2016 MST3k Reunion

RiffTrax Live! MST3K Reunion – State Theater
Minneapolis, MN 6/28/2016

Having just completed an amazingly successful Kickstarter campaign in December 2015 to support a revival of MST3K fans were more than happy to jump on board the next RiffTrax Kickstarter campaign to fund their 2016 live events. Fans were even more excited to learn that one of those shows would feature a reunion of most of the cast of MST3K (Joel, Mike, Kevin, Bill, Trace, Mary Jo and Bridget) plus the heir apparent host Jonah Ray. With the opportunity to see all of these wonderful people performing together it wasn’t a hard decision for me to buy a ticket and start planning a trip to Minneapolis. I didn’t know when I purchased by ticket that it would actually be quite challenging to actually be able to make it to the show. Luckily I was able to work through the obstacles and got to see a fantastic show and was able to meet and spend some fantastic time with many MSTies.

What follows is a write up of the event starting with my busy, but fun, week before leaving for Minnesota. Since I did not purchase the VIP package I was not able to attend some fun events, but luckily some of the great group of new friends I made on this trip were at those and shared their pictures and experiences with us. I’ve included some of that below to help show all of the fabulous events that took place.

I hope you’ll forgive me for adding a few non-MST items in this write up, but in the days before leaving for Minneapolis I was keeping busy and having a lot of fun. First my family went to the Detroit Zoo (actually located in my home town of Royal Oak, MI and visited the brand new Polk Penguin Conservation Center. This amazing facility allows you to view them in colonies, from under water and in one area within inches of them with only a pane of glass between you and them. They seem to enjoy watching us as much as we did them.

On 6/23 I saw Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band at the Fox Theater in Detroit with my sister Anne. I’ve been a Beatles fan my whole life, I had seen Paul McCartney back in 1990, but this was my first Ringo concert. I can’t believe how energetic he was just two weeks before is 76th birthday.

I love baseball and was able to attend the game between the Tigers and the Indians on 6/25 (the day before I left on my trip). It was fun hanging out with my sister, my nephew Rick and his wife Melissa and their daughter Caitlyn even though the Tigers got stomped.

OK. Enough back story. The next morning after the ball game I left for Minneapolis. I decided to drive even though I hadn’t really made a plan to stop at any sites along the way like I usually do, but the anticipation of the show and getting to meet a bunch of new MSTie comrades made the drive exciting.

Well, as it turned out “exciting” probably wasn’t the best description. There was construction every where with long back ups. After finally making it around Chicago there were also multiple accidents. I think whenever the orange barrels disappeared the other drivers all floored their accelerators to make up time. The drive turned out to be dangerous and exhausting. Finally, I reached the Dells region of Wisconsin and decided to find a hotel for the night. I know in that area they tell you to “Ride the Ducks,” but this was the only duck I saw and it wasn’t really what I would call rideable.

While I was considering ducks some MSTies had already arrived in Minneapolis. Sunday evening the met up for dinner at the Nicollet Diner. Here we see Pam Brisjar (one of our VIP insiders), Brian Henry (erhardt from The Satellite News), Greg Tally (of MST3K Revival League Podcast fame), Rob Hinkle (from North Carolina) and Stacie and Caleb Straub (who’s camera supplied some great pictures from the events over the next few days).

I had about four hours of driving left the next morning to get to Minneapolis. As I drove through the Black River Valley I stopped to stretch my legs and saw this historic marker. I neglected to take a picture of the other side, but it discussed the use of pigeons for sending messages tied to their leg. I didn’t know that this was how FedEx began and their original, although unsuccessful, motto was “When it absolutely, positively has to be there EVER…you may want to consider a more reliable delivery system than a freakin’ bird.”

I drove directly to the Holiday Inn Express – Downtown, my home for the next couple days. My stay was very comfortable, but I couldn’t help but noticed I had the smallest room I had ever stayed in (the pictures below shows the extent of the room).

After dropping off my luggage in my room I started trying to locate any MSTies that knew where the next meet up was. Joe Martin replied that he and his girlfriend Sam Miller were staying at the same hotel and were about to head to the Blue Sun Soda Shop where the gang was gathering. I met Joe and Sam downstairs and we were on our way. We got there a bit late to see Ryan Smith, James Rohling and Greg Tally, all from the MST3K Revival League Podcast actually tasting anything, but we did get to meet them and some of the other MSTies who had shown up.

Along with Joe and Sam here is Brian Henry, who I had met back in 2008 at the MST 20th Anniversary gathering at San Diego Comic Con.

From there most of us went to the Surley Brewing Co. for a place to sit down, have some refreshments and begin to get to know each other a little. Going around the table (left to right) are Sam, Joe, (native Minnesotan) Robby Virnig, Caleb, Stacie, Michael Albright (from the Chicago movie riffing group Down In Front), Cindy Marquis (another Chicagoan and Mike’s girlfriend), Morgan Stephens the son of, Philip Stephens (originally from Australia), Yusef Naqvi (yet another Chi-Towner and writer for Down In Front), Pam, Kathryn Ryce (creator of a cool retro-Victorian looking Gypsy costume for the cosplay competition) and myself. I had a really good soft pretzel with horseradish sauce here.

