Christmas Without You

We needed to get depressed after all of that craziness.  I love this song, though.

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

They had projections showing of the guys as kids, and each guy raised his hand as his picture was being shown.  Scott had really thick glasses.  Steven wore a Yoda shirt (wow, he's young).  John's pictures were all blurry.  Most of them (save Steven) had some bell bottoms going on.  LOVE it.

Angels We Have Heard On High

This is Wendy's favorite song, so I was very happy for her.

ENCORE

Carmen SanDiego, which somehow transformed into Billie Jean.

Scott: "You mean Santa's the one".  Then: "Where were we in this song?"  "I forgot what key."  OK, I now need to hear a full arrangement of that.

Hold Out for Christmas (off mic)

I'm always amazed at how strong their voices are when they sing off-mic.  You could clearly hear them throughout the theater.  Beautiful.

Jackie enjoyed the show and was happy to finally see them.  PUSHED.

Lori and William were very entertained and bought a CD.  PUSHED.

June told me that she loved the show and is going to buy tickets for their next show, and is going to invite other people to see it, too.  PUSHED.  :)

I did my job for the year, yes?

MEET AND GREET

The guys lined up behind an empty concession stands to sign stuff.  I had purchased a "Bang!" CD upon the Bro's request, and also bought Scott's sheet music for "Hold Out for Christmas".  When I approached Scott, I handed him the CD and said, "This is for my brother, Ryan."  Scott made sure to write down the Bro's name.  Then I said, "And this is for my Sherry, Sherry."  I was too busy talking to realize that Scott wrote "For my Sherry, Love Scott".  Delayed SWOOOON! when I saw it later while getting into my car.

I honestly can't remember what I said to the guys, and totally forgot to introduce them to Lori.  I was just so happy to see them after such a long drought that I think I babbled about whatever most of the time.  John thanked me for the cookies, and Steven realized who I was and thanked me.  APPARENTLY, I nailed it and made his favorite for him.  Yay, me!  A bunch of us gals took a picture with the guys, and William, having held all of our purses, insisted that I take a picture of him with the purses and the guys, too.  So here it is, because I just love it too much not to share.

William and The Pella

I tried to get Scott to join the Amazing Cozumel Race as a shore excursion from the upcoming cruise, but he has never even seen the actual Amazing Race.  I told him that I was really excited and asked if he was.  He said, "I wasn't, but I am now!"  He's so darn cute.

We decided to let the guys speak to other people, so we walked to our cars.  As we passed by the stage door, I heard Scott behind me, shouting out my name.  "SHERRY!"  (Sigh!  He's saying my name!  Loudly!)  I turned around and said, "Yes, sir?"  Scott:  "Thank you so much for the cookies."  We then talked to him some more for quite awhile.  Karla told him that he is no longer allowed to sing about injuries, because his rap during the old "Happy Holiday" mentions a fall from a roof during Christmas.  He also once fell on ice on a sidewalk in New York, messing up his shoulder before a show.  This was after he wrote "This Christmas Day", wherein he sings "having slipped up on the street".  Scott said that he doesn't remember the rap because he hasn't heard the song in a long time.  He also didn't remember actually falling from the roof because he blacked out.  Karla told him that she noticed that he's holding his microphone more naturally, now that his wrist is healing.  I kept cringing, thinking about that day.  Then Jenn frightened him by inviting him over to her cruise cabin for chocolate and champagne.  I tried to tell her not to scare him off of the boat, but we'll see how that turns out.  When the other guys finally started to pack up, we let Scott go and told him we'd see him the next day.

That's when we went to my car and I finally saw what he wrote on my sheet music.   AAAAAHHHH!

After dropping off Nicole to her car, Karla and I drove back to my house.  I finished packing while Karla entertained me with stories before we got some sleep for our morning flight.  

Good night, all!

Love,

Scott's Sherry :)

The Jets vs. Los Tiburons

West Side Story

Pantages Theatre

January 1, 2011

A while ago, when I saw that "West Side Story" would be performed at the Pantages, I couldn't think of a better way to ring in the New Year than to see one of my favorite musicals on a live stage.  Linda agreed with me, and we ended up with a couple of good seats in the balcony, center stage.  I told Linda that I wished that the Jets and Sharks would dance down the aisles like we were watching "The Lion King", but since we were in the balcony, it might be difficult for them to get to the stage.

