Krik and I headed out to St. Louis at 8am Thursday morning. We made relatively decent time getting there. We were concerned that the weather in and around St. Louis would be pretty bad, but it wasn't. It was raining when we left Texas, but not bad enough to slow us down. And about a couple of hours out of STL we drove approximately 150 miles with a constant drizzling rain. This time, however, we didn't get lost on the loop, like we did last time. So GO us! We found our motel room, which was pretty much a dump, but it was only for one night. We were sharing a room at the Courtyard with Coleen for the rest of the weekend. After checking in, we ran out for something to eat and found a Del Taco. Unfortunately, the road we were on wouldn't let us turn toward the place...one way street. So anyhoo, with Krik's urging and since nobody was coming UP the road...we took it anyway. Yay for Texans always finding the shortest route. *G*
We made it to the airport to pick up Coleen and Brendaly and happily, we didn't have to wait long, NOR did we have to run around hunting people.
So we chill at the motel for a bit, then it's showtime! We originally thought the show started at 7:30 and suddenly Coleen was looking at her ticket, going, "It starts at 7!" So then we had to rush to get ready. You'd think we'd learn. We did the exact same thing last year. *G*
I had so much fun meeting folks I hadn't seen since last year. Honestly, when I first started seeing Rockapella live, I never imagined I'd become so attached to certain people. But I have. I can't imagine ever seeing another show without sharing a room with Coleen. I can't imagine driving through busy cities without Brendaly in the backseat, TRYING to remain calm. *G* I can't imagine NOT hugging Boge, Susan and Linda. I can't imagine NOT pestering "Little Man" Zack between shows. I can't imagine Lisafromomaha NOT being in most of our pictures (I LOVE you, Lisa!) And of course, I can't imagine NOT getting "A Little Bit of MADELIN..." stuck in my head for the next 6 months! I'm basically a "loner" who isn't good around new folk. I guess 'Pella brings out the best, ya know?
Anyway...time for the show...
Somehow, someway, I lost my "notes" for this first show, which pisses me off beyond belief. So if we happen to locate them somewhere, I'll redo this review...
Da Boyz came out to "House of the Rising Sun". Again, I can't believe I'm here. As they all make it onto the stage, Scott looks down once at me and smiles. *G* I've told others my theory, so I might as well tell it here. I believe that each 'Pella knows if they are your favorite, cause as much as we love the whole group, we all have ONE that's just a TEENSY bit ahead of the rest. Well, Scott's MY favorite. *G* I think they pick up on that and make a point to show a little EXTRA attention. No, don't read anything into that. It's a theory. But Krik's favorite is Jeff and he knows it and you can tell...he's just a tad bit sweeter to her. *G*
Anyway, they move right into "Moments of You" and we can tell, Da Boyz are in rare form. They all seem so full of energy. Okay, so they're ALWAYS full of energy, but I think they'd been looking forward to STL as much as we were. *G*
"Here Comes the Sun" with George getting lower and lower everytime he sings this...dragging that note out so long. *G* He is SO cute! And was really hamming it up the whole weekend.
"Dancing In the Street" During this song, Kev came down and took my hand for a bit. Krik's too. How cool was that? *G*
El gets up to talk for a bit. Then they move into "Let's Get Away". *G* Yay for that.
Next up..."Use Me". During the song, I used up the roll of film and was trying to hurry to be sure to get Scott's (pardon me) f*** face when he's lip synching to George's "'til you use me up." I feel like a sniper with a rifle. I can rewind, reload and reshoot faster than anyone. *G* And let me just say...YAY for the new long lens on the camera. Worth the money, I assure you.
Kev gets up to talk a bit now. He mentioned how he learned to pack for travel now. But he had worn SHORTS on the flight and didn't realize how cold it would be when he landed in STL.
Finally, they move into "A Change in My Life". I've just started noticing El's part in that song. (I know, I know...you're just NOW noticing?) You know what I mean. At the end when he's singing right behind Kev's leads. Watch him next time. He is SO into the song and it is absolutely GORGEOUS! El really stole our hearts this weekend..you'll find out why later.
"Have Faith" Such a cool song. Oh, I forgot to mention. There was an older man sitting beside me for this show. I didn't ask, but I THINK it might have been his first show. He seemed a tad grumpy at first, maybe like wifey MADE him come along, I don't know. By this time, though, he was "Oh wow!" and "Geez." and "That's just...amazing". "Have Faith" kinda sealed it for him. He really seemed to get into this song.
