JC Chasez at the House of Blues on Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA - Night One

[aruan]

Catching up and definitely not contemplating the dirt-cheap airfare to Chicago. Nope, not even a little...

So, getting up at six in the morning after being up until three and having slept a whopping five hours the night before, four the night before that, and three separate ones during the day before that? Good fun. No, really. The things we do, man.

There's an awful lot of Mojave Desert to go around. Schiz pointed out tumbleweeds and discussed Bono's efforts at preserving the endangered Joshua Tree as we munched on Twix, chips, and soda the ingenious sassygurl had thought to procure last night. Personally, I was all about the mountains. Florida is flat.

We got a call from coolwhipdiva about her Chasez run-in at the Vegas airport, which must've been so cute. He was surprised to run into a fan at an airport! Oh, JC. Anyhow, so we're driving along, when sassygurl ventures tentatively of the white sedan that passed us, "Isn't that [without_me]?" Schiz and I both brushed it off - we left her still mostly asleep back at the hotel, she couldn't have left in time to catch up with us. But we sped up anyway, then thought of something even smarter and called A's cellphone - and watched in hysterics as the mystery driver went to put the bud into her ear to answer it. We told A to look right, everyone waved madly and giggled some more and wished each other a good sojourn.

We got to the Fox lot about an hour before designated arrival time for The Best Damn Sports Show Period. I was weirded out by the utter lack of line, but we were assured we were both in the right place and that JC was confirmed as a guest - it's just, when 99% of your stress and an equal percentage of your time budgeting has been line-related for the past three days and stands to remain so for another two, it's just weird to be able to breathe for a moment.

Glossing over being herded into the studio and the most embittered warm-up guy ever, the taping itself was cool. There was a local high school football team in the audience, to whom Booger, one of the hosts, gave an excellent, surprisingly cliche-free speech about getting a good education while pursuing their dreams of playing in the pro league. And another one of the hosts, Chris Rose, is cute and sarcastic, which is never bad, so it was mostly good times. Also, people other than ourselves got to slashing him with Ryan Seacrest, which was too funny. As Schiz said, "Because, like, it's the pairing of hair product and colorful shirts and male insecurity." Bwah!

They showed a shot of us as JC entered! And he got to sit next to the tallest of the hosts, who was approximately twice his height. JC got to tell his 'lap around a club in my head' story after Tom Arnold said, "The single is Some Girls (Dance With Women). I like that." He talked about poppin' bottles and getting low, at which the tall guy had to remind him that "white folks who watch this show." He shot down Chris as a potential sixth based on his hair, which is only slightly less pot-kettle-y than if it's been on the basis of his outfit. And the Pro Bowl people "bummed [him] out"! He was adorably put off at the prospect of tasting feet, then declined to show his own but told his modeling story. The hosts rightly razzed him about older men approaching thirteen-year-old boys on the beach with offers of money to take pictures of any part of them. Then Tom Arnold made an obligatory Michael Jackson joke and everyone had a turn good-naturedly punching him in the arm, which was cute. He passed closer to the audience on exit than entrance and seemed to recognize a few of us, waving genially before being shepherded off by Lonnie.

We didn't make it to Sunset until around six o'clock, chatted briefly with the usual suspects at the Foundation Room/back entrance, watched JC and Lonnie come down the stairs and walk not three feet in front of us to a waiting SUV (for which we stood stock-still and dumbstruck - that boy must be so confused with the mixed signals), then made our way to the back of the regular line. A rousing game of whatever we played (it involved linking actors with their movies and costars), we started trickling inside.

Standing behind the pit crowd tonight was actually great. Don't get me wrong, either front row or about five back is where it's at, but it's also fiercely cool to watch the room respond to him, to get a broader perspective than just his thrusting hips and see the choreography, the staging of the band, etc. Plus, we were standing right by the bar, where the girl took my request for a strong Midori Sour seriously and we could get fried chicken and fries, as we'd been subsisting on candy aisle contents all day.

This is the night I'm going to mention Samantha Ronson, the girl who opened for JC at all the shows. She really has gotten much better since Anaheim, but mostly, I'm chalking up having her songs in my head to mere exposure effect. The girl lacks stage presence, her voice is nothing to write home about, and I'm sure some of it is that she's been thrown into the deep end here, but I just wasn't feeling it. Tonight though, she sang a new ballad which myself and most everyone seems to have been taken with, so we'll see.

