Everybody in the whole cell block

Ken was off to Wisconsin today for a few days, so I occupied myself this afternoon with a visit to the fabulous State Theater to watch a showing of “Jailhouse Rock.” I met our friend Doug downtown, and it was his first time back to the State since it reopened recently.

As you can see, I came prepared, with my Elvis shirt that I got in Memphis at a gift shop across the street from Graceland!

We chatted with Drew and Mara for a bit, and got to meet Trish. I saw our old couch, and both Drew and Mara said that it is super comfortable, and Drew has even fallen asleep on it a few times! So happy that it has found a new home. Drew said I could take Doug up to the balcony and let him see that, which was a nice treat, since the balcony is usually off-limits. When you get up to the balcony, you get an idea of the size of the theater. I asked Mara, and she said that the original capacity, with the balcony and everything, was around 1,800. That’s a big theater!

It was especially fun to be seeing “Jailhouse Rock.” First of all, you all know that I’m a huge Elvis fan. Second, I had never seen it on the big screen before. It’s fun to catch older movies on the big screen. It gives you a whole new perspective. Third, it was a good tie-in to my History of Rock online course. The prof did an entire lecture on The Rise of Elvis, and recently mentioned the Elvis movies and cited “Jailhouse Rock” as one of the best. Of course, I loved hearing the music, and that Jailhouse Rock dance scene is one kicky blast, Daddy-O! I also loved seeing the mid-century modern furnishings and decor of the late ‘50s in the movie. Far out!

The main goal of this matinee was as an outing for a couple of downtown retirement/housing communities, one of them housed in the former Robertson’s department store building. The crowd was sparse, but I hope word gets out that it was fun. I’ll do my best to get the word out for the next movie! (More about that in a moment.)

After the movie, a local Elvis impersonator did a few songs. Doug and I grinned about the lady in the front row who was swaying and knew all the words to the songs. Then, what was really sweet...a lady involved with the housing community asked a few of the folks to share their “Elvis encounters.” One lady had open heart surgery in Indianapolis, in the early days of open heart surgery. Elvis was playing a show there and came to visit her! One guy was a kid in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and his Dad delivered telegrams for a living. He was along when his Dad delivered a telegram to Elvis, and said that Elvis was really nice.

Finally, the lady that Doug and I noticed in the front row. Mary said that she saw Elvis at Notre Dame (the same show that Shane went to!), and one of the security guards noticed her crying when Elvis opened with “My Way.” He came over and got her and took her up to the edge of the stage. Elvis came over to her, got down on a knee, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and put his scarf around her neck. After the song was over, he told the security guard to make sure that she got back to her seat and that NO ONE tried to take that scarf from her. Mary said that she still has it in a cabinet, and it still smells faintly of Elvis’s Brut cologne.

The reverence in her voice, and the memory that Elvis gave her...well, I teared up a little when hearing it, and I’m tearing up a little as I write this! He had his faults, just like any other human being, but he gave Mary a memory that she cherishes to this day. From everything I’ve read, he was a kind man who appreciated his fans, and I love him even more for giving Mary such a wonderful memory. That’s something special, you know?

As for October’s movie, those of us in attendance got to vote on it. There were some good choices, but the one that jumped out immediately for me and Doug was “The Blob.” Drew announced after the show that the people have spoken…”The Blob” it is! How fun will that be? I’ve never seen that one on the big screen, either! I exchanged a few messages with Drew, and he said he’d like to have a more formal start to the movie, maybe have a brief discussion about it, ask who has seen it, that sort of thing. I think that’s a great idea, and we both agreed that trivia about various movies can be a lot of fun and add to the movie and make it a richer viewing experience. So I’m going to do a little Blob research and see what I can scare up...so to speak!

It was a very enjoyable afternoon. Thanks to Doug for going with me, and thanks to Drew and everyone involved for doing this for the folks downtown—and for the rest of us!

Please enjoy one of my favorite Elvis songs. This song still makes me want to shake it, and this is a great clip with some groovy dancing and super cool outfits! Check out the ginger in the brown vest and orange shirt. Work it, Ginger!

TURN IT UP!

Time Warped

Well, last night was just a stone cold blast, Daddy-O! (Click on any picture to embiggen.)

First we headed to Shane and Matt’s groovy pad to exchange Christmas gifts. Better late than never, right? They seemed to enjoy their gifts, and they got us some fun and cool stuff. I just love the heavy glass squirrel bookends they got us! They are gorgeous...thanks, you guys! The squirrel is kind of the unofficial mascot of Nutwood, and we have quite a few squirrel things. These are by far the most beautiful!

