CAPSLOCK DOES NOT FULLY EXPRESS MY FANGIRLY GLEE.
I went to Chicago to see Conan, and do some other stuff.
I just. . . gah. I feel at a loss to give this experience any kind of justice in a trip report because the best part about being there was the sensation of being a part of the whole thing. But, words have never failed me before, and I know most of you are expecting nothing less than the usual verbosity that has become my gold standard. After all, this is Conan, who has apparently become synonymous with CS, judging by the number of slightly embarrassing special occasion cards I've received with his face on them by this point.
Also, ignore the fact that I have my "did the flash go off?" face on in all of the photos. XD My mom is not so great at operating my camera. Also, she believes life should only be viewed in landscape, not portrait, because she has a grudge against the lower half of the human body. (I still love her, though.)
Thursday morning, I awoke at 4:30 after roughly two and a half hours of sleep (I tried, I really did, but I was too jazzed to sleep, for the most part XD). After a breakfast of the remnants of a Cherry Crush and a plain blueberry pancake, hastily microwave'd, my mom and I were on the road. Let it be noted that I-64 is the most boring interstate ever. There are virtually no exits, no gas stations, and no rest stops. Just trees, and grass, and a lot of painfully flat terrain. It started to pour along the way, because precipitation follows me wherever I travel, but thankfully, the drive was only two hours.
We arrived in Centralia to catch our train around 7:30. Centralia is a strange town; it's smaller than Boonville, but it has some weirdly modern institutions, such as a community center and some nicer strip malls. Most of it is like driving through the industrial downtown district of a city, though, where everything looks a little ramshackle and rundown. Except, you also randomly see nicer churches and residential houses next to shacks made with plywood calling themselves restaurants. It was all very perplexing.
The train arrived, and we were ushered onboard and began moving in less than a minute. I have come to the conclusion that I like trains, as a means of transportation, but I don't particularly relish the experience of riding on them. The fold-out trays wouldn't lay flat and were at a weird angle, and they were just too small, so your arms would go asleep in the process of trying to fall asleep on them. And Illinois has some really yawn-worthy scenery, to be honest. My mom and I played a few pathetic rounds of hangman and tic-tac-toe to pass the time, and then I covertly gave myself an orange manicure, since I had nothing better to do and four hours to kill. XD I'm sure the nearby passengers hated me.
We arrived in Chicago around one in the afternoon. One of the first things I saw in Union Station was a girl in a Conan tour shirt, ha. As well as a lot of ridiculously huge and omnipresent ads for Quaker toasted oatmeal cereal (seriously, could they not find any other sponsorship?). I was accosted by a woman in the bathroom begging for bus fare, and our cab driver ranted angrily on his cell phone the whole drive to our hotel in some identifiable African dialect. WELCOME TO THE CITY. =D
Our (first) hotel was really nice and conveniently located. It's apparently the skinniest high-rise in Chicago, and it showed in the size of the room - only one person could squeeze past the beds at a time. However, for the space, everything was well-arranged, so it felt cozy instead of cramped, and the fixtures were very modern and spare. Plus, complimentary wireless!
After getting settled, my mom and I walked the Magnificent Mile for a bit, in search of food and window shopping. We ate lunch at a noodle place, where I had a surprisingly good Thai entree. The weather was a little cool and overcast, sadly.
We went back to the hotel, and I gave myself a pedicure while Facebooking, like any good daughter of the information age. I slipped into my Conan outfit and discovered that I'd forgotten to pack a headband, so we made another emergency sprint down to the Walgreen's on the corner. I passed a gaggle of indie musician-flavored kids wearing plaid and carrying guitar cases, two of which shouted at me that I "looked awesome" (due to the sequined leggings, most likely). XD I also surreptitiously took a picture of a group of about twenty attractive Asian guys standing around bordello-style for nocturnaltibet, because the opportunity was just too ripe.
Back at the hotel, we had about an hour to get ready before we had planned to leave and walk to the theatre. I put my hair up, changed my earrings, broke out the peep-toe pumps, and prepared to paint my face. . . only to discover, after putting down a base, that I had forgotten orange. Of all colors, orange. I spent a couple minutes despairing over my stupidity and the ruin of my plans, and then had no choice but to wash away all of my progress and opt for street make-up instead. D;
It was raining by the time we made it back down to the street, though, so maybe the make-up wasn't meant to be after all. By complete happenstance, uranus_sama of the fantastic platinum hair (who is my designated Conan fangirling buddy here on LJ) was staying at the hotel next to ours, so we met up with her and her two friends before the show and walked over together, chatting a bit. =] Once again, in the rain. We were wet for Conan, hurrhurr.
The two of us at the theatre, although the picture is kind of blurry, since my mom fails at operating my camera. We're cute. =D And you can see uranus_sama 's awesome earrings.
There were surprisingly few people at the theatre in pro-CoCo apparel, disappointingly. A woman stopped uranus_sama and me and asked for our photo, since we were both wearing the Mike Mitchell shirts - it felt bizarrely like an anime con all over again. She also asked for permission to post them on Facebook, which we agreed to. I have no idea if she is affiliated with the I'm With CoCo fan page officially in any way, but that's the assumption I seemed to glean.
