playing lj catch-up, part I: Nov. trip to Ohio
I'm finally catching up on some journaling... so forgive me for the barrage of posts today. ;) First, here's a journal about the weekend of my Ohio trip, when I finally met Christa (bluecat), and we saw a Megastar show. That was a couple months back--Fri, Nov. 9th, 2007 through Mon, Nov. 12th, 2007--so you might not care anymore, but I wanted a "record" of it. :) I used section headings so you can pick and choose if you like (or you can just look at the photos), and it's all going behind a giant cut, since it's long.
Friday/NH
Friday, I took the day off from work and drove over to southeastern NH, since my flight out of NH was early Saturday morning. It seems weird to go all that way to catch a flight, when there is an airport in Albany (about a half hour from where I live), but there is an airline called Skybus that flies between Columbus and NH for CHEAP. My ticket, including taxes and checking a single bag both ways, was $50, and parking at this particular airport was free all weekend. Even factoring gas money and hotel, I still saved a bit of money overall. I met up with my parents (who live in northern NH), and went out to dinner with them and my brother Jeff, his girlfriend Lynnette, and her son Alex (who live in southeastern NH). We went to Bugaboo Creek, which features talking stuffed (as in, hunter's trophy kind of stuffed) animals on the walls. I guess it was supposed to be a kid-friendly lodge theme... I know all the animals were fake but it still creeped me out a little. It reminds me of this sporting/guns shop in my hometown that I went in once, and pretty much couldn't stand to be in 'cause of all the deerheads and such on all the walls. I know hunting is important to control populations and such... but hanging stuffed animal heads on your wall is just really creepy to me. Complete animals are all right, especially in museums when it's more of an educational exhibit than, "look at what I killed! yeehaw!" ANYway. I had a couple drinks and a great meal, and had a nice time visiting with the fam. Alex (who's 6) made a drawing for me of this extra-toothy monster thing, with lots of hearts on it and my name (with a backwards J), which ended up on my fridge for weeks afterward. I think I've only gotten like one other kid-drawing ever, so that was cute.
getting there, meeting Christa and family
The next morning I drove to the airport, which was on a military base. It was really tiny, with only 3 small counters in the ticketing room (just large enough for two computers/staffers), and only one flight leaving at a time. It was a little bizarre, but it made the whole experience really relaxed and easy. Even the guy that checks your license before security was really friendly and accommodating. When we boarded the plane (for an early takeoff!)--not as small as I thought it might be, though still smaller than your typical big-name jets--we got on from the tarmac, which I've never done before. That was kind of cool. It reminded me of like, old-fashioned movies, or when they show the President boarding/leaving a plane. I can imagine it wouldn't be so fun for someone afraid of heights, though, with those rickety staircases. It was a relatively short flight, under 3 hours I think, and I enjoyed it. I really like flying, and seeing the clouds from the "wrong" side, seeing the colors of the sky from a different angle... seeing the town diminish in size and imagine how each one of those bug-like cars and houses below have miniature people inside. Puts perspective on the world, you know? In Columbus, the pilot executed the smoothest landing I've ever felt--actually, I hardly even felt it.
In the airport, I wandered to the baggage claim, which was largely empty. Columbus's airport was of course bigger than the one in NH, but similarly quiet and calm. I didn't see Christa around anywhere, so I made a quick stop at the bathroom before waiting at the baggage carousel (which hadn't started yet anyway). Walking back towards the carousel I saw, across the room, a petite woman with dark hair, with a little girl on each hand, walking away from me. I thought that might be Christa (although I didn't know she was bringing her girls with her, so I wasn't sure)... when they came back around I recognized them, and pretty much ran/skipped all the way over. We'd been waiting for the chance to meet for years and it'd finally come! :) After getting my bags, we all headed out together. Both girls (Rachel, 5, and Maggie, 3) were pretty quiet but interested in everything around them--a trip to the airport was novel for them! Christa explained that bringing them was a last minute thing. We were going to stop by her house before heading to Cincinnati, anyway, so it didn't change any plans. I'm not too used to being around kids, but these two were both very nice and well-behaved so I didn't have any reason to feel antsy. ;) We stopped for lunch on the way home, and Rachel wanted to hold my hand to walk through the parking lot, which I thought was sweet. :) At lunch, I got a real chance to see the girls' personalities--there were certain things Christa had told me about them that were immediately evident, like Rachel being very mature and logical for her age, and Maggie's tendency to "study" you... not like when you catch the kid at the next table staring at you all menacingly, but just like... trying to figure you out.
