Rockapella in Laguna
Show #5
Friday, August 26, 2016
Laguna Playhouse
Laguna Beach, CA
I couldn't wait another day to see the guys because I knew that Mitch was eagerly awaiting to see what I would make for him. The last time I saw him, he asked, "What day are you coming?" I had told him that I'd for sure see them on Saturday, maybe on Friday. How could I possibly make him wait another day? So I went ingredient shopping on Thursday, forgot to get one of the ingredients for something I had planned, and just baked until I ran out of time on Friday.
Jenn was bringing her future mother-in-law, Martina, to the show, and made dinner reservations at Nirvana, located down the street from the Playhouse, and invited me to join them. I wanted to park a bit closer to the Playhouse because I had bags of goodies with me. I tried to park across the street from Nirvana, but the guy wouldn't take anything other than exact change for the $15.00 fee. The fee had just changed from $25.00, and he was waiting for the notification that it would decrease due to the time of day. I didn't have exact change, though, so he recommended that I park at Wells Fargo, where they were charging $15.00, too. They had change for me and gladly let me park there, which was about a half block away from Nirvana.
Jenn and I ordered a couple of small plates, and Martina ordered an entree. I also ordered Force of Nature Cabernet because Vanguard. The Mediterranean Truffle & Mushroom Hummus was quite good, and was served with veggies along with fried pita bread which tasted like french fries. I also ordered the Chimichurri Filet Brochettes, which were also tasty. I would have liked to have stayed longer, but the service was a little bit slow for those of us on a schedule. I needed to find someone to take the goody bags to the house manager, so I left while Jenn took care of the bill. Thanks for being so understanding, Jenn!
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| Hummus |
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| Filet |
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| Cheers! |
I wasn't able to talk to the house manager because I arrived about 10 minutes before show time, and still needed to use the restroom. When I came out of the restroom into the lobby, Scott was there, and said, "Hey, it's Fast Pass Sherry!" This is the guys' nickname for me now. I said Hi and smiled and tried to go to the theater, but Mitch spotted me and offered to take my bags. "I know what that is! I can take that off your hands." I told him that he had a show to do first and needed to sing, and these would not help. He didn't seem to care. But I thought of how much the audience would not appreciate Mitch's non-clear throat, and told him he'd get his goodies later.
I found my seat, which was on the end of the first row, seat A9. I couldn't put my bags next to me, because I knew that the guys would be using the stairs during the opening of the show, so I put them under my seat.
Sun Brothers
L-O-V-E
Mitch saw me and tried to look under my seat. I'm glad I was wearing pants, that's all I'm saying.
Alamo
"They never came back." -- Mitch made a motion of slicing his throat. Yeah, they died. Spoiler Alert! Sorry.
Mitch pointed at me and I shook my head, "No, not yet."
Rockapella
I don't usually hear the pitch pipe before the show starts here in Laguna, but this time I did, probably because I was at the end of the row.
Rock Around the Clock
Love that drum break before the second part of "Tell Me Something Good".
Jailhouse Rock
Audience members gasped when they heard Bryant's first low bass note on "San Antone". Mitch was keeping the mic stand up by sheer will. I guess The Force was with him.
Scott: Who here has seen Rockapella before?
<Lots of cheers>
Scott: That's more than usual here in Laguna Beach.
Scott, about JT: He puts the Goon in "Laguna".
Dancing In The Streets
Just My Imagination / Imagine
Cal was struggling vocally just a bit at first, but it didn't take very much time for him to find his footing, which made me think, "Ohhh, there we go!" The cute senior citizen couple next to me was holding hands. So sweet.
Satisfaction / Cupid
"Try, try, try, try" -- Scott and Mitch gesture at each other. Jeff pointed at me to sing along during "Cupid".
Scott: I grew up on Andy Williams.
<applause>
Someone in the audience: Use the sweaters!
Scott: Sweaters. In L.A. In August. Show's over, we're gonna go get sweaters.
Moon River
The signal to end the jam session at the end of the song is when Calvin sings "Say it one more time."
I like how all of the guys brush off everything intelligent toward JT. Ooh, they shot a video on Laguna Beach this morning. Looking forward to seeing that.
Paper Doll
I can't wait until Cindy sees Mitch's lasso.
Blame It On The Boogie
Calvin heard me laughing and Scott and he shrugged at me. Mitch is Michael Flatley, Lord of the Dance. <cue Friends' Chandler: "His legs flail about as if independent from his body!">
<Intermission>
Ok, that loud, opening beat scared me.
Used Ta Be My Girl
Bryant moved his pelvis sideways while singing to My Girl. Go, BV! I can feel that bass beat over here on this side of the theater.
