We got our tickets by pledging to the area's PBS station -- an excellent thing to do anyway -- and received tickets to a pre-show meet-and-greet as part of the deal. This was going to be Sal's big chance to get a picture with Jake!
Before the meet-and-greet began, I wanted to get a photo of Sal with the Kent Stage marquee, but how to do it? Norma volunteered to hold Sal up so I could do some fancy camera work and get Sal in front of the marquee, but it didn't work, which is okay. I got this fun picture instead.
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| I could have tried harder to get a close-up of Sal with the marquee in the background, but if I had done that I wouldn't have this picture of Sal and Norma. |
I took a couple shots and suddenly who popped up out of nowhere? Bruce -- one of our Flea friends! We didn't know he was going to be there, and were very happy to see him.
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| You can see why I like hanging around with the Fleas -- they are fun people! |
We were standing around in front of the meet-and-greet location (an art gallery down the street from the Kent Stage), when a couple of people stopped and asked us about Sal. This little uke is a great conversation starter! I gave them Sal's card and we talked for a while. They live a bit far away to attend Flea jams, but we encouraged them to try. After they walked away, I realized I should have taken a picture of them with Sal, but I was so focused (pun intended) on the upcoming meet-and-greet that I didn't think of it until it was too late. In a minute or two another Flea -- Nicole -- came by, too. More smiles and laughs ensued.
Soon it was time to go inside for the meet-and-greet. Unfortunately, Bruce and Nicole didn't have tickets for that, so we said a temporary goodbye to them. The line was full of happy people with ukes they wanted Jake to sign. I can't imagine posing for pictures and signing autographs right before doing a show, but he was so gracious and nice to everyone. I would be a nervous wreck, but he doesn't need to worry about messing up like I would! After taking Sal's picture with Jake, I gave him one of Sal's cards, and said something goofy about checking out the blogpost featuring him. (I'm always ridiculously nervous when meeting ultra-talented people I idolize.) I walked away thinking, as I always do after saying something like that, "Why the heck did I say that?"
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| Jake, Norma, and Jiminy Christmas (the uke that Jake signed for Norma). Sal isn't in this picture, but I had to include it. :) |
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| Jake and Sal!!! |
We proceeded to the Kent Stage and saw Shelley (another Flea) there! Sal felt it was necessary to get a picture with all of the Fleas (except for the camera-wielder -- moi) at the theater.
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| Shelley, Norma, Bruce (with Sal), and Nicole -- a fabulous bunch of Fleas! |
After this was taken, yet another Flea (Jeff) entered the theater! I asked everyone to hang around by the door after the show for a group picture -- and perhaps an outing for a beer or something. (Sal really enjoys hanging out with this bunch!) Before the show began I took some pictures of Sal on the edge of the stage. I knew it was too dark, but had to take them anyway.
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| Where the magic is about to happen! |
I took some pictures during the show and have to share a few -- even though Sal isn't in them.
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| Not a super sharp shot, but I like it anyway. I've seen two previous Jake shows, and this one had a lot more visual stuff going on with the lights. Pretty cool. |
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| Touchingly beautiful melodies were played... |
I don't think it's necessary to say that the show was mind-blowing! Jake is incredible! There were some problems with the sound at the beginning, and he was very cool about it. He handled the situation with humor and soon everything was resolved. We got to see Rudd (hope I spelled that right) come up on stage to change cables and do some other techie things. Batteries were changed, etc. and the show resumed. The technical difficulties were actually an enjoyable part of the show (for me anyway) because the whole thing showed Jake to be a good guy, which is important to Sal and me. During the show he told some adorable stories about his 11-month-old son, and gave a shout-out to a Kent restaurant (I didn't catch the name, but he said they had the "best hummus") and a book/record store where he got a used cd that he was was very happy to find. Sal and I experienced two hours of musical bliss!
After the last amazing notes were played, a bunch of Fleas met near the doors for this group shot, which was taken by a helpful gentleman standing nearby. (I think he was a security guy, actually.)
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| Tired, but happy, Fleas. Some of us were exhausted just from watching Jake play! Where does he get all that energy!? From left to right: Jeff, Norma, Nicole with Sal, me, and Bruce. |
After this, we all went home thinking about the incredible performance we had just witnessed. What a great night!
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