A friend warned me that the show would be heavily laden with Spanish, but I figured that since I pretty much had the (movie) script memorized, I'd be fine.  It turns out that I was right.  Even though I didn't understand every word of the Spanish translation, it didn't matter because I still understood the emotion, and they seemed like they were using the words from the original script anyway.  It also felt more realistic, since, in real life, the Puerto Rican people would not only be speaking English when speaking to each other.

What interested me about the production was that a few of the songs were not in the same place of the story as they were in the movie.  "Cool" was sung at Doc's in the first act, prior to the War Council.   "I Feel Pretty" was sung in the second act, in Maria's room, instead of at the dress shop.  "Gee, Officer Krupke" was sung after the rumble.  Linda told me later that Krupke was here in the original script, but they changed it for the movie because it played better that way.   But in the theatre, we've had an intermission and we need some levity after the violence under the highway.  Even with the songs all switched around, it all made perfect sense to me.  I was surprised when they started "Cool", but enjoyed where it was in the show.  I'm not always crazy about that song anyway (I prefer hearing it as an instrumental due to the jazziness of it).    I had even forgotten about "I Feel Pretty" when I didn't hear it in the first act.  When they sang it later on, I thought, "Oh, yeah!"  

Most of the time, the Spanish was sung/spoken during the all-Sharks/Puerto Rican scenes, but there was a little bit of it during the dance as well, especially when everyone sees Tony and Maria kissing.  There was so much yelling that I didn't even hear 'Nardo say Maria's name, and actually wondered when Tony had heard it so that he could sing his ballad.  

I really loved the dancing, especially by the guys.  I love seeing gang members dance!  :)  I was happy to see the original Jerome Robbins choreography, because, as Linda and I agreed, it's just not WSS without it.  I need to see some Jet jetes!  I also enjoyed seeing the women-only version of "America", although I did miss the men a little bit, because I felt that the Sharks got slighted in the dancing area.  They never got their own dance number.

My favorite set was that of the highway.  The backdrop was what you would see if you were standing under a highway, and the front of the set was a huge chain link fence that stretched all the way across and existed from the top curtain to the floor.  

The costumes, like in the movie, were particularly vibrant for the Puerto Rican side and pretty drab for the Caucasians.  I totally loved that Bernardo and Anita were in those beautifully matching purple outfits.  

I heard Tony singing "Something's Coming" and "Maria" and both times thought, "Damn, those songs are difficult!"  Tony was played by Kyle Harris and I liked the way that he floated the last notes on "Maria".  I did not enjoy the little scoops on "Something's Coming" because they sounded like elongated grace notes wherein he was trying to find the pitch.  But that's what a lot of scooping sounds like to me because I was taught not to do that.  

When Ali Ewoldt started singing, I didn't hear Maria.  I heard Cosette from my very favorite musical, "Les Miserables".  The quality of her voice just didn't match for me.  I later saw in the program that Ms. Ewoldt actually played Cosette in the revival and the national tour, so that's my Les Miz fan ear at work!  So, unfortunately, I couldn't get out of my head that Cosette was singing with Tony.  It didn't help that she was also going in and out of her accent, which bothered me.   

Anita, Anita, Anita.  Wow.  I was very impressed by portrayer Michelle Aravena.  Anita's melodies are my favorite to sing in this show anyway because a) she's an alto, and b) she's more worldly than Maria, and therefore gets to be a little bit more guttural in her emotions.  I kept wanting her to sing more in "Un Hombre Asi (A Boy Like That)/I Have A Love", then I remembered that she doesn't sing as much as I wanted.  

Since Riff had died before "Officer Krupke", he was no longer the lead for the song, and it was sung instead by Action, played by Drew Foster.  I thought that he was very entertaining. 

My favorite minor character portrayal was that of Kristen Paulicelli's "Graziella".  I loved her very, very long high note during "I Feel Pretty", as did I love Maria's comeback at the end of the song.

