Mame! and Matchbox 20

Back to back Saturdays couldn't have been more different. First up we saw Mame which was one of our "surprise" shows at the 5th Ave. We didn't have any idea what we were getting in to but we both loved it! As part of our season tickets we got an extra "bonus" ticket so we took a friend who just started a neat new job. She loves Mame and was very excited to go. Over dinner she was telling us about a reviewer who called it dated. Fie I say! As a younger theater goer the costumes were amazing (so sparkly!) and I already know all about what it's like to live today. I find it to be enjoyable to have a peek back to the past. I loved the idea of the young nephew following his aunt and her friends around learning all kinds of new vocabulary words :)

The following Saturday we caught Matchbox 20 at the Key. The show started promptly at 7pm (which is always nice). This was the third time for us and they put on a fantastic show as always. The crowd was really diverse- we saw 'tweens with their families, young twenties, guys without girls, girls with out guys, and couples of all ages.

The opening band was from New Orleans and called New Math. They only played for 20 minutes but the amount of energy they used was phenomenal. It was like Sting (in his Police years) mashed with Stomp. At the end all the musicians were on the drums while the drummer was standing on a drum on top of the piano and then he jumped off! That must have been some seriously reinforced musical equipment. I would see them again and wouldn't be surprised if they make it big.


Next up was Alanis Morissette and she played for about 45 minutes. I'm not a fan, but I usually like what they play on the radio. I was really impressed with her performance. She seemed so genuine as she sang. And she sounded amazing! You know how sometimes you buy the CD and see a show live and think "wow, they sure digitally enhanced that performance". Alanis did a great job warming the audience up and I really liked the way she introduced her band members one at a time in between songs so they each got a moment of glory.

And then...there were up! And for 2 glorious hours Matchbox 20 played. It was a 5 hour show with all three bands (and the breakdowns between sets). One of the things we love about them is the light show and they did not disappoint! The start was a giant spaceman complete with countdown clock. The Exile in America Tour was mainly old material with a smattering of new songs thrown in. Post reunion, it was nice to notice that Rob Thomas highlighted his band members better and each of them had solo spots. What was really cool is that they have USB bracelets that you can order with a sound recording of your particular city, so soon we'll be able to relive the magic. Now if only they would release the video....

We saw Matchbox 20 on our honeymoon so we always see them when they come to town, and luckily for us it always hits around our anniversary. As we sat there in the audience waiting for the show to start we had that moment where seven years may have passed by but it felt like we'd barely left that first show.

Belated Theater Reviews

Yowza! How is it mid February already? In an odd paradox I have felt incredibly busy and laid back all at the same time. But let's finish off last year.

From my previous posts, I got a really neat vintage jacket to wear. That led to the decision that I really want a full length vintage fur some day. A friend gave me a short jacket that had been given to her and I wanted to get it cleaned. I asked a coworker who I figured probably had something in her closet and lo and behold she lent me a beautiful fur that had been her mother's that she'd had reworked. Sadly, the weather was awful that night and I didn't dare risk wearing the jacket out. But I did have the DH take my picture from the safety of our patio. Some day I hope to have a theater jacker this lovely. I wore my other jacket instead and got complimented at the theater for wearing something unique.

We saw two shows in December, the first was Whistle Down the Wind. I was on a huge Andrew Lloyd Webber kick whilst in middle school and high school, so I first got the soundtracks for WDTW and Sunset Boulevard from my local library. I have always wanted to see both shows (despite not the nicest reviews when they first premiered). If you've never seen the 1950 black and white film with film legend Gloria Swanson you should! So I was really excited to see WDTW. Now Sunset just needs to come through town...

Now, I am not an overly religious person. The DH and I were married by an ordained librarian who got his license from the back of a Rolling Stones magazine in the 1970s. We believe in something, we just don't like trying to define it and getting up early on Sundays. Hiking on Easter is a great way to feel connected to the world.

Anyhoo- WDTW takes place in a small town in 1959. Three siblings whose mother has just died mistake a runaway convict hiding in their barn as Jesus. Yes, that Jesus. As the minister says in the opening scene, "will you recognize him when he comes again"? All the children in town put their faith in the man in the barn. But of course all the grown ups want to catch/kill him, being that he is a convicted murderer. Despite feeling predictable, and the cynic in me knowing he couldn't possibly be Jesus (thought the ending left that unclear), somehow the show managed to touch me unawares. It wasn't until I was discreetly wiping away tears during the climax that the subtlety of the various plots hits. I knew it was especially touching when I found myself getting teary again as I described it to coworkers over the next few days. Click here for a synopsis.

