Santa Monica will never be the same, or, that time I met the Mighty Boosh . . .
Greetings, flist. It's been a short and intense weekend. T-Rex and I went to Santa Monica for Festival Supreme!
As you might have guessed from my previous post, I got to meet Noel Fielding and Lliana Bird. But actually, I got to meet the whole Mighty Boosh troop of boys! Unfortunately, jetlag meant my brain wasn't quick-witted enough to get more than the one selfie with Noel and Lliana. And they were all so tired and jetlagged that it tempered my desire to fling questions at them. I'm grateful that they talked with me at all, under the circumstances. And immensely grateful to the fellow TVOer Trixie who actually acquired the meet-and-greet photos and allowed me to tag along.
As I explained to bluestocking79 earlier, it felt a bit like herding cats. And it feels more like a dream now than reality. Mike came up to me first and gave me a great big hug and then Julian sat down at a little table and gave us focused attention. He gave me a hug and I gave him a pin of a jazz crawfish. As I looked into his eyes (a moment I'll never forget) I saw that he had bags the size of a small child under them. It was a kind of magic just sitting there and smiling at him. But then Trixie gave him some things to sign and I was onto the next person. Olly Ralfe remembered me, and so did Rich Fulcher! We joked that he didn't have to travel to get to the gig and then he showed some genuine concern that T-Rex and I had walked 30 minutes to Trixie's hotel because "only homeless people walk in LA." But I told him I run a homeless shelter and he was all "Oh! You'll be fine then."
Next up Noel sat down with Trixie and she asked about the Luxury Comedy DVDs. He said he was hopeful of them coming out soon. But then he quickly got up and went to the stage before I could talk to him. Like I said, it felt like herding cats. I didn't want to lose my moment, though, so I called him over from the stage and gave him a gift (this small necklace of a replica metal adapter for 45' records). I had to explain to him what it was, and that I picked it out because I know he likes music. Then I told him I had something for his girlfriend and he shot up, asking if I wanted to meet her. He quickly ran backstage and I took that moment to walk up on stage. Dave gave me a hand, and then we had a mock "pissing contest" about who had worse jetlag (he won).
Then Lliana came out and she was so so SO gracious. She "knew" me from twitter, and brightened up even more. I gave her a pair of earrings that I'd made from actual plastic 45' record adapters, and once I explained what they were, it clicked and she told me she just came from a record fair and a lot of 45's were featured. (She's a professional DJ). Just then, Noel trotted back up and she showed him the earrings and he said "Look what I got!" like a little kid, pulling the necklace out of his pocket. She asked if I minded that she borrow it and I said "Of course not! That's what couples do! I borrow my boyfriend's t-shirts all the time." And she giggled "Yeah! I borrow his jewelry, he borrows my dresses..." We all giggled together and then I got the picture of us.
Noel asked if I was sure if I wanted the picture. I gathered he was feeling very self-conscious about his stubble and kept hiding behind his hair! He made himself very small the way he stood (toes together, hands in pockets, head down) an reminded me, all at once, of a 5 year old child, a teenage burnout, and a teenage girl. In other words - totally himself.
Then the organizers asked us to all stand on the stage for a group photos. I shouted "Short people in front!" and Mike gave me such a grin. We totally bonded over our stature.
Nobody knew where to look, as there were several cameras, and I had to tell Noel not to worry because nobody knew. But while we were all standing frozen and smiling, he kept whispering stuff into my ear to make me laugh. :) :) :)
Here is the group picture.
One last sweet, soft hug and kiss goodbye from Noel and in a flash, it was all over and onto the show. There were several warm-up acts (including Bobcat Goldthwait who was really funny!). Trixie and I sat in the front seat, and the Comedy Store people were gracious enough to allow T-Rex to join us there. We were treated to a full hour set, and it was amaaaazing. How they mustered the energy, I don't know. But it was a pull-all-the-stops-out performance! At one point, "Old Gregg" took a sip from a prop bottle of Bailey's and Noel spit it out declaring surprise that it was ACTUAL Bailey's. (Ju took a confirmatory sip and made a funny face as one does sometimes when alcohol hits the throat). Noel actually spit on me and apologized, followed by a joking comment about getting it all over my "tits". When I texted elrina753 to tell her, she joked that I now had enough DNA to clone Noel. When I mentioned that it was mixed with Bailey's, and that I'd probably wind up with Old Gregg, she said "AND YOU'LL STILL LOVE IT!" (She's not wrong)!
