The Cat's Pajamas

Oh. My. Goodness.
This is my new favorite Branson show, hands down. :)

Lovelovelovelovelovelove them!

Me: Can I give an 11 out of 10? :-)
Favorite Songs: Some Kind of Wonderful, I Can Live with That, Pretty Woman, Hooked on a Feeling, Radio/Video Medley, The Joker, You've Lost that Loving Feeling

Kate: 9
And, I didn't ask what her favorite songs were. Oops. But if I had to guess, I'd say Love Potion Number 9. ;)

Anyway. I had been telling mom that I wanted to see them for a good couple weeks in advance of our Branson trip. I had heard Jason, Rose, and Kim saying great things. And since my Straight No Chaser kick, I've always been up for finding really good a cappella groups. Well, Monday when Kate and I were getting ready for the 12 Irish Tenors, The Cat's Pajamas came to our hotel to sing a couple of songs. Mom fell in love. Grant pulled her up to dance with her and sang Pretty Woman to her. Then she got pictures, and they held her sideways! Mom said it was their idea, too. But of course, if a group of performers is good looking and my mom or grandma gets to participate... the performers usually love them. :P
Mom and dad got tickets to go while Kate and I were with Jason at the tenors. Grant pulled her up on stage again for Pretty Woman. So mom fell in love all over again and got a free CD out of it. Mom's favorite is Grant now, of course. She told me that night that she just knew I'd fall in love with the bass singer.

Kate and I got to go Wednesday night. :) We were in the front row, which was awesome. And mom was right. I LOVE the bass singer, Brian Skinner. The other guys in the group are Grant, Nate, Marcus, and Chris. They all have FANTASTIC voices. And a great stage presence. They're all supremely energetic and entertaining. The first song was Some Kind of Wonderful. I fell in love with the Cat's Pajamas with that first song. This is definitely my kind of show. And I'm not gonna lie... I cheered. A lot. Loudly. :) The crowd wasn't too big so I felt that they deserved a bit more cheering. Plus, mom has really started rubbing off on me lately and that is just what we do in situations like that. :P

The second song was I Can Live with That. I think its one of my top 2 songs. I just love it to pieces. :D It really shows off their personalities and their different musical style. I really like them because they're such an obviously amazing a cappella group, but they still have their own sound. Also, they can dance! haha. If you've been following my other Branson posts... they have MUCH better choreography than the 12 Irish Tenors. And it looks much more natural. You can tell they're having fun with it!
The one thing that made me laugh was that their version of adding a country song to the show was Uncle Kracker. When the Sun Goes Down. It was very well done, but I just had to laugh because I don't consider Kenny Chesney, especially with Uncle Kracker, very country.

During intermission I bought a t-shirt and made the rounds to get it signed. I also got individual pictures. Mom would have killed me if I hadn't introduced myself as the daughter of "the woman from the Colonnade & monday night's show..." So I did. Of course, they remembered her! We stuck around again afterwards for the group picture opportunity and we talked with them again. I was actually surprised at how much they remembered from the obviously long conversations with my mother. She told them I was 19, about to go off to college... and single. Of course. [Dad told me Monday night that she offered me up as the sacrificial lamb to any of the Cats that would take me.] Marcus said, "Guys, this is CINDY'S daughter! Oh, she told us to embarrass her!" They all seemed upset that they had forgotten to do that during the show. But I just told them, "I've lived with my mom for so long its pretty hard to embarrass me now." Really, I would love if they had tried to embarrass me from the stage. I find that kind of thing fun now. :P

And, if you have been looking at the pictures along with this blog post.... those are all from the SECOND night we went to see the Cat's Pajamas! Yes sir, we went Wednesday night AND Friday night! They remembered us, of course, and by the end of Friday night they even remembered our names! [Not that Tina & Kate are hard to remember... when one of us has flaming red hair. :P] I love them even more now, though. They're very nice to the fans and make an effort to be personable.

Anyway... I had been thinking about mom's fun picture since Monday night. And it took me those few conversations during Wednesday night for me to kind of warm up to them... so by Friday morning, I had a plan. We took mom's camera to the show, which gives better quality pictures than my camera. We got more individual pictures during intermission and talked with them all some more. Marcus told me he had tried to convince Grant to take me up for Pretty Woman, but you know how Branson works. It was one of the not-so-young women from the audience that night. Even though FOUR women had denied Grant when he tried to pull them up, and I think if any more had said no he might have come back to me. :P haha. Hey, we WERE on the front row.

Speaking of the front row... they sang to me! haha. It was after intermission on Friday, and when they sang the last half of The Joker, they were all looking at me. They all made eye contact, actually, as they crouched at the edge of the stage right in front of my chair. It was fun. Kate got excited on my behalf. haha.