And then. . . there was this guy standing across from the line of people filtering into the theatre who was the spitting image of Conan circa '93 (and obviously knew it, judging by the pairs of girls who were asking him for photos and the suit he was wearing). I didn't even hesitate in pulling out my camera and running over to ask for a photo, even though some awkwardness resulted when my mother couldn't figure out how to use my viewfinder again. The guy was extremely patient and nice, though, and waited until we figured it out.
He used his payout to buy a time machine.
. . . Seriously, mom, what were you trying to do here?
At that point, I lost uranus_sama and Co. because the security guards doing baggage checks stopped me and told me my camera was "too big" to take into the theatre. I was a bit upset, because everything I'd read online stated that the tour was pro-photography, so maybe it was a venue issue? Anyhow, I had no choice but to check it in, which meant I wasn't able to take any pictures during the show as I had hoped. Boo.
We found our seats, which were on the floor, but two rows from the back of the theatre. Not as close as the Craigslist ad had billed them, nor worth the price I paid, most likely, but it was a sold out show and a one-time opportunity, so I was grateful just to be there. The view was still not bad, even if it wasn't nearly as close as I would've preferred.
I waited in line to get a tour shirt for about twenty minutes - they'd sold out of the men's small, so I had to go with the medium, which dwarfs me a bit (I didn't really want a junior girl's tee, since the concert shirt is so classic).
I went back into the theatre afterwards, and waited for what seemed like forever. Had a cool conversation with the guy next to us, who was a Chicago native and longtime fan in the meantime. After a bit, the lights finally went down for the warm-up comedian, Reggie Watts, who had a crazy Jewfro and some mad mixing skills (I seem to recall reading that he warmed up for Tonight Show tapings, too?). He was uber-profane, so I was sort of cringing on my mom's behalf, but I thought he was very talented. And damn, if that "Fuck-Shit" song isn't the catchiest ditty you're ever going to not be able to sing aloud in public. XD
The light went up again for another fifteen minutes, which seemed much too long. I was practically squirming in my seat by that point, since it felt like I'd been there forever. Conantiems nao, plzkthx?
Finally, though, the band came out and played their opening number, and the crowd, of course, came alive. (As uranus_sama said in her trip report, though, it did wear on a bit too long, even though it sounded excellent - I found my attention wandering towards the end.) OMG, THIS WAS REALLY HAPPENING.
And then. . . Conan came out. It was so very strange and exhilarating to see him in the flesh. You think, as you always do in these scenarios, that there'd be a moment where you doubt the reality of the situation - I mean, here's this man that I've watched on my television/laptop screen hundreds of times, as a two-dimensional representation of the real thing, and then he's in the same room with me, breathing the same air, and being all charismatic and Conan-y, only in real time. The transition was strangely seamless. I was just kind of sitting there absorbing it all, I think. XD
He really is that tall and thin in person, for the record. And it is fabulous. Also, strangely enough, I think I like the beard more in person, too. I usually really hate facial hair (and I admit to being somewhat mildly sad when it became apparent that he wasn't going to shave for the tour, because I am lame), but I ceased to notice or really think about it once he began talking. This is somewhat remarkable.
I really liked the monologue, too. I know a lot of it was rehearsed for the tour, but the delivery never felt forced, and the whole thing was rather stripped down and intimate. It was a nice change of pace from the monologue on the Tonight Show, which were often the weakest points of the broadcast, to be quite honest. Of course, that's also because it's really hard to make me laugh when I'm expecting a punch line, even if I do find the joke humorous - the asides are always what get me, and they're actually the entire reason I decided I liked Conan in the first place, because the first monologue of his that I ever watched was chock full of them, and I surprised myself by actually giggling aloud at a talk show host for the first time ever. There were a lot of little off-the-cuff moments, and it was great. Conan is at his funniest when he's ad-libbing.
I was also trying hard not to stare at the Jumbotron screens and watch the real thing instead, even though we were seated too far back to really see his facial expressions without aid of it, frustratingly. I sort of compromised between the two, because the number of times I will see Conan on a screen far outweighs the number of times I will see him live. I sort of felt like a creeper, but hey - I spent half a grand to stare at that, so I may as well have gotten my money's worth. XD
Seeing him sing and play guitar live was an experience, too, because you can just tell he's in his element and loves what he's doing, and it makes for great viewing. I've seen legitimate musicians (not saying Conan isn't, just that it's not his primary gig XD) with less stage presence. Sometimes the sound drowned out his vocals/playing, though, which was a little disappointing. WE KNOW YOU GUYS CAN PLAY, TUNE DOWN SO I CAN LISTEN TO CONAN.
He also played a little bit on the keyboard, which took me aback and left me a bit mindblown. I know musical knowledge is usually easily applied to more than one instrument, if you're adept at it, but still. Sexy. =P
Highlights:
- OMFG THAT JUMPSUIT. I'm not even going to lie or try to be demure, it was just hot. I really made no attempt to conceal this at the show, which gave my mother great amusement and also slight worry, I think. Lulz. I was also reduced to near hysterics when he and Andy began talking about his lack of an ass - way back when, on the third or so episode of the Tonight Show, Gwyneth Paltrow was a guest, and she started talking about some sort of exercise that would tone your backside. Conan launched into a diatribe about how his ass was nonexistent, and then jumped on a chair to execute said exercise, all while I gasped for breath. I posted the clip here to LJ under the heading "LET'S ELOPE", I think, because it had long been an inside joke of mine that my butt was merely an extension of my legs. (It's not so true anymore, sadly (well, not really XD) - I seem to have gained five pounds, all of which mysteriously settled themselves in that region.)