Alas, photos weren't allowed at the charity gig. And T-Rex was sadly blocked from bringing his really good super zoom camera into Festival Supreme (which is TOTAL BS because we later saw other people with the same camera because security got tired of telling people no). But the Boosh's half-hour set was just as exciting (if regrettably shorter than the night before) and the Mighty Tent was PACKED with fans.
Never in my life, flist, did I think I would get to see them live - let alone meet them. I feel extremely lucky.
I also have the best boyfriend in the world. At one point during the Festival show, some nutter body-checked me and crashed his way through the crowd in an attempt to get one of Noel's drawings (who was tossing them into the audience). T-Rex physically shoved him out of my way and Trixie got him to calm down by scolding him like he was a five year old. Noel was smart enough to stop tossing drawings when he saw what was going on.
Of course, there were other exciting acts in addition to The Boosh. Garfunkel and Oates were hilarious. Reggie Watts wooed the crowds. And seeing Eric Idle sing was truly a once-in-a-lifetime event. Billy Idol came on stage in mock confusion that he was the one booked for the show, and joined in for Eric's final song.
All told, it was an exhausting but gratifying weekend. I got to see mandybling again, got to meet Trixie, and got out of town to another dimension!
Oh yeah, here's a few photos for the tl;dr among you. ;-) (All pics in this entry are clickable thumbnails that will take you to flickr).
T-Rex and I get a couple of pics in together
We could hear The Boosh warming up in the distance!
Then the pier got super foggy
Billy Idol and Eric Idle!
Reggie Watts (and his dancers) OWNED the crowd
Mandy and Me!
The BOOOOOSH!!! (Also see my review at The Velvet Onion and the entire photo set here
As you might have guessed from my previous post, I got to meet Noel Fielding and Lliana Bird. But actually, I got to meet the whole Mighty Boosh troop of boys! Unfortunately, jetlag meant my brain wasn't quick-witted enough to get more than the one selfie with Noel and Lliana. And they were all so tired and jetlagged that it tempered my desire to fling questions at them. I'm grateful that they talked with me at all, under the circumstances. And immensely grateful to the fellow TVOer Trixie who actually acquired the meet-and-greet photos and allowed me to tag along.
As I explained to bluestocking79 earlier, it felt a bit like herding cats. And it feels more like a dream now than reality. Mike came up to me first and gave me a great big hug and then Julian sat down at a little table and gave us focused attention. He gave me a hug and I gave him a pin of a jazz crawfish. As I looked into his eyes (a moment I'll never forget) I saw that he had bags the size of a small child under them. It was a kind of magic just sitting there and smiling at him. But then Trixie gave him some things to sign and I was onto the next person. Olly Ralfe remembered me, and so did Rich Fulcher! We joked that he didn't have to travel to get to the gig and then he showed some genuine concern that T-Rex and I had walked 30 minutes to Trixie's hotel because "only homeless people walk in LA." But I told him I run a homeless shelter and he was all "Oh! You'll be fine then."
Next up Noel sat down with Trixie and she asked about the Luxury Comedy DVDs. He said he was hopeful of them coming out soon. But then he quickly got up and went to the stage before I could talk to him. Like I said, it felt like herding cats. I didn't want to lose my moment, though, so I called him over from the stage and gave him a gift (this small necklace of a replica metal adapter for 45' records). I had to explain to him what it was, and that I picked it out because I know he likes music. Then I told him I had something for his girlfriend and he shot up, asking if I wanted to meet her. He quickly ran backstage and I took that moment to walk up on stage. Dave gave me a hand, and then we had a mock "pissing contest" about who had worse jetlag (he won).