Back at Christa's house, Rachel showed me around, pointing out her drum set and the blue kiss that she had taped to her bed. The girls are home schooled, so they have a classroom, which I thought was just so neat. It had a wooden floor, and two desks, and pinups of work the girls had done. Rachel had an art piece on the bedroom door she'd made with Christa, of an aquarium, and she dutifully told me which fish were hers and which were Mommy's. Rachel and Maggie wanted to play outside, but Christa and I had to get going, since Cincinnati was a couple hours away and we didn't want to get there too late. Somewhere in here I briefly met Christa's husband, Joel, but most of my time there was following Rachel around. ;) The girls were preoccupied with picking out some of their Halloween candy when it was time to go, and fortunately neither of them fussed at all about their mom leaving without them. It was really nice to meet Christa's family... originally, we were going to go straight from the airport to Cincy, but Plan B turned out really well. :) Then Christa and I set off!
Christa and Jen go to Cincinnati.
Since the Blue Man show wasn't until the next night, we didn't have to stress out about being anywhere "on time," so the drive was pretty leisurely and we chatted the whole way, of course. Christa is my best friend, which is sort of ironic since we'd never met in person (or even talked on the phone!)... but she is someone I can tell ANYTHING, and who I connect with on a really deep level. We're a lot alike in many ways, and completely understand each other, right down to our tendency to write ridiculously long and rambling e-mails. ;) I was a little bit nervous about meeting her for the first time, hoping we'd "click" as much in person as we do online... but I was pretty sure we would. We did. :)
Photo from Christa
When we got to Cincy we drove around the block a few times before figuring out exactly where we needed to be to park for our hotel. The hotel was "The Grand Suites" or something like that, and the staff there were super nice and helpful. The first room we got was a smoking room, and the hostess helped us get into a non-smoking room, no problem. She even escorted us and pulled my bag for me (totally unnecessary, but nice!). We had a huge room, with separate bedrooms, a living/dining room, and a kitchen (for to make brownies in, haha). Christa said it was the same price as a single bed/bedroom, so why not? ;) We lazed around a bit and talked some more for a while, and opened the window for some fresh air. We were surprised at its total lack of SCREEN or limited opening-space... we were on the 15th floor or something, and it was a long way down. But it was kind of neat to be able to open up the window and look out over the city (even though it was a pretty small/casual kind of city). Eventually we decided to have dinner at Benihana, several blocks away. Although it was (obviously) less fancy than the Vegas version, the food was still great, and our chef was pretty entertaining. He did something I hadn't seen before... instead of making the onion-dome light on fire (although he may have done that too), he made it smoke, then pushed it along and made choo-choo noises, hehehe. Christa and I sat on one end, and the rest of the diners at our table were together. A couple with two young girls, and what appeared to be their older son and his girlfriend (high schoolers, maybe, although they were both seemed more mature than your typical high-schoolers). The youngest girl (maybe 4-ish?) was hilarious because she was just all over the place... at one point she grabbed her chopsticks and made a stabbing motion with them, yelling this crazy war cry that made Christa and I look at each other like "whoa!" before cracking up. Towards the end of the meal the dad made this little speech congratulating the older kids on their hard work and grades, or something like that. And we thought, aww, what a nice family! Hehe.
After dinner we headed back to the hotel to make brownies (for the BMG folk on tour--I guess Clem asked for brownies, haha--not that we didn't take a couple for ourselves), and split a bottle of wine. We talked, we laughed, we cried, we hugged. :) It was so natural to hang out with Christa, and we're so close... the only bad thing is that we can't hang out like that on a regular basis!
Day of the Blue Mans
Sunday, the day of the show, we had to check out of our hotel around noon. We killed a whole bunch of time in Starbucks, since it was chilly and raining, and not the kind of weather that's all that nice to walk around in. We didn't really need anything to "do" anyway, since it was enough for us to just have the chance to talk. As show time approached we walked back to the parking garage, making a stop at Macy's to use their bathroom, which was huge and had a whole couch in it. I thought that was weird, and for some reason Christa decided to take a picture of me sitting on it. So here's me sitting on a couch in a Macy's bathroom! Betcha that's not gonna happen again, haha.
Totally RANDOM photo from Christa
Before the show, we headed to a nearby bar to meet up with Janny (JannyBlue), Andy (SirPepsi), and any other fans that showed up (though no one else did). The kitchen there was closed so we ordered a pizza, and chatted over drinks. Both Christa and I already knew Janny and Andy so it was a good chance for everyone to catch up. I don't know if the pizza that was eventually delivered was actually that good, but to me it was AMAZING 'cause by then I was so damn hungry!! By the time we'd finished eating it was time to head over for the show.