Commercials
Someone yelled "FOLGERS!"
Scott: All right, now, this is not the interactive part of the show.
I love Jeff's intro to the Dr. Pepper jingle.
Scott, really, there are steps there. You don't need to jump and worry me that you might possibly break something.
Susan loves coffee. Her friend doesn't. Susan is from Mission Viejo.
Scott: We stay in Aliso Viejo. I know how to say "Mission Viejo", but not Aliso Viejo, we didn't know if it's "Aliso Vajo". (Phew, my mind went elsewhere and I was worried).
Stand By Me
Yay, she sang!
Ain't Too Proud to Beg
People in back of me were clapping on beats 1 and 3 and it drove me nuts. Susan started to leave the stage on her own after the song.
Mitch (with CD in hand): I can hold on to this if you don't want it.
Macklemore
I like that Bryant sings "REALLY" to the people in the audience that probably know the true lyric, like the young couple next to me.
Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego
Mitch gave up when Scott was clearly squatting way lower than him, and didn't finish the choreography for the verse.
Encore
Up On The Roof / Wonderful World
Upon hearing the audience clapping to the beat, Scott moved his pelvis to the beat. Then Jeff snapped his fingers to signify to the audience that it was the preferred accompaniment. For "Wonderful World", Scott heard the people singing along, but was able to quiet them with the beautiful sotto voce into his high note. Finally.
Woman after the song was done, loudly: Beautiful!
KP was excited that she and Nick, both Math Majors, were sitting next to each other when they sang "algebra".
Meet and Greet
Martina really enjoyed the show, and was able to meet all of the guys. She asked me which one I was in love with: "I know you must be in love with one of them." ONE?!?
Nick and KP said that they were sitting in front of one of Jeff's former roommates during the show, and he told a story to his companions. One day, they were all talking about what they wanted to do with their careers. (Scott said that the roommate is a drummer. Wow. That must have been some kind of living situation with the vocal percussionist and the drummer and whomever else was there). The topic turned to Jeff, and they happened to be watching Spike Lee's "Do It A Capella" on the TV. Jeff pointed to the TV, and said, "THAT. I want to be in Rockapella."
WOW. I mean, why have I never heard this story before? WOW. Jeff later said that this is one of the versions of the story. I like this version. Keep it.
I gave the guys their goody bags, which contained Thank You postcards from different attractions at Disneyland, along with a Fast Pass as a memento from Fast Pass Sherry. Hey, as long as they include the word "Pass", I'm good with the nickname for as long as they can remember it.
Scott always reads the notes we give him before he leaves the Meet and Greet. When he was done talking to folks, he set his goody bag down and read my note. He's just so considerate that way, taking the time to see what we've written in order to comment if he has anything to say. This is why I love him, even though he reads stuff that made me cry when I wrote it, and when I see him reading it, I almost cry again because they mean so much to me. Ugh. Yeah, I'm crying right now. Shut up. ANYWAY, he thanked me for his Fast Pass and said that he was going to use it while getting on the plane so he could be on first.
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| Scott meets Martina |
Calvin said that the day at Disneyland was the best time he's had in a theme park, EVER. What a sweetie. I told him "Happy Birthday!" as I gave him his goodies, which confused the folks around me. I told them that his birthday was in March, but I was just now seeing him since then.
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| Calvin meets Martina |
Jeff said that he saw me sitting in the front row, and thanked me for giggling at all of the jokes as if they were new. Well, they're still funny to me. When I gave him his bag, he said, "What's this?" and took a peek, gasped happily, and closed the bag to enjoy his treats later. When Jenn introduced him to her future mother-in-law, Martina, he wondered, "Where's the guy?" I told him that Marc's one of *those* guys that doesn't go to shows. Somehow, JT understood.
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| Jeff understands guys |
Mitch was very excited about his goodies, as I wrote earlier, so, of course, I made him wait the longest. I gave them to him and Bryant at the same time. Bryant was all excited about the labeling on the bag: one side had his initials, and the other his name. He showed Mitch the side with the initials, then slowly turned it, saying, "BAM!!!" and there was his name. I heart them lots.
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| Me and My Boys |
Martina said that she now sees how I keep the guys happy. Yes, yes I do. I need some little way to give them a semblance of happiness when they've made me smile and laugh so much in my life.
No, I'm not crying right now. Gotcha.
I told KP to text me once she got home because she actually drove down to Laguna by herself and I know that was a challenge for her. Jenn, Martina and I walked back to our cars for our journeys home. KP did text me. I'm proud of her for doing that drive by herself. I'm also proud of myself for making it home all of these times without falling asleep at the wheel. Dude, I'm tired. Tired, but blissful.
Next up: Show #6
