Hubster Victoria has sent us this wonderful “Event ReporT” of her trip to the August 10th, 2012 taping of “StePhest Colbchella ’012 – Rocktaugustfest” aboard the USS Intrepid Air and Space Museum in New York.
Hi! Here is my reporT from the Stephest Colbchella. As I stated in my recap, there aren’t any real spoilers in there since I know some will want to watch it with limited beforehand knowledge. My recap is as follows…
On Friday, I had the pleasure of attending the ‘Stephest Colbchella Rocktaugestfest ’012′. I won the ticket through the Twitter contest online and since I was unable to obtain any others, I had planned to go by myself, which was fine with me. I figured I would meet some people there, which is exactly what happened. I arrived at 3:30pm, even though the ticket explicitly said not to arrive before 4:00pm. But I figured I would get there early to check out the scene. When I arrived, there were some obvious concert-goers there, gathered around the barricade. I stood close to them, figuring when it was time to start forming the line, I should just follow them. Around 4:00pm, they opened up the barricades and away we went! It was great! There were only a handful of people in front of me and even though I knew I had a long wait ahead of me, it was going to be worth it. I ended up standing next to a college student that attends Columbia University, a co-worker of hers that joined us a bit later in the line and a male that just finished graduate school and lives in Virginia. Before the night was over, we ended up exchanging Facebook accounts! Ha! Funny and ironic story. The girl from Columbia attended ‘The Colbert Report’ taping the same night I went two Thursdays ago! Isn’t that crazy? Right behind us, on the line, arrived a very large group of ‘Flaming Lips’ fans. They were the nicest group of people and they went on to tell us how they follow the group around the country. They were all from different areas in the country, but they had a whole network setup so they could follow the group from venue to venue. Now that’s dedication! They were a very lively, animated group, decked out in glitter and rainbow paint. Some guy wore an elephant costume. He almost was not allowed to take the costume through security, so he put it through first to prove it was safe. We get through security and on the other side waiting for us are our bracelets, tickets for a free drink and FREE Americone Dream ice cream! As we waited, some of the hard-core Flaming Lips fans started bouncing around an oversized yellow balloon that said “LSD” on it! Ha! It went through the large crowd and it gave us something to do while we waited … waited to be brought around the building and do more waiting for another two hours. Suffice to say, we waited a long time. But actually, I had a good time. Everyone was laughing, telling stories, but as the wait got longer, you can tell people started to get punchy and the most absurd things became hilarious! Either that or that balloon was really laced with LSD! Ha! We kept watching cars drive right up to the ship and let VIPs in and we kept thinking, “Where are we going to be standing now? I hope we aren’t too far back. We’ve been waiting all this time.” Sometime after 7:30pm, a large group of people get out of an SUV. It was Stephen’s wife and children and what appeared to be a few of his daughter’s friends. They got in an elevator and headed up to the ship. I was hoping this was a sign that we were going to be going in soon. Well, perhaps it was, because shortly after, we were let on the ship. It was like cattle rushing the fields. They finally let us lose and we could not be tamed! I managed to stick with my newly formed group and when we arrived on the deck of the ship, I noticed there was a roped off area towards the back, with tables and chairs. I figured that’s where the VIPs were going to be. And then I look over … there’s the stage. We jetted over there and claimed our spot right up against the barricade! WOW! The stage was so close, I could touch it (I didn’t try, of course). All that extra waiting paid off and we were front row, center! Next to the stage on the right was a huge screen, so everyone would be able to see what was happening.
In the rest of this recap, I won’t give away specifics about the show itself since some of you may want to wait till it airs to see those details. But I guarantee you, it was AWESOME!
Grandmaster Flash did a great job all night spinning his records and he kept the crowd going. He pumped us up with music until the show started. The start of the show was like attending a ‘Colbert Report’ taping. Start with the Warm-up comedian, directions on when to cheer in the beginning, etc. They informed us that they were taping all four shows tonight, so we had to go through four openings and “good-night” segments (more on the “good-night” segments later). Finally, it was time to start the show. The opening theme begins and Stephen comes rolling out. He was right in front of us! I could not believe it! I won’t give anything else away at this point so I don’t spoil it for anyone. But you will love it! They finish taping the scene and Stephen announces they are going to tape the Tuesday opening now. He mentioned that he did the interviews earlier in the day with each band, so we will be seeing all of that on the show. He continued to do each opening for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Every time he would finish with one day, he would stop and say, “Ok! Now, Wednesday!” And excitedly run to the back to get ready for the next day’s opening. And after each segment was finished, he always made sure to sincerely tell us how “great” we were.
