LA UPDATE

The Remainders concluded their international worldwide three-city tour in Los Angeles with several performances that were stunning artistic triumphs, in the sense that nobody got hurt. We believe we are the first band ever to do a version of "Leader of the Pack" in which the Leader of the Pack -- played by Amy Tan's husband, Lou de Matei -- appeared onstage riding a Segway.

A number of blog persons showed up for the outdoor concert, including this group, who sat in the front row, which is why if you look closely at this exclusive CrapCam photograph you can see their ears are bleeding:

Also on hand were Mike Weasel and Mad Scientist, who met on the blog and are getting married, and who presented me with a tasteful T-shirt featuring a booger.

Also Annie-Where-but-here came by with a massive bag o' cookies, which were excellent and lasted maybe 38 seconds.

Thanks to all who came out on the Remainders tour.

Comments

[KDF]

All bloglits in CrapCam photo 1, please identify yourselves. Yay, Mike, Mad, and Annie! But how did Annie elude the pixels? :(

[O. the U(manity)]

WAA-HOO!!!

WTG GANG!!!

I know who many/most of those are, thru deductive reasoning [almost said "by the process of elimination ... nevermind ...] but I need (not kneed, or knead) ID on one or three of ya ...

[KDF]

Ohhh, of course. Dave was too busy cookie snarfing to operate the CrapCam while Annie was around. Perfectly understandable.

[Mike Oxbig]

ALL I CAN SAY IS WOW....JUST WOW

[Jenn L the photog]

Just so long as Lou didn't fall off the Segway and break his collarbone...

[Lairbo]

I'm with O'U, let's have a left to right (or vice versa) list of the unusual suspects pictured.

Also, doesn't anyone have a crapcam photo of the cookies?

[Eleanor]

Memo to Dave

You were great in your interview with Craig Ferguson. I hope judi's not jealous of the chemistry between the 2 of you. And the RBR performace totally rocked!
Ferguson did a good job on the drums, don't you think?

[russell]

jealous of the bloglits who live near the world and were able to see the RBR on their world wide tour.... Those of us who don't live near the world are pleased at any sharing of the event by attendees! Thanks for the photos, CC or otherwise!

[tropichunt.com guy™]

Great job, everyone! :)

[Roshan]

I have more pictures here . Unfortunately I wasn't in the front row.

[Suzy Q]

Yay for the bloglits!! I also cast my vote for identification of those in the first photo.

Annie, what was in those cookies??

[Suzy Q]

Excellent slideshow, Roshan. Thanks for sharing.

[Sondra]

If the RBR sound as professional as they appear in Roshan's slideshow....well, Dave's probably not joking about the bleeding ears.

Looks like a good time was had by all.

[occam's lady schick]

Stay tuned for a public service announcement.....

If you take itty bitty bites off each end of a chocolate covered graham cracker, put one end in the milk and the other end in your mouth, and suck, it becomes a delicious cookie straw.

....and now back to your regularly scheduled program.

[KDF]

Roshan, awesome job on the pictures. Thanks!

[occam's lady schick]

oh yeah, i forgot. i'm glad dave didn't mention the blog when craig asked if he still worked for the herald. every whacko in the country would be posting stuff.

no wait.....i mean every greenhorn wacko. we have plenty of seasoned ones here and it works out just fine.

the end

[Nurse Tammy]

Seasoned wacko... I've never heard such a perfectly apt description of myself before. Especially after a long shift trying to keep people who look like death from actually dying. Good night, all. Try to send some sleep my way, I work again tonight.

[Mr. Completely]

Okay, in the front row of the pic, left to right, is blurker Chatmal, AlanBoss in the center, and Mrs. ThePoint in the green top.

In the rear are Mike, Mad, another blurker (please post and identify yourself!) and me.

[Pirateboy]

Like any good rock concert, I'm sure things were tossed on stage. But did Annie-WBH toss her cookies?

[occam's lady schick]

Nurse Tammy

you go girl! keep on sending the happy happy joy joy to your charges.

[Jeff Meyerson]

roshan: front row or not, those were great pics! Thanks for sharing.

And yay for Mike & Mad!

And AlanBoss & Mr. & Mrs. C.

