(no subject)
I went to see Ghost of the Robot last weekend. SHORT-ish report, this time. (AND MY FLIST CHEERS! I heard that. :-P)
It was a dark and stormy night. Haha. I always wanted to start a report that way. And it's kind of accurate. It was raining buckets all day and night. I expected that, so I came prepared with rain boots, puffy jacket, warm hat, umbrella and such. I didn't know I'd need all that inside though. Here, have a pic of the tiny stage area before we were let in. Notice the trash barrel set up there to catch the rain leaking through the ceiling. See that guitar there on the stage? That's the area where I ended up standing. There was no leaking there at that point. I had my jacket off and all was fine. Then I started feeling the occasional drips. Then more. It got so bad I had to put on my puffy jacket. By the end of the set, I was pretty well doused. In some vids I took, I can hear the rain falling onto my camera. lol Makes this the weirdest concert ever. And am I ever glad that my camera has weather sealing. Otherwise, it'd be dead Jim, and I'd be rather cross. (ETA: It has occurred to me that people who don't know the original Star Trek series wouldn't get the "dead Jim" reference. In short, Dr. McCoy had a habit of saying, "He's dead, Jim," usually about people in red shirts. So sometimes I say something is "dead Jim" when it's kaput. So there there you go, non-Star Trek fans! :-D)
Before I get to the exciting James-shaped portion of this report, I've got to note something I noticed while waiting in line. And that is: Taking a photo of oanimation is not easy. One would think it would be. But it's not. Every time I raised my cell, her evil umbrella would dip down. WHAT'S THAT ABOUT?
But anyway! Moving along! James arrived about 5:45pm or so. His fiancée was there with him, which was nice to see. We chatted a bit while she unloaded things from the car. Would have offered to help, but it looked like they had it all under control. SO THEN! Operation Get Angela The Freaking Set List went into effect. Mwahaha! At this point, she's hiding under an umbrella somewhere. Haha. No actually, she's inside next to a fireplace, where all the smart peeps were. Which was great because she couldn't see what was afoot outside! Patti and I went up to James and talked to him about how nifty it would be if Angela got the set list as a Christmas gift (Hey, she's been in this fandom forever, but she's never gotten one. That's just so wrong.) He said he knew who Angela was, and it was a great idea. Yay James! After some back and forth about how it would go down (hopefully), I moved on to another subject. That is, trying to get James and GotR to perform at the San Diego IndieFest next year. (Yes, that's the [blank blank something something] I had been talking about in my Boston post. I wasn't going to say what it was until I knew if it would happen, but observant peeps on FaceBook who read a certain post by one of the IndieFest organizers on the GotR page have probably already figured it out: "Hope we get have GoTR at IndieFest 2011! Sending love from San Diego." :-D) So anyway, we talked about that a bit, and he moved inside to get ready for the concert.
Also talked with Charlie. He gave us a bracelet to wear in memory of his girlfriend Megan (it says WWMW which he said meant "What would Megan want".) She recently passed away in an accident. I told him how I'd only met her briefly at the last gig when she helped me choose which size GotR t-shirt to get, but she impressed me as a very friendly and sweet person. Lovely, both inside and out. I gave him a hug and told him how sorry I was. In a moving gesture, James later dedicated the concert to her.
The first band to perform was Sullivan's group, Mars Police. Formerly known as Electric Gold. They've added a fourth member, and did about 8 songs. They're really coming along, and this time had percussion (Sullivan kneeling on the floor with sticks), and a keyboard.
Check them out. Unplanned situation! Aaron Anderson joins them on drums during part of the song. (Aaack, I had the wrong link there. It's fixed now.) Thanks to mrmole for coming through again with the vids.
Mars Police. Sullivan Marsters, Cody Hayden, Daniel (their newest member) and PJ Muncie.
Here's a better pic of Sullivan. He moved to my side of the stage for a while.
After their set, I went back to the merchandise table to buy another GotR t-shirt (can't wear the one I had signed, can I? ;-D) They were all there, so I asked about them adding another person, wondering if that was permanent (it is). And asked who wrote the music (Sullivan and I think it was Cody who said he also writes some. I hope I got that right.) Also asked who came up with the name change (Sullivan did). Told them they were all awesome (which they are). And got my t-shirt!