I also enjoyed Stephen De Rosa's portrayal of Glad Hand, the chaperone at the dance.  His attempts at getting the Puerto Ricans to understand his instructions by speaking terrible Spanish were quite funny.

The ultimate test:  Did I Cry?  No.  I felt tears start to well up when Maria picked up Chino's gun and asked him how to use it.  I was angry along with her.  But no, no actual crying.  I don't know what it was about this production that didn't pull me in like the movie.  Maybe it's because I couldn't see their faces.  Maybe it's because I was still disturbed about the attempted gang rape on Anita (it wasn't that graphic, but A-rab's pants were down).  I don't know.  So, yes, I have to downgrade it a little bit in my head for not getting me to weep inconsolably.  

The Los Angeles run of this production is over, but I recommend seeing it if it comes to a theatre near you.  It's quite entertaining, and you get to learn a little bit of Spanish if you already know the script by heart. :)

DLR LotD 01/01/11

Disneyland Resort
Line of the Day


Saturday, January 1, 2011


"They let all the black people out at night!" -- Woman in line at IASW, responding to the music playing at Small World Mall stage


Happy New Year, everyone!

It's January!

You know what that means?  It's BANANAMAN time!  


Yup, here's your first taste of it.  Thanks to a friend who posted it on Facebook today, having no idea why this would mean so much to me.  Enjoy.

DLR LotD 12/31/10

Disneyland Resort
Line of the Day
Friday, December 31, 2010


*Special Catal New Year's Eve edition (in courses)*


Amuse Bouche
"You got waxed for Christmas." -- Cindy, to Ryan


First Course
"Look what Nick can do with his little pearls." -- Shannon


Main Course
"I figured it was 50/50 because it came out of Sherry." -- Ryan, about something clearly ridiculous


Dessert
"It's like a convent but not for nuns." -- Cindy


Pre-Fireworks Drinks
"Is that the lactating room?" -- Linda, to Sherry


Thank you for the wonderful time, all of you who sat at, waited on or visited our table!  What a great way to end the year. :)

Game TRON

Way back in 2010, us Santos kids were able to get some time away from the little tots to have some fun on our own.  We decided to see "TRON: Legacy" in 3-D.

I really don't think I've watched the original "TRON" in its entirety.  Neither had V.  I don't think that Bro had either.  But the trailers made the movie enticing.

• NICE logo!  So awesome.  It's even better in 3-D.  
• I've decided that I have a little crush on Garrett Hedlund.  
• At the beginning of the movie, I thought that maybe they had used old footage of the old movie for Kevin Flynn to talk to his son.  Later, there was so much Young Kevin that I finally realized that it was digitized.
• At one point that Jeff Bridges was on screen, I leaned over to V and told her helpfully, "His brother's name is 'Beau'."  She giggled.
• Those Identity Discs are cool.  They need to come with cool dogs that will retrieve them for you if they happen to get detached.
• I want a light cycle.  I'd be too scared to ride it, but I just want to click on that rod thingy and become part of a light cycle.  (OK, I don't think that sounds right, but whatevs).
• Quorra is a badass.  I want to be like her and have a light cycle.
• It took me a few minutes to realize that Castor was Michael Sheen.  I loved the way he portrayed his wacko character.
• Yay!  My arcade games from the 80s!  I miss those days when we had an arcade very, very close to my house and I would go there all of the time.  Sometimes the manager would give me free quarters.  Jenn and Charina and Mich:  I miss our times there, and going to Rosie's afterward.  Sigh.  
• "Sam, you're really messing with my Zen thing here, Man!"

We all really enjoyed the movie, despite the fact that they stole a key line from "WarGames". ;)

The Sing-Off Season 2 Finale

So, everyone, did you vote last week?  If not, then it's your own fault if your group doesn't win.  Or it's everybody else's fault for not knowing to vote for your group in the first place.  Whatevs.


Let's start the Finale!  (Tonight, my friend Linda is watching with me, so I may have some comments from her, marked "L").


Group Opening Number:  "Put A Little Love In Your Heart" by Jackie DeShannon
I like Jerry Lawson's cane.  


