|
 |
How Was the Show?An open thread for reports about this weekend’s Cinematic Titanic shows in San Francisco.
47 Replies to “How Was the Show?”Commenting at Satellite News
We are determined to encourage thoughtful discussion, so please be respectful to others. We also provide an "Ignore" button ( Comments are closed. |
|
Satellite News is a fan site for the Mystery Science Theater 3000 television and Netflix series. It is an independent publication written and compiled by Chris Cornell (msampo@aol.com) and Brian Henry (erhardt4@aol.com). Satellite of Love, LLC does not maintain this web site, nor is it responsible for this site's content.
All content posted on Satellite News is copyright © 2024 by Chris Cornell and Brian Henry, except where otherwise noted. This Date in MSTory is written and compiled by Steve Finley, Chris Cornell and Brian Henry. Copyright © 2024 All rights reserved. Please do not reproduce This Date in MSTory items in any form without express written permission from the authors. Items of MST3K news may be duplicated or reposted, as long as Satellite News is cited as the source. The views and opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of Satellite of Love, LLC. No warranty is expressed or implied that the information given herein is completely accurate, and in fact this information can and will change at any time. So there. Mystery Science Theater 3000, its characters and situations are copyrights and trademarks of Satellite of Love, LLC. Banner image created by Larry Lee Moniz. |
|
) to help our users cope with "trolls" and other commenters whom they find annoying. Go to our
We just got out of the Friday riff on Blood of the Vampires, Loved it! Totally tempted to try to come back for the next one tomorrow.
Cut and pasted from my blog:
Earlier this evening, I stood five feet away from Joel Hodgson and Trace Beaulieu while they goofed around in the lobby before their live Cinematic Titanic show in San Francisco. For those of you who are curious, it turns that Joel Hodgson seems to be Joel Robinson completely. I don’t think there’s much of a disconnect — if at all — between the guy and the character. Also, I never would have thought this, but Trace is super sexy with a beard.
About fifteen minutes later, I sat 25 feet from Frank Conniff as he sang with such vigor as to make his head appear to be mere seconds from explosion. Luckily, I was not in the splash zone. About ten minutes after that, I sat 25 feet away — and in the absolute BEST seats in the house, if I may say so — while Joel treated the audience to an honest-to-god Invention Exchange (he even called it that! *Fanboy squeal!*) which involved holding a microphone to his crotch so we could hear the “Party in [his] Pants” thanks to the little chip from a singing greeting card. The completely straight face while he made the thing play all the way through several times really made it.
And just about ten minutes after the Invention Exchange (seriously, an Invention Exchange?!? I was not expecting that!), Frank, Joel, and Trace were joined by Mary Jo and J Elvis for a so-awesome-my-throat-is-hoarse-from-laughter live riff extravaganza on Blood of the Vampire, a 1960s Filipino vampire movie set in 1920s Mexico, triple dubbed from Tagalog to Spanish to English, and featuring some of the most gratuitously bad blackface I have ever seen. Needless to say, it was a riot.
On top of the still giddy thrill of an Invention Exchange (!), we got a Torgo reference, a “Sessions Presents” riff (if you’ve seen Tormented you know what I’m talking about), and one of Joel’s infamous “I do believe in spooks! I do believe in spooks! I do I do I do believe in spooks!” I was crossing my fingers for Trace’s excellent Charles Nelson Reilly impressions, but instead I got three good Riddlers, which isn’t bad since on the international market the exchange rate of CNRs to Riddlers is 1:2.
All in all an EXCELLENT way to spend forty bucks and a Friday night. There’s nothing like being in a room full of people roaring along with you while you laugh at things that normally you’d be watching all by your lonesome. Also wonderful is when you mention Jack Palance wearing a split-top muffin, and the person in the row in front of you knows exactly what you’re talking about.
:mad: *jealousy*
:twisted: *INSANE JEALOUSY* Someday, I too will see the former Brains live, gosh darn it.