The GotR gig is all YouTubed. Yay!
Part 1 (This Town, Runaway)
Part 2 (Goodbye, First Love, Layabout, Civilized Man)
Part 3 (Dangerous, Dance Slow, For What I Need. And featuring Angela getting all embarrassed! :-D)
Part 4 (Button Down Vandals, Moonshot, Truth is a Heavy Stone, Angel)
Part 5 (Smile, David Letterman, Punky's Dilemma (Paul Simon cover))
Part 6 (If This is Love, Looking at You, Fall of Night, All That She Wanted)
If This is Love is a new song (in part 6), never before sung in public. It's quite beautiful, I think.
Part 3 shows James telling Angela that she's going to be getting the set list. I thought it was great that everyone was all supportive and "Yay!" when he said that. \o/ But just so you all know, we did NOT threaten to hurt James. LOL Funny man. That part is also fun because he's introducing his son Sullivan "A young man who I originated." Haha. And name drops Demi Lovato. Kevin McPherson (bassist for GotR) also plays bass for her.
Life lesson learned for James: Don't use ballpoint pen for writing the set list. Too hard to read.
Angela uploaded a pic of the very hard to read set list here.
James having a great time. Also, I thought I'd share the joy that was the lighting at The Central. It was pretty gruesome. I think they forgot to turn on the spot lights (although the walls were very prettily lit. ::glares::) They finally got some sort of red lighting, which was marginally better than the previous darkness.
And Sullivan joins them. Quick quiz: Who in this pic is proud of whom? You have .3 seconds to answer. Write legibly. :-D
Trying to get Sullivan all hooked up. Apparently, not so easy.
Well, OK. ADORABLE. (Do men mind being called adorable? They really shouldn't if they do.)
Making pretty music together. From left to right: Charlie DeMars, James Awesome Marsters, Aaron Anderson (hiding behind the drums), Kevin McPherson, and Sullivan Marsters.
James clapping for his son here:
ETA: Someone asked for the lyrics of If This is Love. I've done my best to transcribe it off the vid I took. I really love this song.
Screencap from my vid. Kevin and Aaron start it off with some bass and drums.
If This is Love (by James Marsters)
If this is love why are you standing there
Across the room looking away
I've loved you since I met you
A time ago
If this is love why won't you look at me
So you can see my tears
I want to hold you
Even though I can't stand to see you cry
Well don't say goodbye
And go ahead and leave me
Don't make me cry
I stand alone
If you fly away and leave me and go home I will die
If this is love
Had to leave you when I met you
You were an angel
And I thought I'd die
I thought that heaven was called the Georgian Hotel
Well don't say goodbye
And go ahead and leave me
Don't make me cry
I stand alone
If you fly away and leave me and go home
I will die
If this is love
Now I know that I lost you
But if you fly back to me
I'm gonna be the man you fell for
And put that gold on your slender hand baby
On your slender hand
If this is love
If you haven't had a chance to listen to this one yet, DO. It's just lovely.
Alrighty so, at one point James asked for some water. Me (in my head): HAHAHAHAHA. ::glare:: I'm drenched by that point, and he's asking for water? We look at each other, and I wiped the rivulets running down my face. He got the point, and tipped his head back, mouth open. :-D
Did I mention the weirdness of this gig? Yeah.
Anyway, weirdness aside, GotR rocked! There was a different vibe this time. Of course, with the recent loss of Megan, that's understandable. It was really good to see Charlie there, being strong. James mentioned a couple of times that this gig really meant a lot to him. I'm happy it went so well, for him and for all of us.
After the set, I headed to the back of the room where the merchandise table was. Patricia was there so I decided now was the perfect time to give her the festive M&M thingy with antlers that I'd gotten for her. Actually, I got one for her and one for James. Aw they're so cute, I took a pic.