Next we'd earned the right the hear "Rockapella's Greatest Hit", which was...a HIT.
Then of course, El gets up with "Don't Do It". I love the part where he goes, "All you wanna do it fuss and fight." Kinda growls when he sings it. *insert puddle of goo here* I love him, too.
"Long Cool Woman" as always...ROCKS!
Kev's turn. There was a group of children on the front row on Jeff's side of the stage and Kev goes down to sing "Herman the Worm" to them. Funny boy. He just LIVES to have fun, doesn't he? Anyway, on our side, this little girl kept getting up and dancing. She wasn't TOO distracting for the most part, but I DO wish parents would make their children sit down. Anyway, I think Kev was moving toward her to pick her as PW..maybe he was just going to talk to her, but as soon as the spotlight hit her...she RAN! Kev was just grinning at her. *G* I love him too.
Anyway, he made his way up farther and picked (YAY) Coleen!!! We were cheering so loud. She was so cute, grinning like a dork, but so what? She was having fun! So Kev gets her up onstage and asked her what she did for a living. Coleen: "I'm a nurse". Kev: "Wow! So if we were sick you could take care of us?" Coleen: "Yep." Kev looks at Scott, "Do you have anything?" Scott: "I have colic." *laughter* El: "I have a hernia." Again, I'm guessing El's thinking, "Why do I even open my mouth?" *G* Kev (to Jeff): "What do YOU have?" Jeff begins wheezing. Oh goody. Sick 'Pellas. So they break into "Pretty Woman" of course and Coleen continued to grin the whole time. We were, of course, cheering for her, cause she was our roomy and with me and her, that was two down, one to go for PW.
Next up was "People Change". I love this song. I will always love this song. 'Nuff said.
George's turn. Oh boy. This guy is amazing. He goes down into the audience and starts asking, "Who's into Motown?" Uh, George? We're a buncha white folk. *G* But yeah, we cheer for Motown. And he asked someone what kind of Motown they'd like to hear. He mentioned the Supremes, the Persuasions, etc. Then he goes, "No seriously. Do you like Motown?" We cheer again. So he asks, "Do you want to hear something by the Temptations?" Right, like we're going to say "no", George. We want PAPA!
So they go into "Papa Was a Rolling Stone". As always, this song brings down the house. And George is becoming more and more animated. I love him too. *G*
"Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego" finished the set.
They didn't do as many encores as they normally do, but I'm sure it wasn't because of the reception they received. I'm sure it's because they have 5 shows in three days. Anyway, first was "Up on the Roof/Wonderful World" off mic. I've finally convinced myself to NOT try to take a pic during this and just WATCH. So I glued my eyes to Scott and literally wanted to cry. What a pretty man. I love him too. *G* Of course, being front row, we could also hear Jeff singing which is always a big plus. Um..yeah. I love him TOO!
They ended with "Zombie Jamboree" which NEVER EVER gets old.
I should mention that it'd been snowing a little bit as we were heading to the show and when we came out we had a pretty decent film of ice/snow on the car. Krik: "Do you have an ice scraper?" Me: "Do they even SELL those in Texas?" Coleen was using a CD case which didn't work too well, then Lisafromomaha's hubby came by with his room key. That worked great! He's so cool!
So anyway, we went to Maggie O'Briens and discovered that we LOVE Green Apple Smirnoff drinks. YUMMY! We also discovered that I get lost coming out of a bathroom. If not for my Scott-lovin' Sister, Brendaly, I'd have gone into someone else's party. *G* And YAY for Boge letting me taste his Guiness Stout. Here's the convo on that one: Boge: "Here, try this." Me: *taste* "Hmmm...yeah, it's good. It's a bit strong though." Boge: "Well, there ya go. That's why it's called Guiness STOUT." Duh. This is also the place where the song "A Little Bit of ---- In my Life" was playing and Madelin started inserting her name into the blanks. Mad: "See? It works!" Thanks SO much Mad. The song is STILL stuck in my head. Krik has to sing "Pink Pajama Bottoms" to make me quit with the Madelin song. *sigh* As we were sitting there, this young guy and his friend were coming in and he FELL, right in front of the restaurant! Of course it was icy outside. So he stood up and saw us watching him. I clapped and he took a bow, then everyone started clapping. Later, he came over to talk. "It's always nice when I can fall down and make a fool of myself in front of a huge table of women." Nice guy. So I think it was Coleen who had the beer wench bring him a beer for us. Poor guy.
So that was the first night. Already I don't want it to end.
Back to St. Louis