Thanks, Kevin

I'm glad I got to see Rockapella one last time with Kevin. And thanks to Wendy for the awesome idea of the letter sign.

I'll be looking forward to hearing the stories from Kevin's last concert in Tampa.






from all the California sad-eyed girls (and guys)

life is not so much good right now

I'm sick. Really sick. Like, I really can't remember the last time I was *this* sick. I know it's been years.

So, I'm miserable.

But, that's not enough. If this had been last weekend, I would still have been miserable. But that would have pretty much been the extent of that.

This weekend, though, I'm also going to be missing a lot.

I've been looking forward to this weekend for a while, even before it was as busy as it was supposed to be. There were a few more things going on this weekend that we knew we couldn't do because we were so busy.

Today, there was a holiday thing in my department at work that I was actually kind of looking forward to.

Tomorrow, the husband and I are scheduled to have lunch with my niece and her boyfriend, who live in New York, but who are currently in town.

Tomorrow night, a friend is having a gathering, and those are always fun.

Sunday, the husband and I were going to spend a couple hours in the morning at Disneyland.

And then Sunday night, it's the Rockapella Christmas show.


But now that I'm miserably sick, I'm in no shape or mood to do anything, not to mention that I don't want to spread my sickness to other people (and trying not to infect the husband in the process).

So, I didn't go to work today.

I've cancelled lunch tomorrow with my niece and her boyfriend.

I won't be going to the gathering Saturday night. I'll have to live vicariously through the stories the husband tells me when he gets back.

The husband will be going to Disneyland on his own on Sunday to do the shopping that we were going to do.


The only thing I will be doing this weekend is going to the Rockapella concert. It's the last time I'm going to see Kevin, and I'm not missing it. Maybe I'll bring a scarf or something so I don't have to breathe on people. We'll see how I'm doing come Sunday afternoon when it's time to get ready to go.


There was a week in September and a week in October when we were doing other stuff, and it felt like I might be getting sick then, but that never materialized, so I was glad for that since I was then able to enjoy those activities. This weekend, I'm not as lucky.


So, yeah, I'm throwing myself a pity party, and no one else is invited.

Beantown

So the day has finally arrived - traveling to another state solely for the purpose of seeing Rockapella. I had a 7am flight out of LAX this morning and landed in Boston at about 3pm, half an hour earlier than scheduled. Luckily, my friend who was already here had seen that my flight would be early and was already around to pick me up.

We checked into the hotel and then ended up picking the restaurant next door for dinner. She had met a fellow Rockapella fan at the Hartford show yesterday, and she was going to the show tonight, so she ended up joining us for dinner. The restaurant was really good - fantastic food - and we all had a great time chatting.

The concert was really awesome, and they had a meet-and-greet afterward that went really well.

Afterward, we ended up going to another place for dessert and more fun.

It's been a great time in Boston so far. I'm not sure what we're doing tomorrow, and then it's time to come home tomorrow night.

one more week

This time next week, I'll be on a flight to Boston. And am I ready for my quickie trip? No way in heck. Yeah, I've got my flights, and I've got my concert tickets. The friend I'm meeting there has booked our hotel room, and she's also taking care of getting a car.

Do I know what I'm going to be wearing to the concert? No.
Do I know where anything is in proximity to anything else? No.
Have I figured out what I'm doing with Ron Jeremy's book? No.

You'd never believe I'm supposed to be going somewhere in a week, would you, given how unprepared I am, even though it's going to be a really quick trip?


So, this weekend, I've got to try on a couple dresses. I think I have an idea of what I'm wearing to the show, and one thing I did do this past week was to check the weather in Boston for next weekend. It was looking pretty good then, but I just looked again, and they're now forecasting rain for next weekend, which I'm not happy about, but, I'll deal. It just means I have to remember to pack a coat and an umbrella.

I figure I'll stop by AAA this week to get some maps of Boston just so I can familiarize myself a bit, so maybe I can help navigate if need be.

Ron Jeremy's book. I had thought about doing a new cover with Kevin's picture on it, but I'm not that good, and at this point, I don't have the time. And really, I don't think Kevin wants an actual copy of the book himself. Explaining that to his wife and daughters would be interesting. So, I think I'm going to put a generic kind of cover on it (just so I'm not obviously carrying around Ron's autobiography), and I'll see if I can get Kevin to sign it for me, if they have a meet and greet.