Another happy Christa/Jen photo from Andy!
At the arena, Christa and I opted to skip Mike Relm's set. He's talented and has a unique thing going, but his set just really makes my eyes/brain hurt, haha--especially if I'm right up front, next to the speakers. We could hear his music/scratching perfectly fine from the hallways, anyhow. In the meantime, I got a couple Smirnoffs (kind of lame, but better than beer, hehe), and snagged a pair of sweet WRISTBANDS from the merch counter. Totally dorky, so, perfect for me. They're black, with the BMG logo and little stars in red. I wore them with pride. Actually, maybe it was more the alcohol (including the apple martini I'd had at the bar earlier) than the wristbands, but I felt ready to ROCK OUT. Flashing the Floppie handpuppet felt a lot cooler with those wristbands. Or something.
The Megastar show
I had so much fun at this show... it was probably one of the most fun tour shows I've ever been to. I'm sure part of it was reveling in being up close after trying the "cheap seats" at my last tour show, but it was also exciting to be sharing it with Christa. :) There was one part in the show... I can't remember if it was in the LEDs or voiceover to make animal noises (???), but anyway, Christa and I ran with it. I just remember her neighing, and me cracking. the. hell. up. Hahahah! We didn't have seats with Janny and Andy, but they were right across the aisle from us. :) Anyway, the show was kind of one big flashy blur, but here are a few things I remember, and some of Andy's photos (the rest can be found at his website):
---The Blue Men were Jeremy, Frankel, and Marc with a C. [Since there is a Mark and a Marc, that's just how I ended up thinking of those two, haha.] Here they are with guitarist Julian (left to right: Marc with a C, Frankel, Jeremy):
---Being up front really makes the tour shine... all the visual effects have extra punch, you can see everyone's faces, and you can really feel the bass. It was exciting to be in the middle of things again, because when I sat up on the side (even though it was still fairly close), I found it lacking.
---The crowd was really good! Right from the get-go they were pumped, and anytime the cellphones came out, a LOT of people were waving them around. :) This all by itself was a big part of why the show was so fun!
---I found that making a point to not pay attention to the screens made the whole experience better for me, because I could focus more on the performers' energy, and the songs themselves. Having the lyrics written out can be good since it's hard to make them out in arena settings, but when you already know them it can be sort of distracting I think. So I let the screen blend in with the other visual effects.
---I like the Latinized version of "Singalong." It's catchy, and I think it's better suited for the new male vocalist who doesn't have the eerie "dark side" that Peter Moore can invoke. Both vocalists (Phil and Adrian) were pretty on target that night, too. :)
---One of my very favorite tour things is... the AIRPOLES, especially when they do dueling airpoles. Swishy.
---Jeremy was most definitely "the cute one" of this trio (even though they changed the wording in the pelvic dance part to "the sexiest one among you" instead of "cutest among you")... he just wiggles his way through the show. Whenever he'd stand still for a second, he seemed to make up for it with a little wiggle-dance before going off to do whatever he was supposed to be doing. Hehehe. D'awwww.
---The guy who announced the band was so nervous that he couldn't read straight, seeming to struggle with almost every line. For the first band member introduction, he said "Jeff... oh I gotta spell this out... T-O-R...T...R-A..." (wrong spelling, by the way, hehe) This made the "insert city" joke especially funny because it came off as a completely honest mistake, which the guy corrected when he (slowly) realized the trick.
---I can't remember if it was during band intros or at the end of the show, but at some point Jeff noticed us cheering for him and flashed back the Floppie handpuppet. Haha! We felt special. The rock star acknowledged us! woooo!! ;)
---During the last song, when everybody stands up, Christa shifted over into the aisle (she had the end seat), so we both had a lot of room and jumped/danced around like crazy!! I don't remember ever being so pumped and dorky at a show, LOL. It was so much fun, and I completely tired myself out. Haha!