The first band to appear was Fun! They did a great job and they had everyone singing along. Once their set was over (3 songs), they had to set up for the next band, Grizzly Bear. The setup took a while in between all the bands, so this is when we had Grandmaster Flash playing his music … and Stephen jumping back and forth from backstage to ON stage! At times, he came out on stage to interact with the crew members; and many times to interact with the audience. He did many things, but here are some of the highlights I can remember:
Some of the goodies we got to experience during the band-setups …
1. Stephen asked if there was any questions. One of ‘The Flaming Lips’ fans asked if he could sing Happy Birthday to her friend. He not only obliged, but he sang it in Latin!
2. During Santigold’s set, there were some technical difficulties, so she asked the audience if anyone knew any jokes. Stephen was standing on the stage and I swear, when he heard the word “joke,” he perked up. Someone in the front row told a joke…a silly one. Stephen, of course, went up next to Santigold and told a similar type of joke. Of course, it was cute when he said it!
3. At one point, he made a comment that “someone in the audience must have a conduit to God because it was supposed to be pouring rain tonight.” He was right, hence why I came packing with every type of rain protection available all stuffed in my purse! I figured since I was so prepared, I’m the one who prevented the rain. If I had not come with even a measly jacket, it would have stormed. Ha! 4.) We did make eye contact a few times as he was smiling. Hey … that was a big deal to me!
5. He sang the Star Spangled Banner because someone asked him to! Everyone started to sing along!
6. My favorite … Grandmaster Flash was playing “We Found Love,” by Rhianna. About a minute into the song, Stephen comes bouncing out on the stage, dancing like he was in a club! It was incredible! This elicited so many ear-piercing screams! And the best part … he was directly in front of us! I can still picture it! I see a video was posted, but it was only the last 12 seconds. He was out there dancing for much longer than that. He even did his trademark spin! It was fantastic! As a matter of fact, Stephen popped out on stage a few times, bouncing to the music. When “Moves Like Jagger” was playing, he came out mouthing those lyrics and proceeded to do the Mick Jagger trademark dance!
The production crew and people associated with the show were all set up on stage right, tucked off to the side. Sometimes, Stephen would be standing there in between takes and while the bands were playing. A couple of times, you can see the hairdresser fixing his hair. At one point (I can’t remember if it was during Grizzly Bear or Santigold’s set), they had to stop midway through the song due to technical difficulties. Both bands had to redo two of their songs each due to sound issues. It was during one of these times, at first you can see Stephen’s head, as he casually walked behind the stage to go somewhere. When they had to stop the band, seconds later, you see Stephen’s head again, this time moving at a much faster pace and heading back onto the stage. It was so funny but it was great watching him work, for he is so on top of everything.
I know someone mentioned in the comments section she liked the picture of him without his glasses, while he was introducing Grizzly Bear. This was actually the first take. This was one of the times they had to redo their whole song, so they had Stephen come back out again to redo his introduction. But time, he had on his glasses again. It will be interesting to see which take they use.
They showed an interview Stephen taped on The Intrepid earlier in the week. Very funny. They are going to show it on the air so I won’t give anything away.
A couple of comments … He did shake every band member’s hand after their sets were over. You can tell he really enjoyed everyone’s set, but after the Flaming Lips played, he came out on stage with this aghast, “Wow” look on his face. You can tell he was very impressed with them.
Now … the “good-night” segments! All I can say is WOW!! When Santigold was going to go on, some piece of equipment had to be fixed (can’t remember, sorry), so he said to the audience, “We need to tape the “good-night” segments, so while we wait, we are going to do a couple now. I think I’ll do the first one in the audience. Just help me off the stage.”(It was high). Now, he is on stage, right in front of us. He points towards our area and says, “I’ll do it right there!” WHAT??? Seriously! Everyone around us in the area started screaming.
He jumps off the stage and now he is standing right next to us. Suffice it to say, we were very excited … noticeably excited! I’ve never heard so many ear-piercing, high-pitched screams. And this was not just from the females!! We were jumping up and down like we had an itch we could not scratch! He was right next to us, up against the barricade when the crew says, “We can’t lift this barricade. They are hooked together! You will have to do it somewhere else.” Noooo!!!! Just then, simultaneously, everyone grabbed the barricade by the hooks and started to yell, “Wait! We can take it apart! Wait!! Nooooo!” We were reeking of hormonal desperation, let me tell you! But alas, Stephen said, “No, I’ll just go around the other side over there towards the back.” No!!!!!!!!!!!! So close! So close to having Stephen tape a segment directly next to us. We would have been literally standing next to him. And when you see the segment, you will see really HOW close he was to everyone! Oh! Even though we were so frustrated by those turn of events, we did understand how difficult it would have been to start unhooking everything. And of course, we were so close to him and the bands all night, so that certainly helped. But still … so close!!!! Ha! He taped another “good-night” from the other side of the audience, one with Grandmaster Flash and then … as all of you have seen, in the bubble!