Anyway, to see it brought up again, since that was when I really fell in love for the long haul, made me absurdly silly with glee. Actually, I think any segment where Conan talks about his proportions has that effect (not for the reasons you're thinking of. . . mostly), because I can usually relate. And he really doesn't have any ass to speak of - there's no exaggeration there. XD
Andy's take was golden: "You should pad the back, too." I'm not so certain the padding theory is correct, though.
- Andy and Conan's banter was great, since a good portion of it was spontaneous. I always enjoyed their interactions, since I think their friendship is so obvious. <3
- Conan said "fuck", and I tittered. It's not as if I haven't heard him say it before, but it's blacklisted from broadcast, and it's never been in person. Plus, he's usually very well-spoken and classy when he's entertaining, and hearing well-spoken people curse is always kind of weirdly triumphant and funny, because people who are verbally affluent also tend to choose their expletives very wisely and deliberately (unless they spill coffee on themselves). Taintie told me the same rule applies to me for the same reasons, ahaha.
- Loved the taped segments. Taped segments and remotes are always awesome, and I hadn't seen one in too long. My mom and I cracked up at the first one, where he was putting peanut butter between his toes for the dog to lick in his post-unemployment depression (because my mom finds it therapeutic to put things between her toes; it's kind of a family joke, as we all think she's weird because of it). The bit with the wheat germ and the smoothie, too - totally my mom, again.
- Speaking of my mom, she laughed harder than me, I think, which really shocked me. She told me that her face even hurt the next morning. It's really hard to make her laugh, usually (sophisticated humor often bores her or goes over her head, and she prefers physical gags), so I'm glad that she enjoyed the show. I was afraid it might not be to her tastes, but my suspicions were right that she was in the closet. =P
- Uwaaaa, untucked shirts and flailing limbs. And dancing. That is all. The bit where he goes crazy to the music with the strobe lights was fantastic.
- Doppelganger!Conan being invited onstage with Real!Conan was a riot, too. His reaction was to fall down onstage and begin kicking his legs, which made me about die. The two of them standing next to one another was truly disconcerting.
- Cake mention/cover. <3
- I really wanted that awful blazer Conan wears during "On the Road Again". It was sequined and gaudy and great.
- Walker Texas Ranger lever. 8D That show is of the so-bad-it's-good caliber. I laughed hard at Andy's pretzel quip, too.
Cons, because there were some:
- Not getting to paint my face. D; I'm positive I would've at least gotten a mention or been featured on the Jumbotron during the "groupies" segment if I hadn't been stupid when I was packing. But, oh well, what's done is done.
- I felt like I was sitting too far back for the real energy of the show and the other fans to reach me. A lot of the people I was sitting near never even cracked a smile, it seemed like. My mom and I were literally some of the only ones cheering or actually participating in the action. I would've loved to have been closer, but that's what I get for sleeping in the morning tickets went on sale, I guess.
- Fan spirit was somewhat lacking, it seemed like? There were clearly a lot of fans in the crowd, but not as many as there should've been. It seemed like a lot of the audience was comprised of hipsters and trendites who got tickets to the second show because it was the cool, counterculture thing to do, not because they really had any especial interest. =/ I did see a couple of people with Late Night/Tonight Show shirts on, though, so that was nice.
- The show did feel a little canned in places, although it may only be because I'd inadvertently spoiled myself by reading a few fan comments (and watching the 60 Minutes interview, which showed some tour footage). I'm that kid who never snooped in her parents' closet around Christmas because I didn't like to be spoiled. And it may just be personal taste, too, because as I said, I prefer the impromptu stuff to most stand-up fare.
. . . But mostly, it was just amazing. ASDFGHJKL;
After the show, we went to collect my camera. There was a redheaded kid who had caught one of the inflatable bouncy balls with the Conan caricature that they threw out into the crowd and was cutely toting it around, so I snapped a picture.
D'aw. (Why was this kid here, though? XD He can't be more than 10. . .)
And Conan-lookalike guy (whose name is really Ralph, I think?) was standing off to the side again, posing for more photos, so I decided to apprehend him a second time, as the first shot was a little dark. At first, two other girls jumped in front of me and I had to move out of the way to avoid photobombing, but his brother (who was hilariously following him around and behaving like his agent XD) assured me that I would get my turn. Which I did. I think it was fairly apparent that I was a bit besotted (my exact opener was "hello again, I'm not obsessed, I swear" XD), but he was such a sweetheart. My mom sort of tried to chat up his brother for me, I think, which was embarrassing - I'm pretty sure I'm not the only girl who wanted that number, ha.
Upon closer examination, I think the hair was a wig (you can see what I think is the seam if you scrutinize), which is a bit disappointing. Pretty convincing wig, though. And his facial structure is just uncanny. I'm sure I could fool some people into thinking I met the real deal if I wanted. XD
But wait! I'm not done! (OMG, why is she not done? This girl, she types and types. . .)
