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Kat Goes to Cinematic Titanic
And so…after a rather haphazard way of deciding to go (giving blood + jealousy) and then waiting out the days…I got to see Cinematic Titanic. Can you say “major woot”?
The weather was cooperating with us, so Dad and I left around 4pm. It was fairly uneventful until we hit the intersecting of highways and stuff…then we slowed down…but yeah. Okay. Cool.
Parked the car in a valet garage (this’ll come into the story later) before heading off to find something to eat. It was about 5:30, so we had plenty of time to kill…ended up at a diner (Melrose? Malrose?). I ordered a bacon cheeseburger in honor of the RiffTrax guys, and it was friggin’ delicious.
The best part was that the people in the booth behind us were also going to the show. I overheard them saying “I looked it up and this movie is apparently on the IMDb’s lowest 100 movies…” I looked at my dad and grinned. Before they left, I turned around and asked, “Excuse me, are you guys seeing Cinematic Titanic?” They said yes, I said awesome, and gave them a thumbs-up.
Alright, meal over, theater time. Got there and stood in line behind some ladies and this guy, who I ended up talking to a lot throughout the night. Anyways, the staff of the theater were shouting stuff like “show your ID if you want a drink!” and I was like DAMN, I’m young. It didn’t hinder me at all…actually, it kinda helped. (More on this later.) While standing in line and waiting to get seated, me the guy ahead of us (who I shall henceforth refer to as White Ponytail Man, or WPM) started chatting and trying to figure out random stuff from the show. At that point, Joel walked past and brushed against my shoulder. Major nerdout.
The seats were general admission, so ours were about as smack in the middle as you could get. They were a little small, so you got to know your neighbor reaallllly well. Also, they were selling beer and booze...lots of bottles. Thanks Dad for not drinking, that made me restrain my laughter a bit. There was a trivia question at one point, but they were like “You have to be 21” and I shouted out “Dammit!” Got a chuckle from my neighbors.
The warm-up act was Gruber, this dude that’s been friends with the crew for a long time and actually coined up the phrase “MST3K”. He was really good, told some great local jokes since he grew up in the area. Then he brought out Josh, who performed some stuff with his bass guitar. (Also the gnarlyest bass ever – blue and with a duct tape strap, as made by Joel, of course.) It was so – damn – funny! I got a brief mention in the act, as Gruber was doing haikus to Josh’s strumming…It began with something along the lines of “You know what’s the worst?” He paused and stared at the audience, to which I shouted “What?” He then pointed towards me and said “Good, that young lady is paying attention!” Hehe~
Short break, then the show started. Each cast member introduced the next, and when Trace came out, I had to literally bite my hands to stop myself from just dying in laughter. He had a goatee, and as we all know, goatee = INSTANT SEXIFICATION! Joel was rather hyperactive and excited, bouncing around and shouting out stuff and just being a really awesome host. Then they got right into it and started the movie riffing – Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.
Dear sweet Jesus on rye with mayo and lettuce. It was such a great time. Watching the show with one person is fun, watching it with a group of people in a chatroom is fun, but watching it with a whole audience is just spectacular. We reacted to crappy parts and of course laughed our asses off. At the end of the movie, where there’s the bit of the sing-along, they started a karaoke spree, so about half of us started singing along and the rest just clapped out the beats. After that was over, we gave them a standing ovation, and Frank went, “You know, we normally just have a little special afterwards, but do you want an encore?” Well of COURSE we did, but they didn’t do that, just did their extra bit (showing their best riffs), so that was fun.
After they were REALLY done, we gave them another standing ovation. (As people stood up, you could hear beer bottles clink to the ground…fun fun.) Joel was being hyperactive and waved and stuff. What I thought was cool was how he announced, “Come out, we’re signing stuff out in the lobby…You don’t have to buy anything, just come, we want to meet you guys!” It’s like…that’s awesome. How many people actually still do that kind of stuff? Hearing that just reminds me that they’re nice, normal, Midwest born-and-raised people.
We got in line for signage at a pretty good spot, so we only had to wait about half an hour (I don’t think they started for another fifteen minutes, though). I ducked into the bathroom and had to ask for toilet paper from some college girls that were also there. We were all giggly and joking around, and for me, it was nice to find people who were just like me – female and around that age. That was neat.
Back in line, and me, Dad, and White Ponytail Man started talking. He was curious as to who-brought-who, and was rather impressed (and amused) when we started telling stories of when I was a kid and watching the show. Then we started talking about our favorite episodes and quotes and remembering things....WPM went to the bathroom at one point, so we saved his spot in line, then my Dad went, so I was like, “You’re my dad for the next twenty seconds”.
Our conversation led to me telling him about how I got back into the show and then how I’ve spread it to my friends. He seemed kinda floored when, upon asking if it was “people my age or your age”, I responded by saying they were my age. He seemed even more shocked when I revealed I was a senior in high school, and was just plain amused when I told him stories of how I got the underclassmen into it.