Anyways, after Friday's show we waited until most of the group pictures with other people had been over.... and I went up and said, "So, you guys did a really fun picture with mom, and picked her up. Can you help me one-up her? I want a better picture!" They said, "sure!"
I turned to face Kate with the camera, and without warning I'm picked up to about Grant's shoulder height. His shoulders are definitely taller than I am when I'm flat-footed on the ground. So I grab onto Grant's and Nate's necks, trying to not flail. Then the rest of them grab me and turn me sideways. It was fun! Another reason I like this group. :P I hear Brian say, "I guess I get the feet," and then when I look at the camera screen... it looks like he's biting me. haha. And Marcus' face makes me laugh too. I think its safe to say that this is the best group picture I've ever had taken with a singing group I like. :P

So, I made sure to push Kate into all the pictures because I KNEW she wanted pictures, but she's still to shy to speak up for them. I had to threaten her, actually. And I hit jackpot with my threat, because I could have sworn I was almost on the receiving end of a full-body tackle before she almost literally jumped into several individual pictures. ^_______^ I love you, Kate!

And so, with a last goodbye, [I could almost hear Kate thinking, hoping they didn't think we were stalkers. I said pssssh. They remember you better if you're a nuisance. :P That's mom's philosophy.] we promised to come back again, and rode the really-really-really-great-show high all the way back to the hotel. Not getting caught in 76 traffic by using the back roads helped keep our spirits up too.
And mom and I are planning on getting away from dad's parents' house during one of the days following Thanksgiving to go back and see them! ^___^ And since my freshman college classes will be completely over by May 1st or so, I'll be able to go see them for my birthday on May 9th! Or one of the days around there, since my birthday will probably fall on a day that they aren't performing...



Anyway... if you made it through that WHOLE ramble then you are either 1. very, very bored, 2. my new best friend for life, or 3. as big of a fan of the Cat's Pajamas as I am. So good for you. :D Closing statement:
You MUST go see them if you're ever in Branson.

Buckets n' Boards

Wednesday morning we went to see Buckets n' Boards. It was hilarious! Both of the guys are really, extremely talented! I had to sit on one of my legs to see over the people in front of me [there wasn't anyone directly behind me, so I felt alright doing that. haha.]

Me: 9.5
Kate: 9

They were drumming on buckets, empty propane tanks, and squeaky toy turtles. They could also tap and play the guitar. Oh, and sing. I was really surprised at how well they could sing! I loved it.

I was highly entertained throughout the whole show. It seemed to pass by too quickly. Some of my favorite parts were when they were playing with the squeaky toys and of course the buckets. And when they were tapping, at one point they sang "Singing in the Rain," with thunder and rain sound effects and a frilly umbrella included.

After the show, I bought a Buckets n' Boards t-shirt and had them sign it. That day if you bought a shirt you got a free, pre-signed poster so I have that as well now! And it was VERY crowded where they were selling their stuff and taking pictures, so I got a very nice mom to take a picture of us with my camera, instead of taking two individual ones. It was just as well, because my camera literally died about 2 minutes after the picture was taken.

I would definitely recommend going to see this show! Its awesome, hilarious, and there's never a dull moment. The two of them play off of each other and the crowd so well, its fun to watch.

Branson, Day 3

Wednesday!
We woke up for a morning show. It was Buckets n' Boards, and we met up with Jason & his friend at the theater. It was really good! [Another review is coming!]

Thennn... we went to the Landing again.
And got rained on. Again.
The third day we tried, we finally got to Charlotte Russe! haha. Never mind that there's several in Tulsa. Kate got a pretty sweater and new jeans! I got a pretty necklace that reminds me of my old locket necklace I can't wear anymore... the silver turned. :/ And it reminded me of the locket from Harry Potter, so I was excited to find another one.
We ate at the San Francisco Oven... It was really good! If we had one of those in Tulsa, I would never go to Starbucks again, whether or not I really like my normal barista. That Chocolate Hazelnut blended coffee was AMAZING. I think Kate had Raspberry Mocha. That was mind-blowing too... we switched cups to try each others. :P

Then we went to see The Cat's Pajamas! Finally. :)
It is my new favorite Branson show, hands down! The review for that is coming as well! And its going to be a long one... haha.

Branson, Day 2

Tuesday!
We slept in a little bit since... you know... we'd been up at 6:45 am the morning before. :P We actually slept in so long that when we got up and dressed it was time to go to the Landing to meet Jason and Rose at Shorty Small's for lunch.

Office lunch with After Dark Live is fun! I was bummed I wouldn't be able to stay long enough to be on the show. I promised that I would stay on a Sunday night next time I came into town.
Kate introduced Jason to Miley Cyrus' "Can't Be Tamed" music video, and I have no clue why I didn't get out my camera to take a picture of the look on his face while he watched. We also helped him come up with the next buzzword punishment [which was Nemo inspired! "Fish are friends, not food."], which is already in line to being used by both Jason and Rose, apparently. :P heehee. Two buzzwords in one night! We got an 'exclusive sneak peek' of Rose's Singing in the Rain video at the restaurant as well. haha.

This was followed by more wandering around the Landing. Then we went to Silver Dollar City with mom and dad! I was disappointed that the first vendor once you walk through the entrance wasn't selling my most favorite cream cheese filled pretzels any more. But we rode all of the dry rides [plus Fire in the Hole], except for Powder Keg. I love that ride, but the line was so long we didn't feel like waiting. And one of my favorite conversations from SDC was about Fire in the Hole.
Mom: "Lets go on FITH!"
Me: "But I don't want to get wet!"
Kate: "Come on, I've NEVER gotten wet on FITH!"
......one ride later.