Then we headed to downtown South Bend to grab a bite to eat at CJ’s. It is just a few feet from the State Theater, so we walked down there to see if we could pick up our tickets a little early. As we walked in, Drew, the guy who is spearheading (I can’t believe I just got to use the word ‘spearheading’) the renovation of the State, was walking through the lobby towards the doors. He saw us and said, “Are you Beth? Beth!” and came up and gave me a hug, and shook Ken’s hand. Awww! How sweet! Dude is a tall drink of water, too. Hard for me to judge, since I’m so short, but he has to be at least 6’4”. Anyway, he was just heading for CJ’s to meet up with us, so the timing was great. As we headed back to CJ’s, we saw Shane and Matt outside, and there were introductions all around.

We all enjoyed the beverages of our choice, and it was a great opportunity to talk with Drew about his plans for the State and why he decided to stay in the area after graduating from Notre Dame. He basically felt like there was a lot of potential for downtown South Bend, and we all agreed that there has definitely been a sort of renaissance downtown. Since Shane and I grew up here, I think he enjoyed our perspective on what downtown used to be like, including the Ethnic Festival, which used to be held downtown, but was moved to a city park. We all agreed that we’d love to see it move back downtown. There used to be a lot of cool little places downtown, like Vegetable Buddies, that hosted local bands. It was a great conversation, and he really impressed me with his vision and ambition to restore the State and make downtown a real destination again. You rock, Drew!

He couldn’t linger for long, because they were doing a 9 pm showing of Rocky Horror, so he had to get back for that. After he left, the rest of us sat there and chatted a while longer, and then it was getting close to the midnight hour, so we headed out.

There is a salvaged church pew at CJ’s, and Shane took my picture. Despite wearing a Mick t-shirt and fishnets, I managed to not burst into flames. What a relief!


So wonderful to see the State marquee all lit up, and people in line! Everyone was in a great mood, and we were all having fun. We had a little bit of a scare when we got up to the table and they didn’t find our names on their list...then either me or Ken said, “Drew said he was going to reserve four tickets and...” and she was like, “Oh!” and checked another list. She found our names and said, “Okay!” and marked an “R” on all of our hands. Well, all righty then!

I didn’t realize until later that no payment took place. Ken told me later, and I said, “What?” He said, “Yeah, I guess Drew comped us the tickets!” Drew, did I mention that you rock? Thank you!

So sorry I didn’t get a good pic of me and Ken, but I forgot that my forward-facing camera on my phone doesn’t have a flash. Drat! I’ll see if I can doctor up the picture and get it a little brighter!

We bought our “survivor packs” in the lobby, a large baggie filled with all the stuff you throw at the screen during the movie. Including toast!

We found some seats, third row, and settled in to wait. After a brief warm-up from someone with the “shadow cast” (a troop that acts out what is happening onscreen), the movie began.

I hadn’t seen the movie since college, it had been years since Shane had seen it, and Ken had never seen it before. I could be wrong about this, but I don’t think Matt had ever seen it before, either. (Hazy memory, sorry!) I had forgotten how much fun it is, how good the music is, and how poignant the ending is. It’s obviously a bizarre movie, but there is a lot to be seen there, on many levels, and I’m not ashamed to say that I got a little verklempt at the ending. The participatory portion of a Rocky Horror viewing is a blast, but I think the movie stands on its own as a campy and bizarre cult classic. It was a total blast! We really did all do the Time Warp, and it was so much fun! It was a raucous and enthusiastic crowd.

I think my favorite part was “Great Scott!” and the throwing of the toilet paper. When was the last time you got to throw a roll of toilet paper with great abandon and joy? It’s been too long for this gal, I can tell you that! But the toast part was pretty fun, too. You can see the aftermath above (picture via the State Theater’s Facebook page). Yikes!

Drew hopes to make it a regular feature at the State, and although I’m not going to be going every time it’s held there, I would definitely go again on occasion.

I’m sorry to report that there was one casualty of the evening. My fishnets took a beating when my bracelet got stuck to them, and I had to tear a hole in them to get it unstuck. I’m not throwing them out, though...they’ll be my future Rocky Horror fishnets!

The State has a ways to go on renovation, but good things are happening, and work is progressing. It is once again becoming a downtown destination and the “Pride of South Bend,” and it makes me happy to see this happening.

A fun night!

Of course, we had to end the evening with a Minion Flip-off! This might be a new tradition!