I mentioned to my mom that I wanted to try and wait out by the tour buses, and because she is awesome, she obliged. (I think she was also into the action almost as much as I was, too, at that point.) There was only a relatively small gathering of fans when we got there, and we were at the back of the "line". However, security had everyone turn around and back up past the lamp post from the stage door, so we ended up front and center. One of the back-up dancers exited first - she was very pretty and statuesque, and almost looked like a mannequin in the photo I managed to nab:
One of the writers also came out afterwards, and he waved to us after the crowd cheered enthusiastically at his entrance. And then came LaBamba!
He looks and behaves very similarly to my uncle in person, which I found amusing. He was very friendly and congenial with fans; shaking hands, posing for photos, carrying on chit-chat, and even singing "In the Year 3000" for us. (He was also totally crowd control, I realized almost mmediately - I find it funny that LaBamba is sent out to appease the crowd, as he seems an unlikely candidate, but it was a very effective PR stunt.) I was able to get a photo, and told him that I enjoyed the Popemobile appearance at the I'm With CoCo rally.
A fan got her shirt signed, too. It looked like an Eddie Bauer shirt when I glanced too quickly, since it was a plain white fitted tee. Lawlz, she now owns a one-of-a-kind piece of LaBamba couture.
We soon started walking back to the hotel after the first two buses departed, and it became clear that a meeting with the man himself wasn't going to happen. Some guy with a camera came running up and told all of us that Conan came out of the other side of the building and that he was the only one who got a picture, although he never offered said picture as proof, so most people didn't believe him. Security had dispersed by that point, too, which wouldn't have happened if Conan were still around.
I was texting uranus_sama the whole time, since her two companions hadn't wanted to wait by the tour buses with her, and she'd gone for food instead. I suggested that we could maybe talk in her hotel room afterwards, since we hadn't seen much of each other, and I'm glad that we did. =] I really enjoyed being able to mutually nerd out, since I haven't actually had the opportunity to fangirl in person with anyone who actually understood where I was coming from - my friends indulge me, of course, but it's not the same, since we're wearing two different brands of goggles. ("If you say so, CS." *patpat*) It was fun, and one of the high points of the night, honestly. I'm always sort of terrified when I meet people for the first time, because I fear that things will be awkward or we'll end up not clicking. I'm usually proven wrong, though. =P Odds are, if you complement one another in type, the conversation will transition smoothly to the spoken word, after the new car smell wears off. So yeah. uranus_sama, you are awesome, and thanks for putting up with my constant texting and listening to me yammer!
Friday, I woke up around 8 and walked with my mom to Dunkin' Donuts, which ended up being rather uneventful. Their coffee is awful, and it sort of upset my stomach. D; (I also think I had a bit of post-show depression, heh.) We had to round up our stuff and check out of the hotel so that we could walk over to the new one, since weren't able to get a second night of reservations at the first, unfortunately. The lady at the desk saw my tour shirt and excitedly asked me all about the show, since she'd apparently been unable to get tickets but was also a fan. It was kind of great. XD
My shoulders were killing me by the time we made it to the Loop where Hotel #2 was located. It was the Palmer House Hilton, which was waaaay to ridiculously lavish and posh. Everyone in the lobby looked down their noses at us because we were wearing jeans and didn't have proper luggage, pfff (and to think I paid less than $100 for the reservation on Hotwire). Fortunately, we didn't have to spend much time there.
After checking in, we left, and pretty much shopped for nine hours straight, until the ligaments in my feet literally felt as if they were separating. We walked the whole of the Magnificent Mile, ouch. We spent a couple of hours in a massive Forever 21, which had two floors and used to be a Virgin Megastore. So. Many. Clothes. Also found an H&M, a Marshall's, and a place called Pay Half, which I'd never heard of but really liked. We had lunch at the Grand Lux Cafe - OMG, best fried pickles and southwestern salad I have ever had in my life. I can't wait to go again. The menu was so large and full of interesting entrees (of course, I'd Urbanspoon'd it beforehand, heh).
And uranus_sama must've subconsciously influenced me the night before, because I ended up buying two pairs of shoes (which I really regretted when it came time to re-pack the next morning, aha XD). I found some cute accessories for my lolita cosplay, too, and some cute clothes that I really didn't need but still bought, because I'm a fiend (most notably, the black cardigan I have been searching for everywhere and couldn't find). It poured rain for about twenty minutes at some point in the afternoon, too, forcing us to wait inside. I also didn't get to go to any of the vintage shops I had wanted to, since my mom didn't want to mess with the bus, but oh well. I probably didn't need to spend more money, anyhow.
When our dogs were sufficiently tired, we collapsed in the hotel room and watched Criminal Minds for a couple hours, pausing to grab a mediocre dinner at the deli-type restaurant on the corner and steal their free wi-fi. I watched a fortysomething swinger try to hit on blonde sorority girls while blatantly ignoring me and my mother (seriously, he said "so, where are you from"?), and listened to someone violently retching in the room next to us as we were trying to sleep. Fun times.
The train and drive back were depressing and long and boring, as rides back generally are. I did get a few cool shots of the graffiti as we were leaving the station in Chicago, though. I really love graffiti and am always fascinated by it every time I find myself in a metro are large enough to see the good stuff.
Check out that owl. luckwing, I thought of you. =P
So yeah, that was Chicago. I want to visit again ASAP, and I really think I could get used to city life.
And ever since I got home, I've had this to contend with:
. . . Because the neighbors left to go see a White Sox game. In Chicago. He's cute, but a bit of a biter, so I'm glad he's my brother's responsibility.
