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How Was the Show?Cinematic Titanic hits the Carolinas this weekend: Durham N.C. on Friday night and Greenville, S.C. Saturday night. This is an open thread for reports from both shows.
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Leave the political jokes at home guys. They don’t help your show, but only alienate your fans. Everything else was a class act except Frank. Frank, get help dude as I suspect your perverse cat jokes are inspired from “life experience.”
Oo, ladies and gentlemen, we have a butthurt conservative!
I thought it was fantastic!!! Had a blast! I knew how frank was, so i was prepared. Not offended at all. Im conservative and still not offended. It was so awesome to meet everyone too!
I had an absolute blast! Laughed so hard I cried. Now if I can get the image of those bugs chewing on human flesh out of my brains I’ll have only happy memories of seeing some of the funniest folks alive do their thing.
It was everything I was hoping for. Josh singing the MST3K theme in the style of Elvis Costello was a highlight of the pre-show. The movie was delightfully stupid, if a downer (giving your movie a depressing ending doesn’t make the silliness that came before any less silly).
I hung around for the meet and greet, and everyone was super nice. I tried not to say anything too stupid. Trace gave me a funny look when I gave Josh a deliberate back-handed comment (which he seemed to like), so I may or may not have succeeded.
Also, my phone was running out of charge, so I couldn’t Shazam them, but does anyone know the name of the song Gruber was signing to (not the “Toy Gun” one, but the other one)?
I concur, the preshow was just as awesome as the actual show! Dave Allen (calling himself Gruber) opened the show with two songs, one of which had Josh playing the Bass Guitar. Mary Jo came out and did a couple of humorously awkward introductory pieces. She played them perfectly with great timing. Then Trace came out and did a reading from his book, Silly Rhymes for Belligerent Children, followed by Frank Conniff doing an awesome standup routine with some political commentary involving mocking Jeff Foxworthy’s “You might be a redneck if…” routine. Not everyone’s taste, but I enjoyed it and the most of the audience was laughing right along. After that, Joel came out and did an introduction to the movie itself. They went straight into riffing “War of the Insects” (originally titled “Genocide”, but changed due to American marketing concerns over the word “Genocide”). The movie was genuinely bizarre, about insects that bit people and made them crazy. Lots of great riffing and some clever ad-libbing by the gang. The movie ended very abruptly but predictably. After it was over, the gang took their bows and left the stage. I’m assuming to do a Meet ‘n Greet, but I was too tired by that point to go get a DVD and have them sign it. Plus there was already a huge crowd forming around the booth, and I hate huge crowds and lines.
Overall a great night, and I look forward to seeing them next time they come to North Carolina!
Everyone above gave a pretty good content summary, so I’ll just say that it was an absolute delight. My biggest fear was that the movie would be so bad that no jokes could save it, but it was excellent riffing material – jammed with oddities and a few choice pieces of absurd overacting.
Joel mentioned that the show was sold out, so here’s hoping CT comes down south more often in the future!
I had been a bit disappointed that none of the films offered as choices for us to vote on in the online poll were “new” titles that I haven’t already got on DVD, but that just made it all the more surprising how uproariously funny the live show was even when I remembered some of the jokes.
Loved the pre-show, I really hope some of that stuff finally makes it onto a future live DVD (particularly Josh & Grubber’s “Year Of The Cat” Talkin’ poetry not-quite-rap thing). Although in Frank’s case, maybe he should just release his own stand-up DVD instead.
If I have a criticism, it’s that the show did end pretty abruptly: No sooner did “The End” flash on the screen than the Titans pretty much just bolted out of there, albeit to just turn up soon after to directly interact with the crowd at the meet & greet.
I wanted to stick around for that, but it was a long drive back on unfamiliar roads at night, so I decided to head back. But now that I’m familiar with the trip, if the Titans ever return to Durham (or better yet, someplace even closer to Roanoke, VA), I’ll be there & I’ll be sure to stick around to buy crap for them to sign.
