I know, right?! Kevin Pollak sounds familiar, you know the name and can see his face but you can’t name a damn movie he was in. Well, that was me and I’m not ashamed to admit it… well a little.
Kevin has been in over 70 movies and has a book coming out called “How I Slept My Way To The Middle” – So he’s been around and is a pretty big deal.
We added him to the calendar as soon as we saw him coming to Cleveland but plans sort of fell through last minuet and I was scrambling to find a replacement partner for my adventure.
Kevin was on Twitter Thursday night giving away free tickets to his show, I was somewhat confident I would get them. I was wrong, he did one more contest and I also was not a winner. I was hoping to win the tickets and then life would be a lot easier, I was tweeting him and randomly adding him to tweets hoping to hear something… but nothing.
It was literally the day of when I finally made a decision and super glad I did.
Initially Shari and I were just going to do a stalk by but since she was unable to hang I had to come up with other means, this meant some careful planning.
Kevin was in town starting Thursday and leaving Saturday night and originally (like I stated before, plans fell through) so Pat was going to go with me that night but we ended up going to dinner with a friend, no big deal since I had 2 other nights to make this happen. We decided on Saturday since it would be easier but Frank Caliendo also had a show Sunday night and he was part of the plan as well. So. I had to make a decision between the 2, or find a way to snag both in a 24 hour period.
2 tickets for both shows would have costed about $125.00 and I didn’t know if it was worth spending THAT much just to get some pictures/autographs for the blog. Caliendo was sold out and he had added another show which sold out pretty quickly, I called up & there were a few left. figured I would get tickets to Frank’s show and just do a sneak attack on Kevin, but I had only figured this out after some thinking and when I called back the show was COMPLETELY sold out. On to plan B, or C.. not really sure what plan we are on at this point but I just sat there pondering my next move. Finally I broke down and bought two tickets to see Kevin and I would bribe someone the next day to grab Caliendo with me.
Tickets were $25 a piece, so we spent $50 which was no biggie and I saved some money by paying for them over the phone, no pesky online fees.
It was a 9:30 show, and for me that’s like super late. I was pretty much napping on the ride down there but like a big girl I managed to stay awake.
Our new thing is to park at the Horseshoe Casino and walk over, then we hit the casino afterwards spend a ton of money and get free parking… see how that works?
When we arrived an usher had escorted us to our seats, we were at like a bar type table situation all the way against the back wall. Good thing the place isn’t that big and we sat up high with a straight view of the mic stand.
When we were all settled in I ordered myself a vodka and red bull and then Pat and I shared some mott sticks, we devoured that within 6 minutes and then waited for the main act.
It was about 10:00pm when Kevin popped out and of course I had to record his first few minutes on stage because that’s when they usually mention Cleveland, and he did. I kept it recording because it was very entertaining, check out the video below.
(I’m super mad right now, I had this all typed up and the blog pretty much finished yesterday but the page didn’t save and now I have to remember all the funny and witty things I said)
I had no idea he did impersonations, so you can imagine my surprise and excitement when he started to do Jack Nicholson. Probably one of the best I’ve seen, right down to his facial expressions to the way Jack presents himself and his body language. (For those of you who don’t know, I am in LUST with Jack Nicholson, it took everything I had not to rush the stage and wrap my legs around Kevin’s face.) So of course I had to start recording, I couldn’t let this gem pass me by. At one point the camera stopped but I quickly got it back on and was able to finish getting his bit about Jack on the set of A Few Good Men.
Remember there are absolutely NO recording devises allowed so I had to be sneaky about it, the beginning is a little shaky and the sound bobs in and out. I had to hide the fact that I had a camera but I think I did a pretty good job.
I didn’t find Kevin hilarious nor did I fall out of my seat onto the floor vomiting with laughter but he was very entertaining. I had a smile on my face the whole time and was very impressed, I loved his sense of humor and the delivery of his lines. Extremely glad I broke down and bought the tickets, it was an enjoyable night for sure.
When he finished up, Pat and I made our way to the small lobby and waited for Mr.Pollak. I had talked to a guy on Twitter who went to the show and said that Frank has a guy take the pictures and then sends a mass email out to everyone. This way it would cut down on the chaos and keep things moving, so I was certain to get my picture. A few minutes went by and I overheard someone asking if he was coming out, the response was probably not because he had an early flight. I looked at Pat and pretty much said I better get his picture and told him to stand guard as I went down the hall to wait by the door. As I turned the corner and looked up Kevin was just about to pass me, so I spoke.
“Hi Kevin”
“Hello”
“How are you?”
“Good thank you.” he said as we continued to walk side by side.
“Are you doing the picture thing or taking off?”
“Taking off”
“Is it cool if I get a quick picture?”
“Sure” we stopped in the hallway, good thing I was camera ready.. always be camera ready.
“I suck at taking selfies“ I said holding the camera, we smiled, the flash went off as we were captured in a moment to cherish forever. I thanked him and then we walked together, side by side for another few moments until he slid through the few people who remained and disappeared.
I confirmed with Pat that the mission was a success even though I didn’t get the autograph I got the picture and that to me that was better, I decided it was now safe to leave, upon leaving one of the staff, possible a manage type position said to me. “You finally got your guy!” and smiled. I responded to him all giddy and then proceeded to exit up the steps and out of the building. That guy would remember me 24 hours later as I showed up to meet Frank Caliendo with my mom but you’ll have to read THAT blog to get the full story.
Pat and I walked back to the casino and played enough to where we each got free parking, he said we came out even or ahead but I didn’t feel to good about it. Our night ended around 2am and we headed home and crawled right into bed. We had a beach day planned for the morning and then of course I still intended on heading back to Cleveland to capture Frank. Stay tuned for the next blog where I talk about meeting Mr.Caliendo.
Loads of thanks to Hilarities Comedy Club and to Frank Pollak, you guys made my night.
Also, I can’t go without thanking my fans and followers. Hope you enjoyed my story!
Stalk ON!
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