Oh WOW! What a great time! Krik and I had been waiting for forever to have Da Boyz in our home state and when it finally happened, they blew everyone away! It was really odd actually leaving town at a decent hour and making it to the venue without getting lost or having to stop a million times to pee. In a way, I kinda miss the traveling, because that's part of the fun, but this was just awesome!Krik and I arrived early and went to the venue because we had a basket of goodies for Da Boyz (and Phil and Fred) and it was pretty large and we didn't want them to be burdened with it during the M&G. We had no misconceptions that we'd be meeting Da Boyz at that time because Krik had emailed Jeff earlier and he had given her an idea of approximately WHEN they'd be there and we were much earlier. But we found a lady that worked there and she was very nice and told us that Phil and Fred were already here and that she'd give them the basket, which we found out later, she did, so YAY her.
Once we got to the motel I put a call in to Netty and Pat (Betty and Wilma) and they stopped by while we were getting ready for the show. Pat is hilarious; quite bubbly and fun. Netty is quieter and she looked NOTHING like I expected her to look. No, Netty. That's not a bad thing. *G* In fact I told her a couple of times that she looked like this lady I used to work with. I think it was the hairstyle mostly.
Anyhoo, we were all supposed to meet up with Rachel from Texas and her kids Shelby and Jake, Justin and his sis, Michelle and their mom, and Coleen and Brendaly (as well as Betty and Wilma), but we'd forgotten to tell Coleen and Brendaly. Well I didn't really FORGET. I thought they were both on Pellaparadise and that they'd been reading the posts about our meeting. I also thought I'd mentioned it in email...apparently, blonde isn't just a hair color. It's also a state of mind. So Coleen and Brendaly met up with us later. Again, to my "Rockapella Road Trippin'" sisters (Ro Ro Ta's): I'm SORRY! It's not a real adventure without you guys!
So we all make it to the venue without a problem and find out seats. I love the way the theater is set up with the seats on a high incline so you don't have to worry about someone's head blocking you. But Krik "My Queen" *G* pouted momentarily, saying, "I don't like these seats. I want front row." Um, we were in the 3rd row. and maybe 5 feet farther back than row1. Talk about SPOILED! *G* But then she admitted they were good seats and we settled in to enjoy the show.
Before the show, we had pretty much decided that Da Boyz weren't going to wear jeans. Just a feeling. I know Scott wasn't warm to the idea and I assumed if ONE didn't wear them, nobody would.
They opened with "House of the Rising Sun" and as usual, Kev was the first to come out and guess what? He was wearing JEANS! OMG! And not just ANY jeans. Wranglers. Um, very SNUG Wranglers. And boots. I thought we were going to die. Jeff was the next out and yep. JEANS! Jeffrey Thomas Thacher in JEANS! I had to physically support Krik for just a bit because she grew weak in the knees on that one. *G* George also came out in jeans and so did El. Both looked SO HOT! But sadly, Scott came out in his regular suit. I admit, I was a bit disappointed but then I thought, "So what? He looks hot in a suit too!" So at least we were able to see four of the five in jeans. YAY that! We were screaming so loud, of course, Kev heard us and looked over at us (I think he recognizes our "Whoo Hoo"!) and opened his arms as if to say, "Well, what do you think?" *G* El looked over and we gave him the thumbs up and he just grinned real big...then turned a bit and checked out Kev's butt.*G* George and El should have tucked their shirts in though. We could have seen more. hehehe...
There was a group of older folks in the front row on Jeff's side and evidently they were too close to the speakers cause during HORS, they got up and moved back. There's something you don't see everyday. Someone moving AWAY from the 'Pella. And Scott was motioning them to come back, like, "Hey, where ya goin'?" *G* Scott: "Thank you. We're Rockapella. We come from New York. We make all our music with our mouths"...And goes through the introduction of all Da Boyz and introduced himself as "Scott Dubbya Leonard". *G* "Moments of You"
We had been told before that show that "Any recording, photographic or video equipment was strictly prohibited." At this point (because of the jeans) Krik goes, "I don't give a shit. I'm taking pics." We hoped we'd get a couple before they stole our camera. We didn't get as many as we'd have liked to but we got plenty. Humina!
Da Boyz all seemed to be in great moods and were all full of energy, which just made the show better.