I just. . . gah. I feel at a loss to give this experience any kind of justice in a trip report because the best part about being there was the sensation of being a part of the whole thing. But, words have never failed me before, and I know most of you are expecting nothing less than the usual verbosity that has become my gold standard. After all, this is Conan, who has apparently become synonymous with CS, judging by the number of slightly embarrassing special occasion cards I've received with his face on them by this point.
Also, ignore the fact that I have my "did the flash go off?" face on in all of the photos. XD My mom is not so great at operating my camera. Also, she believes life should only be viewed in landscape, not portrait, because she has a grudge against the lower half of the human body. (I still love her, though.)
Thursday morning, I awoke at 4:30 after roughly two and a half hours of sleep (I tried, I really did, but I was too jazzed to sleep, for the most part XD). After a breakfast of the remnants of a Cherry Crush and a plain blueberry pancake, hastily microwave'd, my mom and I were on the road. Let it be noted that I-64 is the most boring interstate ever. There are virtually no exits, no gas stations, and no rest stops. Just trees, and grass, and a lot of painfully flat terrain. It started to pour along the way, because precipitation follows me wherever I travel, but thankfully, the drive was only two hours.
We arrived in Centralia to catch our train around 7:30. Centralia is a strange town; it's smaller than Boonville, but it has some weirdly modern institutions, such as a community center and some nicer strip malls. Most of it is like driving through the industrial downtown district of a city, though, where everything looks a little ramshackle and rundown. Except, you also randomly see nicer churches and residential houses next to shacks made with plywood calling themselves restaurants. It was all very perplexing.
The train arrived, and we were ushered onboard and began moving in less than a minute. I have come to the conclusion that I like trains, as a means of transportation, but I don't particularly relish the experience of riding on them. The fold-out trays wouldn't lay flat and were at a weird angle, and they were just too small, so your arms would go asleep in the process of trying to fall asleep on them. And Illinois has some really yawn-worthy scenery, to be honest. My mom and I played a few pathetic rounds of hangman and tic-tac-toe to pass the time, and then I covertly gave myself an orange manicure, since I had nothing better to do and four hours to kill. XD I'm sure the nearby passengers hated me.
We arrived in Chicago around one in the afternoon. One of the first things I saw in Union Station was a girl in a Conan tour shirt, ha. As well as a lot of ridiculously huge and omnipresent ads for Quaker toasted oatmeal cereal (seriously, could they not find any other sponsorship?). I was accosted by a woman in the bathroom begging for bus fare, and our cab driver ranted angrily on his cell phone the whole drive to our hotel in some identifiable African dialect. WELCOME TO THE CITY. =D
Our (first) hotel was really nice and conveniently located. It's apparently the skinniest high-rise in Chicago, and it showed in the size of the room - only one person could squeeze past the beds at a time. However, for the space, everything was well-arranged, so it felt cozy instead of cramped, and the fixtures were very modern and spare. Plus, complimentary wireless!
After getting settled, my mom and I walked the Magnificent Mile for a bit, in search of food and window shopping. We ate lunch at a noodle place, where I had a surprisingly good Thai entree. The weather was a little cool and overcast, sadly.
We went back to the hotel, and I gave myself a pedicure while Facebooking, like any good daughter of the information age. I slipped into my Conan outfit and discovered that I'd forgotten to pack a headband, so we made another emergency sprint down to the Walgreen's on the corner. I passed a gaggle of indie musician-flavored kids wearing plaid and carrying guitar cases, two of which shouted at me that I "looked awesome" (due to the sequined leggings, most likely). XD I also surreptitiously took a picture of a group of about twenty attractive Asian guys standing around bordello-style for nocturnaltibet, because the opportunity was just too ripe.
Back at the hotel, we had about an hour to get ready before we had planned to leave and walk to the theatre. I put my hair up, changed my earrings, broke out the peep-toe pumps, and prepared to paint my face. . . only to discover, after putting down a base, that I had forgotten orange. Of all colors, orange. I spent a couple minutes despairing over my stupidity and the ruin of my plans, and then had no choice but to wash away all of my progress and opt for street make-up instead. D;
It was raining by the time we made it back down to the street, though, so maybe the make-up wasn't meant to be after all. By complete happenstance, uranus_sama of the fantastic platinum hair (who is my designated Conan fangirling buddy here on LJ) was staying at the hotel next to ours, so we met up with her and her two friends before the show and walked over together, chatting a bit. =] Once again, in the rain. We were wet for Conan, hurrhurr.
The two of us at the theatre, although the picture is kind of blurry, since my mom fails at operating my camera. We're cute. =D And you can see uranus_sama 's awesome earrings.
There were surprisingly few people at the theatre in pro-CoCo apparel, disappointingly. A woman stopped uranus_sama and me and asked for our photo, since we were both wearing the Mike Mitchell shirts - it felt bizarrely like an anime con all over again. She also asked for permission to post them on Facebook, which we agreed to. I have no idea if she is affiliated with the I'm With CoCo fan page officially in any way, but that's the assumption I seemed to glean.
