CA Sad-eyed girl...

Went to see Rockapella last Saturday at the Beckman Auditorium at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. This was their only stop in So Cal for the Holiday tour. It was a nice way for me to cap off a completely epic year of live concerts: Steven's first So Cal show with Rockapella in April, Level 42, twice in July (too epic, I can't even stand how awesome that experience was for me), Boyz II Men at the LA County Fair in August, and now Pella just in time for the Christmas holidays.

It was cool to see my friends, Conan and Vivian, there, at the show, as well. They were there to celebrate their 2-year wedding anniversary. Conan wanted to surprise Vivs with the show. She had no idea who or what they were there to see, up until they sat down. Co was hoping she would find out when they actually stepped out onto the stage, but unfortunately, when they sat down, she caught a glimpse of the program from the guy she was sitting next to, and saw that they were seeing Rockapella. Anyway, she was blown away by my boys, so that was quite exciting to find another Rockapella-convert. ;)

The show was very good, not great, but good, and let me tell you why - their harmonies were not jelling! I'm not sure where I would attribute it to. My first thought was the sound, their mics weren't balanced well, Steven's mic was "hot", meaning it was too loud/sensitive, and John's wasn't at all. I could barely hear him. But, it could also be due to exhaustion. They had an early flight from New Jersey into LA that morning, and I would imagine that may have something to do with their voices not blending well that night. Honestly, I was also missing Kevin's voice, a little. I think Steven's wonderful, but there's something about the quality or the timbre in K-dub's voice that somehow held his, Scott's and John's voices together. Maybe, I just have to give Steven more time with them, it takes years to really get that blend together perfectly (unless you're blood-related). But don't get me wrong, the show was very, very good. Steven was very engaging when he speaks, and he's not bad to look at, either. Not bad at all... *mind drifts*

Random: Jeff, during his vocal-percussion solo, stopped in the middle and shared a random tidbit about his days living in Los Angeles. His first apartment in So Cal was in South Pasadena (where my cousin-in-law, Jeremy, Prel's husband, grew up). Then, he resumes his vp solo. Like I said, RANDOM.

"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" - they showed childhood pictures of each Pella, and that was just too precious! Interesting to see Jeff and Scott as little babies/tots. And there was one particular picture of John as a teen, that totally reminded me of Ralph Tresvant of New Edition, the song "Mr. Telephone Man" started playing in my head!

It was good to see my friends, MJ and Ross at the show. They were put in-charge of the merchandise table. I guess Ross didn't have photography duties that night. Anyway, it was nice to catch up with MJ for a bit.

Meet and greet: Good idea of having the guys in one spot this time. The first couple of times they were at Beckman, they were just milling about, and you just kind of go up to each Pella and have them sign paraphernalia or have your pics taken with them. This time, they were behind a booth of some sort (like a concession stand). I was able to purchase their new CD "Bang" there, and also got myself a copy of the sheet music of "Hold Out for Christmas".

Scott. Talked to Scott a little bit about his injury from last year. He said that his wrist is healing well, but it would never be the same. I asked him if it was still tender, he said that it was, a little bit. I asked if he had been setting off airport metal detectors everywhere they go, and I was glad to know that he hasn't at all. When I handed him the sheet music for HOFC, I asked him if he would ever be working on a sheet music for "Don't Tell Me You Do". He said, probably not. I asked why. He said he thinks I'm the only one requesting for it. "Really?!" I said. And we just had a chuckle about it. I suppose I'm just going to have to transcribe that sucker myself.

John. Didn't get to talk to John much, I wanted to. Got to say "hi" and "how are you?" to him, but someone cut in and started asking him a question while he was signing my stuff, I didn't really get to talk to him anymore. :(

George. Was able to talk to Geo a bit. I told him that he still hadn't answered my question: Pat's or Geno's. LOL He said, he didn't get to go to either. But he was in Philly though. He also said that there's another place that he thinks is even better than Pat's or Geno's. He encouraged me to visit Philly (as I had never been there before), and try out Pat's, Geno's and the other place that he said that's better than those two. I said, I would love to, one of these days.

Steven. Sheesh, he's a cutie. He flashed that smile of his, and I think I melted. Anyway, I congratulated him on his first ever Rockapella Holiday tour. And I told him that it must have been heady for him to learn all those holiday songs and choreography in a very short amount of time. He did say it took him 2 months learn everything, but he's got 1 week's worth of performances already on his belt, so he's starting to get into the groove of it. At this point, I think Jeff was standing next to him, signing my CD and sheet music. I think he said "hi" to me, but I kind of ignored him (sorry, Jeff), since Steven was still talking to me (oh.. goodness, lol). Anyway, I said "bye" to Steven and wished him a Merry Christmas, then moved on to Jeff.

Jeff. "Nice scruff", I said. He said, "you like it?" I said, "yeah, I actually do." He said, "Oh, thanks!" Then, he walked around the booth/concession stand from where he standing behind, came up to me, and said, "I love your hair. It's so straight and sleek. It looks good." Cue me squeeing inside. And then gave me a huge hug, and we just kind stood there for maybe a minute, hugging. So, we finally let go, and he stared at me for a bit and said, "You look sad. Why are you sad?" Puzzled, I said, "I do? Really?" He kept staring and said, "Yes, you do. Or maybe, I'm just imagining it" or something like that. I told him there's no reason for me to be sad because I saw him. He laughed and said something, but I'm not sure what it was. He said it was good to see me, and I wished him a Merry Christmas. Ahhh Jeff... Just when I get over my crush, you somehow manage to reel me back in. LOL I'm kidding. Jeff's been so cool with me in the past couple of years. Cooler than usual. The hugs are fairly new - nice, long, tight hugs. I feel like a friend that he hasn't seen in awhile, whenever he gives me those hugs. It's really neat. :D

It's interesting how Jeff sensed some kind of sadness in me. I must admit, I'd been feeling a bit of melancholy, and it did kind of hit me during "Merry Christmas, Darling" and "Christmas Without You". Got a bit "emo" during those songs. I think I teared up during the latter. Maybe, it lingered, and that's what he saw. Oh boy... Chalk it up to the holidays, I suppose. LOL

Took a group picture with the guys, Sherry, Jenny and a couple of newbies, who are friends of Sher. Just waiting for her to put that up on her blog. I want to see how it turned out.

Lingered around a bit more. Talked to the Everetts & Jenny for a little bit. Then, Geo joined us and we all talked about the cruise. He went around and asked each one of us who's going on the cruise in January. It turns out that I'm the only one not going. Geo made me feel worse when he said that I was going to be missing out on a lot (uh...duh!). But, he did say later on that it would be cool if I could go, but next time, perhaps. Oh, I will definitely go the next time they have a cruise!

Said my goodbyes to my East coast friends, MJ and Ross. Then, looked for Sher to say "bye" to her, as well as Jenny. Walked to my car with the Everetts who actually had parked next to me. It was a long night, but I had a great time, as always. :)