She loved it, and gave me a hug, and wished me Merry Christmas too. She then starting nomming on it. Which you know, makes a whole lot of sense! We talked a bit about the concert. We both thought it was great. I asked about the new song, and she told me the name, which I wasn't sure of. I told her I thought it was beautiful. She agreed. I knew she was busy with the merchandise, so I let her get back to that. I then talked to James, who was standing right there next to the table, and we talked again about the IndieFest. Had a nice long talk this time, which was good because I needed to have some things clarified. In the end, I gave him a big hug and told him I love him. He returned the hug and said he loves me too. I then gave him his M&M thingy. He wanted to eat the plastic antlers. /o\ But apparently decided the real candy inside would be better. :-D
Later on when I went into the bar area, James was there and looking like he was was planning on leaving. He was hugging peeps, and saw me and stepped over to hug me too, and kissed me on the cheek. He then brought up the IndieFest again, and said he would do [something something] (Sorry, there I go again! I suck once more!) which made me happy. (No, I still don't know whether he's going to be at the IndieFest or not.) And while he's talking, he's caressing my hip. NOT THAT I NOTICED OR ANYTHING. lol I'm sure he didn't even know he was doing it. You know how that is, right? :-D
Anyway! That was the last I saw of him that night. I went around to the other guys in the band, and also Sullivan and his group, and gave them all M&M thingies (different than what I gave Patricia and James) that have a twirly plastic M&M on top. Aren't stocking stuffers with delicious chocolate inside awesome? I think so. They all seemed to love them. I was bummed though because I didn't know that Mars Police had added a person, so I ran out. I hope they shared with the one who didn't get one. ;-)
And that ends the tale. (The next day, I was never so happy to stay in my warm, DRY bed forever and ever, amen.)
Big thanks to seapealsh for the DELICIOUS cupcake. She came to the gig with copious amounts of cupcakes, including one called Fudgey Yummy just for me, which makes her massively awesome. Thanks also to wrigglerosie for the lovely ornament shaped like a Christmas pudding! So cute! And thank you, sintonia for the virtual holiday cookies and milk! ETA: Aw, thanks so much seductivembrace for the adorable Santa Bear! xoxo
Sending much love and good wishes to my friend's list. May you all have a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Festive New Year! ::hugs::
It was a dark and stormy night. Haha. I always wanted to start a report that way. And it's kind of accurate. It was raining buckets all day and night. I expected that, so I came prepared with rain boots, puffy jacket, warm hat, umbrella and such. I didn't know I'd need all that inside though. Here, have a pic of the tiny stage area before we were let in. Notice the trash barrel set up there to catch the rain leaking through the ceiling. See that guitar there on the stage? That's the area where I ended up standing. There was no leaking there at that point. I had my jacket off and all was fine. Then I started feeling the occasional drips. Then more. It got so bad I had to put on my puffy jacket. By the end of the set, I was pretty well doused. In some vids I took, I can hear the rain falling onto my camera. lol Makes this the weirdest concert ever. And am I ever glad that my camera has weather sealing. Otherwise, it'd be dead Jim, and I'd be rather cross. (ETA: It has occurred to me that people who don't know the original Star Trek series wouldn't get the "dead Jim" reference. In short, Dr. McCoy had a habit of saying, "He's dead, Jim," usually about people in red shirts. So sometimes I say something is "dead Jim" when it's kaput. So there there you go, non-Star Trek fans! :-D)
Before I get to the exciting James-shaped portion of this report, I've got to note something I noticed while waiting in line. And that is: Taking a photo of oanimation is not easy. One would think it would be. But it's not. Every time I raised my cell, her evil umbrella would dip down. WHAT'S THAT ABOUT?