And then. . . there was this guy standing across from the line of people filtering into the theatre who was the spitting image of Conan circa '93 (and obviously knew it, judging by the pairs of girls who were asking him for photos and the suit he was wearing). I didn't even hesitate in pulling out my camera and running over to ask for a photo, even though some awkwardness resulted when my mother couldn't figure out how to use my viewfinder again. The guy was extremely patient and nice, though, and waited until we figured it out.
He used his payout to buy a time machine.
. . . Seriously, mom, what were you trying to do here?
At that point, I lost uranus_sama and Co. because the security guards doing baggage checks stopped me and told me my camera was "too big" to take into the theatre. I was a bit upset, because everything I'd read online stated that the tour was pro-photography, so maybe it was a venue issue? Anyhow, I had no choice but to check it in, which meant I wasn't able to take any pictures during the show as I had hoped. Boo.
We found our seats, which were on the floor, but two rows from the back of the theatre. Not as close as the Craigslist ad had billed them, nor worth the price I paid, most likely, but it was a sold out show and a one-time opportunity, so I was grateful just to be there. The view was still not bad, even if it wasn't nearly as close as I would've preferred.
I waited in line to get a tour shirt for about twenty minutes - they'd sold out of the men's small, so I had to go with the medium, which dwarfs me a bit (I didn't really want a junior girl's tee, since the concert shirt is so classic).
I went back into the theatre afterwards, and waited for what seemed like forever. Had a cool conversation with the guy next to us, who was a Chicago native and longtime fan in the meantime. After a bit, the lights finally went down for the warm-up comedian, Reggie Watts, who had a crazy Jewfro and some mad mixing skills (I seem to recall reading that he warmed up for Tonight Show tapings, too?). He was uber-profane, so I was sort of cringing on my mom's behalf, but I thought he was very talented. And damn, if that "Fuck-Shit" song isn't the catchiest ditty you're ever going to not be able to sing aloud in public. XD
The light went up again for another fifteen minutes, which seemed much too long. I was practically squirming in my seat by that point, since it felt like I'd been there forever. Conantiems nao, plzkthx?
Finally, though, the band came out and played their opening number, and the crowd, of course, came alive. (As uranus_sama said in her trip report, though, it did wear on a bit too long, even though it sounded excellent - I found my attention wandering towards the end.) OMG, THIS WAS REALLY HAPPENING.
And then. . . Conan came out. It was so very strange and exhilarating to see him in the flesh. You think, as you always do in these scenarios, that there'd be a moment where you doubt the reality of the situation - I mean, here's this man that I've watched on my television/laptop screen hundreds of times, as a two-dimensional representation of the real thing, and then he's in the same room with me, breathing the same air, and being all charismatic and Conan-y, only in real time. The transition was strangely seamless. I was just kind of sitting there absorbing it all, I think. XD
He really is that tall and thin in person, for the record. And it is fabulous. Also, strangely enough, I think I like the beard more in person, too. I usually really hate facial hair (and I admit to being somewhat mildly sad when it became apparent that he wasn't going to shave for the tour, because I am lame), but I ceased to notice or really think about it once he began talking. This is somewhat remarkable.
I really liked the monologue, too. I know a lot of it was rehearsed for the tour, but the delivery never felt forced, and the whole thing was rather stripped down and intimate. It was a nice change of pace from the monologue on the Tonight Show, which were often the weakest points of the broadcast, to be quite honest. Of course, that's also because it's really hard to make me laugh when I'm expecting a punch line, even if I do find the joke humorous - the asides are always what get me, and they're actually the entire reason I decided I liked Conan in the first place, because the first monologue of his that I ever watched was chock full of them, and I surprised myself by actually giggling aloud at a talk show host for the first time ever. There were a lot of little off-the-cuff moments, and it was great. Conan is at his funniest when he's ad-libbing.
I was also trying hard not to stare at the Jumbotron screens and watch the real thing instead, even though we were seated too far back to really see his facial expressions without aid of it, frustratingly. I sort of compromised between the two, because the number of times I will see Conan on a screen far outweighs the number of times I will see him live. I sort of felt like a creeper, but hey - I spent half a grand to stare at that, so I may as well have gotten my money's worth. XD
Seeing him sing and play guitar live was an experience, too, because you can just tell he's in his element and loves what he's doing, and it makes for great viewing. I've seen legitimate musicians (not saying Conan isn't, just that it's not his primary gig XD) with less stage presence. Sometimes the sound drowned out his vocals/playing, though, which was a little disappointing. WE KNOW YOU GUYS CAN PLAY, TUNE DOWN SO I CAN LISTEN TO CONAN.
He also played a little bit on the keyboard, which took me aback and left me a bit mindblown. I know musical knowledge is usually easily applied to more than one instrument, if you're adept at it, but still. Sexy. =P
Highlights:
- OMFG THAT JUMPSUIT. I'm not even going to lie or try to be demure, it was just hot. I really made no attempt to conceal this at the show, which gave my mother great amusement and also slight worry, I think. Lulz. I was also reduced to near hysterics when he and Andy began talking about his lack of an ass - way back when, on the third or so episode of the Tonight Show, Gwyneth Paltrow was a guest, and she started talking about some sort of exercise that would tone your backside. Conan launched into a diatribe about how his ass was nonexistent, and then jumped on a chair to execute said exercise, all while I gasped for breath. I posted the clip here to LJ under the heading "LET'S ELOPE", I think, because it had long been an inside joke of mine that my butt was merely an extension of my legs. (It's not so true anymore, sadly (well, not really XD) - I seem to have gained five pounds, all of which mysteriously settled themselves in that region.)
