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The Simpsons Took the Bowl and It Was Glorious!

Larry & I bought tickets to “The Simpsons Take The Bowl” kinda last minute as we for some reason didn’t think this would be fun to go to when making our Mila-purchase back in March.  What were we thinking???  All it took though was seeing the promo screen for this at a previous concert and that Beverly D’Angelo, Conan O’Brien, Yeardley Smith and Hank Azaria, among others, were going to be present.  No Dan Castellaneta or Julie Kavner, alas, but regardless, we HAD to get tickets.  Found some great ones on Stubhub.com this past Sunday night in Section K2, Row 2 (a FANTASTIC location to watch a concert from if you can’t get a box) and over the course of this amazing concert, we kept looking at each other with relief that we didn’t miss this.

Larry & I met up at the Bowl and enjoyed the very immersive theming that was put up in the entry areas for the Bowl.  There were stand-ups everywhere, statues of the cast, great artwork (a Marge Rothko was especially notable), an inflatable 3-eyed fish, and a whole lot more, including a Ralph stand-up we had to get a photo with.  Me fail English, that’s unpossible!  Crazy occurrence:  As I met up with Larry, he frantically pointed out that Matt Groening was right there!  Sure enough, he was and I snapped a quick pic before he went into the Bowl.

September 12, 2014 – Before the Concert

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Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons
Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons12-Sep-2014 18:37, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 5.0, 15.939mm, 0.006 sec, ISO 1600
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12-Sep-2014 18:38, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 5.6, 18.104mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 800
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12-Sep-2014 18:38, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 4.5, 7.325mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 200
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12-Sep-2014 18:38, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 4.5, 7.325mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 800
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12-Sep-2014 18:39, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 4.5, 8.022mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 640
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12-Sep-2014 18:40, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 4.5, 8.022mm, 0.006 sec, ISO 200
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12-Sep-2014 18:40, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 4.5, 8.022mm, 0.002 sec, ISO 320
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12-Sep-2014 18:41, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 4.0, 4.96mm, 0.008 sec, ISO 200
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12-Sep-2014 18:41, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 4.0, 4.96mm, 0.02 sec, ISO 200
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12-Sep-2014 18:41, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 4.0, 4.96mm, 0.013 sec, ISO 200
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12-Sep-2014 18:42, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 5.0, 13.186mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 800
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Home & Marge greeting the crowd
Home & Marge greeting the crowd12-Sep-2014 18:42, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 4.5, 6.9mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 640
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12-Sep-2014 18:42, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 4.5, 6.9mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 640
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Marge as a Rothko
Marge as a Rothko12-Sep-2014 18:43, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 3.8, 4.5mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 400
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12-Sep-2014 18:44, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 4.5, 9.952mm, 0.02 sec, ISO 640
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Once we were in our seats, we had a bit of time to kill, but it was worth it as we had a great spread of food thanks to Larry.  Also chatted up our seatmates as basically everyone around you was a Simpsons fan.  Another random occurrence:  Before the show, I went to the restroom and when washing my hands, I happened to notice that a guy behind me looked quite a lot like Rich Sommer who plays Harry Crane from Mad Men.  I wasn’t positive, but thought it was cool for a moment, then forgot.  But when I got back to the seats, Larry was like, “did you see Harry Crane???”  I immediately was like, “YES!”  And that’s my story.