Oh, and before I forget, Lance! Lance was there, even if he did initially have to be dragged to the balcony ledge by Sharon Osbourne to wave hello to the crowd. Homeboy looked good in that space shirt he loves so much. Also in alleged attendance were Ruben Studdard, and a waitress even claims to have seen Justin lurking in the back shadows of VIP.

A.D.I.D.A.S. - How happy am I that we've taken to school's back in session / get ready for a lesson? It's my favorite part of the song besides the guitar riff, and I scream it every time it comes on my car stereo, but to have a roomful of people screaming it? Yeah, I enjoy it almost as much as JC. Also, he buffs the toe of his sneaker at one point of the dance break! How does anyone not love this boy?

She Got Me - He's been doing a final she got me, with some tongue and a sly smile, natch, before the music ends at the front of the stage, hanging onto the mic before walking back and air drumming the last couple of beats. I love these little rockstar moments.

"Y'all are a rowdy crowd tonight, I like it." Yeah, we a boisterous bunch. It was no Monday night until the main event, but it was a party.

If You Were My Girl - Oh, yes my friends, Lance did get the first I would love you all night long / if you were my girl, complete with pointing and pelvic thrust. And speaking of all things involving JC's showcase of his hips and groin, he got up onto the edge of the stage and practically rubbed himself against the mic stand between his legs (and right in front of geminigirl38, as she later recounted in swooning tones) on ready to go / she was built for speed / not like an automatic. Mmm. I do love that line, and not just because, as a manual shift driver, I know exactly what he's talking about.

One Night Stand - This song is a party. He struts onstage in a feather-lined coat, he gets comically rebuffed at every turn before Molly finally succumbs to his dorktastic charms, and that simulated blowjob has only gotten friendlier since last we saw it. This whole song is a feeling that can't be denied, somewhere between hilarious and weirdly sexy.

He struck the hat pose again, then quickly laughed and dispensed of the hat, saying, "We'll have none of that."

Build My World - Damn the battery levels and my not wanting to risk not getting 100 Ways, because we got the most beautiful rendition of this song of all the shows tonight. JC sang it a shade lower than he normally does, and that made all the difference in the richness. It flowed beautifully and tragically and watching him go through every emotion he wrote into it is mesmerizing. I've heard it a hundred times by now and seen it a few as well, and I was near tears from almost the first note. This song is always a highlight if not, as it was especially true Monday and today, the main event. Which it wasn't quite tonight, though that's not on virtue of its own merits. ;)

Blowin' Me Up - He had us sing the entire first chorus. Just stuck the microphone out and let us do it. It was really cool, like he thought we were doing just fine with it. Also, he was going so full-tilt with the choreography, he noticeably unbalanced himself at points, which was cute.

The big cheeseball takes his blue pill, sucks on his fingers, then runs his hand down his torso and over his crotch before looking back out at us and saying, "Y'all gotta try this." *loves dangling modifiers*

Come To Me - He grabbed himself and gave not one, not two, but three good thrusts against his hand on conversation hotter than a fireman engulfed, and I'm surprised my brain didn't just short circuit right on the spot.

Let's Go Crazy - Everyone's mentioned it, but JC has gleefully begun to take the let's get nuts line literally. I would do rather obscene things to know if JC dances around his house just like he does during this number, slip-sliding across his tile floor in white sweatsocks, headbanging and playing air guitar and wailing along to the music playing throughout the intercom system in his house. That's what this song feels like every time, a glimpse of that nutty fanboy dancing around in his white dress shirt and Calvins. Also, he usually sits back on the drum setup to watch the guitarist finish the song and make orgasmic faces at the solo, but tonight, he also mopped the guitarist's forehead with his towel, which was darling.

"All you hos are crazy!" he says, then smacks both his hands over his mouth as we scream in affirmation. He blamed us for his going too far then realizes the cuffs of his pants had come untied, bends down to redo them, then says "I love a good wardrobe malfunction, but I'm better now" and launches into...

Dear Goodbye - There is a lot of pulling on his jacket and shirt during the photographs, the ghosts of what we had come undone, and just a lot of intensity in tonight's performance. I'll leave it to others to make the Bassez allusions, and only fan the fire by saying he looked up to the balcony a few of times throughout the song.