Committed with Boyz II Men:  "Motown Philly" by Boyz II Men
I like how they fit in the spelling of "Committed"!  I sang along with the Dm Dm Dm Da Das.  :)  I like that B2M now has a bass with the addition of Committed.  Nice job!


Whiffenpoofs played through the break with "I Just Haven't Met You Yet". 


The Backbeats with Sara Bareilles:  "King of Anything" by Sara Bareilles
Sara actually sang with Awaken ACappella at UCLA, which is cool that she's back to her roots with them.  I'm hearing dissonance.  Is anyone else?  Yes, Linda does.  L:  "It sounds like they're singing two different songs."  PellaPusher:  "It's Charles Ives."


Talk of the Town with Nicole Scherzinger:  "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
Linda got her wish and they're singing Motown.  Nicole is channeling her inner Diana Ross.  I just didn't like this arrangement, or the blend, or something.  L says it's because it wasn't the right key for the guys.  It was the right key for Nicole, though.


Eleventh Hour took us through the break with their "Baby Baby".


Street Corner Symphony with Ben Folds:  "Gone"
Ben doesn't have the greatest singing voice, but he gets by, I guess.  He blends in OK with SCS, but I think that he should have sung his part better since it's, you know, HIS SONG.  I liked Nick's Ben-ish review, though.  


Talk of the Town and The Backbeats with Sheryl Crow:  "Long Road Home" by Sheryl Crow
I feel like they're cheating when there are instruments.  I like the song, though.  Take it over, Jerry!  He's just such a star.  


Committed and Street Corner Symphony with Neil Diamond:  "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers
I liked that they all sang their own favorite ND songs prior to this.  "TODAY!"  Sorry, I can't not do that when I hear that song.  I liked SCS singing "Sweet Caroline".  Back to this song.  "I know, I know..." = NICE!  I really like the chords in this arrangement.  They need to all record this together. I want this new album now.  


All Finalists with Nick Lachey: "That's What Christmas Means To Me"  originally performed by Stevie Wonder
Ooh, Courtney from The Backbeats sings, and I like her voice!  It's like when JT sings: surprising, and nice to hear.  That was fun.


The groups will now sing on their own some Songs of Hope.


The Backbeats:  "Firework" by Katy Perry
L:  "They need a new choreographer".  She's sick of the emo moves.  They sing the song better than KP, though.  Nice falsetto, Kenton!  Oh, Nicole, and your analogies:  Kenton is the bananas in the sundae.  That's "deeper", Nicole?  Okayyyyy....


Men of Note played us through the break with "For The Longest Time".


Committed:  "Hold My Hand" by Michael Jackson and Akon
I didn't really like the opening chords, but it gelled a bit later.  Whenever the guy with the braids sings, I smile involuntarily.  Aw, Nicole is crying and making them cry.  Shawn, showing the love again.  


Talk of the Town:  "Love Train" by the Ojays
Before they started, L had to set me straight on why this was a song of hope because I forgot how the song went.  Jerry must have, like, 50 canes.  I liked Ben's comment about forgetting its competition every time TotT sings, because they put the song ahead of everything else.


Pitch Slapped played us through the break with "I've Got the Music In Me".


Street Corner Symphony:  "Fix You" by Coldplay
I didn't like those opening chords.  Wait.  I thought they were singing by themselves.  L:  "Looks like they needed a little help from their friends."  L and I are, APPARENTLY, heartless.  


Results: 
First group of the finalists to leave:  Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town


Talk of the Town's Swan Song:  "Hit The Road, Jack" by Percy Mayfield
Yeah!  


Second group to leave:  The Backbeats
The Backbeats' Swan Song:  "Goodbye to You" by Roxette


On The Rocks sings through the break with "The Final Countdown"


Final Results:
Winners:  COMMITTED!!!  YAY!!!


Street Corner Symphony's Swan Song: "Drift Away" by Mentor Williams


Championship Performance by Committed:  "We Are the Champions" by Queen


Linda and I were happy that one of our faves won.  Yay!


Congratulations, Committed, and to The Sing-Off, thank you for a great couple of weeks.

Caught Knapping, Get Ready for the PELLA!!!

O.M.G.


As if I didn't already want to buy my own Rock Band kit for the PS3, we get this news.