But anyway! Moving along! James arrived about 5:45pm or so. His fiancée was there with him, which was nice to see. We chatted a bit while she unloaded things from the car. Would have offered to help, but it looked like they had it all under control. SO THEN! Operation Get Angela The Freaking Set List went into effect. Mwahaha! At this point, she's hiding under an umbrella somewhere. Haha. No actually, she's inside next to a fireplace, where all the smart peeps were. Which was great because she couldn't see what was afoot outside! Patti and I went up to James and talked to him about how nifty it would be if Angela got the set list as a Christmas gift (Hey, she's been in this fandom forever, but she's never gotten one. That's just so wrong.) He said he knew who Angela was, and it was a great idea. Yay James! After some back and forth about how it would go down (hopefully), I moved on to another subject. That is, trying to get James and GotR to perform at the San Diego IndieFest next year. (Yes, that's the [blank blank something something] I had been talking about in my Boston post. I wasn't going to say what it was until I knew if it would happen, but observant peeps on FaceBook who read a certain post by one of the IndieFest organizers on the GotR page have probably already figured it out: "Hope we get have GoTR at IndieFest 2011! Sending love from San Diego." :-D) So anyway, we talked about that a bit, and he moved inside to get ready for the concert.
Also talked with Charlie. He gave us a bracelet to wear in memory of his girlfriend Megan (it says WWMW which he said meant "What would Megan want".) She recently passed away in an accident. I told him how I'd only met her briefly at the last gig when she helped me choose which size GotR t-shirt to get, but she impressed me as a very friendly and sweet person. Lovely, both inside and out. I gave him a hug and told him how sorry I was. In a moving gesture, James later dedicated the concert to her.
The first band to perform was Sullivan's group, Mars Police. Formerly known as Electric Gold. They've added a fourth member, and did about 8 songs. They're really coming along, and this time had percussion (Sullivan kneeling on the floor with sticks), and a keyboard.
Check them out. Unplanned situation! Aaron Anderson joins them on drums during part of the song. (Aaack, I had the wrong link there. It's fixed now.) Thanks to mrmole for coming through again with the vids.
Mars Police. Sullivan Marsters, Cody Hayden, Daniel (their newest member) and PJ Muncie.
Here's a better pic of Sullivan. He moved to my side of the stage for a while.
After their set, I went back to the merchandise table to buy another GotR t-shirt (can't wear the one I had signed, can I? ;-D) They were all there, so I asked about them adding another person, wondering if that was permanent (it is). And asked who wrote the music (Sullivan and I think it was Cody who said he also writes some. I hope I got that right.) Also asked who came up with the name change (Sullivan did). Told them they were all awesome (which they are). And got my t-shirt!
The GotR gig is all YouTubed. Yay!
Part 1 (This Town, Runaway)
Part 2 (Goodbye, First Love, Layabout, Civilized Man)
Part 3 (Dangerous, Dance Slow, For What I Need. And featuring Angela getting all embarrassed! :-D)
Part 4 (Button Down Vandals, Moonshot, Truth is a Heavy Stone, Angel)
Part 5 (Smile, David Letterman, Punky's Dilemma (Paul Simon cover))
Part 6 (If This is Love, Looking at You, Fall of Night, All That She Wanted)
If This is Love is a new song (in part 6), never before sung in public. It's quite beautiful, I think.
Part 3 shows James telling Angela that she's going to be getting the set list. I thought it was great that everyone was all supportive and "Yay!" when he said that. \o/ But just so you all know, we did NOT threaten to hurt James. LOL Funny man. That part is also fun because he's introducing his son Sullivan "A young man who I originated." Haha. And name drops Demi Lovato. Kevin McPherson (bassist for GotR) also plays bass for her.
Life lesson learned for James: Don't use ballpoint pen for writing the set list. Too hard to read.
Angela uploaded a pic of the very hard to read set list here.
James having a great time. Also, I thought I'd share the joy that was the lighting at The Central. It was pretty gruesome. I think they forgot to turn on the spot lights (although the walls were very prettily lit. ::glares::) They finally got some sort of red lighting, which was marginally better than the previous darkness.
And Sullivan joins them. Quick quiz: Who in this pic is proud of whom? You have .3 seconds to answer. Write legibly. :-D
Trying to get Sullivan all hooked up. Apparently, not so easy.
Well, OK. ADORABLE. (Do men mind being called adorable? They really shouldn't if they do.)
Making pretty music together. From left to right: Charlie DeMars, James Awesome Marsters, Aaron Anderson (hiding behind the drums), Kevin McPherson, and Sullivan Marsters.
