Flight of the Conchords - LIVE!

This past Saturday we traveled to Atlanta to see Flight of the Conchords live at the Fox Theater. We left Columbia around 11:00am and it was a gorgeous day for a drive. We got to The Georgian Terrace Hotel at 2:30pm and checked in. The front desk service was super slow and there was a large wedding party checking in at the same time as us, which made it that much more dreadful. We finally got our room key and headed up to 604. We were pleasantly surprised by the size of the room. Apparently the hotel was previously apartments, so the rooms were more like small suites. We had a full kitchen, living room and separate bedroom and bathroom. Each room was equipped with a large flat screen tv and we had a tiny little balcony that overlooked an unattractive rooftop, but we didn't care. It was still a very nice room.

After resting for a few minutes, we ventured out onto Peachtree St. NE. The Fox Theater is directly across the street from the hotel. Perfect location! Neither of us is familiar with downtown Atlanta and we didn't have a map, so we just walked down the street several blocks, then turned back around and headed back to the theater. I took a few pictures of the hotel and theater (was disappointed to see signs saying NO CAMERAS ALLOWED at the show) and Donald walked around checking things out. He came running to me and told me he saw Bret McKenzie across the street, but I didn't believe him. I looked over and we saw 2 guys crossing towards us, one of which looked remarkably like Bret, the other one had a huge 'fro and was looking quite disheveled. I thought they were super fans and just dressed the part, so I ignored them and continued my photo taking. Donald rolled his eyes at me, convinced that it was Bret. We walked over to the side of the theater, where we saw the 2 guys go and saw the tour buses, followed by 3 girls with their ears pressed up against the theater doors. We asked them what they were doing and it turned out that the guys were in there doing a sound check. You could hear everything through the doors. And it WAS Bret that we saw running across the street! If only I'd listened to Donald! Oh well. We stood outside the theater for a good hour, hoping the guys would appear and we could talk to them, but no such luck. Our stalking did pay off eventually, though, when we saw Kristen Schaal (who plays Mel on the show) walking towards us. She stopped to talk to a group of people who were also waiting the near bus, then we got our chance to talk to her and have our picture taken with her. She was so cute and sweet and more than happy to talk to everyone gathered around. She finally went into the theater and we stood around for a little while longer before finally giving up and heading back to the hotel to change clothes and get ready for dinner.

Dinner was at Baraonda, which is one block over from the hotel/theater. My friend Jenny recommended it to me and you really couldn't beat the location. Apparently everyone else in the area had the same thought because the restaurant was packed. We were told it would be a 20 minute wait, so we found a spot at the bar and ordered drinks. It was a really festive, arty atmosphere. I really enjoyed people watching there. We didn't have to wait for long before we were seated; they really did an excellent job of moving people in and out quickly. We were seated on the covered patio and ordered another round of drinks. Donald got the Spaghetti Vegetali (whole wheat pasta, zucchini, yellow squash, bell peppers, eggplant, onion, plum tomato sauce) and I ordered the Bianca pizza (mozzarella, olives, goat cheese, pancetta, parmigiano). The food was delicious! I'd definitely recommend it.

After dinner we headed to the theater for the show. There was a formally dressed man outside the theater welcoming everyone to "the historic Fox Theater Atlanta". I thought it was a nice touch and I loved hearing him greet everyone that passed by - that's Southern charm at its finest. We entered the theater and I was surprised there was no bag search. I was afraid to try to sneak in my new camera (with the excellent zoom feature), so I smuggled in my crappy point & shoot. If I'd known, I would've brought the good camera! Oh well. We scoped out the tshirt sales (loved the Band Meeting shirt) and bought beer, then headed to our seats. The theater is gorgeous! Words can not describe its beauty effectively. The entire ceiling is painted to look as though it's the sky and the decor is a Morrocan theme. You really feel like you're back in time at a theater under the stars. It's quite lovely. Our seats were in the Orchestra section (row S, left, seats 9 & 11). They were decent seats, though I wish we were more in the middle instead of off to the side. A couple of slightly obnoxious teenagers sat in front of us and the 2 girls kept trying to scream "you're so hot you're making me sexist" throughout the show, but every time they did it, something would happen to muffle their voices and the guys didn't hear them. It was annoying, but you had to admire their persistence.

The lights went down and Jemaine's voice introduced Kristen Schaal, which was actually quite comical. I wish I could remember everything he said, but I assure you it was funny. We weren't sure what to expect of Kristen's standup, but we were delighted by how absolutely hysterical she is! We laughed throughout her entire set. She introduced the Flight of the Conchords and the room went dark as Bret & Jemaine walked out in their homemade robot costumes and sang a hilarious version of Too Many Dicks on the Dance Floor. It was a great opener! The entire show was just funnier than I can describe. I laughed so hard that I cried. Their live shows just really showcase their talent. Their comedic timing is brilliant. Jemaine's ability to improv is genius. The whole show was amazing. I was hoping I could remember the set list to share, but they sang so many songs, it's impossible to remember it all. They did 2 encores and ended with Bret running into the crowd and then just disappearing. Everyone was looking around wondering where the heck he went and then the lights came up. Too funny.

We filed out of the theater and headed over to the tour buses to wait for autographs/pictures. It was surprisingly cold outside and we left our jackets at the hotel. A mass of people joined us by the buses and we all began our vigil. Time passed and no one came. Occasionally the theater door would open and you'd hear a mass of "WOOOOOOOO" as someone stuck their head out, but it was all just a ruse. We watched the crew come in and out and load things onto the buses. We joked that they were just carrying the same boxes back and forth just to fuck with everyone. At some point we started to actually believe that's what they were doing, especially as one roadie after another would stare at us like we were all freaks for freezing our asses off. I think someone even said Bret & Jemaine weren't coming out and we should all leave. Every now and then you'd see a few people give up and we'd all cheer quietly because that was 2-3 less people keeping us from our goal. We chatted with other people waiting and debated whether or not we should leave. Donald gave up long before I was even close to ready, but he's such a trooper and stuck it out just for me. Finally, around 12:30, and after I was sure my toes were going to fall off from hypothermia, the guys showed up. Waiting paid off! There was a mass of people, but everyone was very cordial. Donald joked that it was the nicest mob he's ever witnessed. Bret stood on one side of the barrier and Jemaine stood on the other, so you had to push your way through one crowd to get the autograph/picture, then turn around and push through another one. But it was worth it and I have the photographic evidence (which I'll post later). The guys were so freaking nice and gracious and you can tell they really love and appreciate their fans. It was so awesome. We finally got back to our hotel room around 1:30. It was a good day.