Anyway, to see it brought up again, since that was when I really fell in love for the long haul, made me absurdly silly with glee. Actually, I think any segment where Conan talks about his proportions has that effect (not for the reasons you're thinking of. . . mostly), because I can usually relate. And he really doesn't have any ass to speak of - there's no exaggeration there. XD
Andy's take was golden: "You should pad the back, too." I'm not so certain the padding theory is correct, though.
- Andy and Conan's banter was great, since a good portion of it was spontaneous. I always enjoyed their interactions, since I think their friendship is so obvious. <3
- Conan said "fuck", and I tittered. It's not as if I haven't heard him say it before, but it's blacklisted from broadcast, and it's never been in person. Plus, he's usually very well-spoken and classy when he's entertaining, and hearing well-spoken people curse is always kind of weirdly triumphant and funny, because people who are verbally affluent also tend to choose their expletives very wisely and deliberately (unless they spill coffee on themselves). Taintie told me the same rule applies to me for the same reasons, ahaha.
- Loved the taped segments. Taped segments and remotes are always awesome, and I hadn't seen one in too long. My mom and I cracked up at the first one, where he was putting peanut butter between his toes for the dog to lick in his post-unemployment depression (because my mom finds it therapeutic to put things between her toes; it's kind of a family joke, as we all think she's weird because of it). The bit with the wheat germ and the smoothie, too - totally my mom, again.
- Speaking of my mom, she laughed harder than me, I think, which really shocked me. She told me that her face even hurt the next morning. It's really hard to make her laugh, usually (sophisticated humor often bores her or goes over her head, and she prefers physical gags), so I'm glad that she enjoyed the show. I was afraid it might not be to her tastes, but my suspicions were right that she was in the closet. =P
- Uwaaaa, untucked shirts and flailing limbs. And dancing. That is all. The bit where he goes crazy to the music with the strobe lights was fantastic.
- Doppelganger!Conan being invited onstage with Real!Conan was a riot, too. His reaction was to fall down onstage and begin kicking his legs, which made me about die. The two of them standing next to one another was truly disconcerting.
- Cake mention/cover. <3
- I really wanted that awful blazer Conan wears during "On the Road Again". It was sequined and gaudy and great.
- Walker Texas Ranger lever. 8D That show is of the so-bad-it's-good caliber. I laughed hard at Andy's pretzel quip, too.
Cons, because there were some:
- Not getting to paint my face. D; I'm positive I would've at least gotten a mention or been featured on the Jumbotron during the "groupies" segment if I hadn't been stupid when I was packing. But, oh well, what's done is done.
- I felt like I was sitting too far back for the real energy of the show and the other fans to reach me. A lot of the people I was sitting near never even cracked a smile, it seemed like. My mom and I were literally some of the only ones cheering or actually participating in the action. I would've loved to have been closer, but that's what I get for sleeping in the morning tickets went on sale, I guess.
- Fan spirit was somewhat lacking, it seemed like? There were clearly a lot of fans in the crowd, but not as many as there should've been. It seemed like a lot of the audience was comprised of hipsters and trendites who got tickets to the second show because it was the cool, counterculture thing to do, not because they really had any especial interest. =/ I did see a couple of people with Late Night/Tonight Show shirts on, though, so that was nice.
- The show did feel a little canned in places, although it may only be because I'd inadvertently spoiled myself by reading a few fan comments (and watching the 60 Minutes interview, which showed some tour footage). I'm that kid who never snooped in her parents' closet around Christmas because I didn't like to be spoiled. And it may just be personal taste, too, because as I said, I prefer the impromptu stuff to most stand-up fare.
. . . But mostly, it was just amazing. ASDFGHJKL;
After the show, we went to collect my camera. There was a redheaded kid who had caught one of the inflatable bouncy balls with the Conan caricature that they threw out into the crowd and was cutely toting it around, so I snapped a picture.
D'aw. (Why was this kid here, though? XD He can't be more than 10. . .)
And Conan-lookalike guy (whose name is really Ralph, I think?) was standing off to the side again, posing for more photos, so I decided to apprehend him a second time, as the first shot was a little dark. At first, two other girls jumped in front of me and I had to move out of the way to avoid photobombing, but his brother (who was hilariously following him around and behaving like his agent XD) assured me that I would get my turn. Which I did. I think it was fairly apparent that I was a bit besotted (my exact opener was "hello again, I'm not obsessed, I swear" XD), but he was such a sweetheart. My mom sort of tried to chat up his brother for me, I think, which was embarrassing - I'm pretty sure I'm not the only girl who wanted that number, ha.
Upon closer examination, I think the hair was a wig (you can see what I think is the seam if you scrutinize), which is a bit disappointing. Pretty convincing wig, though. And his facial structure is just uncanny. I'm sure I could fool some people into thinking I met the real deal if I wanted. XD
But wait! I'm not done! (OMG, why is she not done? This girl, she types and types. . .)