The bubble!! Wow!! That was beyond incredible. At first, we had no idea what was going on, but it became clear when we saw Stephen and Wayne get into their bubbles and watched them quickly inflate. They sat on the ground in the deflated bubble and this red pump started to inflate the bubble. Next thing you know, they are standing on stage encompassed in their bubbles. Once again, Stephen was right in front of us, so when they started to move, Stephen rolled out right onto our hands. What a rush! And no, it was not the pot I kept smelling all night! It was seeing Stephen rolling over my head in a bubble, knowing that we are holding him up and assisting to role him forward. It was hilarious! He was rolling around in that bubble, laughing and having a great time. At one point, his bubble got stuck and wouldn’t role forward. You can see him cracking up! Both Stephen and Wayne made their way around the whole crowd so everyone got to be in contact with the both of them. I snapped a quick picture when he was right next to us and even looking at it now (and the other bubble pictures that have surfaced), I am so grateful I got to be their experience it firsthand.
When it was all over and they made it back on stage and out of his bubble, he said his good-bye’s and thanked us again! I was thinking, “No, thank you!” This event exceeded my expectations. I knew it was going to be great, but this was beyond great!
At the end, they brought back out Colbchella beach balls (Oh yeah! There were Colbchella beach balls that were bounced around earlier in the evening before Stephen came out). My new friend from Columbia grabbed one, asked the crew if she can take it home and they said yes. If you were lucky to get one, it was yours. Then someone came around with Wriststrong bracelets and handed them to everyone that was in and around the front. So, while I narrowly missed catching one two weeks ago, I was able to get one that night! Also, right after it ended, you can tell that everyone connected to this event was beyond thrilled with the results. They worked hard and they pulled it off. Many came running down and high-fiving all of us in the front row.
So, that was my recap. All of you are probably becoming accustomed to my dissertation-like recaps. Once again, I hope you enjoyed it. And if you didn’t, just like my previous recaps, continue to pretend you did!
Event ReporT: Colbchella ’012: Rocktaugustfest Taping ReporT.
Hubster Victoria has sent us this wonderful “Event ReporT” of her trip to the August 10th, 2012 taping of “StePhest Colbchella ’012 – Rocktaugustfest” aboard the USS Intrepid Air and Space Museum in New York.
Hi! Here is my reporT from the Stephest Colbchella. As I stated in my recap, there aren’t any real spoilers in there since I know some will want to watch it with limited beforehand knowledge. My recap is as follows…
On Friday, I had the pleasure of attending the ‘Stephest Colbchella Rocktaugestfest ’012′. I won the ticket through the Twitter contest online and since I was unable to obtain any others, I had planned to go by myself, which was fine with me. I figured I would meet some people there, which is exactly what happened. I arrived at 3:30pm, even though the ticket explicitly said not to arrive before 4:00pm. But I figured I would get there early to check out the scene. When I arrived, there were some obvious concert-goers there, gathered around the barricade. I stood close to them, figuring when it was time to start forming the line, I should just follow them. Around 4:00pm, they opened up the barricades and away we went! It was great! There were only a handful of people in front of me and even though I knew I had a long wait ahead of me, it was going to be worth it. I ended up standing next to a college student that attends Columbia University, a co-worker of hers that joined us a bit later in the line and a male that just finished graduate school and lives in Virginia. Before the night was over, we ended up exchanging Facebook accounts! Ha! Funny and ironic story. The girl from Columbia attended ‘The Colbert Report’ taping the same night I went two Thursdays ago! Isn’t that crazy? Right behind us, on the line, arrived a very large group of ‘Flaming Lips’ fans. They were the nicest group of people and they went on to tell us how they follow the group around the country. They were all from different areas in the country, but they had a whole network setup so they could follow the group from venue to venue. Now that’s dedication! They were a very lively, animated group, decked out in glitter and rainbow paint. Some guy wore an elephant costume. He almost was not allowed to take the costume through security, so he put it through first to prove it was safe. We get through security and on the other side waiting for us are our bracelets, tickets for a free drink and FREE Americone Dream ice cream! As we waited, some of the hard-core Flaming Lips fans started bouncing around an oversized yellow balloon that said “LSD” on it! Ha! It went through the large crowd and it gave us something to do while we waited … waited to be brought around the building and do more waiting for another two hours. Suffice to say, we waited a long time. But actually, I had a good time. Everyone was laughing, telling stories, but as the wait got longer, you can tell people started to get punchy and the most absurd things became hilarious! Either that or that balloon was really laced with LSD! Ha! We kept watching cars drive right up to the ship and let VIPs in and we kept thinking, “Where are we going to be standing now? I hope we aren’t too far back. We’ve been waiting all this time.” Sometime after 7:30pm, a large group of people get out of an SUV. It was Stephen’s wife and children and what appeared to be a few of his daughter’s friends. They got in an elevator and headed up to the ship. I was hoping this was a sign that we were going to be going in soon. Well, perhaps it was, because shortly after, we were let on the ship. It was like cattle rushing the fields. They finally let us lose and we could not be tamed! I managed to stick with my newly formed group and when we arrived on the deck of the ship, I noticed there was a roped off area towards the back, with tables and chairs. I figured that’s where the VIPs were going to be. And then I look over … there’s the stage. We jetted over there and claimed our spot right up against the barricade! WOW! The stage was so close, I could touch it (I didn’t try, of course). All that extra waiting paid off and we were front row, center! Next to the stage on the right was a huge screen, so everyone would be able to see what was happening.
