Lucy and I met the aforementioned Paul last weekend at the greatest party ever, and he told us about the Christmas show that he and his friend were going to be putting on in his backyard. When he mentioned that they would be doing an interpretive dance to Christmas in Sarajevo, that is all it took to sell us on the idea. We're no fools. Anyway, Lucy and I already had plans to go out for drinks with Liz that night, so we decided to bring her along to the show first and then go for drinks afterwards. Then I decided it would be even better to not really tell Liz the specifics of where we were going first, just to say that we were going to a Christmas show. I think Kevin summed it up best last week when I told him of my plans and he said, "That's just mean." But then again, he really didn't know what we were in for, which turned into the Greatest. Show. Ever. Trying to describe it in full won't do it proper justice, so I've decided to make this a mainly visual entry, with links to plenty of video clips. Shall we?

First, I should probably give a small bit of background about the show. The inaugural show premiered 2 years ago, but last year's show was canceled due to a snowstorm, so we were attending the 2nd "annual" show last night, complete with plenty of returning favorites from the first show. For admission, we all had to bring canned goods that were going to be donated to a local homeless shelter (and hopefully help our city's token homeless woman, who they all call "Waldo" since you never know where she'll pop up.). There were probably about 25 people there, which I was impressed with, and thankfully we arrived early so we could secure seats and didn't have to stand. It was all done up nicely, with programs and a "concession stand" at intermission where Paul's mom treated us with hot chocolate and delicious cookies. (They even had the flashing house lights to let us know that the show would be starting up again.) But enough of the description, let's get right to the night!

First, here I am with Liz and Lucy, while Liz was still warm and blissfully unaware of what was to come:

When we arrived at the show, here is the main backdrop that greeted us:

Finally, the show started with the two stars emerging from the "curtain" that covered the sliding-glass door that led out to the deck, tossing candy out to the audience as they descended the stairs into the yard. [AUDIENCE MEMBERS: "Ow!" "My eye!"] The first song was Do You Hear What I Hear? and from the moment Paul started to sing to a stuffed lamb, I knew we were in for a treat. (Click on the links for video clips) I believe this was the moment when Lucy and I leaned over to each other and exclaimed it to be "The Best. Show. Ever!" The show then picked up the beat with a rousing rendition of Mary's Boychild that had the whole crowd clapping along, albeit not very loudly because we were all wearing gloves. Did I not mention that it was about 28 degrees outside? But hell, we were clapping nonetheless.

And what is a Christmas show without the performers getting down to Feliz Navidad? Nothing, I tell you. The first act ended with an energetic performance of All I Want For Christmas is You, but unfortunately I was changing the batteries in my digital camera and missed capturing Paul nailing the high "Yoooouuuuu!" at the end. It was brilliance. After that, we had our intermission, where we all warmed up with some tasty hot chocolate, some of us contemplating pouring it on our feet to defrost them. Liz also requested a group photo, to prove that she was actually attending the performance:

I'm getting chills just looking at us. My upper body was doing okay thanks to my triple-layer shirt, coat and scarf, but my feet were a wee bit cold. One of the audience members summed up the coldness perfectly when he announced, "I can't feel my bum." You and me both, man. Anyway, after the house lights flashed, we all settled in for the second act, which opened with the long-awaited Christmas in Sarajevo dance. I'm saving that clip for last, because it was truly awesome and the performance of the night. Next was Little Drummer Boy, during which Lucy aptly noted that Paul seemed to be playing a Tommy Lee drum kit instead of a lonely little drum. Sleigh Ride was next, which treated us to some up-close and personal Paul, as well as some good ol' fashioned holiday ass-slapping. After that, Paul announced that they couldn't find a suitable version of O Holy Night to sing along to, so they would be doing it a cappella. [KEVIN: "Oh holy God."] Then there was a quick costume change so Paul could play the title role in Santa Baby. There was much talk in the audience about Santa's ill-fitting "highwaters" Santa Suit, but I prefer to call it "Homeless Santa Chic."

I skipped any video of the next song, boycotting the choice of using a particular version of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. Out of all of the cool versions of that song, they chose...the American Idol one. Kevin turned to me and said, "Is that Ruben Studdard?" I just groaned. But hey, if that's the only misstep in your show, you're doing pretty darn well. After that was the big finale, the crowd-pleasing Seasons of Love, from Rent, during which Kevin and I were chastised for daring to sing along: "This is the Paul and Kristin show!" Awesome.

After the show, we heard Liz talking to Paul and telling him that the show was "different," which cracked us all up. Then we headed out to warmer atmospheres, remarking the whole time about the brilliance and genius of it all. Speaking of which, if you only watch one video clip, make it this one: The infamous interpretive dance to Christmas in Sarajevo. Brilliance.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Picture of the Day: Lucy getting "the most action [she's] gotten in months" from her new "boyfriend" pillow:



before & after





2007-09-26 - Follow Me!
2006-09-30 - Site Move & Favorite Entries
2006-09-25 - Evil Easter Bunnies & Rock Climbing!
2006-09-22 - Shameful-Purchase Hiding & A New Dentist Plan
2006-09-19 - Birthday Picture/Video Diary & The Wheelmobile





Copyright 2003-2006 by Sockgirlie. Stealing is wrong.