Going to the Live LIVE show!

[kYLE]

Not trying to brag, I'm just excited and no one else I know cares about Rifftrax, MST3k, or Weird Al so I thought I'd share before I exploded.  I live close to Dallas, TX and, after reading the twitter post about the live show in Escondido, CA I forwarded it to a buddy of mine and suggested we drive it (21 hours).  He called me back and told me he wasn't going to drive, but that he had just gone online and bought us airline tickets to fly to CA on 12-16.  So I got on the phone and bought show tickets.  This holy grail of a live show with Mike, Keven, Bill, AND Weird Al is more than we could resist.  It's like the holy trinity (or quadrinity) or something.  So two nerds from Dallas TX are flying in just for this show and flying back the next morning.  I can't wait!

-Kyle

[Steve-O]

See you there, Kyle!

(P.S. You should wear socks to bed.)

[Conor]

You're certain your from Dallas and not another nearby town...?

Say hi at the show.  The farthest distance travelled probably warrants buying you a beer.  Assuming of course, nobody decides to fly in from Florida.

Steve-O, you get nothing.

[Steve-O]

Steve-O, you get nothing.

It's cool.  I'll probably already be drunk anyway.

[kYLE]

Well, technically we are both from Grand Saline.  It's about an hour East of Dallas, but I figured no one would have any idea where that was.  It's a big deal to us, because as corny as it may sound MST3K kept my friend and I out of trouble in the late 1990's.  We were both in that transitional state between high school/college and career.  We would spend all night laughing ourselves silly at mst instead of drinking and getting ourselves into trouble.  And of course I've been listening to Weird Al practically my entire life.  I know it sounds weird, but mst3k truly had a positive impact on both of our lives and I don't think we would have been as successful in life as we have without it.  In a nutshell, that's why we're traveling so far to see it LIVE(!). 

Conor:  I believe I owe you a beer.  You helped me out on a download issue a while back when you really didn't have to.  I really appreciated it. 

-Kyle
PS:  I'll be the guy with a hick accent and wearing an orange Dukes of Hazzard cap.

[JWC]

I live about five miles from Escondido and I've picked up my tickets.  There are some restaurants right across the street from the theater and over on Grand ave. a block away.

[MPF]

Got a carload of us driving down from SF - w00t!

[kYLE]

That was, with out a doubt, one of the best times I've ever had.  We left Dallas at around 7:30am (Dallas time) and landed in San Diego around 11:00 (california time) or so.  We grabbed a hotel, ate some lunch and went to get in line in Escondido around 2:00.  I was a little surprised at how small the theater was.  The show was even better than I expected.  The best way I could describe it would be "electric."  It was nice to be with other fans, because, other than my friend who traveled with me, no one I know cares about MST3K or Rifftrax.  We laughed from start to finish and I wished the show would never end.  The only complaint I have is the under use of Al.  I understand they might not have wanted to have him sing because of the negative response to the musical breaks during the Plan 9 show, but this is not Jonathan Coulton.  It's Weird "frickin" Al!  In my opinion, use him right or not at all.  It almost seemed insulting to Al in my eyes.  But, whatever.  I'm sure there was a reason it was the way it was and it was otherwise absolutely perfect.  Infinitely better than the Plan 9 show, which was great as well. 

I may alienate some of the fans here, but one thing regarding the fans in the live theater really aggravated me.  I was surprised when the guys first appeared and not a soul stood up.  I'm a pretty shy guy, and not one to start a standing ovation, so I sat quietly, but it really aggravated me towards the fans in the theater.  I mean, it's THESE guys.  It made me feel a little bad for Mike, Kevin, and Bill. The moment came and went and I wussed out.  Onto the show.  Perfection.  The show ends and they leave the stage.  No one stands up.  What?!!?  When they returned for the encore bow, I couldn't take it.  After what they had just pulled off, they deserved a standing ovation.  I asked my buddy to stand up with me to see if we could start one.  He said he would so I stood up.  He started, got half way up and then sat back down laughing his rear off at me.  He got the biggest kick out of me standing by myself in the middle of the theater.  I couldn't sit down because I was up and visibly committed.  Only a handful of people stood up after that.  I don't know if it was visible on the broadcast or not, so I'm anxious to see the dvd to see if I'm on it.  If you see some dork standing in the center of the (approx) fifth row in an orange cap and a green jacket that says "DALLAS HOCKEY" across the chest, that would be me. 

After the show, we stopped at the local Dollar Tree to grab a sharpie and drove to the Stone Brewery.  It was surreal standing face to face with Mike, Kevin, and Bill, and oh yeah, Weird AL.  I was a little starstruck and couldn't think of anything to say.  Kevin tried to buy my sharpie for a dollar, but I wouldn't let him pay me.  I just wanted my ticket stub signed.  In hindsight, I should have taken his dollar and had him sign it.  It would have been kind of cool to have a signed dollar from Kevin Murphy's wallet  in a stalker-ish sort of way.  All I could think to say was to mumble how we had flown from Dallas earlier that morning (we got up at what equated to 2:00 am california time) just to see them.  They looked genuinely surprised and appreciative.  We moved down the line to my childhood hero, Weird AL,  and I couldn't think of anything to say, but "Thanks."  With nothing to say, and being a socially inept nerd with the inability to make small talk, I left the Stonecold after the brief meeting.  I wish I would have stuck around, because we appeared to be near the end of the line and probably could have spent a little more time with these guys.  Oh well, what are you going to do? 

It was my first time in the San Diego area and I was amazed at how beautiful it was.  I wish we would have had more time to look around.  All in all, it was one of the coolest times I've ever had in my life.  Easily worth all the time and every cent. 

[carlobee]

That would sure be fun.

[Nevadadrifter]

If you see some dork standing in the center of the (approx) fifth row in an orange cap and a green jacket that says "DALLAS HOCKEY" across the chest, that would be me.

You wouldn't be the one in the "01" General Lee cap would you?

[kYLE]

Yeah.  That's me.  Were you there or did you see the broadcast?  I'm curious if my little, uh, moment, was visible in the theaters.

[Nevadadrifter]

Yeah.  That's me.  Were you there or did you see the broadcast?  I'm curious if my little, uh, moment, was visible in the theaters.

I was at the live show. Just happened to notice your cap because I'm a bit of a Dukes Of Hazzard fan as well. In fact, a General Lee replica is next of my list of major purchases. I'm sure that will be entertaining for a year or so, before I get tired of people yelling at me to "hit the horn"!  I didn't happen to notice the standing ovation, as I was sitting ahead of you. I don't remember what I was wearing, but my wife is the cute redhead who was wearing the gray dress with a black belt and black knee high boots. She's totally not into the whole rifftrax/MST3K thing at all, but was willing to come along because she knew it made me happy. And surprisingly, she actually ended up having a really good time!