The Meet and Greet
After the show, the four of us had passes for the meet and greet, so we hung around by the soundboard with the other guests until we were led backstage. It wasn't long before the performers filtered in. First we spent a little time with Frankel. I'd never seen/met him but since he's from Chicago, Janny and Andy knew him pretty well, and he hung around with us a bit. I got a long-arm shot with him, and a few minutes later his hand was (randomly) reaching out towards my face to put blue on me, but I hadn't been paying attention and only saw this out of the corner of my eye, so my instinctive reaction was to DUCK, LOL! I felt silly for hiding, but it was cute that he tried. ;)
When I spotted Mike Burns (guitar), I said to him, "hey, you're great! See, I got you this time!" This is because last time, I saw him and MK at the same time, and told MK he was great--which I said to MK specifically because it was my first time seeing him, but I accidentally like, ignored Mike in the same breath. Apologized for my awkwardness right away, but I still felt a little bad, haha. This was only a couple weeks before, so I think Mike knew what I meant when I said this, and chuckled. I told him how in the seats we had, I could actually see the entire band this time. :)
We also talked with Jeff (drums) and Todd (drum set) quite a bit, though I don't remember what about, specifically. Probably I was just listening to everyone else talk with them, and/or being all fangirl at them. I know Todd and Jeff a lot better than the rest of the band (have talked with each of them several times over the years), so I'm not so shy with them as with the other band guys. And they're both so nice and welcoming. :) Apparently I was so busy chatting with them, that I never got around to getting any photos with Marc or Jeremy (although I already have a good one with Jeremy from another show), but I did end up in a photo with Jeff! Yay!
Photos from Andy. That's Todd and Janny, then the girls with Jeff.
At some point, Jeff said to me "oh, Russell is on your shirt!" It took me a minute to remember I happened to be wearing my "The Job" t-shirt (which has former Vegas Blue Man Russell printed on it)... I actually hadn't planned on taking off my long-sleeved shirt, so I didn't expect anyone to see Russell (haha), but I was too hot after that jumping around to bundle back up right away! ;) Anyway, Jeff said that he hadn't seen Russell in a long time, and should give him a call. :) So maybe some good came out of me being a TOTAL DORK.
As the Blue Men were leaving, Marc with a C goofed around a bit, randomly opening some big cooler by the door, and then sitting on top of it. He was staying very much in character and it was pretty funny. When Jeremy walked by, I intercepted him and gave him a hug. I think I told him something about his dancing being great, "as usual." He gave a hint of a smile (the kind that is mostly in the eyes and only just barely in the lips), and seemed like he remembered me... He doesn't really talk in meet and greets, though, so I can never quite tell. He didn't seem to think I was crazy for randomly hugging him, anyway. ;)
As usual we MB fans were the last ones out of the meet and greet room. Jeff and a couple others (but especially Jeff) hung around with us in the hallway for a while, chatting. Just about whatever. :) I do remember him and Todd saying they would be continuing with the tour in 2008. I won't see the tour show next go-round... but they are both awesome. If there is ever a Megastar DVD, I hope those two are on it. :D
Saying goodbyes
When we finally left the arena (after snapping a couple group photos with Janny and Andy... with Janny holding her program upside down unwittingly--LOL!), we ended up chatting outside for quite a while before parting ways... I mostly talked with Janny, talking about my plans for the future and hoping to move out to Vegas, and how it was this crazy thing but I thought I could do it, and SHOULD do it sooner rather than later lest I lose my chance... etc. etc. Janny is so sweet and supportive and it was really nice to talk with her about it. :)
Photos from Andy
Alas though, it got late, and we had to go.
Christa and I drove up to Columbus, where we'd gotten a hotel room so we wouldn't have to hang out in the car 'til morning, hehe. I'd meant to at least take a nap, but we were so intent on clinging to our last hours together that we didn't sleep at ALL, instead staying up talking about whatever we hadn't already gotten around to talking about. ;) When she brought me to the airport, we sat on a bench just outside security, only to delay the goodbye a few more minutes. It was sad, and a little teary, but I didn't get as emotional as I might have, had I not been in insomniac mode and trying not to fall asleep on my feet... I still hated to say goodbye though, and I hope it's not too long before we meet again--to put it mildly!!!
