It’s my first time going to see a MST3K LIVE show this November and I’m so excited! But as someone who didn’t get the chance to see the previous three tours, I’ve found myself curious as to what they were like- and the wiki unfortunately hasn’t got much on these shows!
Who better to ask than other MSTies, right? So here goes:
Have you been to another live show? If so, which one?
I went to the Watch Out for Snakes! tour (“Eegah”) with my wife and some friends, which was a lot of fun, and the riffs were great.
Then I took my son to the Cheesy Movie Circus Tour to see “No Retreat, No Surrender,” and the puppetry work really stood out in that one. The bots did a “safety” song that was hilarious.
That one was also fun because my son (who was about to turn 6 at the time) was legitimately enjoying the movie. He was flat out cheering during the final fight scene.
Hi Ruby! I remembered there was a thread along those lines earlier:
You can see lots of stories about the previous shows there.
I’ve seen three of the live shows and they were all great. My favorite though was the first – doing a sing-along of the theme show with hundreds of other Misties positively gave me chills! Also it (Argoman) was one of the funniest things I think they’ve ever done. So I am sure you’re gonna love it!
I went to the MST3k 30th Anniversary Tour at the Peabody Opera House. They showed The Brain and some memorable moments I had was a scene in the movie when the monster was blowing smoke out its mouth and the crew in unison yelled, “HE’S VAAAAAAAAPIIIING” which was hilarious.
Another memorable moment I had was during an intermission, Crow came out on stage and was making fun of the crowd for not knowing the lyrics to Just A Friend by Biz Markie. He said, “Yup, everybody knows the chorus but nobody knows the actual lyrics, huh. Yup.” He was literally riffing the audience. It was amazing lol
They also pulled one lucky member of the audience to get on stage to riff with them, and they received a jumpsuit as a token after. Not sure if that is something they will continue doing, but thought that was a great addition (:
I saw the 30th Anniversary tour (Deathstalker II), and the Great Cheesy Movie Circus Tour (No Retreat, No Surrender). I remember enjoying Deathstalker II, but No Retreat, No Surrender was probably about the hardest I’ve ever laughed at anything in my life. There were definitely riffs that got dropped or couldn’t be heard because the entire audience was just laughing too loud.
A++, would learn martial arts from the ghost of Bruce Lee again.
My first one was Watch Out For Snakes! in KCMO (my both beloved & abhorred hometown) & then TGCMC tour in Columbia MO in early 2020. I wanted to go to the 30th anniversary show in St. Louis so bad but unfortunately I couldn’t drive on my own yet & taking the train was gonna be way too convoluted
I was fortunate enough to see the 2017 tour (Argoman the Fantastic Superman), and then the following year, the 30th Anniversary tour (The Brain), and I had a great time at both. In addition to the dynamics of them working a live audience, there’s the added enjoyment of being in a room that is filled to the rafters with fans who are so happy to be there - creates a great vibe.
As Starman mentioned, I’m also a little anxious about the upcoming show (I have tix for LA, to see with best friend and his son, all of us are vaccinated), so hopefully we’re relaxed enough to enjoy it in a room full of mask-wearing fans.
I never went to MST3K Live. I did attend 3 Cinematic Titanic Live performances though back in 2009 and 2010.
I now live in North Dakota but was born & raised in the New York metro area. I attended one show at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark where I saw the Oozing Skull and two shows in New York where I saw Danger on Tiki Island and East Meets Watts. That theater in New York was first the Nokia Theater then the Best Buy Theater (they must have changed sponsors). A friend of mine named Richard (who sadly died back in 2017) recognized that theater as being a Loews movie theater back in the 1970s.
Frank Coniff addressed the audience before starting the show; unlike the rest of the cast, he was originally from the New York area as opposed to Wisconsin or Minnesota. He said that back when this theater had been Loews back in 1977, he saw Star Wars here. Someone in the audience shouted at Frank that he did too; Frank replied to that guy that he was a little too proud of that fact.
I’ve seen every tour in either San Diego or LA, and they are some of the funniest things ever. I got to meet Jonah and Joel before the first one, give them some paintings I had made of them, and was genuinely in shock. Such nice people! Also ran into Hampton at a bar before a show and he was extremely cool. One thing that really stuck out for me at the shows was just how loud the gate sequence was, it’s crazy to feel like you’re really there!
I’ve been to all the live shows (OK, the post-revival ones)–Eegah and Argoman back-to-back in Atlanta, The Brain and Deathstalker II also back-to-back in Atlanta, and No Retreat in Charleston, SC. It seemed to me that the former two tours were better-produced, in larger venues, and had lower ticket prices than the last. All were hilarious, but it did make me wonder about the show/tour’s finances.
I recall some segments with a competition premise between Jonah and Joel, but other than that I’m afraid they didn’t stick with me (and I’d really like video of the events to be released). But I think the biggest thing was just that it was an actual live show, with a theatre full of MSTies. I’m looking forward to the next one.
Sadly not. The closest I’ve been able to see was at Edinburgh Fringe, a guy who would screen films in Banshee Labyrinth and riff along. I volunteered at a festival venue a few years running and it was a good way to wind down after a shift.
I saw the Watch Out for Snakes tour at the State Theatre in Minneapolis. The film “Argoman” was such a gem - it’s up there with “This Island Earth” in terms of live riff-ability and I hope it becomes an episode one day.
Another great extra: During intermission, M. Waverly popped up and started quietly sweeping the stage. The crowd went wild when they noticed.
I went to the 30th anniversary show and saw The Brain. Then went twice to the circus tour. Was at the first date of the tour and saw No Retreat, No Surrender. Then was at one of the last shows and saw the other movie (can’t remember the title but it had to do with a circus). Can’t make any of the dates so far for this tour. Hoping for something doable soon.
Got to meet the cast at the last show. Was amazing.