Glad it was such a great show, though. :)
Saw them do Blood in Chicago. They were fabulous.
I was there last night and I have to say that it was an amazing show all the way around. My seats were amazing (front row on the aisle, stage left side) so I was right up in the middle of everything going on. I was really nervous when I got there because the horrendous traffic (mix Friday night with periods of heavy rain) and my friend and I got there right at 8pm. As we ran up the little stairwell that led to the theater, I had the thought to look behind me and there was Joel running along right behind me and saying hello to everyone he passed along the way!
The show was great and it was so much fun getting to meet them afterwards. Joel even remembered that my friend and I got there late and he started to talk with Trace about it and how freaked out people get when they think that they are going to be late for something. I also got to tell Trace about the lime green lab coat that is hung up in my closet from the time I played Dr. Forrester as the Criminologist for a special night at ROCKY HORROR. Quick note to costumer makers – He said that it takes two dye periods (one in bright green and one in a normal but similar green color) to get the jacket’s color perfect.
Anyway, it was a great show all the way around and I wish I could go again tonight but that won’t be happening. Either way, I will definately be buying tickets the next time they come through. And, in reference to the blackface comment above, it was full on bootblack and just so wrong it was hysterical.
Richard, that’s why I really like the Titans: they’re never mean-spirited.
Wow, Richard. I was sitting right behind you in the SF Giants jacket! The movie was hysterically bad. People will be absolutely stunned by the minstrel show mammies. My God. The pre-show with Josh, Frank, and the great Gruber from “The Naked Trucker and T-Bone” and “Higgins Boys and Gruber” was fantastic. I got to talk to Trace and Joel before the show while they were selling DVDs out front. Like the others above, I was impressed by the fact that they were so warm and convivial. Joel actually approached me(I was wearing my “Push the Button, Frank” shirt), and grabbed Trace and said, “Hey Trace, check out the cool shirt!”. He asked me where I was from and talked about how grateful he was for fans like us who drive from far away just to see them. After the show, I got all of them to sign my ComicCon ’08 MST 20th Anniversary poster. Mary Jo was a sweetheart, Josh was a really nice guy who seemed genuinely surprised when I told him how much I loved the CT theme song. The only thing I can say about Frank is he was very, very quiet. My picture with Joel and Trace has Frank off to the side, and man, does he look unhappy. I don’t think he enjoys the whole “meet and greet” thing as much as the other. He was so energetic on stage, but he seems very shy and withdrawn. But he was polite, and signed my poster. It was all I could ask for. Now that I have met everyone from MST(including Bridget!!), I can die happy. Everyone MUST see them live. You will regret it if you don’t. They are pros, and some of the sweetest people you will ever meet! :razz: :razz:
Good to hear the show is so good. I got tickets for both nights in Seattle. Dragging the spouse, he’s not much of a fan.
My wife isn’t really a fan either, but she seemed to enjoy herself. Good luck!
Neat. I hope they come back to Dallas one of these days.
When my friend (aka the guy in the shirt with the cloudy sky and Japanese writing graphics on it) and I got to Frank, he seemed kind of tired but he was still really friendly and shook both of our hands. I think you might be right about him not enjoying the meet & greet but it also might be that it seems to take a long time to work your way through all of the people. I can see someone sitting there with just enough time allowed to spend with someone equal to getting a signature and being a little passed the moment as the end of the line appears.
I think you guys might have just caught Frank on a bad night. I didn’t get a picture (I forgot to have my picture taken with any of them, was so overwhelmed by the coolness of the moment), but he was super friendly (as they all were) when I met him at the table in Minneapolis in October, he smiled, said “Hey!” and shook my hand right away before I even introduced himself. That was the first showing of Vampires, great show. Me and my friend were likewise stunned by the offensively bad blackface house servants in the movie (basically looked like Phillipino kids with cocoa smeared on their faces). And hey, no fair, you got an invention exchange?!
