The Cutting Room
After telling my father and aunt that I wouldn't go alone, I left my house at around 6:40 to walk to the train station to go see Antonique and Matt.
My aunt even called me while I was walking and she asked if I wanted to see a movie. I felt so bad lying, but I wanted to go so, so badly. So, I finally got to the train station and got my ticket out of the machine (that prints so goddamn slowly). I just barely made it. I had gotten on the express train without knowing it, so it only stopped at the airport, Newark, and nyc. When my father and aunt got home and saw the note I left on the table ("please don't kill me. I'm going to the show. I promise I'll take a cab and be safe. Love, Alison" haha) I got a bunch of angry calls about how I was betraying the family and how they can't trust me anymore, and yada yada yada. Then, my mom calls me and goes, "Oh, just be safe. Have a good time!" hahaha. My dad was freaking out, going on and on about how the area I was going to was dangerous and I was unfamiliar with it and that anything could happen. I walked through fucking Chelsea. Big deal. Jeez..he thinks the whole world is conspiring against him/me. Oy. So, I finally got the family to stop calling and driving me insane. I told them I'd take cabs to and from The Cutting Room (I didn't, but whatever..if it makes it easier for them to sleep..), so they finally gave up.
The walk to The Cutting Room was really short. I got there and there was a line coming out the door. That got me worried, but we all kind of assumed they'd let us in after a while, so it was ok. After about 15 minutes of standing and waiting, I see Matt walking up the street towards us with his guitar. I was kind of staring at him and he smiled, so I smiled back. I'm so weird around him. So, he went in, and then we all waited for a few more minutes and they finally let us in. The place was packed.
I told the guy that worked there that I was alone and so if there were any single empty seats that people were willing to share I'd gladly accept. So, he found me a table with these two women. I didn't talk to them at all, but they seemed nice. The table was like the 3rd or 4th one back, almost right in the middle. It was an awesome view.
Antonique came on around 7:30. She looked gorgeous, and I was soo pleasantly surprised to see who her back-up singers were..Justin Johnston, Crystal Monee Hall, and MRF!! I didn't recognize him at first without the dreads, but when I finally did I was so excited. I love that man so much. I think the best part was Boko on keyboard. Eee! I love him, too. He just made the whole show even better with his smiling and brilliant talent. Some Rent cast members were there in the audience, as well. I only saw Destan and Marcus (and Matt, of course), but there may have been more. So, Antonique sang for a long time, then took a break, and came back and sang some more. She was fucking amazing. Her voice is gorgeous and so powerful. I envy people with powerful voices like her's. She sang a wide variety of songs, and she looked so cute. After every song when we applauded she'd say "Thank You!" all cute.
When she was done, Chris and Adelmo came on. First they showed this video thing that took forever to set up and was really unneccessary, IMO. Other than the whole video bs, I really enjoyed their performance. They're opera singers, but they also do pop and rock and other genres. It was really interesting. They did one song with Antonique, and another one with some other singer. I forgot her name, but she had the prettiest soprano voice.
Then, Matt finally came on. Everyone cheered, and you could just feel the excitement in the room. He gets up on stage and says something to the effect of "Thank you all you wonderful, sweet people who stayed this late." (He was supposed to go on at 10, but he didn't get on until almost 11.) Then he says something about how he's had 3 beers and he hold up like 9 finger and winks. hahaha. He started off with a brand new song. I liked it. He said human ears had never heard it yet, but he thinks that his cats like it. heh. He's such a dork. Then he went right on to play "Divide and Conquer." I think he's played it at every single gig of his that I've been to. He changed it up a little during the "la da da da da da" part (if you know what part I'm talking about, I love you). It was nice. Then he played "Assuming You Are," which made me very happy, because I adore that song. Next was "Shirt." Another wonderful, wonderful, great song. I love "Shirt." It's really such a beautiful song. I think his guitar string broke right after shirt. So, he told them to put on some random music and that he'd restring it really quick (which he did), and then he came back on. He made some joke about how he was the fastest stringer in the west or something. I don't know. I love when he's all weird like that. Then he sang "Goodbye," and he messed up the words in one part, and then sang the right words really, really fast..and added a part about being sober. *snicker*. Next was "River Nile." It was pretty as always. Then he did "Europe," and I think he told a little story to go along with it, but my memory may just be serving me incorrectly. Last was "Feedback." He definitely told a story with this one. He kept talking about these "women." It was funny. And then he said something about the same shit he always does, and he stops and looks around and goes "Sorry parents" or something. It was cute. So, he ended with "Feedback," which was great. And then he disappeared for a while, and came out into the bar area (?) eventually.
A bunch of people were around, so I had to wait a while to talk to him. I finally got up and got a pic, but it was dark, so we had to use a candle to see b/c my phone camera has no flash. It was super funny. Then I talked to him for a bit and I asked if he really was leaving Rent in September, but he's not, so yayayayay!
After a while I left him alone and walked back to Penn station. I waited like 20 minutes for the train to come, and then I left. And I was really tired, so that's why I'm writing about all of this now, instead of 2 days ago when it happened. Ok, so now I'm going to shut up and post some pictures, because I'm sure that whoever is reading this is really sick of reading.
and last but most definitely not least, my beloved candle pic:
hahaha. =D
Ok, so thanks everyone who actually got through this. I'll post the link where I have all the video clips later. Much love!! <33
-Alison