......walking out definitely wet.
Kate: "I swear, I've NEVER gotten wet BEFORE!"

haha. I think I'm a water magnet. It rained every day we were there except for the day we left.


Anyway... fun day. We had dinner at Olive Garden after that. And then I introduced Kate to the first act of A Very Potter Musical. Her reaction to the opening song was, "Genius!"


Underneath these stairs
I hear the sneers and feel glares of
my cousin, my uncle and my aunt.

Can't believe how cruel they are
and it stings my lighting scar
to know that they'll never ever give me what I want.

I know I don't deserve these
stupid rules made by the Dursleys
here on Privet drive.

Can't take all of these muggles,
but despite all of my struggles,
I'm still alive.

Im sick of summer and this waiting around.
Man, its September, and Im skipping this town
Hey Its no mystery, theres nothing here for me now

I gotta get back to Hogwarts,
I gotta get back to school.
Gotta get myself to Hogwarts,
where everybody knows I'm cool.

12 Irish Tenors

Me: 7.5
Favorite song: Glen Miller/Sinatra sections & Scarborough Fair

Kate 7.5
Favorite song: Scarborough Fair

Overall, I liked it a lot. I would probably want to wait a couple months before going back to see it again [as opposed to seeing the same show twice in one week... *cough*]. I wasn't disappointed.

The show started out a bit rough. While I know that shows are scripted, the good ones make you feel like you're seeing something completely natural for the first time. The first 15 minutes felt a bit stiff to me. And the choreography in the first few songs made me bite my lip to keep from laughing. Granted, I came to hear singing instead of see dancing, but they had choreographed putting their hands on their microphones at the same time... in a very dramatic way.
One of the tenors had long blonde hair, and the first thing that came to mind was... If the Weasley twins ever went blonde, this is exactly what they would look like! I told this to Kate & Jason and they agreed.
I could definitely tell that there were some tracks in the show, and I'm not the greatest at picking up on those things. But it didn't detract from the experience for me that much.

Kate and I loved Scarborough Fair! They sat on the steps of the stage and I'm pretty sure they sang it a cappella, with the exception of one drum played by one of the guys. It was very pretty. This is a good accomplishment for me, because when listening to slow songs live I have a tendency to get bored unless the vocals are really good. I wasn't bored with it! So good job, 12 Irish Tenors for that one.
My other favorite sections were the Glen Miller & Sinatra sections. I adore Frank Sinatra. I really do. So as long as you don't royally mess up a Sinatra song, I will enjoy it. :P haha. The choreography for these two sections were much improved as well.
Oh, and I did actually burst out laughing when they announced they would be singing some "West Side Story" songs. hahaha. It would have been impossible for me to not laugh. :P

So, overall it was really entertaining and enjoyable, even if it isn't necessarily the best show I've seen yet.

Branson! Day 1.

We woke up at 6:45 am to drive into Branson! It took us exactly 2.5 hours from the lake, which was nice since it usually takes around 4 to drive from Tulsa. Then again, Mom adds on a good 30 minutes with all the stops she likes to take, so it probably would have only taken Kate & I an extra hour from home.

Anyway. We got to the hotel at 10:30 am. I think that was a record for me for the earliest time arriving in Branson... ever. haha. We dropped our luggage off at the Colonnade [where we had a HUGE king-sized bed! ^___^] and went to the Landing for lunch. We wandered around the Landing for a couple more hours [we seriously went to the Landing EVERY SINGLE day we were there, except for Saturday when we left].

OH! And we got an old time photo taken! :D Kate and I went tourist. It was fun!
Thennn.. we got ready for the 12 Irish Tenors!

We met Jason at the theater [which was literally 60 whole seconds from our hotel. How convenient!] and Kate was introduced. We had a really awkward picture taken before we walked to our seats. That I didn't go look at after the show.
It was pretty good. Kate & I both gave it a 7.5 out of 10. I'm going to have a separate post for my show review. :-)

The rest of our night after the show was filled with waiting on angry IHOP employees to feed us and then falling into bed. Our nice, comfy king-sized bed!

Lake Weekend!

So, my big travel week started off with a bang. Kate and I went up to her lake house on Friday night. The rest of her family had already made it up there, but we had to wait until I got off of work.

I love the way Kate & Grace have their room decorated! Most of it is a Paris theme, and then around Grace's bed are tons and tons of COWS. This picture is my favorite of her cows. ^___^

It rained while we were there. A lot.

But we had fun going around in the golf cart, taking random pictures, and meeting WALTER. Walter is the CUTEST bulldog ever. We love his little nose wrinkle. I have more pictures up on facebook.

Kate's cousins came over and we all played apples to apples and balderdash. And walked down to the dock in the rain.
We also went into Vinita to see Eclipse at the theater there. It only had 3 screens. And parallel parking in the front of the theater. I think it took us three minutes to explore 3/4 of the town. We found a 'park' consisting of two see-saws and two swings.

Then Kate & I woke up at 6:45 am on Monday morning to head to Branson. :)