Before I even introduced MYSELF. Typos = gahhhhh.
Were any of them signing autographs after the show? Were there any restrictions to what they would sign?
Also, were they selling the Cinematic Titanic DVDs on-site, and for how much?
Russ Weiser
Yes, they signed anything after the show. They posed for pictures and were just plain nice. They did sell the DVDs, but they charged $25, so it’s actually cheaper to buy them online. It really blew me away that Trace and Joel were just standing there, selling their wares with no one really approaching them for at least 10 minutes! As I sheepishly inched forward, Joel stepped up to me and extended his hand, “Hey, how ya doin’?” I almost fell over.
Whatever you do, buy one of the tour shirts.
Trust me.
Too bad you all didn’t get to see the Saturday show “Dynamite Brothers”. Fabulous riffing – probably the best they’ve done in this incarnation. If they release this on DVD, it’s a must have. Standing ovation after.
As for the meet and greet, they all seemed tired, and kind of not interested in doing it, but hey, maybe that’s just my impression. Maybe the meet and greet is getting to be too much adoration to take.
It’s really generous of them to do the M&G and I’m frankly surprised that they do it after traveling to a location, preparing for and performing shows and then afterward taking off for the next gig. Gotta be exhausting. Titans, I’d still attend even if you didn’t hang out after. The show’s the thing. Please take it easy out there!
I got the opposite impression — I was struck by how Joel in particular gave each person a big smile and a “Hey!” and was very gracious with the fans. All the Titans were super nice and seemed invested in giving each fan a few moments at least of personal attention. Considering that they had just done a show and were meeting and greeting more than 600 people, I thought they were terrific. Mary Jo in particular is the reverse image of Pearl — very warm and welcoming. Frank was cracking jokes, Josh and Trace were goofing off each other, and everybody seemed to get their merch/memorabilia/body parts signed and leave happy.
The show itself was even better than I’d hoped — a truly crappy 70s exploitation movie roasted to perfection. Everybody killed, and the edgier and more risque content played really well. The crowd was 100% on board and everyone, both in the audience and onstage, seemed to be having a blast. I heard Frank remark, “what a great crowd!” afterward, and I thought, “yeah, well, what a great show!”
Having experienced CT riffing with an audience, I now kind of see the DVD product as the adjunct, instead of the other way around. The energy in the theater and the spontaneity of the on-the-fly editing of the riffs and the ad-libs (maybe in particular because this was the first performance of this film) made it so much funnier and more involving. I’ll keep buying the DVDs as they come out, but now what I’m really waiting for is the return of the live show to the Bay Area.
A great night out, an hilarious show, and a gracious and fun meet and greet. At $40, the bargain of the year. If you are within reach of any of these tour dates and don’t have tickets, buy yours right now. I can’t imagine any fan of MST3K and/or CT not having a fantastic time at one of these shows.
Hi keeba!
Actually, if you watched, Joel gave a “hey” and a smile and quickly moved to the next “hey” and a smile and the next “hey” and a smile. It was all very guarded and scripted. I watched for about a half hour and they each said almost the exact same thing to every person.
Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t unfriendly – it just seemed to be, well, insincere. Trace and Mary Jo set up the dvds before the show and people would come up and speak with them and they were quite standoffish – a thank you or a “how nice” and then they would stop speaking until the person walked away.
I appreciate that some people will look at that interaction as “wow, I met ____”, but why do a meet and greet if you just want to get it over with?
The show itself was terrific – very high energy, full of wit and laughs. Too bad they couldn’t transfer that to offstage as well.
#21. I’d be guarded too if I thought someone was watching me for a 1/2 hour (really?) and evaluating my interactions with strangers. :lol:
I think if I were at the back of the line, I’d be grateful for their efficiency, and for the simple fact that they are doing it *at all*. I suppose they should have had deep and meaningful exchanges with the 600 people who met them at the tables. Unreal. :arrow:
“Actually,” thanks for assuming I’m talking out of my ass.