Sept 12, 2014 – Waiting for the Show to Begin

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12-Sep-2014 18:53, 2.4, 2.18mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 40
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12-Sep-2014 18:53, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 3.8, 4.5mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 200
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12-Sep-2014 18:53, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 3.8, 4.5mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 200
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12-Sep-2014 18:53, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 5.6, 33.834mm, 0.013 sec, ISO 400
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12-Sep-2014 18:53, 2.4, 2.18mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 32
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12-Sep-2014 18:53, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 5.0, 12.382mm, 0.02 sec, ISO 250
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12-Sep-2014 18:59, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 4.5, 7.109mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 160
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12-Sep-2014 19:00, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 5.6, 26.519mm, 0.013 sec, ISO 500
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In our pretty fantastic seats in K2, Row 2
In our pretty fantastic seats in K2, Row 212-Sep-2014 19:03, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 3.8, 4.5mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 500
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12-Sep-2014 19:04, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 3.8, 4.5mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 640
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12-Sep-2014 19:08, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 3.8, 4.5mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 800
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12-Sep-2014 19:09, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 3.8, 4.5mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 640
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12-Sep-2014 19:09, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 3.8, 4.5mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 800
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12-Sep-2014 19:09, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 5.6, 21.24mm, 0.02 sec, ISO 800
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12-Sep-2014 19:10, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 5.0, 13.186mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 800
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The Set List Part 1 and Comments:

The show finally began first with an animated short of the Simpsons trying to get to the Hollywood Bowl – it was insanely accurate and detailed to the experience of actually coming to a show and quite hilarious.  We got a brief firework as Homer pressed the button but was immediately attacked by the orchestra along with Lisa.  Matt Groening, the creator of The Simpsons, finally came out to welcome us to the experience.  We then met our host, Hank Azaria, voice of a bajillion Simpsons characters.

  • “Who Needs the Kwik-E-Mart?” – sung by Hank Azaria as Apu, along with the hot dog dancers
  • Various Simpsons Main Credits themes were played by the orchestra, accompanied by the video of some of the more dramatic takes on the opening credits, such as from Guillermo del Toro, Banksy, and a live-action version.
  • My absolute favorite moment:  Yeardley Smith (Lisa Simpson) came out and introduced Beverly D’Angelo, who  was dressed up as Lurleen Lumpkin.  She then proceeded to sing my absolute favorite Simpsons song, “Bagged Me a Homer.”
  • Hans Zimmer played some various music that he had composed, first from The Simpsons Movie and then the animated short, The Longest Daycare, which starred Maggie Simpson.
  • Yeardley Smith and Nancy Cartwright (Bart Simpson) then came out together and introduced Kipp Lennon, who was the actual singing voice of the Michael Jackson mental patient in the episode “Stark Raving Dad,” an absolutely classic episode.  They then sang to Yeardley one of the sweetest songs, “Happy Birthday, Lisa.“
  • For the end of this first act, Weird Al came out and sang “Homer & Marge,” his riff on John Mellencamp’s song, “Jack & Diane.”  It was pretty great, then he did an accordion riff to close the act out.
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12-Sep-2014 19:51, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 4.0, 5.213mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 500
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12-Sep-2014 19:51, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 4.5, 9.07mm, 0.013 sec, ISO 1600
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12-Sep-2014 19:58, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 5.6, 47.381mm, 0.02 sec, ISO 3200
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12-Sep-2014 20:00, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 5.0, 12.0mm, 0.008 sec, ISO 1250
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12-Sep-2014 20:04, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 3.8, 4.5mm, 0.125 sec, ISO 1600
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12-Sep-2014 20:04, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 3.8, 4.5mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 1250
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12-Sep-2014 20:06, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 5.0, 10.266mm, 0.008 sec, ISO 1250
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12-Sep-2014 20:06, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 5.0, 10.266mm, 0.008 sec, ISO 1600
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12-Sep-2014 20:08, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 4.5, 7.782mm, 0.01 sec, ISO 1000
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They animated a special piece for this concert - this is Stack Parking
They animated a special piece for this concert - this is Stack Parking12-Sep-2014 20:10, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 5.0, 13.607mm, 0.04 sec, ISO 1600
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Pretty amazingly capturing the entry!
Pretty amazingly capturing the entry!12-Sep-2014 20:10, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 5.0, 13.607mm, 0.04 sec, ISO 1600
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Also true
Also true12-Sep-2014 20:10, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 5.0, 13.607mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 1600
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12-Sep-2014 20:10, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 5.0, 13.607mm, 0.02 sec, ISO 1600
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Very true
Very true12-Sep-2014 20:10, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 5.0, 13.607mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 1600
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12-Sep-2014 20:11, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 5.6, 35.864mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 2500
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The Set List Part 2 and Comments:

During the Intermission, we ate the treat that Larry had brought for this occasion: donuts.  YUM.