Sadly, I think the plot of the show was off putting to liberal minded Seattle and our Saturday evening show was half empty. That was a shame because the acting, staging and vocals were amazing.

We saw a second show at the end of December, Jersey Boys which has gotten a lot of buzz. We chipped in for half of our niece's ticket and my brother in law came a long too. It was a good show. A lot of fun. I got a shirt that says "Big Girls Don't Cry". But it didn't have the emotional impact or staying power that Whistle Down the Wind had. If I had to choose between the two of them to see again, I would choose to see the Lloyd Webber production.

Holiday Enchantment

Better late than never- how was your Thanksgiving? Mine was great! We had a three day extravaganza- on Turkey day proper we spent it with my brothers family and all I had to do was bring the pies! I made pumpkin cheesecake on Tuesday, apple on Wednesday and pumpkin on Thursday. The pies were a hit and there were even plenty of leftovers to take home! Yum! I have to give our hosts credit, they put on quite a spread and everything was delicious. New to me was yams...with marshmallows on top! I thought it was pretty tasty!

On Friday, the DH and I had a date night and saw Disney's Enchanted. I loved it! I can't remember the last time I smiled through an entire movie. I remembered what "feel good" movies are supposed to be like. I won't bore you with a review (there are plenty of them out there) but I will say that I will probably catch it again this holiday season (I don't think it will be leaving the box office any time soon!) and it will be a definite add to the DVD collection.

Just when we couldn't have any more fun- we did! While all of my friends had turkey growing up, I can only remember eating it once or twice. We had a traditional Mexican meal- tamales- when I was growing up. If you've never helped make tamales, it is quite an experience. All my cousins and I can recall being told we weren't spreading the dough right! To keep this tradition up, the DH and I have a second feast each year, duly named "Mexican Thanksgiving". We ending up with a crowd of 9 this year and I have to say this was our best year ever. The DH has perfected making caramel for the flan (I do the custard) and beans/refried beans. Ironically, the same man who protested when I told him real Mexican food requires lard, now buys the large size tub and hates it when we have to substitute shortening for our vegetarian friends. My Aunt passed on her rice recipe (it's all about toasting the cumin and then grinding it fresh) and I have a chicken enchilada recipe that's to die for. Really, you pour 2 cups of heavy whipping cream on top and then bake them. They are a crowd favorite- not that traditional, but they taste so good nobody cares! I think my brother and I are going to try tamales again this year for Christmas, I told him I'd slap his hand and tell him he's doing it wrong just like mom used to....ah....family traditions!

My Knitting Everest

I am please to report that I have have conquered that darn sock! If you go back to previous posts, you will see that I have been working on a pair of socks for the dear husband. The first sock went smoothly...too smoothly.

Attempt #1: The second sock started strongly, and in my over confidence I took it to a meeting. Gigantic mistake! Never take knitting that requires thinking to a meeting. I was focusing on an interesting discusion and the next think I knew, instead of knitting on 4 needles, I was on 3....such sadness. The DH was very good about helping me frog the yarn (because it sounds like rip it, rip it, rip it) and rewinding the ball.

Attempt number 2: I cast back on and away I went, going strong, my confidence was returning. I got together with some gal pals and while we were waiting, one of my friends and I had a stitch n' bitch. Now, you would think I would have learned my lesson - but no. I was so close to putting my knitting down when disaster struck. I dropped a stitch. And in my attempt to be all cool and "look what a good knitter I am" I only succeeded in making a mess of things and dropping another stitch! Damn my ego. That's when I put the sock away for a month and a half. I was sure that I was going to have to frog the darn sock - AGAIN!

Fix #1: I finally had the courage to pick it up again, this time with my two handy reference books. I actually fixed my mistakes! Happiness! Joy! No frog sounds need apply...until...in my exuberance, I got ahead of myself and didn't reposition my stitches before turning the heal. Disaster...rib bit, rib bit here I come...the knitting got put away again...

