(no subject)
Who: Kilroy (Mad Hatter), May (March Hare)
When: Christmas (posting this early since Ali and I will be busy)
Where: Muppet cabin, somewhere out in the forest
Why: May's present/Kilroy performs with his Hall & Oates cover band from the 1990's
Rating: PG-13 for safety reasons?
It was difficult getting the old crew back together for a once in a lifetime reunion of Kilroy's very own Hall & Oates cover band, Holland's Oats. Back in college it was just a joke and an excuse to wear funny clothes and clown around on stage for the ladies, but he always had a soft spot in his heart for the duo. He actually found it very difficult to believe that anyone could hate Hall and Oates. Even a self proclaimed punk rocker like Neil.
Standing over Rowlf's piano in the muppet winter cottage where their giant Christmas party was being held, Kilroy put one hand on his hip and the other on top of his Sinatra light blue fedora, humming in thought. He had already set up his electric piano on the other side of the stage, but he promised to practice with the muppet dog as a warm up before the actual performance.
"Are you sure you don't want to play I Hope that Something Better Comes Along?" Rowlf asked, tinkling away at the keys.
"No, no. Bad idea. Bad idea, Rowlf-" He responded as he inched closer to the little piano, got on his knees and started doing some basic finger exercises next to Rowlf. He had a piano at home that he played now and again, but it wasn't until recently that he actually practiced so that he could play with the band. After a moment of getting in sync with each other, the muppet dog and Kilroy played a duet on the piano. "Dueling! Dueling!" Kilroy shouted a little ways through, and Rowlf started pounding away, followed by Kilroy who tried to fit in a Jerry Lee Lewis solo.
"I lost my hat!" Kilroy exclaimed as his hat dropped while he tried to get his foot up on the keys.
"Oh, can you play hatless?" Rowlf asked, moving the hat away with his giant dog head.
"What?" Kilroy asked as he tried to catch up with the masterful piano player.
"I said, can you play hatless?"
"I dunno, who wrote it?" Kilroy asked and grinned at the muppet, who grinned back and finished the song off. The two shook hands (or, paws) and then moved the piano off the stage together while Sam the Eagle rounded up everyone in the house for the performance.
Once the room was packed, Kilroy took his fedora off, placed it on his piano and took the microphone out of its stand. "Uh, hello. My name is Kilroy Benson and this is my band, Holland's Oats. We...haven't played together for nearly fifteen years now so you'll have to excuse any mediocrity." He held the mic with both hands and walked over to a man who actually sort of looked like Oates. "This is my old roommate Carlos. He used to have to put on a fake mustache for this band, but now I think this is the real thing..." Kilroy frowned at Carlos who frowned back as if it were a bit they used to do and then turned to the base player. "This is my brother, Kennedy. He...doesn't want to be here today, but his kids love the muppets!" Kilroy grabbed his germaphobic brother (who looked oddly like Agent Cooper) by the shoulder, who in turned cringed and pulled away from him. "And finally, my drummer Neil. Who...is an old dear friend of mine and appeals to a certain demographic on our show. Hi Neil." Kilroy waved to Neil like it was the first time he had seen him all day and then turned back to the audience.
"I've also talked some muppets into helping me out with this, so don't be alarmed if warm, fuzzy things suddenly join me on stage. Uh-" He scratched the side of his face and looked out to the audience, catching May's eye and inhaled. "This is my Christmas present to my best friend, May. It's also just an excuse to preform for a roomful of muppets. Merry Christmas, May. I always-"
"Just PLAY already!!" Miss Piggy yelled from the middle of the room. Kilroy nodded, gulped and snuck his glasses into his blazer pocket before returning over to his electric piano.
With one look back at the rest of his band, Kilroy started up the piano rift for "You Make My Dreams Come True". Stan's drums sounded next, followed by Carlos and Kennedy, then a brief pause before The Mad Hatter leaned into the microphone and sang,
"What I want, you've got
And it might be hard to handle
But like the flame that burns the candle
The candle feeds the flame-" He picked the microphone up and drifted away from the piano to face the audience.