O the horror!

Tomorrow is going to be a good time, because we’re getting together with Shane and Matt. And that’s always a good time!

FIrst, we’re heading to their place to have our Christmas exchange.

YES, I know it’s June! We didn’t quite make it to the point where we could say it was Christmas in July, but it was pretty damn close! Based on everyone’s schedules and activities, we just haven’t managed to do this before now. We’ve seen them a couple of times since Christmas, but it was going out and to a show where we couldn’t exchange gifts. It will be fun! Merry effin’ Christmas!

Then we’ll head to fabulous downtown South Bend and grab a bite to eat at CJ’s Pub (great burgers!) and hang out there until it’s time for the midnight showing of “Rocky Horror Picture Show” at the equally fabulous State Theater.

It’s been about thirty years since I last saw Rocky Horror, guys. I saw it in college at a midnight movie with my friends Barb and Babes. It’s going to be fun to see it at the renovated beauty (work in progress) State Theater! Thanks to Drew for reserving four tickets for us!

You can count on pictures! I’m breaking out the fishnets!

Success!

I was able to get online right when presale tickets went on sale this morning, and scored front row seats for “Ghost Brothers.” Yeah, baby!

At this point, I don’t know if the people who did the soundtrack will be part of this tour, but if so, we’re talking Sheryl Crow, Kris Kristofferson, and...Elvis Costello (!!!). But even if it’s not them, I’ve loved John for many years, and I will enjoy hearing this music.

In the afternoon, I got an email from the Morris that said their presale would be tomorrow, so I got in on the pre-presale! That was because I follow Mellencamp on Twitter.

Then I messaged the guy who is doing the State Theater renovation, Drew, asking if they were doing a presale for Rocky Horror. He said yes, both via a website and at Brew Werks (housed in the State Theater building), but if I let him know how many tickets I wanted, he’d set them aside for me. How super cool is that?? Thanks, Drew!

You know, I’m kinda starting to dig this whole social media thing. I think it might have a future. haha Seriously, I love being involved with this stuff and getting early notice about things like this. People are amazingly cool about helping if you have a question, or reaching out to fans and offering them a little extra, a little early. For an unabashed fangirl like me, it can be a lot of fun. One of the coolest moments of my life was getting a shout-out from Peter Coyne, the lead singer of the Godfathers, in Chicago. He said hi to me—onstage!—and told the crowd that I was one of their biggest fans. He was right! I thought it was very sweet of him to do that, as well as sending me a t-shirt and a signed CD. I got to chat with him later and there is a picture out there of me sitting on his lap. :D I even got to dance with Del Bartle, the guitarist. Seriously, just super nice guys.

Anyway! I’ll stop gushing now, but it was a good day. Not just for entertainment purposes, either. After a chilly spell, we’re back up to 80°, and it was a beautiful, sunny day. After my workout, I had a wonderful afternoon listening to music and sunning myself on the deck. I love this time of year so much!

Do I need to turn down the happiness level a little bit? It’s at 11 at the moment.

Stop it, South Bend!

Seriously...just stop being so fun already! Stop tickling me! hahahaha

Not one, but TWO more things to add to the calendar. I mentioned “Ghost Brothers of Darkland County” coming in November. I was able to obtain some VERY IMPORTANT insider information (okay, it’s available to anyone who is paying attention to this), and I will be getting tickets in the presale tomorrow morning. In fact, I need to get to bed soon so I can get up and get the password and get the tickets.

I also learned tonight that the fabulous State Theater in downtown South Bend will be showing “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” on June 8th, doing an earlier show for teens and young adults, and then a midnight showing for the rest of us depraved individuals. We had heard rumors of this, and we (Ken, Shane, Matt, and I) agreed that we wanted to go. To give a little background, the State was built in 1919. It was the premiere theater in downtown South Bend, and when downtown sort of dried up and died, it entered a period of decline. It operated as a nightclub for a while, then was sold to some religious group who didn’t have the funds to rehabilitate it, and...finally! A Notre Dame graduate, Andrew Elegante, saw the potential there, and has been working like a bastard to develop it, renovate it, and once again make it a happening place.

Downtown has been experiencing a bit of a renaissance lately, with lots of great restaurants and nightspots opening. The Morris is doing great business, and people seem really interested in seeing the State once again being a downtown destination. We are proud supporters!

I haven’t seen Rocky Horror since college, and Ken has never seen it, so this should be a blast.

Look out...I’m breaking out the fishnets!