In the rest of this recap, I won’t give away specifics about the show itself since some of you may want to wait till it airs to see those details. But I guarantee you, it was AWESOME!
Grandmaster Flash did a great job all night spinning his records and he kept the crowd going. He pumped us up with music until the show started. The start of the show was like attending a ‘Colbert Report’ taping. Start with the Warm-up comedian, directions on when to cheer in the beginning, etc. They informed us that they were taping all four shows tonight, so we had to go through four openings and “good-night” segments (more on the “good-night” segments later). Finally, it was time to start the show. The opening theme begins and Stephen comes rolling out. He was right in front of us! I could not believe it! I won’t give anything else away at this point so I don’t spoil it for anyone. But you will love it! They finish taping the scene and Stephen announces they are going to tape the Tuesday opening now. He mentioned that he did the interviews earlier in the day with each band, so we will be seeing all of that on the show. He continued to do each opening for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Every time he would finish with one day, he would stop and say, “Ok! Now, Wednesday!” And excitedly run to the back to get ready for the next day’s opening. And after each segment was finished, he always made sure to sincerely tell us how “great” we were.
The first band to appear was Fun! They did a great job and they had everyone singing along. Once their set was over (3 songs), they had to set up for the next band, Grizzly Bear. The setup took a while in between all the bands, so this is when we had Grandmaster Flash playing his music … and Stephen jumping back and forth from backstage to ON stage! At times, he came out on stage to interact with the crew members; and many times to interact with the audience. He did many things, but here are some of the highlights I can remember:
Some of the goodies we got to experience during the band-setups …
1. Stephen asked if there was any questions. One of ‘The Flaming Lips’ fans asked if he could sing Happy Birthday to her friend. He not only obliged, but he sang it in Latin!
2. During Santigold’s set, there were some technical difficulties, so she asked the audience if anyone knew any jokes. Stephen was standing on the stage and I swear, when he heard the word “joke,” he perked up. Someone in the front row told a joke…a silly one. Stephen, of course, went up next to Santigold and told a similar type of joke. Of course, it was cute when he said it!
3. At one point, he made a comment that “someone in the audience must have a conduit to God because it was supposed to be pouring rain tonight.” He was right, hence why I came packing with every type of rain protection available all stuffed in my purse! I figured since I was so prepared, I’m the one who prevented the rain. If I had not come with even a measly jacket, it would have stormed. Ha! 4.) We did make eye contact a few times as he was smiling. Hey … that was a big deal to me!
5. He sang the Star Spangled Banner because someone asked him to! Everyone started to sing along!
6. My favorite … Grandmaster Flash was playing “We Found Love,” by Rhianna. About a minute into the song, Stephen comes bouncing out on the stage, dancing like he was in a club! It was incredible! This elicited so many ear-piercing screams! And the best part … he was directly in front of us! I can still picture it! I see a video was posted, but it was only the last 12 seconds. He was out there dancing for much longer than that. He even did his trademark spin! It was fantastic! As a matter of fact, Stephen popped out on stage a few times, bouncing to the music. When “Moves Like Jagger” was playing, he came out mouthing those lyrics and proceeded to do the Mick Jagger trademark dance!
