I Won't Grow Up

This weekend Robin and I decided to bite the bullet and pay the $16 to go see BYU's production of Peter Pan. In my opinion it was well worth the money.

Peter Pan is one of those stories that every kid loves. It's the typical fun loving, exciting adventure that draws you in and keeps you smiling and laughing the whole time. Robin and I both walked out of the theater with huge smiles on our faces because it was such a fun play to watch.

The acting was brilliant. There were times where I felt like I could have been watching a professional group of actors. The girl that was cast as Peter Pan is amazingly talented. I was amazed at how well she was able to sing and dance and fly around and keep up the energy that is needed throughout the entire performance. She portrayed all of the little quirks that Peter has perfectly. It definitely takes a lot of talent to pull off a performance like the one she gave.

The story of Peter Pan is beautiful. From the outside it looks like a simple story about the joy and freedom of youth. But there is so much more to it than that. The relationship between Wendy and Peter provides a look into the troubles of young  love. Peter is a prime example of how confusing feelings can be. Throughout the play we watch Peter interact with Wendy and it becomes clear that even though he may care for her, there is something, maybe fear, that keeps him from accepting those feelings. Another thing that stood out to me was the idea that even in adulthood, our youthful qualities still come through. Captain Hook and Mr. Darling are prime examples of this. A lot of their mannerisms and and comments that they make are very childlike in nature. They are supposed to be leading male figures, but because of the way that they act, they don't give off the typical appearance of a strong male role.

I strongly recommend going to see a performance at BYU. They are always amazing and well worth the time and money. You won't be disappointed. For more info on performances at BYU check out this website.

Mandolins and Banjos

The poster for the Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband concert has been up in the Wilkinson Center since the beginning of the semester. I noticed it one day as I was in line at the Jamba Juice. The band name seemed familiar.

I checked my iPod, and there they were, listed under the "R.M. Soundtrack" as having contributed the grassroots version of "I Hope They Call Me on a Mission".

A few weeks later, when Liz and I were trying to come up with something to do this weekend, the concert came up as an option. We decided to go for it, but I really didn't know what to expect. I looked up their website and Wikipedia page to learn more about them as the week moved on. As it turns out, their big claim to fame is their hit "Dream Big" which some may recognize from the advertisements for the NBC reality show, Three Wishes.

Liz and I got to the concert at 7:30 PM sharp. I knew that we could take our time, as it would be easy to shove our way to the front. To our dismay, it was a seated event. We were pretty far in the back, but we both had decent views. The local band, White Ivory (don't worry- they didn't seem racist), opened for Ryan Shupe. I wasn't expecting to like them- all local bands in Provo seem to sound the same- but I actually really did, and so did Liz. We've decided to keep a look out for any concerts they put on at Muse or Valore, downtown. Here's a sample:

I apologize for the shoddy quality... I think I need a new camera.

The song here is "I Don't Know Babe"

For more on White Ivory, checkout their Facebook page here.

After they finished, Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband entered and began their first song, "Hey, Hey, Hey". Halfway through this number, Liz and I both looked at each other with huge grins on our faces. The energy of this piece, the crowd, and the band let us know right away that we were going to enjoy ourselves.

Whether or not you particularly enjoy grassroots or country music, you would enjoy this concert. Ryan Shupe and the rest arr fantastic entertainers. In between each piece they would razz each other or tell some silly joke.

For example, a man proposed to his girlfriend at the concert. This exchange followed:

Ryan: This song is devoted to our... uh... our new...ly engaged couple? What's the plural of fiancée?
Craig: Fiancées?
Ryan: Fianci?
Craig: Also, what is another word for synonym?
Ryan: What other things do you wonder?
Craig: I used to wonder what "heck" was. Then I found out that it's where people go who don't believe in "gosh".

The drummer, Nate, obliged with a "bu-dump, chhhhh".

They totally knew how to work the crowd. A particularly fun moment was in the middle of the song written for Ryan's son, "2 year old attitude", Ryan and the lead guitarist Craig Miner commenced in a guitar/ mandolin battle. At first it was just impressive riffs, and then Ryan played the Cougar Fight Song, which Craig followed with the Mario theme, and Craig finished with the theme from "Top Gun". They then played their instruments incredibly fast behind their necks.

The crowd was going wild.

Ryan also invited some of the crowd who were familiar with their song "Oh How I Miss You" to come up and sing with the band:

Another great moment was when Ryan's 2 year-old song came up on stage with his little toy violin to play with the band. If anyone in the crowd had yet to fall in love with the band, they were helpless now. The little boy played as best he could, mimicking his dad's movements, and doing the cutest 2 year-old dance you've ever seen.

They began to conclude with Kermit the Frog's, "Rainbow Connection". As they played the introduction, members of the crowd cheered when they recognized it. Craig said, jokingly, "Yes, if you know the words to this song, feel free to keep it to yourself. This is our show."

After "Rainbow Connection", they finished with their hit, "Dream Big".

The band came up for an encore after leaving the stage the first time. They played one of the greatest covers of "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" I've ever heard. It's on YouTube, and Liz and I highly recommended it. Though it's ten minutes long, so you may want to fast forward to the 4 minute point, and you'll understand why we loved it.

It was a total blast and if you have the means you should definitely go see them. Tickets were only $7!

Check out their website for music and info.

Robin's Favorite Songs:
My Dandelion
If I Were a Bird
Keep Believing
Oh How I Miss You

Liz's Favorite Songs:
10,000 Lakes
Even Superman
If I Were a Bird
Dream Big

Check in next week to hear about BYU's production of Peter Pan!

Introductions

My name is Robin and I LOVE watching T.V. and movies. But, as much as I love vegging out in my sweatpants, I feel like I'm wasting my final years of college. Sitting in my pajamas on Friday morning, meaning to be doing homework but really just watching SNL, it struck me that this would be the very activity that would be occupying my time that evening. 


How boring.


Yet this was my usual pastime every Friday night. This inspiration lead to a chain reaction of possibilities that filled my imagination throughout work and my daily jog. I came to the conclusion that I should start a blog that outlined my weekends, so that out of pure shame, I would feign from spending another sweats-wearing night of Facebook surfing.


I mean, who wants to read about that?


As soon as I got home, I ran into my roommate's room and told her that she should co-write the blog with me. At first, I think she was hesitant. However, that night we ended up falling asleep on the couch to "You've Got Mail" and I think she realized the benefits of my epiphany. And so, Another Dateless Weekend was born!


I now turn the keyboard over to my partner-in-dateless-crime, Liz.  

Robin is correct.


 I was skeptical at first. But really, who wants to admit that their life is boring and dateless. I didn't. 


I too do not mind a relaxing evening of movie watching and lounging in sweats. In fact, it's what I have done almost every weekend since September. Let's just say that having a broken heart does not equal having the desire to go out and have fun very often.


So, in an attempt to get out of my hermit state, I took Robin up on the offer to be her sidekick in the adventures of Another Dateless Weekend.


Let's kick this off with the story of our Martin Luther King Jr. Day adventure. We saw that the University was hosting a Candlelight Walk in honor of the holiday. 

It was windy, so they gave us paper cups to put our candles in. It wasn't all that successful. Liz had to re-light mine like 10 times.


I regret to say that it began to rain half-way through the walk, so my opportunities to take pictures were limited.

It was a really nice way to honor the Reverend. As we followed the color-guard we passed speakers playing King's famous speech, and large banners displaying his uplifting quotes.




That's all for now. Check back in on Sunday when will tell you about the Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband Concert we're going to on Friday!