The Game Is Over - He says it's his favorite thing he's ever written, this bridge. Well, he sure performs it like that every night.

His shoelaces had become untied during the madness and he hopped and wobbled a bit off-balance while retying it, which led to a tangent about falling. "As much as y'all want to see that, I like my ass intact." *cue laughter* "That came out all wrong. I'm broken today, I suck today." Aaaw! We broke him. Poor pretty boy, all flustered and happy and at a loss for words for it all. "This is one of my favorites, enjoy it."

Everything You Want - This is the song I remember him doing it in specifically, but there are several moments in the show where JC spreads his arms straight out, closes his eyes, and turns his face up a bit to sing, and it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

He bantered a lot tonight. I don't remember what provoked this, but it prompted him to say, "Who writes this crap? Me! My fault, okay," before he trailed off into the next song.

Shake It - The end of this song, when he knocks all the dancers down one by one? The last girl, the new blonde one whose name I can never remember, is the last one standing, and JC is on the other end of the stage from her, and he sets up like he's going to pitch a baseball and is reading the signs from her choreography. He shakes off three of them before nodding, winding up, and pitching something that would've clocked in at something fierce if there were someone to clock it.

Right Here (By Your Side) - It's a sweet song, a nice wrap to the show, but always leaves me feeling somewhat anticlimactic, vocally and performance-wise, from the rest of the set. It works on the record, but not so much live. *shrug*

Some Girls - Lance allegedly toasted JC before he launched into this one, and that's so Lance it makes my toes curl with happiness.

After it ended, the band didn't launch into the exit music, the curtains didn't close, and JC didn't leave the stage. Oh, yeah. "Now, normally, this is where I end the show. But we're in Los Angeles, and I always like to do something special here. And something special, he did.

100 Ways - Oh, yeah. The room went bananas (to borrow some West Coast slang) even before the opening strains of the song began. I don't know how many people were actually surprised since the soundcheck rumors had spread through the line like wildfire, but the energy doubled easily, possibly even tripled. There was frenzied screaming and jumping and yelling of lyrics and waving of arms and general insanity. So glad I had the room to move and scream to my heart's content. He let us get in on she's such a sexy dame / I just can't control my thang and closed his eyes and swiveled his hips instead and absolutely did not stop touching himself the entire time, and yeah, all of that right there? It'll comprise a good chunk of my happy place for a good long while.

And of course, there was Lance dancing. JC pretty much summed it up with, "That was the shit, thank you."

A brief stint in the Foundation Room later, we headed to Mel's, where I had my first celebrity-in-a-natural-environment encounter - Hal Sparks, by far one of the cutest things in all creation with his chin scruff and shortness and black leather jacket and having the most animated conversation I've ever seen, was sitting on the other side of the restaurant, ostensibly fresh from JC's show (as he'd been to the Sunset one in December and has attended Justin's, too.) coolwhipdiva made occasion to go over there-ish since belouxs (who previewed her kickin' footage of the evening's final number) and company were two tables down from them, and when we made our way back, I stopped by theirs. The conversation had subsided somewhat so I didn't feel quite so bad about interrupting but still apologized before turning to Hal and telling him I love the show and congratulations. He said the most earnest "Thank you very much" ever even before the happily surprised expression, all wide eyes and smile. Such a sweetie.

Andthenwedrovehomeandcollapsedintobed,goodnight.

Comments

[callsigns.livejournal.com]

Reading that puts me in mind of the night. Oh, what a night, tho' it was not late December, nor was it '63. But it was a very special time for me.

Er. Yes. Great write-up. Many thanks. :)

[gjstruthseeker.livejournal.com]

Be very, very, very glad it wasn't late December, because I've been there, and brr. Brr! Chasez, I love you, but man, I fought for feeling back in my hands and feet for a few days after that.

Thank you! I've very much enjoyed reading yours as well.

[nopseud]

Thank you for this. It's so cool to read everyone's different veiws of the shows.

[gjstruthseeker.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you liked! It's interesting what sticks out for some people, how some see a dance move or remember a quote, the way some find fault with a moment where the other half of the room is endeared to bitty bits. This was an indisputably great night overall though.