NKOTB at the Tacoma Dome

Hummana hummana hummana. I have to confess to being a HUGE NKOTB fan in my childhood. I remember watching the Wonderful World of Disney one Saturday night and live from Epcot my fist crush rushed onto the stage. It was New Kids on the Block rocking out "Hangin' Tough" and I instantly fell in love with Joey. Sigh. He was sooo pretty....

One of my friends (who had way nicer parents than mine) had everything. Cassette tapes, the comforter, dolls, sleeping bag and all the walls in her room were covered with posters. I loved playing at her house. The only thing I had that she didn't was their Christmas album (which is still one of my favorites) because they were Jewish. I let her borrow it on the sly but don't tell her parents!

Since I had mean parents who wouldn't let me go to the concert I had to wait for their reunion to live out my childhood fantasy. And let me tell you it was worth the wait!!!!

I sent out a mass email to all my friends to see who wanted to go with me and everyone turned me down...this is what happens when your friends are either younger or older and are just out of my generation. I am smack dab in the middle of the NKOTB fan base being 2 weeks shy of my 30th birthday. Most of the time its fine, but at moments like these I wish my old buddy wasn't in California now. So my sweet husband came with.

Before the show started people could text message to the big boards to win front row "face time" for 3 songs. Some of the messages were so fun! I wasn't the only one with mean parents that didn't let me go as a kid. There were moms who'd brought their kids who they'd indoctrinated into the NKOTB love. The PA was playing a great selection of classic 80s music so the crowd was getting in the groove before anyone hit the stage. The 80s wear was in full swing including mini skirts paired with leg warmers. The people watching was prime.

The show opened just before 8pm with Lady Gaga who we'd never heard of. At first she was a little off putting, it was like Madonna meets Britney. But she actually was really awesome, very pop/techno. We wondered how many arobic classes she has taught to keep that kind of energy going! Ryan is going to look for her videos.

Next up was Natasha Beddingfield who I had orinally been really excited about but her set was much mellower and the crowd settled down. She got us riled up again at the end mainly by mentioning NKOTB. Her voice was amazing, but I think she would be a better fit for smaller more intimate venues.

Just after 9:30 NKOTB finally came onstage and the Tacoma Dome exploded. I have never been at a show where the audience cheered so loud for so long. I could barely hear them singing the cheering was so loud. They did a great job keeping the crowd revved up and I was amazed at how sharp their coreography was. They really did set the standard for the modern boy band. At one point they started taping the crowd dancing so they could watch it later on the bus, I think we gave them a great show!

The men had aged very nicely and Donnie has no problem playing up his hotness. Ryan was a little put off by the butt and crotch grabbing (and Jordan had this awesome unbuttoned shirt ballad) but the female audience was very enthusiastic. Donnie toyed with the audience by starting to take his belt off and then gave us a "no-no" finger wag.

We had floor seats again (farther back then for Celine) but when they moved to Stage B (I heart Stage B) they were literally 15-20 feet away. Damn me for not bringing the camera! They sang two songs on the mini revolving stage and I got to look at their prettiness nice and close. This was when the panties flew...the guys were awesome and were taking fans cameras and taking pictures of each other before they handed them back. By the time the finale hit bras were flying! Saucy!

My fantasy felt complete, they had sung Hangin' Tough, You've Got the Right Stuff and Step by Step. The only thing that would have made it better was if they'd sung something off their Christmas albumn!

My only negative comment is that they used a projector for their screens and it was pretty crappy compared to whatever Celine Dion used. Hers were crystal crisp! Hopefully they can upgrade for their next tour :)

Wikipedia has a great article on the history of the group, and I totally loved this article from the Seattle Times about her own NKOTB love, and lastly, Spew did a great write up of the show (with pictures!) that is more unbiased than mine!

The Drowsy Chaperone

Dear Lord in Heaven- please let this it be good.

These were the first words we heard from the narrator as we sat in the dark of the 5th Avenue Theater. The lights went down but instead of the first stirring musical strains of the overture, there was silence. And then more silence. And then the sarcastic wit of the narrator began.

The premise of the Drowsy Chaperone is so crazy that it is brilliant. We are watching a contemporary Broadway fan that is feeling blue (and there is a whole monologue on what that feeling is) as he sits in his apartment and puts on his favorite record from the 1920s.

What I loved the most is how he pauses the record to tell us about the actors (who died and their face was eaten by the poodles) and their star status (she started as the "Opps Girl") and the relationships between them. One of my favorite moments was when the narrator tells us that the lyrics to the next song are awful, don't even listen to them! But the music is wonderful. And then he is up and dancing along.

This was another show without an intermission, but the "fake" intermission was so funny becuase the second record was from a different show! So suddenly we're watching something else entirely! Rosa the cleaning lady is told not to touch the records, but she just doesn't listen. The narrator does not like intermissions, he feels that they ruin the magic as you are forced back in to reality for 20 minuets. Darn the need for potty breaks.

The other great gag is when the phone rings and the narrator gets annoyed beacuse, yet again, his magic is being ruined! And don't you just hate it when people get calls at the theater?

This was a wonderful show, and for the first time I am sorely tempted to go back and see something for a second time. If you are a fan of MST3000 (and if you don't know what that is I'm not going to tell you) this show is for you. If you like scarcsam, this show is for you! If you loved the costumes in Mame, this show is for you (the same person did them and they are fabulous)!

Now go get your ipod and download the soundtrack!

Electra - Daddy's Revenge Obsessed Little Girl

Due to a scheduling conflict we had to change our opera tickets to Halloween. It was great fun to see costumes mixed in with the regular opera goers. I wore my tiara and a sparkly dress. We saw some life guards in very tight spandex and a fabulous group wearing Greek costumes.

We joined the Bravo Club (major discounts and fun events for those of you under 40) and we hit their event before the show. Free wine is always a plus in my opinion! And we even had a pleasant conversation with a guy who just got back from Nepal.

The show itself is very short, and there is no intermission. But it is a very powerful work. What I noticed the most is that while a Broadway show intertwines the score with the lyrics, the singers in Electra were often times singing in direct contrast to the orchestra.

Electra is a Greek tragedy with a story that starts before this oprea. Helen of Troy has been abducted and the Spartan's need to be big bad asses and go get her back. It's a pride thing. But someone has offended the God's, so the King sends for his daughter (telling her and his wife that he's making her a high priestess). Lie! Instead he scarifies her so the winds will change and he and his army can leave the harbor. Needless to say this makes his wife very unhappy. So when he comes back from war (and that tricky Trojan horse trick) his wife and her lover kill him in the bath tub.

According to Greek law a son must avenge the killing of his father so the young prince is spirited away before he can be killed first. This leave Electra and her sister living at the palace and so this opera begins.

Electra is obsessed with revenge for her father's death (she even keeps the sword he was killed with so that she has it ready when her brother returns) while her sister just wants to live a normal life. But their mother has paid a price for her treachery, she has been unable to sleep since she murdered her husband and she lives in fear of the return of her son. Since this is a tragedy, and a Greek one at that, I'm sure it comes at no surprise that things don't end well.

At the end the prince comes home, the mother and lover are killed, and Electra has nothing to live for so she dies. But what was the most moving moment of the opera was when Electra's sister (the one who just wanted to be normal, have babies and be like other girls) is holding the body of her dead sister, and the newly returned brother slowly distances himself from her and locks her out of the palace!!!!!

Those Greeks sure knew their drama.