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How Were Joel’s Shows?Here’s an open thread for reports from Joel’s “Riffing Myself” shows this weekend in Austin and Dallas. (Also, if you were at his show in Chicago last week, we’ll be glad to hear from you, too.)
14 Replies to “How Were Joel’s Shows?”Commenting at Satellite News
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Fabulous! I saw him in Dallas and just got home. I really did not know what to expect from “Riffing on Myself,” but it was very personal, and gave some real insight into his creative process and upbringing, and he interacted with the fans throughout the show. Seeing Pod People again for the first time in years was a treat. (I went with my wife, who saw Pod People as a double feature years ago in the 80’s with Beaches. Really!) The audience sang along with the theme song and it was wonderful to be with a group of people who got all the jokes. I have met Joel three times now, twice previously after Cinematic Titanic shows here, and he’s always gracious and kind to us fans. As a bonus, I now have an autographed poster of the show. I will ALWAYS go see Joel when he’s in town and support his work. Classy guy!
I forgot to mention a couple of interesting bits. One fan asked Joel about when he appeared on Soultaker and why he did not go into the theater. He made the fan come up to the front with him and razzed him a bit, but said it was because he simply had not been asked to and hinted that he would have been glad to riff on the movie, even if he had not been involved in the writing process. At one point, Joel could not remember how many KTMA episodes have never been released, and one of the fans yelled out the number, so Joel would periodically point in that fan’s direction and yell out the number when some obscure MST3k trivia was mentioned. (He also could not recall KTMA’s call letters at one point, and a fan corrected him.) Also, early on in the show, one fan asked Joel a question but got the information in it partially incorrect, and Joel pointed to the doors and said “OUT! How dare you call youself a Mistie!” (It was not when a fan asked him about his shows on Rifftrax, and Joel corrected him and said he was doing Cinemtaic Titanic; I just can’t remember the question.) Interestingly, Joel did not get into the behind the scenes aspects of the show as much as how he got started with magic shows and ventriloquism and stand up comedy, and showed sketches from his ideas notebooks for the early show concepts and some of his ideas that became invention exchanges or props for his show. He did not touch on why he left the show, and said he would love to come back to Dallas but that Cinematic Titanic was not booking shows unless they were asked to by theatre owners. He also said they had been approached at different times by TV people but nothing came of it because they were, well, old. It was a very personal and intimate evening. I will forever be grateful to Joel for the years of laughs. His shows are like old friends that never seem dated. I don’t know him personally, but he seems like an incredible human being who anyone would be lucky to count as a friend. Come back soon, Joel!
It was a blast at the Dallas show. Joel looked great and could not have been more nicer and welcoming (he was even offering fans cake when he was taking pictures). Pod People is my personal favorite episode and to have him introduce it and see it with a crowd was a dream come true! Riffing Myself was awesome and answer alot about Joel’s life in slide show format with his style commentary. Evening with Joel is everything you could ask of Joel and I’m glad he came here. BTW the poster for event was very amazing.
“Classy guy!”
The more I learn about Joel the more I think this quote is an understatement.
Amazing show for the fans, last night in Dallas. To see a a classic episode, autograph/picture with Joel and then his excellent one man show was a real treat. He was very gracious and appreciative to the fans.
When Joel joked ‘Out! How dare you call yourself a MSTie!’, it was because someone asked why they only did shorts in the early seasons and then stopped. He thought for a moment, then asked us in the audience ‘That’s not right? Is it?’. Of course most MSTies started saying ‘No!’. (Last short was two episodes before ‘Mitchell’.)
If you are lucky enough to have this show play near you, don’t hesitate and get your V.I.P. ticket early.
What about Joel’s live riff with Master Pancake Theater? Didn’t that happen later that night? Did anyone go to that?
Even though the theater was full of hipsters, the show in Dallas was fantastic! Me and my girlfriend went and had a wonderful time! Pod People in front of an audience was a blast and his one man show was a sight to behold. I even got one of my questions answered!!! And he doesn’t answer half-assed like most other celebrities I’ve met, he actually put a lot of thought into his answer and every word came from the heart. Joel is an amazing man who definitely loves his fans and appreciates everything his fans do for him. I can’t wait until his next appearance!
I saw both the Austin shows. The solo show was strange in that they never illuminated Joel, at one point he was asking for a spotlight and they never provided one. The slideshow is pretty amazing, and it all connects back in a way that makes you feel like you’re in on a big secret at the end. If you get a chance, it’s a must see.
At the end of the first show he literally pulled a movie title out of a hat, and so the Master Pancake show was Sean Connery’s ZARDOZ. It was hillarious, but I have to say I am not sure I can ever look at Connery the same way again. Joel apparently *can* riff without a script, because if they really had only an hour to prepare he did a great job.
I, and five or so people in my MST Meetup Group, attended the VIP show in Chicago. The Mayne Stage is a great, if small, location. Joel came out and talked with us, giving some background on his show and his relationship with the fans before taking questions. Good ones: is there enmity betwin him and Mike? No. Why didn’t he go into the theatre in Soultaker? He had pitched a story idea in which he came back to tell the crew of the SoL that it was all just a TV show, but that didn’t jive with Sci-Fi’s plan for the show (a lot of his answers didn’t quite get a whole answer: my question, “do you miss interacting with the screen, like when you pushed over the guy in Pod People?” was answered with “I was the only one with working arms.”. I think he couldn’t hear us very well).
Joel signed posters while we watched Pod People, then we had the meet-and-greet. He seemed to be in a bit of a rush (and not in the best of moods, or I’d have asked him to plug my group, which he told me he approved of in Milwaukee — as it was, I gave him a business card and hoped for the best), but the next thing was the show. The non-VIPs were given enough time to order food and file in, and Joel started the show, which was as discussed before. Mostly slides and talking, but also videos — himself doing standup at age 23, and the pitch reel for Comedy Central, which he cited as the thing that made him realize it was the riffing, not the movies, that made the show a good idea.
I also forgot to mention that Joel said at one point that the material he showed on the slideshow could be a book someday, and that he had wanted to write a book for some time. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
Did they show an episode of MST3K at the Austin show or did they do the Master Pancake Theater riff instead?
No, there was no episode shown at the Austin show. I think the solo show got cut sort of short, from what people are saying about the other cities.
Thanks casimar. Still, how cool would a live riff of Zardoz be? That was one of the suggestions I sent to RiffTrax a few years ago when they asked fans to vote on an upcoming episode.
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