The Mike and Micky Show, I see The Monkees Live

Hey everyone. When I was a kid The Monkees were my favorite music group. I liked their music, and so did my parents, I enjoyed the TV show, and one of my pine wood derby cars was the monkee mobile. However, I hadn't listened to them in a really long time, like at least 5 years. But when the opportunity presented itself to see them live, I had to. I remember losing Davey, and recently losing Peter, and this being their farewell tour, and Mike being sour on The Monkees, and this being not too far away, this was a once in a lifetime chance, and I wasn't about to miss it. And so on a whim, drove a couple hours away on a Tuesday night to see The Mike and Micky Show.

So here's where the story starts. I found out about it the day of the event, and I wasn't sure if I could get tickets. I went to the box office 2 hours before the doors opened and they had tickets (yes, I drove out there without knowing if I would get a ticket; if I couldn't get a ticket there were other things I could do in the area). The ticket lady asked if I wanted a $65 ticket or $120 ticket. Well that wasn't the $45 I saw on the site, but I figured those must have been the obstructed view that went fast. I got the $65 ticket. After that I went out to dinner because I hadn't eaten yet. After dinner I got in line. Just like with Tommy Wiseau, the line was crazy long. It stretched all the way around the block.

One thing I noticed while walking to the back of the line, and with people walking to the back of the line, is that I was one of the youngest people there. Pretty much everyone else either had grays or wrinkles. While I was waiting in line, one of the security guys came around giving out drinking wrist bands (letting everyone know you are allowed to drink if you want to drink). Now, I'm not one to say "I need a drink to have fun," but I am one to say "after 2 long and stressful days, I need a drink." Also, I wasn't sure if I wanted a drink or not, so I decided "better safe than sorry." And now I have 2 paper wrist bands to test how long they will last, and if I can make Guinness World Record. Well after waiting in line for like 1 hour, I got up to the door, and I got this picture.

I had to step through metal detectors, and empty my pockets into a little TSA bowl. Well, in the interest of time, I started emptying my pockets into my fedora. I was ready to put the stuff in the little bowl, but the guy said "oh that's fine, but where's your phone?" Since I have a windows phone, the guy didn't recognize it. I pointed it out and he thought it was my wallet. Whatever. After getting in I see the merch table. I had some decisions to make. Now, I already have a years supply of t-shirts, so I don't really need another t-shirt; I don't really drink "mug beverages" like coffee or tea, so I don't need another mug; I'm not someone who wears pins, so I don't need a pin set, so on and so forth. I eventually decided on a tour poster, because I like posters and need some more for my nerd cave. It's on some really high quality poster stock, and probably silk screened. Check it out.

After getting my poster, I decided to use my drink band to buy a drink. Now, when I go to a bar I like getting a mixed drink. Why? Because I don't really like beer and I can just get wine at home, but a good house cocktail or long island is not something I can get at home very easily. Unfortunately they didn't have liquor, so I got a spiked seltzer. It was...extra expensive, but after some long days and driving, I needed something, plus I don't have spiked seltzer at home (mainly because I don't look for it). Now, seeing that I bought my ticket late and being the "cheap ticket," (and the fact that the chairs weren't permanent and didn't have signs saying where everything was), I figured I was in the nose bleed seats. I went up to the balcony and asked the usher to help me find my seat. He told me "oh section A, you're up front." Oh, OK, that's awesome and unexpected. I go back downstairs, and start walking up towards the stage. D...C...hey I'm getting pretty close...B...wow, I'm really close...A. I was in the 6th row, right there with the action where the performers can see me. Check out what my view was.

I don't think I've ever sat this close at a concert or entertainment event. The only thing that comes close was when I was front row at some comedy shows, but that's because I wanted to be called on by the comedians and be the butt of their jokes (because that's what front row at a comedy show is), and thus those seats aren't exactly coveted by the general viewing public. Apparently I wasn't the only person that bought tickets last minute that got the great seats; the people next to me had the same story of "I bought these 2 hours ago, and here I am so close." They told me about that after I started glowing under the black light, because it's a 70s band and of course they're going to say "5 minutes until showtime" with a black light.

OK, now it's show time. There's a slide show of past events of The Monkees in their 70s youth, and some clips of the TV show, and that was pretty cool. The audience really enjoyed seeing everything. Then the band comes out, and we're getting pumped, and then Mike and Micky walk out. Mike looked pretty rough, but Micky with his cowboy hat and overcoat looked like he was holding his age pretty well. I won't go into every detail of the show, but man was it something. Mike had to sit out like every 4th song, probably just because he's old and hasn't performed much in years (he basically quit being a Monkee after they broke up, and only recently started back at it once Davey died), but Micky kept at it and really put on a show, only sitting like 2 songs out. He was also "dancing" for us to some of the songs (he just kind of walked around, but again, old). As I heard one comedian say "they don't move like they used to, but they're still trying." Here are some pictures I got.