Dude, what show were you at? I watched extended interactions with fans both before and after the show, and I couldn’t disagree more.
Maybe you should have tried “interacting.”
Too bad you were hovering at the edges, observing and judging. It’s OK to be too cool for school, but don’t lay your bad trip on the rest of us. And don’t put that “actually” jive onto other people’s perceptions. I appreciate that you’re stuck in your reality, but that doesn’t invalidate mine, or others’ who may have actually enjoyed and appreciated the M&G.
Do you have any idea how hard it must be summoning a friendly “Hey!” 600 times in a row? Apparently not. I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the aftershow, but calling it “insincere” … is a violation of Wheaton’s Law, and I’ll leave it at that.
#22 – if you were standing in line waiting, as I was for a half hour, and you paid attention, you could watch the interactions. So don’t make it like I was some weirdo hanging in a corner.
Only about 150 of the 650 in attendance stayed for the meet and greet.
Don’t get all defensive for them. But then, no one can say a bad word about them, because they are gods, right?
Mike and the ‘Trax better get off their bacon-eatin’ butts and do some gigs ’cause the O.G.Mistie Crew are a ship on fire!
I went to both Cinematic Titanic shows here in SF, and it was well worth the $100 I spent (inflated by those insidious Ticketmaster service charges). Using the pre-sale link supplied by Satellite News (thanks, Sampo!) I got great seats both nights, middle of the house. #2 above gives a great account of the first night (Hey, “outmywindow”, I sat next to you), so I’ll try to tell you about the second night, the CT debut of Al Adamson’s 1974 ‘Kung-sploitation’ opus, The Dynamite Brothers.
The show was sold out, with a lot of couples celebrating Valentine’s Day present. This prompted J. Elvis to say during the warm-up, “This is probably the most dates MST3K fans have ever had!” He immediately apologized for this, making sure to say hello to his wife in the crowd. Josh and Gruber’s warm-up was the same schtick as the previous night, with some very minor variations (Grube added a new joke about about how “Amoeba Records has every single album ever recorded — except the one you’re looking for”). The first night, I LMAO throughout the warm-up set, but witnessing it again a mere 24 hours later, I understood why comedians call these “routines”. I began to worry that I had developed humor-fatigue, like when stuff you know is funny just doesn’t make you laugh this time around, usually due to over-familiarity or freshness in the memory.
After Frank’s goofy, convoluted song, the rest of the crew came “on board”, with Joel getting a long round of applause. As it died down, a girl shouted, “Marry me!”. Joel’s only response was “Are you heckling me?” (Which he had said the night before, after a totally different audience comment. Is this his default heckler response?) He also asked us not to blog about details from the show as he hopes to keep this material fresh for a least 5 months. (Sorry, #2)
On to the movie, their second Al Adamson film (Oozing Skull was his too). A solidly B-level, B-movie maker, he directed horror, biker, blaxsploitation, and naughty stewardess movies from the 60’s until his death in the mid-90’s. The Dynamite Brothers is a Kung Fu / Blaxsploitation hybrid that, at least in the hands of our riffers, is a blast! (ouch!) I think this is the first film of this genre to be riffed by our MST family (Master Ninja doesn’t count) and I couldn’t be happier.
From the instant the credits appeared and the riffing started, I knew this would be a different beast than the one before. Fast, brash, and urban (sort-of, a lot takes place in not terribly scenic nature outside L.A.) in contrast to the slow-boiling gothic soap-opera of Blood of the Vampire. But where BOTV was well-filmed with some production value and was at least consistent in its overwrought acting, The DB’s is, well, a mess: bad match-cutting, dull scene staging, woefully under-lit nighttime scenes, and some lackluster explosions (c’mon, the films got “dynamite” in the title. They could at least get these right!). Bright spots include film-veteran Aldo Ray’s almost Mitchell-like performance as the corrupt, racist cop with a hot young girlfriend, James Hong (Big Trouble in Little China) as a skinny, white-turtleneck-wearing drug lord, and Charles Earland’s funky, jazz-fusion score (I’m a sucker for 70’s fusion, so I’m easy). Our two heroes, Stud and Larry, are both good fighters, err – I mean “martial artists”, I guess, but pretty one-dimensional actors, though appealing enough. Overall, the fight sequences are good fun and there are some cool exploding cars (It blowed up REAL good!!)