But where is Annie???

[Mr. Completely]

Jeff - Annie hadn't shown up at that point....

[Renee]

Way to go, guys! Annie, you sure know the way to a band's heart!

[neophyte]

Yay!! Hooray for bloglit photos! Hooray for RBR! Hooray for the cookies!

*puts away pompons and goes back to blurking*

[Tramp]

I'm waiting for a casualty report before making any judgements.

[Mrs. Thepoint]

To be a bit clearer... Annie may have already shown up when the photo was taken, but we had no idea she was there. Turned out that we were sitting a couple of rows away from one another and didn't realize it! (One of the drawbacks of only communicating through the written word. We wander around not knowing each other in person!)

[Tramp]

Nametags?!

[Mrs. Thepoint]

And to echo Mr. C just a bit... we had a FABULOUS time! I suppose it's redundant to say that Dave is an exceptionally personable and genuine guy, and RBR really was pretty good. Have to admit that I wasn't expecting that with all of the comments regarding the group's combined musical ability, but I say that Dave is selling himself (and everyone else) short! Dave carries a tune pretty darned well (strong singing voice, too) and his guitar playing is above average. Dave's brother plays a mean harmonica, too! While there may have been an occasional missed note, badly flubbed lyric (Amy Tan) or general fatigue and burn-out from their extensive whirlwind tour, they were as entertaining as anyone else I've ever seen perform. And really, isn't that what it's all about? Everyone loved it and it was a great show!

[Stupendous Man]

Let's see if I've got this straight: RBR gets paid for having this much fun?! Judging from the great shots at the top of the thread and the super slideshow Roshan posted everybody was rockin'!

Now, about Annie's cookies: If it took 38 seconds to make them disappear and there was that large a cast and crew of The RBR, my superior math skills tell me Annie snarfed 14 cookies before she ever got to the concert.

[Roshan]

It definitely was a great show... they probably even rehearsed before the show.

I am now available as the official photographer of the RBR... waiting for the contract from Dave.

[Chatmal]

Hola all. Yup, that's me not looking as svelt as in real life (Crapcam I'm sure). I had a blast, took only about 150 decent pictures and got sunburned pretty good. So next time, I'll be the redhead in the hat and burka with my souvenir kazoo. Jealous??

[Mrs. Thepoint]

Hi, Chat! Glad to see you here!

[Mrs. Thepoint]

I know I'M jealous! Mr. C. got one too - but that's because HE is tall enough to reach over the top of everyone else to grab one! LOL

[Betsi]

I have a tiny bit of video from yesterday's concert: betis.multiply.com.

[Eleanor]

Roshan, your pics are TERRIFIC!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for sharing.

[daisymae]

roshan -- Who was the guy in the yellow tux & black wig...he stripped to a white tank after a few slides?

Great slide show!

[Lisa Bisa Fo Fisa]

Great job with the pics everyone! It looks like a great time. And the RBRs sound wonderful. And, really, I'm not jealous at all. Nope, not at all.

*am secretly jealous as hell--but happy for lucky bloglits in LA*

Annie, did ya have fun??

[Lisa Bisa Fo Fisa]

Roshan-Excellent pics! Thankyou!

[Chatmal]

Daisymae -- That was special guest Elvis, of course. Played by Mitch Albom.

[Lisa Bisa Fo Fisa]

Oh, and CONGRATS to Mike and Mad!

[daisymae]

Thanks, Chat. OF course it was Elvis.

[KDF]

Strange that Annie hasn't checked in yet today. Is it possible that she was trampled at the concert by cookie coveters, and is in need of medical attention? And more ingredients?

Someone call 911! I'll go get flour and eggs.

[Betsy]

Roshan...your slideshow was an unexpected treat! Thanks so much for sharing;) (Not that I'm dissing the crapcam in any way whatsoever, but...well, y'know...

[Edgar Greenberg]

Maybe can't talk because she is not with us . Perhaps she didn't give the Remainders any cookies. Maybe someone murdered her, and then posed as her in order to give Dave Cokkies. With this blog, it is a serious possibility

[Betsy]

Betsi...LOL...thanks for the video clip! Coupled with Roshan's slideshow, and the ebullient reactions of the bloggers present, I think I have a pretty good sense of the event:)

Now if Annie would just send me a cookie...