I won't need to pack until next Saturday morning, as long as I've figured out what all I'm wearing while I'm actually in Boston and not at the concert, which should pretty much just be Sunday. I have types of clothes that I like to wear on the times when I'm on a plane, so that shouldn't be hard to figure out. I do need to buy one more thing before the trip.

The husband will be taking me to the airport very early and dropping me off. I'll just need things to amuse myself with on the airplane, and hopefully, I'll be able to take advantage of their free wi-fi, if we can figure out how to get my phone to do that.

The friend will be picking me up from the airport in Boston. We'll just need to figure out where to have some dinner before the concert.

Our flight out of Boston on Sunday isn't until the evening, so we can have some time in the day to do something at least.


I'm looking forward to this trip, even though I still can't believe I'm actually going - and it's not to see Phil or Peter or Genesis! It's for a different set of 5 boys this time.

Pella poseur

So for quite some time, a friend who loves Rockapella had tried to get me to go to one of Rockapella's concerts. She gave me a couple of their CDs, which I listened to and liked, so I was interested in seeing them, but the timing never seemed to work out. Finally, I managed to make it to a Rockapella concert on October 15, 2004 at Saint Joseph High School. It was actually a great place to see them for the first time, because they performed in the auditorium of the high school, so it wasn't a very big venue, and I managed to get a seat in the second row when the doors opened for general admission entrance, so we were *really* close. I discovered that night that while I like their studio albums, I really LOVE their live performances. I don't think the studio albums capture the entire flavor of their style and personalities, and I love seeing them on stage and listening to them and watching them interact with each other and the audience. Here's my friend's trip report of the concert that night.

I have seen Rockapella in concert multiple times since that first time, both their regular show and their holiday show.

Doing a cursory count based on emails and unless I'm missing something, I believe I've been to 10 shows at this point:

1. Saint Joseph's - October 15, 2004
2. Saint Joseph's - September 7, 2006
3. Rancho Cucamonga - November 11, 2006
4. Reno - May 4, 2007
5. Caltech - October 19, 2007
6. Rancho Cucamonga - December 1, 2007
7. Las Vegas - September 13, 2008
8. House of Blues (L.A.) - December 22, 2008
9. and 10. Rancho Cucamonga - June 14, 2009

I was supposed to have seen them twice on December 21, 2008 in Rancho Cucamonga, but weather conditions rendered that EPIC FAIL Day, and those concerts were rescheduled for June 14.

So, I have done the milestone of traveling out of state to see them, though the trips to Reno and Las Vegas didn't involve going very far, and in both instances, while the husband didn't go to the concerts themselves, he did come with me to the cities, and we stayed an extra night or two and did other things while we were there, so it wasn't just about going to the concerts. I've also done the milestone of seeing more than one show a day, postponed from last December to this June, and that actually turned out to be a lot of fun.


But, even given those details, I'm not a die-hard fan by any means, and I certainly don't claim anything close to that. I might take the occasional day off work to see them, but otherwise, I will generally try to see their shows locally if it's convenient.


And then, last week, I saw a notice come through from them on Facebook - Kevin is leaving Rockapella at the end of the year. No, that's not possible. Kevin is one of my two favorites (the other being John) from the group, and Kevin is also the one who came up and sang to me during my very first concert, and I also know a lot of funny stories about Kevin thanks to my friend. I only know his voice singing "Under the Boardwalk" and "California Sad-Eyed Girl", and now, I'm never going to have a recording of him singing the latter song.

I'm already going to see Rockapella at Pepperdine on December 6, but that's going to be a holiday show, and while I like that version as well, I really love their regular show. And I wanted to see Kevin one more time in a regular show, but when I looked at the tour dates on their site, there was nothing out this way.

And then my friend mentioned wanting to see them in a regular show as well and where she was considering going. And one of the places was where I had vaguely thought about as well.

And now, it's turning out that in four weeks' time, I will be in Boston with my friend watching Rockapella perform at the Berklee College of Music, which my friend informed me is Jeff's alma mater. He's the wonderful vocal percussionist of the group. The really great seats we had been wanting were unfortunately already sold out, but we found some seats that I think are going to work out pretty well.