They're not ready yet, but I will be!  YAY!


No, I don't know how they're going to get 5 parts onto the system.  But it will be fun to do drum beats to JT's VP, and to try to wail along with CSL4.  I am excited, can't you tell?!

DLR LotD 12/17/10

Disneyland Resort
Line of the Day


Friday, December 17, 2010


"They *made* these?!" -- Veronica, staring at the chicharrones, at Catal

The Sing-Off 2.4

Catching up on The Sing-Off tonight.  I've gone crazy, right?


Group Performance:  "With A Little Help From My Friends" by The Beatles
How much do I love that Jerry Lawson opened the night?  LOVE!!!  Especially with this song.  And now I'm adding "Persuasions sing The Beatles" to my wish list on Amazon because I've meaning to do that anyway.  That was a great performance.


First Challenge: Superstar Medleys from Iconic Artists


On The Rocks:  Elton John
I don't really like that guy's falsetto on "Benny and the Jets".  I really like the other lead's voice, on "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me".  It's just so pretty.  


Committed: Usher
They were at the Americana?  I'm jealous of whomever got to see them.  I like that they're getting down with the Usher songs!  I also like that they're doing them so well.  This is what those songs might sound like if they weren't overproduced, right?  Or maybe better.  ;)  They just blow me away.  I agree with Ben about taking their music seriously, but not themselves.  


Street Corner Symphony: The Beatles
The low notes in "Eleanor Rigby" are too low for him.  Otherwise, they did a good job.  I wish they could have been more challenged, though.  Even though the Beatles were melody-driven, they are an a cappella band, so I look for more than what was there tonight.  I think that I'm spoiled by Scott Leonard's arrangements.  


The Backbeats: Lady Gaga
Interesting that this isn't being done by OtR, but this could be cool.  That was fun, although "Just Dance" wasn't strong enough for me.  I'm thinking, though, that the song itself isn't really strong anyway.  


Talk of the Town -- Otis Redding
I never liked "Dock of the Bay" until Rockapella sang it, mostly because the dude is just sitting there on the dock (it's some comedian's fault for pointing that out).  Anyway, I did like this version of it, too.  R-E-S-P-E-C-T is all I have for this group.  My goodness with that scream, Jerry!  I agree with Ben about the pitch in "Try A Little Tenderness", but they did recover well.  


Results:
Moving forward to the next challenge:  Committed, The Backbeats, Talk of the Town, and Street Corner Symphony


On The Rocks' Swan Song: (OK, I like the way they said goodbye to the judges -- cute).  "The Final Countdown" by Europe.  OK, what's with the triangles that the other groups were holding up?  I'm out of it.


Second Challenge: Judges' Request


Committed:  "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green
Nice.  I like that they're showing off each voice throughout the song.  Then you add those lush harmonies, and aaaahhhh.


Um, SCS -- you missed a couple of words in "Auld Lang Syne".


Street Corner Symphony:  "Down On The Corner" by Creedence Clearwater Revival
So the judges have also been waiting for something Southern.  I like this.  A lot.  Heh.  Arenapella.  That's kinda, I don't know, kidney-sounding.


The Backbeats:  "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac
I hate this song, mainly because it was overplayed when it came out and I never got over that feeling of being sick of it.  I thought they sang it well, although it was too low for the lead.


Talk of the Town: "House of the Rising Sun" by The Animals
All of a sudden, I miss Kevin Wright and Elliott Kermann again, and want to hear that done by Rockapella again.  That was done very much in TotT's style, though, which I appreciate.  I'm just going through some withdrawals right now.  I agree with Shawn: very soulful, and I liked it.


Results:
Moving onward to the finals:  Committed, Street Corner Symphony, The Backbeats, and Talk of the Town


America, you get to decide now! You can vote until Sunday, December 19.  I'm going to go text some numbers now. :)


Good night, everyone!

The Sing-Off 2.3

I'm finally watching Monday night's episode.  Can I do two in one night?  Hmmm....

We now are at the point in the competition where the groups have 2 opportunities to perform for the judges.

Group Performance: "21 Guns" by  Green Day

That was kinda cool.  I think that I want to see that musical, "American Idiot".