[crossgirl]

wow. i'm so jealous. you guys got coookies?!

great slide show. cool to see pics of some more of ya'll. am insanely jealous of mad and weasel's blog love.

couldn't help but notice that those young girl groupies are really, really young. i'm thinking so very NOT legal.

wanders off feeling, old, left out and thirsty. must find beer. and cookies.

[Betsi]

I thoughtfully didn't include a picture of my sunburn.

[Marie in Kourou]

I usually blurk, but I must thank Roshan for the lovely slideshow of the concert. It was kind of you to post them so quickly and share them. Those of us who weren't there can really get a sense of the nice, sunny day and the general good atmosphere.
Thanks again.

[King Wingbipeekaboo Etc.]

King Wingbipeekaboo has much work to do, but he has time to let the blog know that he was the lucky one who caught Kathi Kamen Goldmark's yellow, spittle-dripping kazoo when the Remainders exited the stage (they forgot to come out for an encore bow!), which he will treasure forever and ever until he goes soft and auctions it on eBay for $9500.

[puppytoes]

i would only like to add my thanks to roshan for that slideshow. they were fabulicious. it seems clear that a swell time was had by all ! : D

[Suzy Q]

OMG, King!! You went to the show instead of the recital? Hah! I knew you would.

[Suzy Q]

crossgirl: Yes, ain't blog love great?

*passes beer and cookies*

[King Wingbipeekaboo Etc.]

Woops, sorry for the ambiguity: I got the kazoo at the second show. It was the best of both worlds: Remainders AND (word that rhymes with "rookie").

I have to agree with my good friend Bruce Springsteen that the Remainders are a fine band. I was impressed. Also, I have no doubts that Dave will become our next American President if he can enlist Frank McCourt into his Secret Service.

I admit I was also a little disappointed that Amy didn't go naked onstage, but I guess that was for VIPs only.

In any event, Angelina and I had a fantastic time and we will support the Remainders in any way we can in the future, as long as we get wearable merchandise and a DVD. Thank you.

[teeachernb8]

I'm the bearded guy in the middle, back. I rarely put in my two cents' worth because on the west coast, by the time I get home from work and on the blog, everything funny/insightful/sarcastic has already been said (sometimes 2-3 times)

[O. the U(manity)]

Wowser!

Again, WTG, GANG!

Includin' the pix and cookies and all the other good stuff here ...

Just merely a little bit jealous ... merely sayin' ... (I spent time with my grandkids, so that's an entirely different sort of thrill ... the 12-year-old even thinks that "boys her age aren't cool, like you, Grandpa ..." ... merely gloatin' ...)

[cyn]

*sniiiiffle*

[Stupendous Man]

Hello, cyn! Were you at the show? Judging by your *sniiiiffle* the answer is in the negative.

[Eleanor]

Hi, bearded guy in the middle, back! I live on the Left Coast too. You look like an actor but I can't remember his name, but I like him so, ergo...

Anyhoo, we prize repetition here. I think I speak for most of us when I say that anything worth saying is worth beating to death! :)

cyn, I feel the same way *snif*

[cyn]

*whhaaaaaaaaa, SM!*

(but i had a great time with my oldest daughter. and
i'm having a swell weekend despite the heinous missage of the show:)

thanks for the wonderful pictures, all!!

{{hugs EL}}

[Lisa Bisa Fo Fisa]

*snork* @ "heinous missage"

*hugs* to El

And where the heck is Annie??

[MoFaux]

My dog woke me up just in time to see D.B. on the Ferguson show.I was dreaming about an old girlfriend whose head was spinning like linda Blair in The Exorcist. I digress though...Dave I waited with sweaty anticipation for you to play a B-flat chord for the first time on stage-I actually planted an herb in my bathroom window in honor of your b-flat chord prowess- .Craig ferguson is the funniest of ALL the night time talk show guys... Havent seen him too much, but will be watching alot now.Mr Barry, how did you do that whole show with a live goose in your pants?

[O. the U(manity)]

... oh ... BTW ... I had an interestin' experience in West Fargo ...