The flight home was fine, though it felt like a long time waiting at the gate (sitting in the line for my boarding group, dozing off now and again). I do find it interesting to people watch at airports though, so I wasn't bored, just tired. I half-dozed through the flight, and when I got back I had to drive back to NY. I took my time, only driving a short way before stopping at a McDonald's for some food and coffee--I miraculously pulled in seconds before two buses full of elderly tourists, and managed to get my order before they piled into the restaurant--thank goodness! I really needed that coffee, haha. At the first rest stop I took a good long nap, then did the rest of the trip in pieces so I'd get home safely. It was pretty exhausting, and as soon as I got home I went straight to sleep! Travel-wise the trip was a little crazy, but it was definitely worth it. :) I like traveling, so really the only bad part was how tiring it was (I don't mind extra driving)... and even so it was wonderful to finally meet Christa! That was the best part of the weekend hands down, although everything/everyone else was great too. :) So, yay! My first ever trip to Ohio was a success! ;)
Friday/NH
Friday, I took the day off from work and drove over to southeastern NH, since my flight out of NH was early Saturday morning. It seems weird to go all that way to catch a flight, when there is an airport in Albany (about a half hour from where I live), but there is an airline called Skybus that flies between Columbus and NH for CHEAP. My ticket, including taxes and checking a single bag both ways, was $50, and parking at this particular airport was free all weekend. Even factoring gas money and hotel, I still saved a bit of money overall. I met up with my parents (who live in northern NH), and went out to dinner with them and my brother Jeff, his girlfriend Lynnette, and her son Alex (who live in southeastern NH). We went to Bugaboo Creek, which features talking stuffed (as in, hunter's trophy kind of stuffed) animals on the walls. I guess it was supposed to be a kid-friendly lodge theme... I know all the animals were fake but it still creeped me out a little. It reminds me of this sporting/guns shop in my hometown that I went in once, and pretty much couldn't stand to be in 'cause of all the deerheads and such on all the walls. I know hunting is important to control populations and such... but hanging stuffed animal heads on your wall is just really creepy to me. Complete animals are all right, especially in museums when it's more of an educational exhibit than, "look at what I killed! yeehaw!" ANYway. I had a couple drinks and a great meal, and had a nice time visiting with the fam. Alex (who's 6) made a drawing for me of this extra-toothy monster thing, with lots of hearts on it and my name (with a backwards J), which ended up on my fridge for weeks afterward. I think I've only gotten like one other kid-drawing ever, so that was cute.
getting there, meeting Christa and family
The next morning I drove to the airport, which was on a military base. It was really tiny, with only 3 small counters in the ticketing room (just large enough for two computers/staffers), and only one flight leaving at a time. It was a little bizarre, but it made the whole experience really relaxed and easy. Even the guy that checks your license before security was really friendly and accommodating. When we boarded the plane (for an early takeoff!)--not as small as I thought it might be, though still smaller than your typical big-name jets--we got on from the tarmac, which I've never done before. That was kind of cool. It reminded me of like, old-fashioned movies, or when they show the President boarding/leaving a plane. I can imagine it wouldn't be so fun for someone afraid of heights, though, with those rickety staircases. It was a relatively short flight, under 3 hours I think, and I enjoyed it. I really like flying, and seeing the clouds from the "wrong" side, seeing the colors of the sky from a different angle... seeing the town diminish in size and imagine how each one of those bug-like cars and houses below have miniature people inside. Puts perspective on the world, you know? In Columbus, the pilot executed the smoothest landing I've ever felt--actually, I hardly even felt it.
In the airport, I wandered to the baggage claim, which was largely empty. Columbus's airport was of course bigger than the one in NH, but similarly quiet and calm. I didn't see Christa around anywhere, so I made a quick stop at the bathroom before waiting at the baggage carousel (which hadn't started yet anyway). Walking back towards the carousel I saw, across the room, a petite woman with dark hair, with a little girl on each hand, walking away from me. I thought that might be Christa (although I didn't know she was bringing her girls with her, so I wasn't sure)... when they came back around I recognized them, and pretty much ran/skipped all the way over. We'd been waiting for the chance to meet for years and it'd finally come! :) After getting my bags, we all headed out together. Both girls (Rachel, 5, and Maggie, 3) were pretty quiet but interested in everything around them--a trip to the airport was novel for them! Christa explained that bringing them was a last minute thing. We were going to stop by her house before heading to Cincinnati, anyway, so it didn't change any plans. I'm not too used to being around kids, but these two were both very nice and well-behaved so I didn't have any reason to feel antsy. ;) We stopped for lunch on the way home, and Rachel wanted to hold my hand to walk through the parking lot, which I thought was sweet. :) At lunch, I got a real chance to see the girls' personalities--there were certain things Christa had told me about them that were immediately evident, like Rachel being very mature and logical for her age, and Maggie's tendency to "study" you... not like when you catch the kid at the next table staring at you all menacingly, but just like... trying to figure you out.