What was really fun is the songs. They played their hits, and some of the lesser songs. When they played the hits, the entire audience sang along, either just the chorus/back-up, or the whole song; but it wasn't overpowering above the musicians on stage. It was like a low bass line that you didn't hear but felt. Here are some of the major highlights. With Stepping Stones, Micky got really into it and when it came to the drum solo he walked over to the drummer and pointed to them. With Daydream Believer, at near the end Micky walked to the end of the stage and said "now it's your turn" and it was the entire venue singing "cheer up sleepy Gene, oh what can it mean, to aaaa daydream believer and a home coming queen." That was REALLY cool. With Going Down, Micky pulled someone from the audience and she sang one of the verses, which was cool. Micky introduced Randy Scouse Git and gave the background as to why it's called "Alternate Title" in the UK. Pleasant Valley Sunday was really fun with everyone singing along, and I think this was when Micky introduced the band which was pretty cool (and Mike had to sit out, so Micky joked about that). And I think this was the big finale, they ended on I'm a Believer and everyone got up and danced. So SOOO much fun. They also played some songs that didn't get a lot of air time, and there was one or two that were never released that had Davey and Peter, so they just played along with those. Though I will say, it was kind of weird hearing Davey or Peter songs sung by Mike or Micky.

Now it wasn't just music. They also had some banter back and forth, because The Monkees were originally just a comedy show. Mike was usually the strait man to Micky, but Mike also had some funny man moments. They said some things about the show, and Micky played up how Mike had to take breaks, and there was one time where Mike's ipad stopped showing his music and one of the stage hands had to come reset it and all the while Mike is joking about "my music is gone, I still have MSN and google, and I think I have an Instagram notification..." because "the show must go on," and I think it was after intermission there was a rowdy group of audience members that were yelling songs and Mike came out and said "raaaahabla, tigbula, megrible, I can't hear you" which was a great way to deal with the "hecklers," and a lot of other fun things. The band was also pretty impressive. Yes, they were good, but Mike's son was one of the guitarists, which was cool, and the back-up singers looked like they were from the 70s, especially the woman with the waist long hair.

Now they didn't do a standard encore, because they're old, but they did do one of sorts. Mike was out on stage talking while everyone else got up and left. He was like "hey, where'd everyone go? Don't worry we still have a couple more songs." But eventually it did end. Now for some funny stuff at the end. Since I was right at the front, I decided to get a little closer to the stage as the roadies were packing everything up. I just wanted to get as close as I could.

Then there was this. Micky had his set list taped to the floor, and one woman snuck on stage and grabbed half of it. The guy she was with wanted the other half and tried to get it, but then a roadie saw him and chased him off stage. Not much longer after that the head of security came over and shewed everyone out to the lobby. Not wanting to cause a scene, and because it was getting late, I decided it was time to go. I got in my car and drove home, got home at around midnight, went to bed, and woke up 6 hours later to go to work. Oh man, was it worth it. So so SO much fun. So glad I got to see my favorite band from my childhood live in person, and so close to the stage. Well, this has been Pokematic, signing off, and bu-bye.

My Adventure at the 2019 North American International Auto Show

Hey there everyone, I'm back with another adventure. This time, it's the North American International Auto Show. For legal reasons, I must say "I am not an official spokes person of the North American International Auto Show, the views and opinions are solely my own and do not reflect that of NAIAS or any of their partners, I went to the public show with a general admission ticket and all information I will present is open source and freely available to anyone who would want it." Some years ago I read I needed to include a disclaimer like that if I were to blog about it. I don't want to get sued, so here you go. With that out of the way, time for the fun.

First off, my video camera was dead. I didn't charge the battery enough and it wouldn't turn on. However, I was REALLY scared I broke my camera. I have a 12V DC to 120V AC power inverter for my car (allowing me to plug in normal wall outlet devices into my car) and I plugged my camera into it on the way to the show. Well, when I got to the show it wouldn't turn on, and then I remembered the manual said "do not use this for charging electronic devices." I was really afraid I fried my camera. I plugged it into an outlet outside the auto show, and it wouldn't charge. Thankfully I must have just been using an outlet they turned off, because when I got home it took a charge, and turned on, but that limited what I was able to record and capture (because all I had was my phone). I'm also not uploading all my photos here. You can see all I took here on my myspace (because yes, I still have myspace). With this explanation out of the way, here's my adventure.

So I got to the show about 15 minutes before they opened, and just waited around for the doors to open. I looked around at some of the outside promotions, but mainly just waited in line. When I walked in this was the first thing I saw.

A 1:1 scale Chevy Silverado, made entirely of Lego bricks. The sign said something like "25,000 Lego bricks, a team of 20, and 1000 man hours." That was super impressive. That's what I call a Lego set. I didn't go to GMC first, because I like to start on the perimeter and snake my way around the show floor and GMC was not on the perimeter. First was Ford, which was pretty neat. I sat in some cars, but the one I wanted to sit in was "locked for our protection." It was basically a commercial van that was a mini-RV.