(btw, this was the best seats to any live event I ever had: not only I was in the 2nd row center, practically looking up the nostrils of the Titans, but it turns out there were two vacant seats to my left, so when the show started & they hadn’t filled up I just moved over one & had an empty seat on each side. So if any of the Titans are reading this (especially Joel, Trace & Mary Jo on stage right) you probably saw me; I was the really comfortable-looking guy with plenty of elbow room in a packed, sold-out auditorium.)
Incredible. Amazing. Been waitin 20 years for something like that. That was honestly one of the best things I’ve ever seen. I don’t have words…
Great Great Fun! As I mentioned to the cast afterwards, I hope they put NC on their regular circuit, so I hope they enjoyed their time here. (I also mentioned the hope for a third MST3K convention with all the former alums).
Thats a lot of ‘hope’ing!
The previous summaries are spot on. (Political humor was funny; would prefer shots towards both sides, but I was fine with it).
All the pre-movie bits were fun – good variety too. Loved the Elvis Costello MST3K theme/sing along.
And Frank’s stand-up was hysterical – didn’t see many kids there so not much problem with the raunchiness. :-)
I was glad War of the Insects was the choice as its the only one I hadn’t seen before. (ugh, bad bad movie, perfect fodder.)
Other than the audio of the movie being a little low for these old ears, and a bit of echo to the riffers, it was well executed.
I encourage anyone who has CT come to town to go see it. Higher laugh per $ than anything you are watching on TV. Plus watching riffing with an audience is different/better (even with that one obnoxious guy sitting behind you who nonsensically guffaws at ever breath taken on stage or in film).
Thanks gang! Come back to NC again!
My brother & I enjoyed the show! The pre-show was entertaining, the riffs were geniunely funny, but the movie itself is a downer. But hey, every film CT did is a downer, in a cheesy way! I even got to the meet & greet, get the autographs signed, even Trace Beaulieu was nice enough to say to me, “Push the button, Hank!” Here’s hoping they come to Raleigh/Cary, NC sometime in the not too distant future!
I’d agree with what everyone else said about the quality of the show itself. I think I would have liked it if the movie was a little less blurry lookin’, but that might have been the print on a big screen. And I would have liked the movie sound up some, but the riffing was excellent. I purposely haven’t bought that DVD in case they did it at Durham, so it was all new to me. I had a good talk with RAD, MJ’s husband, and he said they really enjoyed coming there. The show sold out, the Titans got to stay in the hotel pretty much attached to the theatre and they really liked the venue. Carolina Theatre even seemed to hint that they were ready to have CT back, so they show went well for them, too. Consdiering they sold out on a night that DUke was playing basketball, I’d say it was quite a succesful show.
@Flaregun: we were second row center, too! I had forgotten that I had bought seats that good (got ’em during the presale), so that was a very nice surprise. You might have been to the left of me and Mrs. bartcow. I can’t remember if the seat next to me was empty or not; I was too enthralled with what was up on the stage.
The show at Greenville’s Peace Center was great. “Astral Factor” is such a bad movie, but the CT’ers did their best, and I would say in top form. I sat 6 rows from the stage. There were some problems before the movie started, but these guys made the best of the situation. Very funny ad-lib. I will buy this DVD when it comes out and I will see them again when they return to the area. Let me say, the crowd was a good mix of ages and gender. The girl and her boyfriend sitting next to me were about 20-21 years old, and they laughed as much as I did, and the original show (MST3K) is older than they are. Glad to know,good, smart, well written comedy is still very much alive, and younger people still get it.
The Greenville show was awesome. The Peace Center is a great venue. We had great seats, about 6th row, and there were people coming in saying we were in their seats. It turns out they were in the wrong building. They had tix for the show next door: Menopause the Musical. You can’t make this stuff up! Anyway, The Astral Factor was truly craptacular and the gang had some great riffs. They did the same warm up acts as described above for the Durham show. My wife and I met the whole group afterwards, I got several things signed, I got my picture taken with Joel, and all in all, it was a GREAT experience. Don’t miss CT if you ever get a chance to see them live.