Then Lliana came out and she was so so SO gracious. She "knew" me from twitter, and brightened up even more. I gave her a pair of earrings that I'd made from actual plastic 45' record adapters, and once I explained what they were, it clicked and she told me she just came from a record fair and a lot of 45's were featured. (She's a professional DJ). Just then, Noel trotted back up and she showed him the earrings and he said "Look what I got!" like a little kid, pulling the necklace out of his pocket. She asked if I minded that she borrow it and I said "Of course not! That's what couples do! I borrow my boyfriend's t-shirts all the time." And she giggled "Yeah! I borrow his jewelry, he borrows my dresses..." We all giggled together and then I got the picture of us.
Noel asked if I was sure if I wanted the picture. I gathered he was feeling very self-conscious about his stubble and kept hiding behind his hair! He made himself very small the way he stood (toes together, hands in pockets, head down) an reminded me, all at once, of a 5 year old child, a teenage burnout, and a teenage girl. In other words - totally himself.
Then the organizers asked us to all stand on the stage for a group photos. I shouted "Short people in front!" and Mike gave me such a grin. We totally bonded over our stature.
Nobody knew where to look, as there were several cameras, and I had to tell Noel not to worry because nobody knew. But while we were all standing frozen and smiling, he kept whispering stuff into my ear to make me laugh. :) :) :)
Here is the group picture.
One last sweet, soft hug and kiss goodbye from Noel and in a flash, it was all over and onto the show. There were several warm-up acts (including Bobcat Goldthwait who was really funny!). Trixie and I sat in the front seat, and the Comedy Store people were gracious enough to allow T-Rex to join us there. We were treated to a full hour set, and it was amaaaazing. How they mustered the energy, I don't know. But it was a pull-all-the-stops-out performance! At one point, "Old Gregg" took a sip from a prop bottle of Bailey's and Noel spit it out declaring surprise that it was ACTUAL Bailey's. (Ju took a confirmatory sip and made a funny face as one does sometimes when alcohol hits the throat). Noel actually spit on me and apologized, followed by a joking comment about getting it all over my "tits". When I texted elrina753 to tell her, she joked that I now had enough DNA to clone Noel. When I mentioned that it was mixed with Bailey's, and that I'd probably wind up with Old Gregg, she said "AND YOU'LL STILL LOVE IT!" (She's not wrong)!
Alas, photos weren't allowed at the charity gig. And T-Rex was sadly blocked from bringing his really good super zoom camera into Festival Supreme (which is TOTAL BS because we later saw other people with the same camera because security got tired of telling people no). But the Boosh's half-hour set was just as exciting (if regrettably shorter than the night before) and the Mighty Tent was PACKED with fans.
Never in my life, flist, did I think I would get to see them live - let alone meet them. I feel extremely lucky.
I also have the best boyfriend in the world. At one point during the Festival show, some nutter body-checked me and crashed his way through the crowd in an attempt to get one of Noel's drawings (who was tossing them into the audience). T-Rex physically shoved him out of my way and Trixie got him to calm down by scolding him like he was a five year old. Noel was smart enough to stop tossing drawings when he saw what was going on.
Of course, there were other exciting acts in addition to The Boosh. Garfunkel and Oates were hilarious. Reggie Watts wooed the crowds. And seeing Eric Idle sing was truly a once-in-a-lifetime event. Billy Idol came on stage in mock confusion that he was the one booked for the show, and joined in for Eric's final song.
All told, it was an exhausting but gratifying weekend. I got to see mandybling again, got to meet Trixie, and got out of town to another dimension!
Oh yeah, here's a few photos for the tl;dr among you. ;-) (All pics in this entry are clickable thumbnails that will take you to flickr).
T-Rex and I get a couple of pics in together
We could hear The Boosh warming up in the distance!
Then the pier got super foggy
Billy Idol and Eric Idle!
Reggie Watts (and his dancers) OWNED the crowd
Mandy and Me!
The BOOOOOSH!!! (Also see my review at The Velvet Onion and the entire photo set here