The sound mix was a little off at first as the movie was louder than the riffers, so it took a minute for the voices to all be coherent, but the CT crew were on fire. The jokes were actually funnier than the ones the night before! Sustained periods of laughter and applause created long lag times before the next riff could be read (Can a joke be too funny for the good of the show as a whole?). This comedy inferno lasted for at least 15 minutes, then gradually… fizzled out… only to rise again a few minutes later. This pattern continued throughout the performance. Dull patches surround by dense sections of quality riffing. Much like the old show sometimes was. Some jokes fell like lead balloons, others went right over our heads. Mary Jo’s crack about Hannah Arendt’s “Banality of Evil” got a laugh from about 3 people right behind me, whereas Joel’s “I’ve got tubes in my ears” got a laugh of recognition from me and maybe one other guy. I’m going to chalk this inconsistency up to this being the debut of this material and bet that our faithful crew are this very moment tweaking the (few) awkward passages in the show.
To sum up: BOTV is a tight, well run ship, DB is a wild, stormy ride. You can’t go wrong with either show if it comes to your town. They said Blood of the Vampire will be their next release. Hopefully they’ll record The Dynamite Brothers sometime down the road. If not, I’m glad I saw it live.
#24
You couldn’t possibly have been watching interactions closely if you stood in line for half an hour. You couldn’t see or hear anything from that far back in the crowd.
You wouldn’t happen to be that one guy who kept trying to take cuts, I don’t suppose?
Man, there’s always somebody with their knickers in a twist, isn’t there? Sucks to be you, I guess.
#24. You honestly sat there and watched them the whole time in line?? Even in line, there’s gotta be something else to do. :lol: And I’m not making it like anything– it is what it is, dude.
And I’ll get defensive of them if I want. They’ve given me a lot more than you ever have, which is basically the one snarky post about what too many others have said was a fabulous evening. Sorry, your negativity and “bad word” about the Titans suck out loud, and I’ll call you on it if I want.
I stood up near the table until the line dwindled down, then I got in line. But nice try Sherlock.
And no, it doesn’t suck to be me. I guess I’m just better at reading people than the average person. I imagine it’s enough for you to just breathe the same air as them. How little you require.
I suppose you were the one wearing the Gizmonic hat and carrying every piece of MST merchandise for signatures. I hope you held up your homemade Crow for everyone to admire.
Wow, I liked the show, but gee, don’t offer constructive criticism…
I was at the SF show Fri night and had a great experience at the meet and greet (and I was near the end, having waited for 20 minutes or so).
I am Filipino (maybe the only living member of the Filipino MST3K/CT fan club), so I talked to each Titan about how much I enjoyed them ripping a Filipino movie. Mary Jo and I talked about how Filipino face expressions differed from how Midwesterns express emotions, and she was quite interested in hearing me describe all the Filipino family angst hidden in the movie subplots. I had brought my original MST3K membership card for them to sign and Trace was laughing and telling me how he created it on his Mac SE years ago and that they had to go to special shop to get the image of the spaghetti ball logo printable on the newsletter (in the days before you could cut and paste images). Joel and I talked for several minutes about Filipino horror movies (yes a very obscure subgenre, of which he knows)and he said that CT is in the process of doing another Filipino horror movie (spoiler alert). He posed quite graciously for a picture with me, and then hammed it up for a photo with Trace and Frank.
