Monday, May 3, 2010

Eco-Friendly Unplugged


Who says you need electricity to put on an amazing show?

Not me.

Last week, my father was in town and we went to see Rock of Ages on Broadway. It stars Constantine Maroulis from American Idol. If you grew up in the 80's or are just a fan of 80's music, then this is the show for you. This was definitely a show for me.

The show is a huge spectacle with its share of flashing lights, electric guitars, smoke machines and a mic'd up cast.

My dad bought our tickets and the lady sold him front row. While I was not thrilled at the idea of being exposed, I figured we'd just have a really good view of Constantine. Little did I know that the "front row" was actually 2 seats that were practically on the stage.

The show opened with "Come On Feel The Noise" by Quiet Riot and believe me, we did. The seats shook from the sounds of the instruments and singing.

The first act ended and we laughed about how close we were and how I spent a lot of time looking at, well, lets just say that the cast does a lot of...grinding.

The intermission seemed to be taking longer than usual and then finally the band came out, plugged in and were ready to play. The smoke started but it didn't seem like it was really getting anywhere. And then the news came...

"Ladies and Gentleman, we are experiencing some technical difficulties. We hope to start the show soon."

A lot of groans of disappointment were heard. The band was called off stage. And then one of the stars came out shirtless and looking pretty hot with his six-pack abs.

He apologized for the delay and informed us that there was no power. He started talking with the audience members. My guess is to distract them. After a Q & A, he suddenly decided that he should sing something. He brought one of the guitarists back out and they started jamming. Singing unplugged. And then a couple more cast members came out. And then Constantine. More Q&A and then they got rocking. Soon, the entire cast was out, sitting on the stage, chilling out and singing with just a single, acoustic guitar. No mics. No drums. Just...them.

"We Built This City", "Sister Christian", "The Joker", "Any Way You Want It". It was great. Soon the audience was standing, singing and cheering. This was better than any Broadway show I'd seen in a long time. They ended with "Don't Stop Believin'" when suddenly, the lights popped on.

Another disappointed sigh from the audience. We were having too much fun without the electricity.

They launched into the second act and uttered a few impromptu in-jokes about there being no power during intermission. And by the end of the show, we felt like we had all bonded.

It just goes to show you that while all the lights and mics are great, you can sit through an amazing, electrical show without the electric part.

2 comments:

Brutalism said...

You love Constantine!

That sounds like a very cool experience.

Brutalism said...

Were people throwing their hemp underpants on stage?