James clapping for his son here:
ETA: Someone asked for the lyrics of If This is Love. I've done my best to transcribe it off the vid I took. I really love this song.
Screencap from my vid. Kevin and Aaron start it off with some bass and drums.
If This is Love (by James Marsters)
If this is love why are you standing there
Across the room looking away
I've loved you since I met you
A time ago
If this is love why won't you look at me
So you can see my tears
I want to hold you
Even though I can't stand to see you cry
Well don't say goodbye
And go ahead and leave me
Don't make me cry
I stand alone
If you fly away and leave me and go home I will die
If this is love
Had to leave you when I met you
You were an angel
And I thought I'd die
I thought that heaven was called the Georgian Hotel
Well don't say goodbye
And go ahead and leave me
Don't make me cry
I stand alone
If you fly away and leave me and go home
I will die
If this is love
Now I know that I lost you
But if you fly back to me
I'm gonna be the man you fell for
And put that gold on your slender hand baby
On your slender hand
If this is love
If you haven't had a chance to listen to this one yet, DO. It's just lovely.
Alrighty so, at one point James asked for some water. Me (in my head): HAHAHAHAHA. ::glare:: I'm drenched by that point, and he's asking for water? We look at each other, and I wiped the rivulets running down my face. He got the point, and tipped his head back, mouth open. :-D
Did I mention the weirdness of this gig? Yeah.
Anyway, weirdness aside, GotR rocked! There was a different vibe this time. Of course, with the recent loss of Megan, that's understandable. It was really good to see Charlie there, being strong. James mentioned a couple of times that this gig really meant a lot to him. I'm happy it went so well, for him and for all of us.
After the set, I headed to the back of the room where the merchandise table was. Patricia was there so I decided now was the perfect time to give her the festive M&M thingy with antlers that I'd gotten for her. Actually, I got one for her and one for James. Aw they're so cute, I took a pic.
She loved it, and gave me a hug, and wished me Merry Christmas too. She then starting nomming on it. Which you know, makes a whole lot of sense! We talked a bit about the concert. We both thought it was great. I asked about the new song, and she told me the name, which I wasn't sure of. I told her I thought it was beautiful. She agreed. I knew she was busy with the merchandise, so I let her get back to that. I then talked to James, who was standing right there next to the table, and we talked again about the IndieFest. Had a nice long talk this time, which was good because I needed to have some things clarified. In the end, I gave him a big hug and told him I love him. He returned the hug and said he loves me too. I then gave him his M&M thingy. He wanted to eat the plastic antlers. /o\ But apparently decided the real candy inside would be better. :-D
Later on when I went into the bar area, James was there and looking like he was was planning on leaving. He was hugging peeps, and saw me and stepped over to hug me too, and kissed me on the cheek. He then brought up the IndieFest again, and said he would do [something something] (Sorry, there I go again! I suck once more!) which made me happy. (No, I still don't know whether he's going to be at the IndieFest or not.) And while he's talking, he's caressing my hip. NOT THAT I NOTICED OR ANYTHING. lol I'm sure he didn't even know he was doing it. You know how that is, right? :-D
Anyway! That was the last I saw of him that night. I went around to the other guys in the band, and also Sullivan and his group, and gave them all M&M thingies (different than what I gave Patricia and James) that have a twirly plastic M&M on top. Aren't stocking stuffers with delicious chocolate inside awesome? I think so. They all seemed to love them. I was bummed though because I didn't know that Mars Police had added a person, so I ran out. I hope they shared with the one who didn't get one. ;-)
And that ends the tale. (The next day, I was never so happy to stay in my warm, DRY bed forever and ever, amen.)
Big thanks to seapealsh for the DELICIOUS cupcake. She came to the gig with copious amounts of cupcakes, including one called Fudgey Yummy just for me, which makes her massively awesome. Thanks also to wrigglerosie for the lovely ornament shaped like a Christmas pudding! So cute! And thank you, sintonia for the virtual holiday cookies and milk! ETA: Aw, thanks so much seductivembrace for the adorable Santa Bear! xoxo
Sending much love and good wishes to my friend's list. May you all have a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Festive New Year! ::hugs::