And since these plans have been arranged, I've been feeling a bit odd about this whole thing. I mean yes, I like Rockapella, but I'm not nearly as dedicated as my friend is or other friends of hers who routinely travel to see the boys and who the boys know by sight and name. And while I've traveled to see them before, this is going to be the first time where the sole purpose of my trip is going to the concert - I'm only going to be in Boston for a little over 24 hours in total. So I'm feeling a bit like an impostor. I mean, yeah, two years ago, I traveled around a bit chasing a band in concert, but that was Genesis, and anyone who knows me would at least understand that. But Rockapella? No, it doesn't really make sense, but sense or not, I'm looking forward to the trip, I'm looking forward to seeing them, and I expect there will be tears shed then and in December.

And that also means I have four weeks in which to buy Ron Jeremy's autobiography and figure out exactly what I'm going to do with it.

things that spin in a circle

So, there has APPARENTLY been some confusion amongst some people about how particular amusement park rides work. So, to clear up that confusion, I thought I'd present the following examples.

Here is an example of how ferris wheels work. One will note that it is bolted to the ground and spins in a sort of vertical fashion. This video is particularly interesting because the ferris wheel runs on man power - some guys climb up to the top and then shift their weight around, and that's what sets the wheel in motion.




And here is an example of a carousel. One will note that unlike the ferris wheel, the carousel spins in a sort of horizontal fashion. Having the carousel spin in a vertical fashion like the ferris wheel would be a BAD THING.




I hope that clears everything up.

(Yeah, I know, Kevin is never going to read this. Nor will Ron Jeremy, for that matter.)

good day

Today technically started with a trip on the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland. We had dinner with friends at Downtown Disney last night, and then some of us went into Disneyland after dinner. We rode Peter Pan and then Big Thunder, with some interesting but unexpected fun in between, and then we got in line for Indy just before midnight. By the time we were done with the ride, it was after midnight, so the day started right in the middle of the ride.

This afternoon, I got to see Rockapella, and then this evening, I saw a second show of Rockapella. Both were great and fun and funny and just hysterical.

And then, to top it off, the Los Angeles Lakers won game five of the NBA finals, beating the Orlando Magic fairly handily, it seemed, to win the NBA championship.

Then, we had a late dinner with a couple of friends.

A very good day indeed.

celebrating Rockapella style

Because someone I know is a huge Rockapella fan, I thought I'd focus on them as the topic of today. All of the following are from their September 2008 show in Las Vegas.


John (left) and Scott (right) audition a potential new band member.


Scott isn't sure if the new band member is ready for its closeup.
(Yeah, I wish the picture was in focus too.)


Scott looking dapper in his show-wear.


Here's the band's rendition of "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" with a very participatory audience member. Go Scott and John!




Happy Birthday, Sherry!

Rockapella - third scheduled show was the charm

So I went to see Rockapella at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip tonight. This was supposed to have been my third Rockapella show in little more than 24 hours, and I was so going to be a poseur in pretending to be a hard-core fan because of the three shows in such a short time span. And then stuff happened. And on Sunday, I really was anti-climatic because snow and other cold stuff caused Rockapella to not be able to get to Southern California for the 4pm and 7pm shows that had been scheduled at the Lewis Family Playhouse in Rancho Cucamonga.

But they got to L.A. last night and so the House of Blues show was still on. I had a great time, and the guys sounded great. I've discovered that I have the same problem with the Christmas show as I have during the regular show. When the question of "who's your favorite" comes up, the answer kinda depends on whether Kevin or John has just sung, because I really like them both but I can't decide, and when I hear one sing, I think it's that one, but then I hear the other one, and then I think it's him. Well, the same thing happened tonight with two different songs that each sang lead on, though I can't remember which songs they were. (And ok, if you read John's bio, you'll see a connection there that accounted for my initial interest in him, a sort of second-hand stalking, but my liking him really has to do mostly with his voice now, even though I'm dying to hear stories about his PC touring days, but I don't know him well enough to ask, and I think it would be rude to ask him questions because of someone he used to work with, and I've looked and looked, but I went through all my tour programs and cannot for the life of me find his name in any of them or I'd bring one for him to sign, but maybe he toured with PC before I started going.)

In the regular show, my favorite is a toss-up between Kevin singing "Under the Boardwalk" and John singing "My Girl".


Jeff, Kevin, John, Scott and George


So even though tonight's show was a Christmas show, I don't have footage of that, so instead, here's video I took from the September 2008 show in Las Vegas with part of "Under the Boardwalk" with Kevin as lead singer.