Sounds like the Greenville show had the same opening stuff as the Durham show, but that’s ok because it was great. JB and Ackbar are right… “Astral Factor” was a stinkbomb of a movie, made to smell rosy-sweet by some excellent riffing. One of Mary Jo’s line nearly had my wife collapsing next to me. Definitely an immediate buy when it comes to DVD. And Ackbar, same thing happened to a couple in front of us….people came in claiming they had the seats – except this time they had tickets for seats in the 1st Balcony. *facepalms* I definitely encourage all the fans out there to catch a live show if it comes through their area – it’s well worth the price and then some.
I thought the pre-show stuff went on a little long; it was funny, but I was wondering “When is the movie going to start?” But Astral Factor was an absolute blast, I laughed so hard my jaw hurt. I went through the meet and greet line and all of them were as nice as could be. Please, CT, come back to SC!
It was great to catch a Cinematic Titanic show without having to make a road trip like I did to Atlanta a few years back. I had a blast at the Greenville show, and as a couple other people noted upthread, I was pleasantly surprised by the very diverse ages of the crowd. Hope I don’t have to wait another 3 years to catch ’em live again!
The Greenville Show was fantastic! I and my wife had tickets for the 4th row, but as I’ve never been the smallest person and she’s 7 months pregnant we moved back to about the 18th row to spread out, which was where the main crowd thinned out. No problems at that distance and could hear and see everything just fine. The pre-show was fun, and the small technical glitch at the start well-served to illustrate how strong the Titans are at improvisation.
As for the movie, Astral Factor is a terrible and extremely confusing film, but one of the strongest entries I’ve seen from Cinematic Titanic. The opening 5 minutes left me gasping for air. A definite buy if it will come out on DVD.
After the show, being at the back of the audience had the unexpected benefit of allowing us to be the 2nd people in line for autographs. I bought the show specific poster (very nice touch) and got all 5 signatures. It was wonderful to meet all 5, just wish I had had something intelligent to say.
The only thing I wish the show has was the option to buy a recording of the show you had just seen. I would have forked over some serious cash for that. A wonderful time and will do it again – come back soon guys!
A fanTAStic show last night! The cast was great, both before and after, and there were several riffs which stand-out even 12+ hours later:
[*telephone bell ringing*] Josh: What’s that sound? That would make a great ringtone.
[Cop eats bad cake, gives the OK symbol] Joel: It stinks! (LOVED that shout-out to the Misties)
But what really slayed EVERYONE, even the cast (I think this may have been an improved line), was Mary Jo’s riff:
Cop: Will [your husband] be glad to see you?
Mary Jo: Only if he likes being greeted by the pink carpet.
LOVED the pre-show, especially Gruber’s spoken-word musical bit with Josh, and Frank’s stand-up was a little hesitant at times (nerves, maybe?), but I thought it was hilarious and very timely humor (although the political nature of it obviously gave some of the more conservative-minded “a case of thu vay-pahs, I duh-CLARE.”).
Again: GREAT show, and I really hope they come this way again soon. It was a lonnnnnnnnng wait down here in the Carolinas for `em.
I was at the show in Durham and had 2nd row seats (as I bought tickets WAY back in September). Love the warm up for the show. I’d pay to just have Frank do stand up, he’s great. I have War of the Insects on DVD, but enjoyed some changes they had done to the riffs to make them more topical (though the movie COULD use a good Gamera attack somewhere in there).
I always wonder about how these guys feel on the road, dealing with fans after the show, signing autographs, etc. The last couple years, I’ve been renting a local movie theater for my birthday and showing a MST3k episode to everyone I know (usually 40-50 people show). We have a good time and I give out presents, just because… Well, it’s my 50th birthday and I decided to give the Titans birthday presents. Kind of a way to say thanks for everything. Moravian ginger cookies from Old Salem were my pick. Mary Jo said she thought it was sweet, but I think it’s important to let them know you’re not there just to take, but you also care. They’ve given me alot of fun memories.