I really appreciated the time they took to talk to me, and we were both genuinely engaged in our conversation. I consciously tried not to monopolize their time cause there were still folks waiting, but their interaction with me was pretty sincere. But maybe I’m just a friendly guy….
You seem bitter, needy and judgmental (attractive!). I am sad for you.
Also, no one who was “actually” at the show had a homemade Crow, that I could see. You wouldn’t be … a troll?
Utterly wrong. Irony: You’re soaking in it.
Hope you find some small scrap of joy on this planet. Bye now.
#28 Yes, as a matter of fact, I actually require very little of the people who have entertained me for 20 years now. I think they’ve done enough, but obviously, you require more– the type of fan I’m sure every entertainer wants to spend oodles of time with, and the kind who will always command the very best interaction because of all the Titans/Brains/whoever owe you. Good luck with that.
Thanks to all who posted their experiences. I’m going to both shows in Cleveland and really looking forward to finally seeing the crew live and in person! :)
I am psyched to be going to the Cleveland show on the second night.
In all honesty, I’m kind of unsure if I want to go to the meet and greet due simply to the fact that I would have no idea what to say to anyone. I don’t normally get especially tongue-tied around performers I like (I managed to have a nice little chat with the actor who played the Soup Nazi, Larry Thomas a couple of years ago) but in general I can’t think of much to say to people I’ve just met (celebrity or no) and just feel in-the-way.
Either way, I’m definitely looking forward to the show; it’s bringing a childhood MSTie dream come true!
YoYoEd, I commented on your membership card when I was behind you in line! Awesome. I found them all to be pretty cool. MaryJo and I talked about whether Observer was meant to be a regular when the season started or was just a happy accident(she didn’t quite remember, but said that she had already known Bill for years before, and that helped with their great chemistry). Joel and I talked before the show for about 10 minutes and I found him to be genuine and, as expected, full of film knowledge. All in all, a great experience. :mrgreen:
went to teh dynamite bros show was amazeing. and i did chat with trace a bit and he was very gracious asking me my name and giving me some nice small talk and a plug about hte upcoming film when i asked him.
after the show i can understand why they wanted to get trough people becuase that place was insanely crowded and i was in line fora good 45 minutes before i got up there and they were still very kind and even commented on my dvd i was getting signed(the Gila Monster single disc) to which i said that shout should accidentally release a few more like they did godzilla and they agreed wholeheartedly frank agreeing especially cause he doesnt get any cash form it anyways!
i hope they come back soon!
Hi Finnias Jones! Glad to get a report of the second show; I’d have bought tickets if I’d realized at the time that the two nights were going to feature different movies. Oh well.
And since I’m kind of a dolt and forgot to ask your name, I’m just going to imagine that it actually is Finnias, if you don’t mind.
Y’know, everyone says that Joel’s not mean-spirited, but I honestly think it’s more his body language and delivery than his actual dialogue. He’s one of those rare guys who can seem charming while delivering some very sharp riffs. This is, of course, a great thing as far as I’m concerned. I love the fact that he can push the jokes as far as he can while still seeming sweet and loveable.
And I think that Frank probably was just having an off night. He was killer at DragonCon last year. It’s worth remembering that actors are like any other people in any other job–you have those days when things just aren’t going well, but you go in anyway because people are relying on you. (ISTR Nathan Fillion saying that he wished he could reshoot his entire performance on the Firefly episode “Shindig”, because he just didn’t think he got it right, but it wasn’t like he could ask the whole crew to delay filming for a week while he worked on his lines.)
Completely off subject from all the bickering, did Joel say that invention exchanges would be a part of any future dvd’s?
Unfortunately for Joel, he SPECIFICALLY asked people to keep the invention exchange under wraps, as he wanted to use it for the whole 6 weeks. I guess he should have expected this, but I was really sad to see in only the second post his fun thing (no pun intended) revealed.