And then, the signing. They were lined up at a table on the ramp, so they just slid the DVDs and stuff down to each other. Trace was the greeter, basically, and was just so sweet and a nice guy. But for the whole crew, I think me being short (and cute, I guess) helped out.
Meeting him was...woaaah. My face was red the instant I stepped inside the theater until about five minutes after we left, and it was probably obvious that I was excited. The exchange went like this:
Trace: =D Hi! *handshake*
Kat: =D Hi! ...*giggles* O-oh man, sorry.
Trace: That's fine.
Kat: So, I've got these...*whips out DVDs* Two of them are presents and one's mine...Um, I have a favor to ask, if you don't mind...
Trace: Sure.
Kat: I've been threatened bodily harm if I don't, so...Can you do a Crow doodle on this one?
Trace: Sure! *doodles*
Kat: 8O That's so awesome, thank you~!
Josh was kinda buddying up with Trace, and after all the excitement I had with him, I guess he felt like I didn't want his signature or sommin'...When he asked, I grinned and said "Sign away my good man!"
They slid the DVDs down the table and my dad kept going "keep track of your stuff", to which I said "I AM Dad...this is my monies, I'm not letting them out of my sight..." Frank got a laugh out of that, so I’m proud. (Dork.)
And then…and then there was Joel...
He was REALLY friendly and awesome. I got down to him and he shot his hand out and just like "Hey, how's it going?!" I was kinda embarrassed and was staring at the table when his hand came into view, so that was a shocker.
Kat: Hi Joel...*giggles* Gah...
Joel: So this is all your stuff?
Kat: Yeap, but ah...I've got a special request...um...I'd like you to sign this if you don't mind. *hands him the Gizmonics necklace*
Joel: Yeah okay, I've got a black Sharpie...*pulls out black Sharpie from mysterious pocket*
Kat: I use it to try and get fans out of the woodwork -
Joel: Oh...hey! It's the Gizmonics G! Woah...
Kat: - And if that doesn't work, the backup is that my name's Ginger.
Joel: Cool...
Mary Jo: *peers over* Woah...
Kat: I tried, but the G has like forty billion spokes. I could only get so many with clay.
Joel: Hehe, nice job...Cool!
Kat: The wire makes it look cool. Or it kills people. One or the other.
Joel/Mary Jo: *laughs*
Dad: *starts walking away*
Kat: Um, yeah, sure Dad, see ya...Uh, Joel, do you mind if I...get a picture? ._.
Joel: Sure, no problem.
Dad: *comes back with camera*
Joel: Coolest Dad Ever?
Kat: Yes!
*picture*
Joel: *shakes hand again* Hope you had a good time.
Kat: It was awesome. Thanks!
Joel: Bye~
Kat: See ya! *weird two-finger salute*
Eat my dust!
I'm going to keep screaming "JOEL HUGGED ME" because there are a few people I know who want to maim me…
Out the door Dad and I went, me still as happy as a hamdinger, DVDs shoved in the bag and necklace back on my neck. We went back to the valet garage, in which we had another adventure...
Everybody was in this room (heated to about 54 degrees, also dingy and kinda creepy), and we had all come from the show, so after hearing the lowdown as to why things were taking so long, we started talking and quoting and joking around. I became friends with this couple (college-age, or right out of it) named John and Michelle. Michelle had her tape of Manos with her, so we popped that in and watched it on the crappy TV set. People in the room gathered ‘round the television and had a good time watching it. The tracking was pretty lousy, and after about five minutes, Michelle popped the tape out in fear of it getting wrecked.
So instead…
Michelle: Alright...let's roleplay! You! *points to random guy* You'll be Torgo, you have the beard.
Kat: And the hair color.
Guy: Sure, I'll be Torgo.
Kat: Got a hat? And a cane?
Guy: I have the hat. *pulls out winter hat*
John: Cool, now go rob the 7-11 and bring us food.
Michelle: And I guess all the women would be the Master's wives...
Lady: Ew...
Michelle: And you'd be Debbie.
Kat: Whaaaat?
Michelle: 'cause you're the youngest.
Kat: Blegh...
The infomercial showing after Michelle took out the tape was one that was selling that...Amish fireplace-looking heater...We decided to call the number.
Michelle: Should I do it...?
Kat: Yes...*cups hands around mouth* The stranger tells you to do it...
Michelle: I should call and ask if this is Torgo's Dry Cleaning Service...
John: Do it!
Michelle: *calls* ................................I got some service message...
Kat: LAME.
Then we talked about the show and what we had what were our favorites and all that good stuff. Finally, our car was up, so Dad and I waited outside the room. John and Michelle and I, though, were making handprints and weird faces to each other between the glass door…They were seriously just the coolest people. Wonder if they’ll find me on Facebook. (I told them the story of Krankor and said that my profile picture was me kissing said baby chick. They loved it.)
And then we were off. Dad liked it, I loved it, and it was just a good time all around. Then it started snowing, so the trip home took about a half hour longer than it should’ve. I got in a quick nap (ten minutes tops) before getting home, pulling on my CT tour shirt and pajama pants, crawling into bed and – and IMing people. What the heck.