I was at the Durham show, and I had a blast. Second row, on the extreme left. On one hand, the movie was at a slight angle. On the other hand I was, in my grandmother’s words, “in spittin’ distance” of Joel, Mary Jo, and Trace, so I could deal with that. (Note: I did not actually spit on anyone).
The show itself was fantastic. I loved all of the songs, stand-up, and poetry they did before hand, especially the MST3K theme done in the style of Elvis Costello (complete with la-la-la’s provided by the audience.) The movie itself was completely bizarre, but perfect for the purposes of riffing. Nothing like a strange Japanese horror film to get the jokes going. I did wonder during the show how much my brother-in-law (who has seen MST3K but is not a MSTie himself) enjoyed it, and he said it was awesome and he’d go again in a heartbeat.
We stayed after for the meet and greet; through sheer luck, we exited right where it was being set up, so we were up towards the front of the line. I thrilled to meet all of them and thank them for all of the laughs they have given me over the last 20 years I’ve been a fan. Appropriately, I brought my 20th Anniversary tin and box set to be signed; I wasn’t sure if the tin would take Sharpie well, but Joel kindly assured me that it would look awesome (and it does!). Mary Jo said that the crowd was great (perhaps enough to come back to Durham…please?) I also got a little hilarity from Josh and Trace while they signed my stuff. Josh had made a joke during the show about his Servo being the “hated” one, and I told him I liked his Servo just as much. He chuckled and made some comment about how he wasn’t really bitter about it. Trace just growled back, “Well, I am.”
My sister, friend, brother-in-law and I then exited the theater. After playing it cool and once out of sight of the Titans, my sister and I jumped up and down and squeed in glee.
Rowdy: That was totally awesome of you. Moravian cookies are deliciously thin manna from heaven.
@Rowdy: Ha, that’s funny, I gave MJ and RAD Moravian cookies for Christmas two years ago when we did the Christmas exchange on the CT site. We need more traffic going back to CT. It was such a great community.
Considering the number of people who made the Durham/Greenville shows, if they ever swing back through this way maybe we should try to gather and do something before or after the show?
Wait–was EVERYBODY in the second row at the Durham show? :) And I’m glad to know there was a precedent set for Trace reacting to people telling Josh he wasn’t so bad as Servo. Trace probably still hates me, but there was a precedent!
I had not one but FIVE seats in the second row. Middle section. Weird thing was the last two seats were empty. Guess they couldn’t make it.
The Greenville, SC show was an absolute blast. Frank’s bombing reminded me a bit of the virtual comedy invention exchange from Secret Agent Superdragon; his reactions to the crowd’s mix of booing and cheering were great. Mary Jo had the best riff of the night with her singing of “Total Eclipse of the Plot”. Joel’s singing of Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” comes in a close second. Also, the MST3K callback of “it stinks!” was a nice touch.
Which one of you yelled out “how much O’Keef is in this movie?” when Trace asked if anyone had a question for him?
After over 20 years of fandom I finally met them. So exciting! Everybody was super nice, I got to touch Joel. Just wow…also taked to Mary Jo’s husband a bit, he’s a very handsome man.
I saw the Durham show, over 300 mile round trip, well worth it!
I’m hoping that now that they see how popular they are in the south they’ll come here more.
I was five rows back, aisle seat. Not too far back, not too close, perfect. I’ve had my ticket since they announced the show. I think September?
Back to the show, loved it! I voted for Alien Factor, which is my fave, but anything would have been fine. Loved the songs at the beginning, loved Frank’s jokes. He really should do a live stand up disc.
Also met so many nice fans, outside, in the elevator. Met a super nice guy and his cute girlfriend at the bar. Its an experience I will treasure the rest of my life.
@27: It wasn’t me, but I’m curious to know who it was, too! That was well played.