I mentioned to my mom that I wanted to try and wait out by the tour buses, and because she is awesome, she obliged. (I think she was also into the action almost as much as I was, too, at that point.) There was only a relatively small gathering of fans when we got there, and we were at the back of the "line". However, security had everyone turn around and back up past the lamp post from the stage door, so we ended up front and center. One of the back-up dancers exited first - she was very pretty and statuesque, and almost looked like a mannequin in the photo I managed to nab:
One of the writers also came out afterwards, and he waved to us after the crowd cheered enthusiastically at his entrance. And then came LaBamba!
He looks and behaves very similarly to my uncle in person, which I found amusing. He was very friendly and congenial with fans; shaking hands, posing for photos, carrying on chit-chat, and even singing "In the Year 3000" for us. (He was also totally crowd control, I realized almost mmediately - I find it funny that LaBamba is sent out to appease the crowd, as he seems an unlikely candidate, but it was a very effective PR stunt.) I was able to get a photo, and told him that I enjoyed the Popemobile appearance at the I'm With CoCo rally.
A fan got her shirt signed, too. It looked like an Eddie Bauer shirt when I glanced too quickly, since it was a plain white fitted tee. Lawlz, she now owns a one-of-a-kind piece of LaBamba couture.
We soon started walking back to the hotel after the first two buses departed, and it became clear that a meeting with the man himself wasn't going to happen. Some guy with a camera came running up and told all of us that Conan came out of the other side of the building and that he was the only one who got a picture, although he never offered said picture as proof, so most people didn't believe him. Security had dispersed by that point, too, which wouldn't have happened if Conan were still around.
I was texting uranus_sama the whole time, since her two companions hadn't wanted to wait by the tour buses with her, and she'd gone for food instead. I suggested that we could maybe talk in her hotel room afterwards, since we hadn't seen much of each other, and I'm glad that we did. =] I really enjoyed being able to mutually nerd out, since I haven't actually had the opportunity to fangirl in person with anyone who actually understood where I was coming from - my friends indulge me, of course, but it's not the same, since we're wearing two different brands of goggles. ("If you say so, CS." *patpat*) It was fun, and one of the high points of the night, honestly. I'm always sort of terrified when I meet people for the first time, because I fear that things will be awkward or we'll end up not clicking. I'm usually proven wrong, though. =P Odds are, if you complement one another in type, the conversation will transition smoothly to the spoken word, after the new car smell wears off. So yeah. uranus_sama, you are awesome, and thanks for putting up with my constant texting and listening to me yammer!
Friday, I woke up around 8 and walked with my mom to Dunkin' Donuts, which ended up being rather uneventful. Their coffee is awful, and it sort of upset my stomach. D; (I also think I had a bit of post-show depression, heh.) We had to round up our stuff and check out of the hotel so that we could walk over to the new one, since weren't able to get a second night of reservations at the first, unfortunately. The lady at the desk saw my tour shirt and excitedly asked me all about the show, since she'd apparently been unable to get tickets but was also a fan. It was kind of great. XD
My shoulders were killing me by the time we made it to the Loop where Hotel #2 was located. It was the Palmer House Hilton, which was waaaay to ridiculously lavish and posh. Everyone in the lobby looked down their noses at us because we were wearing jeans and didn't have proper luggage, pfff (and to think I paid less than $100 for the reservation on Hotwire). Fortunately, we didn't have to spend much time there.
After checking in, we left, and pretty much shopped for nine hours straight, until the ligaments in my feet literally felt as if they were separating. We walked the whole of the Magnificent Mile, ouch. We spent a couple of hours in a massive Forever 21, which had two floors and used to be a Virgin Megastore. So. Many. Clothes. Also found an H&M, a Marshall's, and a place called Pay Half, which I'd never heard of but really liked. We had lunch at the Grand Lux Cafe - OMG, best fried pickles and southwestern salad I have ever had in my life. I can't wait to go again. The menu was so large and full of interesting entrees (of course, I'd Urbanspoon'd it beforehand, heh).
And uranus_sama must've subconsciously influenced me the night before, because I ended up buying two pairs of shoes (which I really regretted when it came time to re-pack the next morning, aha XD). I found some cute accessories for my lolita cosplay, too, and some cute clothes that I really didn't need but still bought, because I'm a fiend (most notably, the black cardigan I have been searching for everywhere and couldn't find). It poured rain for about twenty minutes at some point in the afternoon, too, forcing us to wait inside. I also didn't get to go to any of the vintage shops I had wanted to, since my mom didn't want to mess with the bus, but oh well. I probably didn't need to spend more money, anyhow.
When our dogs were sufficiently tired, we collapsed in the hotel room and watched Criminal Minds for a couple hours, pausing to grab a mediocre dinner at the deli-type restaurant on the corner and steal their free wi-fi. I watched a fortysomething swinger try to hit on blonde sorority girls while blatantly ignoring me and my mother (seriously, he said "so, where are you from"?), and listened to someone violently retching in the room next to us as we were trying to sleep. Fun times.
The train and drive back were depressing and long and boring, as rides back generally are. I did get a few cool shots of the graffiti as we were leaving the station in Chicago, though. I really love graffiti and am always fascinated by it every time I find myself in a metro are large enough to see the good stuff.
Check out that owl. luckwing, I thought of you. =P
So yeah, that was Chicago. I want to visit again ASAP, and I really think I could get used to city life.
And ever since I got home, I've had this to contend with:
. . . Because the neighbors left to go see a White Sox game. In Chicago. He's cute, but a bit of a biter, so I'm glad he's my brother's responsibility.