Scott: "We're happy to be here. It's been like 7 years since we were here last, so thanks for having us back. At the great A&M. Kevin grew up in Texas and told us how we should dress for the show." Kev: "Apparently YOU didn't get the memo." Scott: (in his dorky little boy voice)"I'm just a city boy. I will not be wearing jeans at a proper concert. Anyway, it's great to be here, we drove all the way from Hou-stone. You really have a great state. It's very large. Normally we don't see that many...cows. But last time we were in Houston...it was before Kevin joined the group." El: "8 years ago maybe." Scott: "What took so long to come back?" El: "We must have made somebody angry" Kev: "You didn't dress right." El: "And then the club closed down right after we played there." Scott: "Because of my pants?" Kev: "It's because you tawked funny. Here in Texas, you can't just say "Hi" or "Howdy". You say "Hidy Hidy." Kev looks at the audience: "Am I right?" Us: "Nooo." Jeff: "Does that mean I didn't have to wear jeans?" We all yell: "NO!" After a slight pause, Kev looks out at the audience and goes, "Hidy Hidy." *G*
Scott went through the introductions of what each 'Pella does and they broke into "Off My Mind". Unfortunately not the whole song. When they finally DO sing that one, it's going to be awesome!
Scott: "We have a summer record, so it's nice to be in the South. Or the Southwest. This is the Southwest, right?" Audience: "Yeah." Scott (countrified voice): "Yeah it is...Hidy Hidy. Cause we've been playing all over, mostly in the North during the winter. Some bad agent's decision. And our latest record is a summer record. And we're singing about the sun and the warmth in Fairbanks in the dark and damp, and they're saying...'Stop singing that.'"
"Here Comes the Sun"
"Dancin' in the Street". When Kev came down into the audience, he acknowledge those of us he knew. He ran to Coleen and Brendaly, then came over to our side and shook mine and Krik's hands. We felt SO special! As he went past us, I leaned over to check out the bootay up close. Krik started laughing and pointed at El and he was laughing at me! Oops!
El: "I'm so happy to be here. It's great to be back. The last time we were in Texas we played in Houston at Rockafellers which as we said doesn't exist anymore. Then we played in Austin and we played in Fort Worth and I hear Fort Worth doesn't exist anymore (it does. *G*). But it's great to be here and we love playing in college towns for so many reasons but also because Rockapella started as a...well, the very beginnings of Rockapella...before we were Rockapella started in college and it's always nice to be back. I was flying in to Houston at the Ann Richards Airport (it's the George Bush Airport). I thought as I was flying in to "Ann Richards", 'Do we have anything in our repertoire where the actual words "College Station" appear in the lyrics. And we have one song."
"Let's Get Away". Scott blows the pitch pipe and at that very second, El gets a scratch in his throat and has to cough. El: "Hold on. Excuse me." Turns around to cough. *G* "Let's grab a kayak to College Station or Nayak..." Then he gets so tickled he can't sing the next several lines. *G* As Scott gets to his "scat" part, he sings "Scooby dooby doo Howdy Howdy." He STILL didn't say it right. It's "HIDY", Scott. You cute little thang, you. *G*
"Use Me"
Kev: "I lived in Houston, Texas for a little while when I was a kid, between the ages of 6 and 11. My dad...Do you still have Texsun Orange Juice here? Yeah? We lived in Florida and my dad was in the citrus business and my dad was the president of that company for a few years, and then we had the lovely experience of moving to McAllen." (Laughter from the audience)"I'm like, 'what happened?'...HOUSTON...McALLEN...Uh..anybody here from McAllen? (nobody) Okay, good. But like I said I lived in Houston for awhile and the Galleria wasn't nearly as big as it is now. But then we moved to McAllen and we were just going, 'Whoa, geez.' But McAllen is the number one place in the United States for car theft. But I haven't been to Texas in..it's been a number of years since I've been here and to be able to come to this great place, it's awesome. Thanks for having us. And we'll try to dress properly next time."
"A Change in My Life" Kev NAILED that high "C". You go, baby! *G*
"Have Faith"
"Rockapella's Greatest Hit"
El does his usual "A Day In the Life". "These guys approached us and said we'll make a music video we'll put your name on it and...we'll pay you. So I'm like...SURE!"
"Don't Do It"
"Long Cool Woman" The audience LOVED this!
Kev gets up to do his thing: "She made it. I didn't think she would. But she came all the way to College Station." He picked the lovliest elderly lady. She was wearing a royal blue dress and had beautiful silver/white hair. Unfortunately when Kev was trying to get her to walk down the aisle with him, her daughter lifted up a cane. Aw. Poor thing. This was a new one for Kev. He had this look of panic on his face and for a moment I thought he was going to sing "My Girl" to her and then move on to someone else. But he didn't. He stuck with Francis for the whole song. She was having a blast! Kev: "Where did you go to school?" Francis: "Houston." Kev: "Houston! All right. At least it wasn't McAllen." Kev stayed out in the audience to sing to Francis while she sat in the chair. It was just about the sweetest PW I've ever seen. And he certainly made Francis' night. *G* Let's hear it for sweet guys!