"What I've got's full stock of thoughts
and dreams that scatter
You pull them all together
And how, I can't explain-"
Kilroy did his best Hall impression, bopping and swaying in a dance that looked like the kids in the Quickie Mart scene in Reality Bites. That was just how people danced in the a decade ago, after all. When the single chorus lyric came he grabbed Carlos by the shoulder and sang, "You make my dreams come true." Which was followed by some strangely shaped muppets and Gonzo echoing with the infamous, "Ooh-oh-oooh."
By the next verse Kilroy and the rest of his band seemed to have shaken off their initial trepidations and danced around the stage like the would have back in the 1980's. Even Kennedy, who hung in the back next to the drummer, managed to do a little more than sway. Kilroy himself went back and forth from the front of the stage to his piano, weaving behind Carlos and reaching out to a girl muppet or two during the chorus, but always managing to find May's face when he looked up.
When the song ended there was the usual muppet applause followed by the two old men from the balcony's commentary:
"You know, the chorus is catchy," said Waldorf.
"So is smallpox," Statler replied.
Kilroy and the rest were grinning, though. The Mad Hatter intended to just hand the microphone over to Carlos and let him do some songs, but someone (likely Fozzie) called out for "Kiss On My List". After some nudging from Carlos and a look from Kennedy that seemed to ask why Kilroy dragged him all the way up into the country to play just one song, The Mad Hatter relented. "Alright, one more and then I want some Christmas music."
Another small muppet cheer and Kilroy pulled the electric piano to face the stage, set the microphone in the holder and launched into the song. This time he stayed stationary behind his piano, but his energy didn't die. After all, what was the point of being a cover band if you didn't do it over the top?
As he reached the end of the song, Kilroy looked out over the audience and smiled a little at May as he sang,
"I go crazy wondering what there is to really see
Did the night just take up your time, 'cause it means more to me
Sometimes I forget what I'm doing, I don't forget what I want
Regret what I've done, regret you? I couldn't go on..." Then he dipped his head down and continued the rest of the chorus as Carlos and Kennedy chimed in and helped end the song with a rather good guitar solo (which even surprised Kilroy).
When the song ended there was an even louder cheer and Kilroy grinned, thanked his band and looked out over the crowd for May as Miss Piggy started toward the stage so she could sing "Santa Baby".
When: Christmas (posting this early since Ali and I will be busy)
Where: Muppet cabin, somewhere out in the forest
Why: May's present/Kilroy performs with his Hall & Oates cover band from the 1990's
Rating: PG-13 for safety reasons?
It was difficult getting the old crew back together for a once in a lifetime reunion of Kilroy's very own Hall & Oates cover band, Holland's Oats. Back in college it was just a joke and an excuse to wear funny clothes and clown around on stage for the ladies, but he always had a soft spot in his heart for the duo. He actually found it very difficult to believe that anyone could hate Hall and Oates. Even a self proclaimed punk rocker like Neil.
Standing over Rowlf's piano in the muppet winter cottage where their giant Christmas party was being held, Kilroy put one hand on his hip and the other on top of his Sinatra light blue fedora, humming in thought. He had already set up his electric piano on the other side of the stage, but he promised to practice with the muppet dog as a warm up before the actual performance.
"Are you sure you don't want to play I Hope that Something Better Comes Along?" Rowlf asked, tinkling away at the keys.
"No, no. Bad idea. Bad idea, Rowlf-" He responded as he inched closer to the little piano, got on his knees and started doing some basic finger exercises next to Rowlf. He had a piano at home that he played now and again, but it wasn't until recently that he actually practiced so that he could play with the band. After a moment of getting in sync with each other, the muppet dog and Kilroy played a duet on the piano. "Dueling! Dueling!" Kilroy shouted a little ways through, and Rowlf started pounding away, followed by Kilroy who tried to fit in a Jerry Lee Lewis solo.
"I lost my hat!" Kilroy exclaimed as his hat dropped while he tried to get his foot up on the keys.
"Oh, can you play hatless?" Rowlf asked, moving the hat away with his giant dog head.
"What?" Kilroy asked as he tried to catch up with the masterful piano player.
"I said, can you play hatless?"
"I dunno, who wrote it?" Kilroy asked and grinned at the muppet, who grinned back and finished the song off. The two shook hands (or, paws) and then moved the piano off the stage together while Sam the Eagle rounded up everyone in the house for the performance.