First Challenge:  Rock Hits

The Backbeats -- "You Give Love A Bad Name" by Bon Jovi

I like the sounds they make like loading up a gun.  Well done!  That was quite rockin'.  I like the mixture of the rhinestones and leather.  I might want to rock that look someday.

Street Corner Symphony -- "Creep" by Radiohead

I love this song.  I love singing it while playing Rock Band with Caught Knapping.  I enjoyed this performance, too, showing off the lead's strong vocals.  You see?  When a song's in Jeremy's range, he can sing it quite well.  Ben seems to agree with me.

Talk of the Town -- "Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones

Ooh, ooooh....I like that opening.  I love when Jerry yells "Listen!"  OK!  Swivel those hips, Jer!  Oh, YEAH!  I just love this group.  Ben, we now know that you like to have your butt shaken by sitting on a stereo speaker.  Thanks for that. ;) 

BTW, Angela has an awesome memory.  She tweeted me tonight, asking if TotT was an opening group for Rockapella when we saw them in San Francisco.  I had to look it up on our PellaPusher site, and she's way right:  May 7, 2000, Talk of the Town opened for Rockapella at the Great American Music Hall.  I enjoyed them 10 years ago, even without JL.  Wow, 10 years. We've come so far since then.  Ah, but that's for another post!

On The Rocks -- "Pour Some Sugar On Me" by Def Leppard

I like that chord on "your man". Love the stage crawl!  That was fun.  I would have liked to hear some deeper harmonies, though, since it seemed like so many were singing on each part.  Of course, Nicole liked the choreography, since it was kinda PCD-ish.  

Groove For Thought -- "Changes" by David Bowie

I don't like the lead singer's tights with that outfit.  Did she mess up the lyrics, or was that a mic thing?  A little bit of chord trouble at the end of that.  I don't know, it wasn't "rock" enough for me.  

Committed -- "Every Breath You Take" by The Police

I did not like that transition/key change.  I don't think they mean for it to sound like that, but that's why it's so difficult to sing harmony in so many parts.  That's also why I wish that OtR would challenge themselves more with their harmonies.  

Second Challenge:  Guilty Pleasures

The Backbeats -- "Love Shack" by The B-52s

I like to see them having fun.  I also like the ritardando on "get together" with the cool harmony.  I'm not sure that the lead guy pulled off the craziness enough for me, but he brought it.

Street Corner Symphony -- "Come On Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners

I like that opening.  I had fun with this one, too, although I think that they were thrown off just a tad when they did their choreography.  

Talk of the Town -- "Easy" by The Commodores

NICE Falsetto!!!  I'm just amazed by how simple they make this look.  It's not, people!  Mmmmm....

Just noting that Nick's fave guilty pleasure is Richard Marx's "Right Here Waiting"

Groove for Thought -- "You Make My Dreams" by Hall & Oates

I like that opening bass line.  I really like that lead guy's voice.  Bring it down, boys!  Love that outgoing scat and high note, too.  

On The Rocks -- "Kyrie" by Mister Mister

Nice opening, strong voice.  I also like all of the different rhythmic sounds going on.  I liked that performance, especially the harmonies.  Thanks, guys.  I agree with Ben:  it's funny that they waited until the Guilty Pleasure challenge to show their artistry.  Shawn has officially lost it.  

Committed -- "I Want It That Way" by Backstreet Boys

I really enjoyed that!  Am I the only one that thinks there needs to be a "Boy Band" challenge on this show?  Then they could have a 98 Degrees song to make Nick happy, another BSB song, and, of course, the NKOTB would just put me over the edge if done well.  Where did those boys learn to grind like that?  My goodness!  I like the build up of "You Are".  

Results:

Moving forward to the next show:  Talk of the Town, Street Corner Symphony, Committed, The Backbeats, and On The Rocks

Aw, no more jazzy arrangements and smooth-voiced guy.  Thanks for being music teachers, y'all!

Groove For Thought's Swan Song: "That's Life" by Frank Sinatra -- I'm going to miss the variety that they bring to the show.  

Aw, the other contestants are sad to see them go, too.

Tonight's episode up next.  Yes, tonight!  I am insane.