My son's new home has multiple bathrooms (2) ... and he asked me today whut wuz wrong with the one in the basement ... it wouldn't flush properly ...

After careful examination, I determined that it was of the "super-low-flo" type ... this was causing the problem.

Using my superior knowledge of how stuff works, and my past experiences with properly flusing commodes, I "adjusted" it ...

It works now ... merely sayin' ...

[Lisa Bisa Fo Fisa]

Oh wait, I know what Annie's waiting for...

Hey Annie, sounds like Dave liked your cookies. (wink - wink)

*there, that ought to bring her out of hiding*

[King Wingbipeekaboo Etc.]

King Wingbipeekaboo has urgent news. "Kathi Kamen Goldmark" anagrams to "Marked goat milk khan."

[The_Bride]

It's a Jerry Garcia sighting!

[russell]

Thanks Roshan...GREAT pics...

Nice looking SG, Dave! Sure looks like fun..

[Annie Where-but-here]

Hiya, guys - thanks for worrying about my whereabouts. Like Roger McGuinn, the reports of my death are highly exaggerated. Although I did take a nap, so that may be where the confusion is.

Soooo fun yesterday! But you knew that already. As the blogger photo was being taken, Mad's cell phone was ringing - twas me - saying 'where the #$%# are youse guys?' But if you listen carefully to the crapcam shot, you can hear Mad's cell phone. Also I'm nearly in Rashon's photos - in #31 at the top left of the shot is a tree - I am directly under that tree, sitting in front of the front row, behind a railing that I figured would protect me from flying kamikaze kazoos (it did). Actually, no kazoos were injured during the performance. Right afterward, however, one of Sophie's friends (I think?) whipped one past my head. Dave yelled "Careful!" at her, then whispered something to her that sounded like "You're dropping your shoulder."

Anyway, I gave Dave 2 plate-sized chocolate-chip, peanut-butter M&M cookies. Since they had sat in the sun for 2 hours, they were a gooey mess. Dave gave the cookies to Sophie, and his wife said something to the effect of "Do you always give our child food from people you've never met?" So I was summoned around back to meet Michelle and prove I was 'normal.' No small task, but I was getting the 'act natural or we're both dead' look from Dave.

I also met Ted Hopto-it Gripper. I mentioned that his mullet was experiencing a bit of shrinkage, perhaps from the SoCal sun. Seems he doesn't speak 'mullet' because all he would say is 'what?'

In doing a strip-tease/costume change between songs, 'Elvis' (Mitch Albom) had a wardrobe malfunction. Seems (seams) he ripped his pants taking them off. My guess is playing Elvis makes Mitch REALLY happy, and if that's the case he might want to consider next time reinforcing the crotchal area.

I hung out with Mad for the rest of the afternoon, and had dinner with Mad and Mike. They are awesome together! And since they saw Dave and Ridley speak in the morning, play in the afternoon AND play that evening, they hold the record for a Very Barry Day.

Special Exclusive to the Blog - I have it on good authority that the sax player's bizarro hat is actually an elephant condom. Not sure if that's an African or Asian elephant, but maybe earsize is a clue.

Yes, Dave is wonderful, warm, and witty. Sophie was adorable doing a chorus line with her uncle, Sam, during the last song. Very fun and down-to-earth- key word = family, as in NOT dysfunctional - an amazing thing to pull off these days, especially with 2 super busy parents. Sure, the band played great (am I allowed to admit that?), but having a wonderful, well-adjusted daughter and keeping it real on the road, well... that impressed me most.

[O. the U(manity)]

... um ... Annie?

"Wowser" simply cannot do justice to your tale and observations therein ...

tnx muchly ...

[Lisa Bisa Fo Fisa]

There you are Annie! Sounds like you met everyone in one fell swoop. What a great day. I'm more jealous now than ever!

*snork* @ "Ted Hopto-it Gripper"

[Betsi]

got one more snippet of video to upload...betis.multiply.com

[Eleanor]

*applauds Annie's story*
You got here just in time because I was going to tell everyone you had checked yourself into rehab after yesterday's experience, so I'm glad to see they didn't keep you. :)

LOL at "acting normal"!!!

[KDF]

...but I was getting the 'act natural or we're both dead' look from Dave.