Once the room was packed, Kilroy took his fedora off, placed it on his piano and took the microphone out of its stand. "Uh, hello. My name is Kilroy Benson and this is my band, Holland's Oats. We...haven't played together for nearly fifteen years now so you'll have to excuse any mediocrity." He held the mic with both hands and walked over to a man who actually sort of looked like Oates. "This is my old roommate Carlos. He used to have to put on a fake mustache for this band, but now I think this is the real thing..." Kilroy frowned at Carlos who frowned back as if it were a bit they used to do and then turned to the base player. "This is my brother, Kennedy. He...doesn't want to be here today, but his kids love the muppets!" Kilroy grabbed his germaphobic brother (who looked oddly like Agent Cooper) by the shoulder, who in turned cringed and pulled away from him. "And finally, my drummer Neil. Who...is an old dear friend of mine and appeals to a certain demographic on our show. Hi Neil." Kilroy waved to Neil like it was the first time he had seen him all day and then turned back to the audience.
"I've also talked some muppets into helping me out with this, so don't be alarmed if warm, fuzzy things suddenly join me on stage. Uh-" He scratched the side of his face and looked out to the audience, catching May's eye and inhaled. "This is my Christmas present to my best friend, May. It's also just an excuse to preform for a roomful of muppets. Merry Christmas, May. I always-"
"Just PLAY already!!" Miss Piggy yelled from the middle of the room. Kilroy nodded, gulped and snuck his glasses into his blazer pocket before returning over to his electric piano.
With one look back at the rest of his band, Kilroy started up the piano rift for "You Make My Dreams Come True". Stan's drums sounded next, followed by Carlos and Kennedy, then a brief pause before The Mad Hatter leaned into the microphone and sang,
"What I want, you've got
And it might be hard to handle
But like the flame that burns the candle
The candle feeds the flame-" He picked the microphone up and drifted away from the piano to face the audience.
"What I've got's full stock of thoughts
and dreams that scatter
You pull them all together
And how, I can't explain-"
Kilroy did his best Hall impression, bopping and swaying in a dance that looked like the kids in the Quickie Mart scene in Reality Bites. That was just how people danced in the a decade ago, after all. When the single chorus lyric came he grabbed Carlos by the shoulder and sang, "You make my dreams come true." Which was followed by some strangely shaped muppets and Gonzo echoing with the infamous, "Ooh-oh-oooh."
By the next verse Kilroy and the rest of his band seemed to have shaken off their initial trepidations and danced around the stage like the would have back in the 1980's. Even Kennedy, who hung in the back next to the drummer, managed to do a little more than sway. Kilroy himself went back and forth from the front of the stage to his piano, weaving behind Carlos and reaching out to a girl muppet or two during the chorus, but always managing to find May's face when he looked up.
When the song ended there was the usual muppet applause followed by the two old men from the balcony's commentary:
"You know, the chorus is catchy," said Waldorf.
"So is smallpox," Statler replied.
Kilroy and the rest were grinning, though. The Mad Hatter intended to just hand the microphone over to Carlos and let him do some songs, but someone (likely Fozzie) called out for "Kiss On My List". After some nudging from Carlos and a look from Kennedy that seemed to ask why Kilroy dragged him all the way up into the country to play just one song, The Mad Hatter relented. "Alright, one more and then I want some Christmas music."
Another small muppet cheer and Kilroy pulled the electric piano to face the stage, set the microphone in the holder and launched into the song. This time he stayed stationary behind his piano, but his energy didn't die. After all, what was the point of being a cover band if you didn't do it over the top?
As he reached the end of the song, Kilroy looked out over the audience and smiled a little at May as he sang,
"I go crazy wondering what there is to really see
Did the night just take up your time, 'cause it means more to me
Sometimes I forget what I'm doing, I don't forget what I want
Regret what I've done, regret you? I couldn't go on..." Then he dipped his head down and continued the rest of the chorus as Carlos and Kennedy chimed in and helped end the song with a rather good guitar solo (which even surprised Kilroy).
When the song ended there was an even louder cheer and Kilroy grinned, thanked his band and looked out over the crowd for May as Miss Piggy started toward the stage so she could sing "Santa Baby".