  • The opening for Part 2 began with the entire Los Angeles Gay Men’s Chorus coming up on stage, and while they were dressed obviously as Stonecutters, their first song was “Spider Pig” from The Simpsons Movie.
  • Of course, you’re not dressed as the Stonecutters without singing, “We Do (The Stonecutters’ Song),” do you?
  • The chorus then stripped off the robes and underneath were fabulous shiny vests, which led them to sing Mr. Burns’ terrible take on “Be Our Guest,” the gem “See My Vest.“
  • Conan O’Brien then entered and joked about his career of leaving The Simpsons as a writer to go work for NBC, which worked out splendidly.  Before leaving, we get him singing Phil Hartman’s role in the fantastic “Monorail Song.”  It was awesome.
  • Hank Azaria came out as Duff Man for a great bit and while Yeardley-as-Lisa was trying to convince us all of the terribleness of it, tons of shirts were getting thrown into the crowd. Look out, Maude Flanders!
  • Yeardley and Nancy then came back to sing the wish-list song for “Shary Bobbins,” a take-off of the song that was sung in the movie Mary Poppins when the children dream of the perfect nanny.
  • A Latin flair entered when it was time for a medley of music from the “Who Shot Mr. Burns?” episodes, with the centerpiece being “Señor Burns.”
  • Jon Lovitz came out for this next segment, honoring Phil Hartman and poking fun at his own (lack of) voice-acting skills.  He then did a rendition of “Dr Zaius” from the Planet of the Apes musical episode, “A Fish Called Selma.”
  • Finally, the last performance before the Fireworks Spectacular was from a folksy-gypsy-like band called Vaude and the Villains, who has as a member Chris Ledesma, one of the musical directors of the show.  They put on a fun performance of “Who Put the Spring in Springfield?“
  • FIREWORKS!!!
  • As a last number, Nancy Cartwright led the entire cast and chorus in a performance of “The Bartman,” which is a song I had absolutely no memory of until hearing it again.  One of those songs that came out when The Simpsons was at peak popularity in the 90s, that’s for sure.

A fantastic show, to say the least.  So glad we got tickets!!!!

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Donuts for Intermission
Donuts for Intermission12-Sep-2014 20:52, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 3.8, 4.5mm, 0.125 sec, ISO 1250
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12-Sep-2014 20:53, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 3.8, 4.5mm, 0.125 sec, ISO 2500
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12-Sep-2014 21:18, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 4.5, 9.07mm, 0.05 sec, ISO 1600
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The gay steel mill episode
The gay steel mill episode12-Sep-2014 21:19, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 5.0, 16.453mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 1600
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12-Sep-2014 21:19, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 5.0, 14.043mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 1600
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We Work Hard, We Play Hard
We Work Hard, We Play Hard12-Sep-2014 21:20, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 5.6, 21.24mm, 0.013 sec, ISO 1600
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LA Gay Men's Choir
LA Gay Men's Choir12-Sep-2014 21:21, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 5.0, 14.494mm, 0.05 sec, ISO 2000
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Spiderpig
Spiderpig12-Sep-2014 21:22, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 5.0, 16.453mm, 0.04 sec, ISO 1600
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12-Sep-2014 21:22, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 5.0, 12.0mm, 0.05 sec, ISO 1600
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The Stonecutter's Song
The Stonecutter's Song12-Sep-2014 21:23, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 4.5, 8.528mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 1600
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See My Vest
See My Vest12-Sep-2014 21:25, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 5.0, 12.777mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 1600
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12-Sep-2014 21:25, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 4.5, 7.549mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 1600
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12-Sep-2014 21:26, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 5.6, 20.572mm, 0.04 sec, ISO 1600
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12-Sep-2014 21:26, Canon Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, 5.0, 10.266mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 1600
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