*snork*

pssst, Annie, Dave thinks you're "normal"???

[Suzy Q]

Yay for Annie! But I still want pictures......

[Annie Where-but-here]

It was really fun. Worth a 7-hour drive....ok, I didn't drive 7 hours, but it would have been worth it.
KDF - Dave know's I'm not normal, and he's not normal (thank goodness) - but it was funny trying to see us both pretend to be normal.... sort of like "Sane & Saner." His wife, Michelle, is really nice, and she's right - you don't take candy from strangers....and give it to your children. Dave knew me blogwise, so maybe that scared her even more. Michelle and I have a mutual acquaintance (sportswriter), so maybe that sealed it. At that point I don't know how they would have peeled that cookie out of Sophie's hands anyway. Have joy...and cookies!

note to russell - the band signed the sg and they auctioned it off that night. All the more reason for you to go!

[Suzy Q]

Did I miss something? (not an altogether strange concept) What is an "SG"?

[daisymae]

Suzy I was wondering the same thing.

[Alfred]

I was imagining most of you as curvacious wonders of Text. Now I have to recognize your photos. Not a single one of you look like a peice of text. not even close. So how the heck am I going to recognize all of you.

Have a ghood one.

[Angie]

Hey!!! I didn't know the blog had spawned a blog-tuals! Congrats to the two of you!

[Angie]

While I'm at it....there are an awful lot of people at that concert. I was sort of of the impression that RBR concerts were attended by, like, seven people and perhaps a bus of Elderhostels who thought they were headed towards the zoo.

[bearded guy in the middle, back]

I guess I have a new blog name (not like the old ond got much use) (and I moved out of that classroom 3 months ago). I'll try to post more often, now that you can put a face with the (assumed) name.

[Lairbo]

Mad 'n' Weasel, will someone be live-blogging the ceremony? Or at least the reception?

[Annie Where-but-here]

An "SG" is a type of Gibson...which is a type of guitar.

[Meanie the Blue]

Far too LTTG here, but that never stops me. Sounds like an awesome time was had by all, including the band, which enables all the awesomeness. Primo work by the photo and video posters, and congratulations to the Bloglits and the Blurklits who were there, especially to the betrothed.

Dave & the RBR's, please help NYC save itself.......

[Meanie the Blue]

And almost forgot, fine work by perky on-scene reporter and chef Annie-w-b-h.

[Michelle Kaufman]

Mrs. Blog here...reporting that we ate Annie's cookies and are still alive! Not only that, they were deeeeee-lish. The entire band partook. Thanks again. You have to admit, it would be an eensy-weensy bit scary taking food from my husband's fans, no? Glad you all had fun at the concert. The crowd was fabulous. We had a great time, too.
Rock on!
Michelle.

[Tramp]

RE: occam's lady schick's cookie straw.

You, maam, are a genius.

Mmmmmmm, cookies.

[azred]

LTTG - (I'm almost a left-coaster) wow! thank you all for sharing with those of us less fortunate (us poor pitiful NOT-jealous non-attendees.) I put 247 miles on my motorcycle today & had a great day, but I would have traded it for just one little kazoo injury or mushy cookie.

[KDF]

You have to admit, it would be an eensy-weensy bit scary taking food from my husband's fans, no?

Posted by: Michelle Kaufman | 11:50 PM on April 30, 2006

The Blog is very lucky to have you, Mrs. Blog. You never know who might show up with a loaded Rice Krispie oosik.

[occam's lady schick]

Tramp You, maam, are a genius

no. make that, sooooopur jeeeeeenyusss.

it also works with the mint girl scout cookies. (threw that one in there for free.)

when i taught that trick to chuck norris, he roundhouse kicked himself for not thinking of it first.

[AlanBoss]

Wow! So even thought we didn't get to meet Annie WBT until after the show, Annnie got to meet Mrs. Blog! Cool!

Let's see... Mr. C did the introductions, so that's done. MrsBoss is hiding behind us somewhere, because that's the way she is when cameras are around. That is robably a good thing as Chatmal and Mrs. ThePoint seem to be getting rather cozy with me in this picture. She must not have seen that, as no thigh shooting ensued. :-)

We can attest to the fact that this picture was taken by Dave's new and improved CrapCam™ because Mike and Mad got married, and had several kids, one of whom graduated from high school by the time Dave got it working!