I mean, I understand why, but man that looks like it would be fun to explore. I also saw a local news station set-up. That was really cool to have a little look behind the scenes.

What was really cool this time was they had vehicles actually running on the show floor. Granted you couldn't drive them, but Ford had this virtual reality thing where it took you over a course. Here are some things I managed to capture.

Then there was this. Ford unveiled some cars with this cool show thing. Cars came through the screen.

Unfortunately my phone died before the coolest reveal. They had a mustang drop down from the ceiling. I really wish I could have shown that to you good people, oh well.

Here's something that was fun. Last year they had a "build your own Lego figure" thing, and they did again. Here's me putting it together.

Then afterwards you could put the guy in some scenes. I had a little fun with it.

There was also a life size Lego racer. That was pretty awesome.

I saw some cool cars. I took a couple pictures, and enjoyed the cut-aways.

After Ford I went to Fiat-Chrysler. What was fun is all the awards they had out.

That last one was the truck of the year. Really cool. I also liked the engine displays.

I sat in pretty much all the cars, and one that caught my attention was how big the touch screen on this one was.

One cool things I did while I was there was I tried their driving simulator (sorry, no picture). It was a Forza race game, with shakes, and full cabin display with 3 monitors, that was a 2.5 minute ride. The annoying thing was the break wasn't working, so I couldn't make the turns without crashing. It was really fun though. That was basically Fiat-Chrysler for me. Before I move on, here are some pictures of cars.

After Fiat-Chrysler I went to Kia. The main thing I want to show off is this awesome off road demonstration.

It was really fun. I've never done off roading before, so it was really cool. I saw some other cars at Kia, but they didn't really impress me enough to take some pictures. I went to GMC after the Kia exhibit, and I sat at their one display because I needed to charge my phone. What they did was have a big truck display with someone talking about all the cool things it had, and they had chairs and such with phone charging cables. It was really ingenious marketing if you ask me; people need to charge their phones, so while you have a captive audience tell them all about the new truck. I gotta say, if I was a truck guy, I would be really impressed. I spent probably 20 minutes listening to the spiel while I waited for my phone to charge.

After I got my charge, I went to the "build your own Lego Silverado" thing. Here's the little adventure of getting it.

Apparently the sponsor was The Lego Movie 2. OK cool I guess. Now I have something for my Ford guys to sit in. I wasn't super interested in most of the cars they had on display, so I didn't sit in any. There was this virtual reality home run derby game. It was really cool; virtual pitcher throws you a ball, you swing the bat, and if you hit it so it doesn't become a grounder, you get a home run. I scored like 5-8. I would show you the video they took of me and sent me, but they screwed it up and sent me the kid that went before me. Oh well.

Now Toyoda, they had quite the display. They had some concepts for autonomous cars, which was awesome.

They also had their hydrogen filling station on display (or at least I think it was hydrogen).

I also saw this cool back-loading thing on display for people that have difficulty getting in an out of cars. I saw this the past couple of times I was there too.

I also did this thing where you're a news reporter out in the artic and the only car is the new Toyota Prius. I really got into it, and played it up really good. The lady that was running the display really liked how much I got into it. Unfortunately there was something wrong and they didn't send me the video. Oh well, at least you were able to see the Kia video. There were some other cars too.

I think this is about when I got the half pound of fudge; salted caramel. Oh, it's good. I think this is also about the time when I had lunch. I had pizza. It was pretty good; not sure if it was worth $8, but definitely the preferred thing they had there. I'll also take this time to mention the donut maker. It was this automatic donut conveyor thing, where it drops some batter in the boiling oil, then drags it along, and halfway through it flips it, and finally dumps them in a bowl. I remember I saw one of those years ago when I was like 10. The lady saw I was fascinated by it, so she dropped a couple of donuts in for me to watch. Really fun.

Now there were some other concept car companies. They didn't have much to show off, so here are the few displays they had.

There was also this company that I guess specialized in off road. I say "I guess" because all I knew nothing about them but they had a bunch of off road stuff.

It was pretty cool. Around this time is when I started running out of steam. I mean, I'd been there for about 4 hours now. Here are some of the other things I saw. There was this really cool thing from, I think it was Honda. It was this flipping screen, that tracked your movements and such.

There were also some displays of classic cars. That was pretty cool.

After leaving the show, I went down to see if there was anything in the basement (sometimes they have the "enthusiasts and specialty club cars" in the basement). Unfortunately, nothing this time. I did see a local news reporter signing autographs.

It was a really fun time. I'm glad I was able to go and experience it. Again, this isn't everything. To see all I took, you'll need to check out the myspace mix. Well, this has been Pokematic, signing off, and bu-bye.