Back at Christa's house, Rachel showed me around, pointing out her drum set and the blue kiss that she had taped to her bed. The girls are home schooled, so they have a classroom, which I thought was just so neat. It had a wooden floor, and two desks, and pinups of work the girls had done. Rachel had an art piece on the bedroom door she'd made with Christa, of an aquarium, and she dutifully told me which fish were hers and which were Mommy's. Rachel and Maggie wanted to play outside, but Christa and I had to get going, since Cincinnati was a couple hours away and we didn't want to get there too late. Somewhere in here I briefly met Christa's husband, Joel, but most of my time there was following Rachel around. ;) The girls were preoccupied with picking out some of their Halloween candy when it was time to go, and fortunately neither of them fussed at all about their mom leaving without them. It was really nice to meet Christa's family... originally, we were going to go straight from the airport to Cincy, but Plan B turned out really well. :) Then Christa and I set off!
Christa and Jen go to Cincinnati.
Since the Blue Man show wasn't until the next night, we didn't have to stress out about being anywhere "on time," so the drive was pretty leisurely and we chatted the whole way, of course. Christa is my best friend, which is sort of ironic since we'd never met in person (or even talked on the phone!)... but she is someone I can tell ANYTHING, and who I connect with on a really deep level. We're a lot alike in many ways, and completely understand each other, right down to our tendency to write ridiculously long and rambling e-mails. ;) I was a little bit nervous about meeting her for the first time, hoping we'd "click" as much in person as we do online... but I was pretty sure we would. We did. :)
Photo from Christa
When we got to Cincy we drove around the block a few times before figuring out exactly where we needed to be to park for our hotel. The hotel was "The Grand Suites" or something like that, and the staff there were super nice and helpful. The first room we got was a smoking room, and the hostess helped us get into a non-smoking room, no problem. She even escorted us and pulled my bag for me (totally unnecessary, but nice!). We had a huge room, with separate bedrooms, a living/dining room, and a kitchen (for to make brownies in, haha). Christa said it was the same price as a single bed/bedroom, so why not? ;) We lazed around a bit and talked some more for a while, and opened the window for some fresh air. We were surprised at its total lack of SCREEN or limited opening-space... we were on the 15th floor or something, and it was a long way down. But it was kind of neat to be able to open up the window and look out over the city (even though it was a pretty small/casual kind of city). Eventually we decided to have dinner at Benihana, several blocks away. Although it was (obviously) less fancy than the Vegas version, the food was still great, and our chef was pretty entertaining. He did something I hadn't seen before... instead of making the onion-dome light on fire (although he may have done that too), he made it smoke, then pushed it along and made choo-choo noises, hehehe. Christa and I sat on one end, and the rest of the diners at our table were together. A couple with two young girls, and what appeared to be their older son and his girlfriend (high schoolers, maybe, although they were both seemed more mature than your typical high-schoolers). The youngest girl (maybe 4-ish?) was hilarious because she was just all over the place... at one point she grabbed her chopsticks and made a stabbing motion with them, yelling this crazy war cry that made Christa and I look at each other like "whoa!" before cracking up. Towards the end of the meal the dad made this little speech congratulating the older kids on their hard work and grades, or something like that. And we thought, aww, what a nice family! Hehe.
After dinner we headed back to the hotel to make brownies (for the BMG folk on tour--I guess Clem asked for brownies, haha--not that we didn't take a couple for ourselves), and split a bottle of wine. We talked, we laughed, we cried, we hugged. :) It was so natural to hang out with Christa, and we're so close... the only bad thing is that we can't hang out like that on a regular basis!
Day of the Blue Mans
Sunday, the day of the show, we had to check out of our hotel around noon. We killed a whole bunch of time in Starbucks, since it was chilly and raining, and not the kind of weather that's all that nice to walk around in. We didn't really need anything to "do" anyway, since it was enough for us to just have the chance to talk. As show time approached we walked back to the parking garage, making a stop at Macy's to use their bathroom, which was huge and had a whole couch in it. I thought that was weird, and for some reason Christa decided to take a picture of me sitting on it. So here's me sitting on a couch in a Macy's bathroom! Betcha that's not gonna happen again, haha.
Totally RANDOM photo from Christa
Before the show, we headed to a nearby bar to meet up with Janny (JannyBlue), Andy (SirPepsi), and any other fans that showed up (though no one else did). The kitchen there was closed so we ordered a pizza, and chatted over drinks. Both Christa and I already knew Janny and Andy so it was a good chance for everyone to catch up. I don't know if the pizza that was eventually delivered was actually that good, but to me it was AMAZING 'cause by then I was so damn hungry!! By the time we'd finished eating it was time to head over for the show.
Another happy Christa/Jen photo from Andy!