Fix #2: After taking some time apart, I got out my trusty reference books again, and in my new one I found a trick for only frogging a few rows, by putting a needle through a lower row. This worked amazingly well! After frogging the two rows, repositioning the stitches and picking up a lost stitch or two (now I have it!) the rest went quite well. I am pleased to say that I finally finished the second sock!

The cruel irony: upon close inspection of the socks (which is what any knitter must do) I realized that the first sock, the one that went so smoothly- I see a bunch of mistakes. The second sock, that took 3 times as long and I thought was a disaster multiple times- looks better!

The anal retentive part of me is considering frogging the first sock and knitting it again so it can look better, but the part of me that has stared at the same patter since April thinks it's time to move on to a new project and a new skein of yarn.

Conclusion: pity the poor fool who has a love for needles and yarn...

Into the Woods

The dear husband and I are loving our season tickets to the 5th ave. It is so fun to have fancy date nights to look forward to! And did you know you get free parking??? Loving it!

We just saw Into the Woods, which my DH was very excited about. Ironically, I had checked Ticketmaster to see when it may be playing over the summer. We were batting around the idea of going somewhere it was playing for our anniversary (what can I say, I like to plan things in advance). There was a show in Vancouver BC the week before our April 08 anniversary, which would have been great because that's where we originally honeymooned.

I signed up to be emailed when any shows were available in my area, and once I got the email I went to the 5th aves website and saw the rest of the season. Which leads us back to season tickets at the 5th ave...

It turns out that the theater produces some shows (like this one) themselves. Since it's not a "Broadway tour" it hadn't shown up on my previous search. So all the actors were local and the sets and costumes were designed and built at the theater. All were fantastic, and if I hadn't read in the program that they had produced the show themselves I would never have guessed it wasn't touring. In a way I felt bad, because it was so good that people in other cities missed out on seeing the same show I did!

This was one of those instances where the DH owns the soundtrack and book and I had no idea what show he was gushing about. When I first listened to Into the Woods it reminded me of Wicked, the soundtracks are very complex with lost of layering and large group singing counter parts simultaneously. You really need to see it to put it all together. Then when you listen to the soundtrack you can untangle the voices and make sense out of it all. After seeing the show, I think my favorite song was Agony, when the two princes share their feeling on being in love with a woman...and later in the reprise, multiple women!

Clipity-Clop Clipity -Clop : We LOVED Spamalot!

Ahhh...the satiric wit of the British. We love satiric wit. Despite both the dear husband and myself still suffering the effects of the dreaded bug going around, we dragged ourselves off the sofa for a night at "the theater".

The DH looked quite dashing and "double O" in his tuxedo (he does clean up nice!) and my vintage jacket from earlier in the week was smashing. In fact, we got complimented three times by Paramount staff who were ecstatic to see a couple get dressed up. It was most vexing when the audience member who had been sitting on the grail and got to go on stage was wearing a white wind breaker....

The show itself was fantastic. We love Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and had been listening to the soundtrack. But in order to truly understand the plot one does needs to see it in all its glory. The over the top moments were shocking and amusing all at the same time. All I can say is those dancing girls were in great shape, and the men in the audience must have found the performance to be particularly entertaining :) The costumes were amazing (the shinier the better) and the cast was excellent. We got a pair of souvenir coconuts, so we too can go questing at a moments notice... or loan them to my brother for his Halloween costume...

Vintage Find

Yesterday was the greatest day! I was at the stamp store in Issaquah (finishing off the last of my work resource budget) and next door there was a vintage clothing store that had a bunch of racks out front. I was browsing through the racks out front and found an awesome jacket! It is going to be my new theater jacket. The dear husband and I just picked up From the Earth to the Moon so I've been admiring some of the better bits of fashion mixed in with the 60s. The inside of the store was filled with even more treasures, shoes, purses, costumes, mens and womens clothing...I had to reign myself in to the one impulse buy. Plus my great new find had the price cut in half! Such a great shopping day!


Here's the label from the inside, it's hard to tell but the red says 1964! How cool is that!



It needs a little work, I need to replace a button and the white trim is actually two pieces, so I need to sew the ends back together. But even I can handle simple sewing like this.

When we see Spamalot on Saturday I'm going to be styling! If you're interesting in going vintage hunting yourself the store is:

Doubletake
1175 NW Gilman Blvd #B6
Issaquah 98027
425-392-4908