"Stand By Me" I love Scott's humming during this. I'm SURE I've said that before. But doesn't everything Scott does turn me on? *G*
George: "You folks sound like your having a good time. Are you getting your money's worth? I like to come down off the stage every now and then, say hello to the folks. Show of hands, how many basses do we have here tonight? Alright, couple over there. None to claim in the front row. You know there's only one bass born every ten years. That's why there's only about 4 of us in here. You know, it's a special art. If you sit back and think about it, it's very creative. There are alot of "doom dooms". And there are alot of "doom dooms". Everytime I walk off the stage I'm going back there saying to myself, "Which next doom dooms am I going to do?" Sometimes I try to add a little "ding dang diddly dong." But that don't work! But think about it. A song like that "Stand By Me"...Think about it. If a tenor did the bass line it would sort of sound like this: (George does the bass line in a high twangy voice..ick. *G*) And that is why I'm able to do this...over and over and over. There are certain songs where you just have to have bass. Like the song, you know that one..."Old Man River". Now if a tenor...tried to sing that song, it would not be the same. It'd be (again in a high voice) "old man river..." You need (bass) "Old Man River". I used to be a tenor, but I found this great invention. It's called MILK. And that's when I became a MAN. Of course you can see I've been drinking chocolate milk." Go GEORGE! Then he started talking about the Temptations and we all cheered. George: "Wait a minute. Ya'll from Texas know about the Temptations? Well, I think this is a special evening and I think we should bring one of those old hits back. This one's called:
"Papa Was a Rolling Stone"
"Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego" Jeff's solo was especially nice, but the best was yet to come. If you remember at the beginning of this review, I mentioned that Scott was the ONLY 'Pella not in jeans. Though I was a bit disappointed, I was having a great time watching the other jean clad tushies. I had pretty much forgotten at this point that he was the only one NOT in jeans. Apparently during Jeff's solo, Scott ran backstage and put on JEANS! OMG! When he came out for the end of WITWICS, I thought I was dreaming! *shallow, totally "All about me" moment coming up* If you read my review of the M&G, you'll notice that Scott said he wore those jeans "just for me". *G* Awww....Thank you, darlin'!
They got a HUGE standing ovation. Not the jeans...the whole group. *G*
"Up On the Roof/Wonderful World"
"Dance With Me" I think everyone in attendance (back me up Betty, Wilma, Coleen, Brendaly, Justin, Rachel(TX), Krik...) can attest to the fact that watching Da Boyz line dance in jeans is just well...let's just say we enjoyed it VERY much. *G* And Scott was doing a little countrified dance. WOW! I can't describe how great this song was, especially the tushie shaking! Yowza!!! (Where are those damn batteries? *G*)
"Zombie Jamboree" This time, Kev didn't drop his eyeball. Kev: "Oh oh OH! (squirt)....I just stepped in a big COW PATTIE. Oh...GOSH!" *G* Then he starts shaking his foot trying to clean it off. When they were doing the "back to back" part, Scott was trying to do some sort of country "thang" where you slap your knee, etc. He kinda looked like a monkey...a SEXY monkey, but still a monkey! OMG! Funny stuff!
Another HUGE ovation.
Back out for "Shambala" After this song, Scott glanced over at me as if to ask,(regarding the jeans) "Did I do good? You did GREAT, baby. *G*
Scott: "We had a great time tonight. Thanks for welcoming us back to Texas. I think we have some dates in October possibly?" Jeff: "We're working on it." El: "I've never had a date in Texas." Kev: "Really?" Jeff: "That was a good one." Jeff: "Check out rockapella.com." *G* Scott: "Should we just start the Q&A right now? Jeff: "Let's just stop." Scott: "Do you guys want a Q&A or another song?" Us: "SONG!"
Some guy yelled "Blah Blah Blah" really loud. Scott: "Boy, that was strong and boisterous. Okay, "Blah Blah Blah" it is. Um, let me say "My hopes are riding high" took on new meaning in jeans. *G* I think it was right before this song, one of the ushers came down and busted this girl in the aisle opposite us for her camera. Hers DID have a light on it. No flash, but it was still pretty bright. I saw the girl tell the usher, "I didn't take any and I swear the usher MADE her prove it by reviewing the pics. I don't know if she made her delete them or not, but if she did, that kinda sucked. Okay, I know they said "no pics" but I guess they don't realize how important having pics of the 'Pella means to certain people. Anyhoo, Krik and I practically chunked my camera under the seat cause we figured we were next. She didn't come up to us though. Thank GOD! But we decided not to chance it and refrained from taking pics in the second show. Didn't REALLY matter because they weren't in jeans that time anyway. *G* Anyway, I'll post a separate review of the Q&A sessions as well as the M&G...as much as I can remember at least. OMG! This was so much fun!!!
The Meet and Greet
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