At the arena, Christa and I opted to skip Mike Relm's set. He's talented and has a unique thing going, but his set just really makes my eyes/brain hurt, haha--especially if I'm right up front, next to the speakers. We could hear his music/scratching perfectly fine from the hallways, anyhow. In the meantime, I got a couple Smirnoffs (kind of lame, but better than beer, hehe), and snagged a pair of sweet WRISTBANDS from the merch counter. Totally dorky, so, perfect for me. They're black, with the BMG logo and little stars in red. I wore them with pride. Actually, maybe it was more the alcohol (including the apple martini I'd had at the bar earlier) than the wristbands, but I felt ready to ROCK OUT. Flashing the Floppie handpuppet felt a lot cooler with those wristbands. Or something.
The Megastar show
I had so much fun at this show... it was probably one of the most fun tour shows I've ever been to. I'm sure part of it was reveling in being up close after trying the "cheap seats" at my last tour show, but it was also exciting to be sharing it with Christa. :) There was one part in the show... I can't remember if it was in the LEDs or voiceover to make animal noises (???), but anyway, Christa and I ran with it. I just remember her neighing, and me cracking. the. hell. up. Hahahah! We didn't have seats with Janny and Andy, but they were right across the aisle from us. :) Anyway, the show was kind of one big flashy blur, but here are a few things I remember, and some of Andy's photos (the rest can be found at his website):
---The Blue Men were Jeremy, Frankel, and Marc with a C. [Since there is a Mark and a Marc, that's just how I ended up thinking of those two, haha.] Here they are with guitarist Julian (left to right: Marc with a C, Frankel, Jeremy):
---Being up front really makes the tour shine... all the visual effects have extra punch, you can see everyone's faces, and you can really feel the bass. It was exciting to be in the middle of things again, because when I sat up on the side (even though it was still fairly close), I found it lacking.
---The crowd was really good! Right from the get-go they were pumped, and anytime the cellphones came out, a LOT of people were waving them around. :) This all by itself was a big part of why the show was so fun!
---I found that making a point to not pay attention to the screens made the whole experience better for me, because I could focus more on the performers' energy, and the songs themselves. Having the lyrics written out can be good since it's hard to make them out in arena settings, but when you already know them it can be sort of distracting I think. So I let the screen blend in with the other visual effects.
---I like the Latinized version of "Singalong." It's catchy, and I think it's better suited for the new male vocalist who doesn't have the eerie "dark side" that Peter Moore can invoke. Both vocalists (Phil and Adrian) were pretty on target that night, too. :)
---One of my very favorite tour things is... the AIRPOLES, especially when they do dueling airpoles. Swishy.
---Jeremy was most definitely "the cute one" of this trio (even though they changed the wording in the pelvic dance part to "the sexiest one among you" instead of "cutest among you")... he just wiggles his way through the show. Whenever he'd stand still for a second, he seemed to make up for it with a little wiggle-dance before going off to do whatever he was supposed to be doing. Hehehe. D'awwww.
---The guy who announced the band was so nervous that he couldn't read straight, seeming to struggle with almost every line. For the first band member introduction, he said "Jeff... oh I gotta spell this out... T-O-R...T...R-A..." (wrong spelling, by the way, hehe) This made the "insert city" joke especially funny because it came off as a completely honest mistake, which the guy corrected when he (slowly) realized the trick.
---I can't remember if it was during band intros or at the end of the show, but at some point Jeff noticed us cheering for him and flashed back the Floppie handpuppet. Haha! We felt special. The rock star acknowledged us! woooo!! ;)
---During the last song, when everybody stands up, Christa shifted over into the aisle (she had the end seat), so we both had a lot of room and jumped/danced around like crazy!! I don't remember ever being so pumped and dorky at a show, LOL. It was so much fun, and I completely tired myself out. Haha!