A quick (I hope) story about the show...

MrsBoss is one of those people that hates concerts. I have spent obscene amounts of money for tickets for some of the greats and MrsBoss always has a miserable time. Now here we were at a show that cost nothing but the $8.00 parking fee (and the $753.72 for gas to make the 12 mile drive) and she loved every minute of it! Maybe it was the souvenier kazzoo that did it!

One entertaining aspect of the show that I haven't seen mentioned was Sophie and the Pearson girls off to the side/ back of the stage working on becoming future Remainderettes. Too cute for words!

Sunburn update: My head has progressed to "Extra Crispy."

[AlanBoss]

*reaches up and removes one "n" from Annie's name in his post*

[Suzy Q]

Alan: Hah! I was wondering who those little girls in the background were.

We wanna see Mrs. AlanBoss!!! You? Are too cute! Extra-crispy or not.

Mrs. Blog: We are harmless, but I can understand your apprehension. If I had a 6-year-old, I'd be backin' away, too. Always make us taste our treats in front of you. That way, you can be sure. We love you!!

[AlanBoss]

Suzy Q, You are making me blush! (Not that anyone could tell at the moment!) :-)

As I said, MrsBoss tends to disappear when cameras come out.

[Mr. Completely]

Well, I can state that Mrs. AlanBoss is a perfectly lovely woman. If you look carefully in the slideshow (especially #29), you can see her sitting next to AlanBoss. He's the guy in the front row with the blue Hawaiian shirt and rapidly sunburning pate. (I'm the fella with the big head of gray hair sitting behind them.)

Yes, second row seats. Eat your hearts out.

And Neener.

[Mr. Completely]

Oh, and "SG" refers to a Gibson SG, the gorgeous black guitar Dave is playing.

Personally, I lust after that purple acoustic Kathy played.

[Mr. Completely]

Oh, and Bearded Guy In The Middle (hereinafter to be referred to as BGITM) - finally, I've met someone who looks more like Jerry Garcia than I do!!

[Annie Where-but-here]

Forgot to mention that I got hugs from just about every blogger there. I think I got one from Dave, too, but I'm not sure. I was too busy trying to be normal to remember.

btw - in the Mike & Mad picture above, Dave is trying to hide the color of his shirt...mint green. Quite nice, and not his trademark blue. His hair is amazing- shiny, lots of movement...like a school of anchovies.

[djtonyb]

You have to admit, it would be an eensy-weensy bit scary taking food from my husband's fans, no?

Posted by: Michelle Kaufman | 11:50 PM on April 30, 2006

Actually, Mrs. Blog, we have a group of foodies here on the blog that are somewhat concerned about this:

"DAVE BARRY'S TOAST WITH PEANUT BUTTER

1 slice white bread

Peanut butter

This is a hearty snack that I generally enjoy 30 or 40 times per day when I'm supposed to be writing. You get yourself a slice of white bread, the kind with no fiber or vitamins or anything else healthy in it, and you put it in your toaster and push the lever down.

I like my toast well-done, so I push the lever down three or four times, until the smoke detector is beeping. Then I get a spoon and smear a fist-sized gob of Peter Pan brand peanut butter (creamy, not chunky!) on the toast and eat it.

Hint: If you're in a hurry, you can skip the toast and put the peanut butter straight into your mouth.

Additional hint: If you're in a real hurry, you can also skip the spoon.

We're not really scared of eating food prepared by his fans, just the food actually prepared by Mr. Blog himself...

[queensbee]

oh no!! i dont have a toaster!! i'll have to go to friends house to try out this amazing recipe............

[O. the U(manity)]

Yeah, Mr. C ... now I get it ... You look like that ice cream guy ... that's been botherin' me -- trineta think of who you remind me of ... and GITMB ... yeah, I can see the resemblance ...

I dunno, mebbe we discussed this concept that day on the Santa Monica pier ... if so ... I fergot ... I'm old ...

And ... we all look like old guys ... so, why can't we look like younger guys? AT least, like younger versions of those same people?

Oh ...

nevermind ...