The production crew and people associated with the show were all set up on stage right, tucked off to the side. Sometimes, Stephen would be standing there in between takes and while the bands were playing. A couple of times, you can see the hairdresser fixing his hair. At one point (I can’t remember if it was during Grizzly Bear or Santigold’s set), they had to stop midway through the song due to technical difficulties. Both bands had to redo two of their songs each due to sound issues. It was during one of these times, at first you can see Stephen’s head, as he casually walked behind the stage to go somewhere. When they had to stop the band, seconds later, you see Stephen’s head again, this time moving at a much faster pace and heading back onto the stage. It was so funny but it was great watching him work, for he is so on top of everything.
I know someone mentioned in the comments section she liked the picture of him without his glasses, while he was introducing Grizzly Bear. This was actually the first take. This was one of the times they had to redo their whole song, so they had Stephen come back out again to redo his introduction. But time, he had on his glasses again. It will be interesting to see which take they use.
They showed an interview Stephen taped on The Intrepid earlier in the week. Very funny. They are going to show it on the air so I won’t give anything away.
A couple of comments … He did shake every band member’s hand after their sets were over. You can tell he really enjoyed everyone’s set, but after the Flaming Lips played, he came out on stage with this aghast, “Wow” look on his face. You can tell he was very impressed with them.
Now … the “good-night” segments! All I can say is WOW!! When Santigold was going to go on, some piece of equipment had to be fixed (can’t remember, sorry), so he said to the audience, “We need to tape the “good-night” segments, so while we wait, we are going to do a couple now. I think I’ll do the first one in the audience. Just help me off the stage.”(It was high). Now, he is on stage, right in front of us. He points towards our area and says, “I’ll do it right there!” WHAT??? Seriously! Everyone around us in the area started screaming.
He jumps off the stage and now he is standing right next to us. Suffice it to say, we were very excited … noticeably excited! I’ve never heard so many ear-piercing, high-pitched screams. And this was not just from the females!! We were jumping up and down like we had an itch we could not scratch! He was right next to us, up against the barricade when the crew says, “We can’t lift this barricade. They are hooked together! You will have to do it somewhere else.” Noooo!!!! Just then, simultaneously, everyone grabbed the barricade by the hooks and started to yell, “Wait! We can take it apart! Wait!! Nooooo!” We were reeking of hormonal desperation, let me tell you! But alas, Stephen said, “No, I’ll just go around the other side over there towards the back.” No!!!!!!!!!!!! So close! So close to having Stephen tape a segment directly next to us. We would have been literally standing next to him. And when you see the segment, you will see really HOW close he was to everyone! Oh! Even though we were so frustrated by those turn of events, we did understand how difficult it would have been to start unhooking everything. And of course, we were so close to him and the bands all night, so that certainly helped. But still … so close!!!! Ha! He taped another “good-night” from the other side of the audience, one with Grandmaster Flash and then … as all of you have seen, in the bubble!
The bubble!! Wow!! That was beyond incredible. At first, we had no idea what was going on, but it became clear when we saw Stephen and Wayne get into their bubbles and watched them quickly inflate. They sat on the ground in the deflated bubble and this red pump started to inflate the bubble. Next thing you know, they are standing on stage encompassed in their bubbles. Once again, Stephen was right in front of us, so when they started to move, Stephen rolled out right onto our hands. What a rush! And no, it was not the pot I kept smelling all night! It was seeing Stephen rolling over my head in a bubble, knowing that we are holding him up and assisting to role him forward. It was hilarious! He was rolling around in that bubble, laughing and having a great time. At one point, his bubble got stuck and wouldn’t role forward. You can see him cracking up! Both Stephen and Wayne made their way around the whole crowd so everyone got to be in contact with the both of them. I snapped a quick picture when he was right next to us and even looking at it now (and the other bubble pictures that have surfaced), I am so grateful I got to be their experience it firsthand.
When it was all over and they made it back on stage and out of his bubble, he said his good-bye’s and thanked us again! I was thinking, “No, thank you!” This event exceeded my expectations. I knew it was going to be great, but this was beyond great!
At the end, they brought back out Colbchella beach balls (Oh yeah! There were Colbchella beach balls that were bounced around earlier in the evening before Stephen came out). My new friend from Columbia grabbed one, asked the crew if she can take it home and they said yes. If you were lucky to get one, it was yours. Then someone came around with Wriststrong bracelets and handed them to everyone that was in and around the front. So, while I narrowly missed catching one two weeks ago, I was able to get one that night! Also, right after it ended, you can tell that everyone connected to this event was beyond thrilled with the results. They worked hard and they pulled it off. Many came running down and high-fiving all of us in the front row.
So, that was my recap. All of you are probably becoming accustomed to my dissertation-like recaps. Once again, I hope you enjoyed it. And if you didn’t, just like my previous recaps, continue to pretend you did!