Thanks so much to everyone who came out to celebrate, with a special thanks to those who traveled from Jersey and NY: Mom & Dad, Elmer & Hoong-San, Eric De La Cruz, Jackie, Maria, Geoff & Sabrina, Kim & Dan, Mark & Jess, Rafa & Simone, Eric Diebold, Jon Birge, Andrew, Jess Watkins, Loren & Jason, Sam & Emy, Jim Carey, Prakriti & Dinesh, Cleber & Carla, Tobias & Katja, Amy & Ryan, Bola, Hobie & Jen
We had a blast, and hope you all did, too. Here are some photos. Click to enlarge. Enjoy!
3:00pm: At Carlos Cucina Italiana
4:20pm: Walking to the MFA
7:23pm: Our evening venue: Felt
My favorite dish was the Lump Crab Cakes, and apparently having an "s" at the end does not mean more than one.
~9:30pm: With our usual lateness, we finally make it up to the 2nd floor billiards.
The first shot of the night:
~11:45pm: Dance dance dance! At the Club on the 4th Floor.
The only ten polaroids that came out, quite literally...stupid polaroid camera
Midnight - Happy Birthday, Brian!
"How much more do I have to spend?!"
Pricey champagne anyone? (Perrier Jouët, Rose, Fleur de Champagne)
Here's God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings, by Barenaked Ladies for some background music:
Thursday, December 14th, 2006
A little early birthday present, we went to one of the two Barenaked Ladies concerts at the Holiday Pops, having an entire table to ourselves. yep yep.
Table M101, with our waitress, Nevelle, who brought out our munchies: Roast Beef Sandwich, Tuna Salad Sandwich, Cheese & Fruit Platter with some shiraz to top it off.
Totally forgetting that it was a holiday concert, I stood out in blue amongst the red and green. But no matter. Maybe you can actually spot me in the audience when this taped performance airs next year on Boston's WBZ-TV.
The concert opened with the following. Lyrics were sung by the Tanglewood Festival Chorus.
Hark, The Herald Angels Sing Christmas Spirituals (My Lord, What a Morning- Rise Up, Shepherd-Glory Hallelujah) - Renese King, vocalist The Adoration of the Magi, the Three Botticelli Pictures Gloria
During the intermission, we couldn't wait to hear the Barenaked Ladies (Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Steven Page, Ed Robertson, Tyler Stewart)
They are just as quirky as they are in their song, "If I had a Million Dollars" - great vocals with funny interjections. They were FANTASTIC!!
- Jingle Bells - I Saw Three Ships, after which Ed mentioned Keith Lockhart's red "blouse" and socks and Steven commented on Ed's use of the word "blouse" - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings, you too would have reacted as I did when Ed says "Ladies and gentlemen, Sarah McLachlan" - only to be completely duped when he says he wishes she were there too. The audience went from applausing with total surprise to laughing hysterically. It was ridiculous. I couldn't stop laughing. - Deck the Halls, a Crosby Stills & Nash version - Green Christmas, they give props to the chorus behind them
- Hanukkah Blessings - Frosty the Snowman (or is it just Snowman) - Do They Know It's Christmas? - O Holy Night
Everyone was on their feet after that last song, and they tried their best to control the applause.
and then...intermission.
We could not stop raving about them. It was just so fun to watch and hear them perform.
The next segment included the Middlesex Country Volunteers Fifes & Drums, in full old school attire.
- A Holly Jolly Jingle - White Christmas
Then was the A Merry Little Sing-Along, where the audience gets to participate, including these songs: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Let It Snow!, Winter Wonderland...can't remember the others, but could be Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Jingle Bells, O come, All Ye Faithful, Joy to the World
As a finale, Renese King, the BNL and Fifes & Drums all go onstage. Renese King sings a solo Do You Hear What I Hear?
Then everyone sings Sleigh Ride, with a finale of We Wish You a Merry Christmas/Please Bring Us Some Figgy Pudding.
I definitely hurt my hands from all that clapping...
As funny as Tenacious D was/could have been if I could hear them better, I didn't quite want to end the year on that show, and therefore, we have the late addition to our concert repetoire to close out 2006: OK GO & Scissor Sisters on Friday, December 8th at Avalon, no less.
Most of the crowd in front of us were there to see Scissor Sisters, so I wish OK GO had gotten more love when they performed, because they were super enteraining. Also, there was plenty of room on the dance floor...the lead singer, Damian, actually went to the middle of the floor amongst the audience during one of the songs, with tons of space around him.
We were so close to the stage that whenever they would look over our way, they could definitely see us not knowing the words/singing along. It felt a bit awkward, enough to not want to look them in the eye. (gulp) I love venues like that...
Their finale: "A Million Ways". This was quite the crowd pleaser.
I actually wanted to see the Scissor Sisters when they performed at the Opera House (or was it the Orpheum) a couple months ago, but this was probably the best venue for them...a club. Quite the spicy bunch they were with all their stories and unabashed political views. They were full of energy, and the crowd not only felt it but joined in. There was one guy who knew every single word to every song in front of me just going nuts. Near the end, one fan threw their sweater onstage and Jake, lead singer practically in nothing, wears it for an entire song, and this is a rather woolly sweater. After the song, Jake gave the fan back his sweat-soaked sweater. Another happy customer.
