kayray.org

Yesterday (Saturday) was the big concert! Dan, Henry, and I arrived at the theater at about 10:20am. Dan immediately started setting up equipment, while I showed Henry around the theater. It’s really fun to see the backstage area and the dressing rooms and everything! Then we staked out a spot in the hall and amused ourselves until Chloe and Bob and the rest of the band showed up. There was much setting up and testing of equipment. Henry and I read and drew and knitted and talked and played nintendo and just watched the activity on stage. I ran out to the drugstore for bottled water. Henry was so good all day long. I know he got a little bit bored at times but he never complained. I tried to notice when he needed help finding something to do so I could suggest something. Eventually the band started to rehearse, so that was entertaining! I took Henry across the street to the Claire de Lune coffee place for breakfast pastry, and then later for a bagel. The orchestra kids got there in the afternoon, and their conductor ran through some of the material, and then the band joined them. And then Henry finally got to practice Penny Lane with the band! I taught him the part (whole note keyboard chords during the chorus) at 8pm the night before and he’d never played it with the band, but he did fine during the run-through.

At 5 or so Chloe and I walked over the the near-by pizza place and ordered 12 pizzas and 8 six-packs of soda to feed all the musicians and crew, then Henry and I went back to pick it up in time for the 6 to 7pm dinner break. Lucky they had a trolley and helped us wheel all that food back to the theater!

At a little after 7 Henry changed into his show clothes (nice dark pants and his tie-dyed t-shirt) and we found our seats and got ready to watch the show. Chloe had set aside three nice seats for us, and joined us just before the show started. It was sold-out, or very nearly so! Rehearsal was a little bit rocky (but what rehearsal isn’t?) so we were kind of nervous, but when the band began to play it was obvious that everything would be just fine! They were AWESOME. They started out with songs from the Rubber Soul single, and then performed the whole album. It was just indescribably good. We loved it and the crowd did too!

At intermission I took Henry backstage. Chloe offered to walk him up to the stage when it was time for Penny Lane, but he preferred to wait backstage because it was “fascinating”. So I went back out with Chloe and we watched the second set, which was all Beatles music of course, with the Magical Symphony Youth Orchestra helping out on songs such as Eleanor Rigby, Here Comes the Sun, Something, Revolution (the slow on, yay!), etc. For All You Need Is Love, Bob asked for some children from the audience to hold the signs. Celia and Henry helped, too. It was too cute!

(sorry for the blurry band, but you can see the kids and the signs ok)

The crowd loved it. After that came Penny Lane, for which Henry stood front and center at Bob’s keyboard and played his chords during the chorus. He did a wonderful job! I was so proud of him :) He ran back out to the audience and sat with us after his song was over.

(That’s Henry in the center)

After the last song, “The End,” the audience leapt to its feet and gave the band a huge standing ovation. And then they played a few more songs! Henry and Celia went back onstage and danced to Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, and the audience just ate it up. They played until 10, I think, or a little after. Man, what a show, what a show! Rockola rocks!

After the show, Dan helped tear down for a while, and then we finally left maybe around 11pm or later, I’m not sure. It was a long but wonderful day. We all slept late this morning :)