It was really awesome though. :mrgreen:
To contribute, everyone was very gracious. For me personally, it was relieving. My hubby and I went to see them at SuperCon in San Jose last year and the vibe was awful. Their time slot was changed at the last minute, we missed their talk, they seemed cranky and unfriendly, plus they were in a BARN in the middle of downtown. I tried to remind myself of these facts afterwards, but it all seemed like bad energy all over. While chatting with Joel on Saturday, we mentioned we had gone to SuperCon and he confirmed my suspicions: it was just a s&**$% convention. He said they were disorganized and there weren’t as many people as the organizers had said there would be. “It was kinda like being at a bad zoo.”
Thank you, Joel, for putting my mind at ease. And for making us laugh…
@Gypsy Honey, he didn’t say anything about keeping the Invention Exchange under wraps on Friday night. …Or if he did, I completely missed it.
Sorry about spilling the beans on that one. Oops.
Also, I don’t appreciate the insinuation that I intentionally let the secret out, regardless of Joel’s wishes. If I’d known it was a secret in the first place, I wouldn’t have said anything.
He did not say anything about keeping it secret on Friday night. He did the bit and then walked over to his space on the stage while everyone applauded. I guess he could have said it during the meet & greet afterwards but he did not say anything about keeping it quiet while Joel was on stage.
Thank you, Richard.
I apologize for pointing a finger at any Friday Night goers on the invention exchange. He may not have said anything at all. As for Saturday night, he clearly said on stage that he wanted to use it. I only assumed he said the same thing previous. :oops:
yes on saturday he mentioned that people shouldnt post it on yourtube but i think he meant it jokingly so i wouldnt worry about angering joel.
:smile:
i went to the saturday show with my husband who is not as big of a MST3K fan as i am but he had fun so good luck to you #9.
as for the meet and greet heated “discussion” above. i can see both sides. i waited in line for 30 mins and i felt it was totally worth it! i’ve been a fan for more than half my life and forced my husband to drive me all the way up there from LA (which is much farther than the movie shown that evening depicted), so i was excited no matter what. but i also understand that me being close to the back of the line ment that i was going to meet a very worn out cast. it was their second day and i was at the back of the line so….
regardless of how they were feeling or appeared to be feeling, however, they were all still very gracious. i hadn’t realized in advance that they would be signing anything or i would have brought something better with me to sign than my ticket stubs :sad:
i got pictures with all of them and my husband even had a good time in the end talking to J. Elvis about his writing on “Freaks and Geeks” (one of my husband’s favorite shows that J. Elvis wrote on).
all those who are going to future shows, you’re in for a real treat!
Sorry you had such a bad experience, Lighten Up. It sounds like you were one of the last people in line — perhaps they were a bit glassy-eyed by the time you met them?
I chatted with them both nights in Boston, and they were perfectly pleasant.
* Joel and Trace remembered me from the MIT talk (Joel: “Hey, you were at MIT! White tux jacket, right?”).
* Mary Jo and I talked about where her hubby had run off to.
* I told Frank I enjoyed his blog posts on CT.com, and would like to see more; he said he intended to when he had time, and Joel added that they were going to put some “Frank talks about old movies” segments on their DVDs as extras. (I don’t think he was joking, but it’s hard to say.)
* I told Josh I’d swiped his set list from the stage, and asked him to sign it. He said, “Uhh…actually, we kinda need that.” Trace put in: “He rescued your set list from the stage!” But Josh signed it anyway. (“Okay, okay, I’ll reward theft.”) The next night, he told me it was okay, since it forced him to rewrite it and tweak the sequence.
So, in my experience, they were warm and engaged. We didn’t exchange phone numbers, but I’m glad I got to meet them and thank them for the great shows. And, y’know, even if I’d just gotten a smile and a handshake I’d’ve been satisfied — there were 150 people in line after me, and maybe 100 in front. I know I wouldn’t want to sit at a little table making small talk with 250 people at 11PM after a two-hour live performance; I think it’s deeply classy that they took the time at all.