The Meet and Greet
After the show, the four of us had passes for the meet and greet, so we hung around by the soundboard with the other guests until we were led backstage. It wasn't long before the performers filtered in. First we spent a little time with Frankel. I'd never seen/met him but since he's from Chicago, Janny and Andy knew him pretty well, and he hung around with us a bit. I got a long-arm shot with him, and a few minutes later his hand was (randomly) reaching out towards my face to put blue on me, but I hadn't been paying attention and only saw this out of the corner of my eye, so my instinctive reaction was to DUCK, LOL! I felt silly for hiding, but it was cute that he tried. ;)
When I spotted Mike Burns (guitar), I said to him, "hey, you're great! See, I got you this time!" This is because last time, I saw him and MK at the same time, and told MK he was great--which I said to MK specifically because it was my first time seeing him, but I accidentally like, ignored Mike in the same breath. Apologized for my awkwardness right away, but I still felt a little bad, haha. This was only a couple weeks before, so I think Mike knew what I meant when I said this, and chuckled. I told him how in the seats we had, I could actually see the entire band this time. :)
We also talked with Jeff (drums) and Todd (drum set) quite a bit, though I don't remember what about, specifically. Probably I was just listening to everyone else talk with them, and/or being all fangirl at them. I know Todd and Jeff a lot better than the rest of the band (have talked with each of them several times over the years), so I'm not so shy with them as with the other band guys. And they're both so nice and welcoming. :) Apparently I was so busy chatting with them, that I never got around to getting any photos with Marc or Jeremy (although I already have a good one with Jeremy from another show), but I did end up in a photo with Jeff! Yay!
Photos from Andy. That's Todd and Janny, then the girls with Jeff.
At some point, Jeff said to me "oh, Russell is on your shirt!" It took me a minute to remember I happened to be wearing my "The Job" t-shirt (which has former Vegas Blue Man Russell printed on it)... I actually hadn't planned on taking off my long-sleeved shirt, so I didn't expect anyone to see Russell (haha), but I was too hot after that jumping around to bundle back up right away! ;) Anyway, Jeff said that he hadn't seen Russell in a long time, and should give him a call. :) So maybe some good came out of me being a TOTAL DORK.
As the Blue Men were leaving, Marc with a C goofed around a bit, randomly opening some big cooler by the door, and then sitting on top of it. He was staying very much in character and it was pretty funny. When Jeremy walked by, I intercepted him and gave him a hug. I think I told him something about his dancing being great, "as usual." He gave a hint of a smile (the kind that is mostly in the eyes and only just barely in the lips), and seemed like he remembered me... He doesn't really talk in meet and greets, though, so I can never quite tell. He didn't seem to think I was crazy for randomly hugging him, anyway. ;)
As usual we MB fans were the last ones out of the meet and greet room. Jeff and a couple others (but especially Jeff) hung around with us in the hallway for a while, chatting. Just about whatever. :) I do remember him and Todd saying they would be continuing with the tour in 2008. I won't see the tour show next go-round... but they are both awesome. If there is ever a Megastar DVD, I hope those two are on it. :D
Saying goodbyes
When we finally left the arena (after snapping a couple group photos with Janny and Andy... with Janny holding her program upside down unwittingly--LOL!), we ended up chatting outside for quite a while before parting ways... I mostly talked with Janny, talking about my plans for the future and hoping to move out to Vegas, and how it was this crazy thing but I thought I could do it, and SHOULD do it sooner rather than later lest I lose my chance... etc. etc. Janny is so sweet and supportive and it was really nice to talk with her about it. :)
Photos from Andy
Alas though, it got late, and we had to go.
Christa and I drove up to Columbus, where we'd gotten a hotel room so we wouldn't have to hang out in the car 'til morning, hehe. I'd meant to at least take a nap, but we were so intent on clinging to our last hours together that we didn't sleep at ALL, instead staying up talking about whatever we hadn't already gotten around to talking about. ;) When she brought me to the airport, we sat on a bench just outside security, only to delay the goodbye a few more minutes. It was sad, and a little teary, but I didn't get as emotional as I might have, had I not been in insomniac mode and trying not to fall asleep on my feet... I still hated to say goodbye though, and I hope it's not too long before we meet again--to put it mildly!!!
The flight home was fine, though it felt like a long time waiting at the gate (sitting in the line for my boarding group, dozing off now and again). I do find it interesting to people watch at airports though, so I wasn't bored, just tired. I half-dozed through the flight, and when I got back I had to drive back to NY. I took my time, only driving a short way before stopping at a McDonald's for some food and coffee--I miraculously pulled in seconds before two buses full of elderly tourists, and managed to get my order before they piled into the restaurant--thank goodness! I really needed that coffee, haha. At the first rest stop I took a good long nap, then did the rest of the trip in pieces so I'd get home safely. It was pretty exhausting, and as soon as I got home I went straight to sleep! Travel-wise the trip was a little crazy, but it was definitely worth it. :) I like traveling, so really the only bad part was how tiring it was (I don't mind extra driving)... and even so it was wonderful to finally meet Christa! That was the best part of the weekend hands down, although everything/everyone else was great too. :) So, yay! My first ever trip to Ohio was a success! ;)