After we left Burly some of the group headed off to the VIP meet and greet at the Keiran Irish Pub. The entire MST cast including the newbie Jonah Ray were on hand for a photo op, autographs and some casual chatting with some of their fans with deep pockets.

Meanwhile, Joe, Sam and I went to Brit’s Pub for dinner and to watch league lawn bowling (really). Eventually more of the group showed up and once the meet and greet was done those MSTies joined us as well. The new folks in this picture are all at the far end of the table and a bit hard to see, but they include Ron McAdams (who was a pleasure to finally meet after chatting on line for many years), Douglas Prostorog, Debbie Holzhauer and Rob Baiter. This photo was taken by the initially camera shy Katy Pika who escaped under the table rather than be captured on film (at least this evening).

On the way back to the hotel we wandered past the State Theater to see the marquee all made up for the next day’s event. Most of us ended up back in Pam’s room chatting and drinking Ecto Coolers (thanks to Joe) until the wee hours of the morning.

The day of the show started with a field trip to the old Best Brains Studio in Eden Prairie. It’s not just an empty building, but it still brought back some fond memories of the two times I visited there while the show was still in production.

While there Ryan, James and Greg recorded a podcast for the MST3K Revival League Podcast. They even interviewed a few of us including yours truly. I discussed being on the very last tour of Best Brains back in 1999. Also interviewed were Katy (discussing riffing gay porn), Ron (letting us know to call Colin Quinn to rent this building), Brian (the flamingo story from the 1994 conventio-con) and Michael (Chicago riffing group).

How wonderful is this picture? Occupy Eden Prairie! Front row (left to right): Yusef Naqvi, Debra Holzhauer, Robby Virnig, Stacie Straub, Caleb Straub, Meredith Morris Tally, Katy Pika, Cindy Marquis, Michael Albright. Back row (l to r): Douglas Prostorog, Rob Baiter, Ryan Smith, Rob Hinkle, Philip Stephens, Ken Hunt, Morgan Stephens, Ron McAdams, Tom Noel, Greg Tally, Joe Martin, Pam Brisjar. (New in this picture is Greg’s wife Meredith. Brian Henry showed up a bit late to be in the picture.)

This is quite a special picture for me. Ron and I have been chatting with Brian for years and it was great to finally meet him. The moment we started talking it seemed like we were old friends. As I mentioned above I first met Brian face to face in 2008, but we have been on-line friends in MST3K for many years before that. Shortly after these pictures were taken Brian was heading to the airport to pick up Chris Cornell (msampo from The Satellite News), another great friend and MSTie.

As we bid a fond farewell to the studio we reconvened at the Prairie Tap Room for lunch. Most of the gang is pictured here although a few had to be placed at a nearby kid’s table. The VIPs in attendance had to make a quick departure to make it to the dress rehearsal at the State Theater.

And here it is. During the dress rehearsal the entire gang of performers ran through a couple of the shorts that would be aired that evening mainly to prove out the positions on stage plus some lighting and sound adjustments. The VIPs had to promise not to spoil the surprise that a second riff-a-palooza short was being performed by the whole group.

A press conference was held immediately following the rehearsal. Most questions were asked by Jon Foss from CW23, the latest version of what had once been KTMA 23. One kind of cool image was seeing the three once and future hosts of MST3K seated side by side.

After a short rest at my hotel I headed back to theater. First I needed one more view of the marquee before the show. My anticipation was certainly beginning to peak by this time.

Before leaving home I had printed out my ticket for the show on an 8-1/2x11 sheet of paper, but that’s no fun to have in my collection of MST3K memorabilia. Joe had mentioned that he stopped by the box office and they printed a ticket for him. I headed to the State Theater early and had them do the same for me.

While waiting for my ticket I was pleased to see Trace coming down the hallway. It’s always exciting that he actually remembers me. Plus I was able to meet Zoe Plait for the first time. Zoe has taken on the task of being the promoter for The Mads.

I was also very pleased to see that Chris Cornell had arrived in time for the show. Here he is with Ron and Brian. Three of my favorite MSTies.

One hiccup I did encounter was that as I was entering the theater and was going through security I was told that I could not bring my camera in. There were also no lockers of any kind on the premises and my hotel was about 15-20 minutes away (at my walking speed). Luckily Philip Stephens came to the rescue for Caleb Straub and myself and was willing to take our cameras to his hotel about 5 minutes away. Of course immediately upon entering the theater I was greeted by the sight of photos being taken by hundreds of cell phones, none of which were captured on my own phone.

D’oh!

Once Mike, Kevin and Bill took the stage there was non-stop laughter and applause. The performers were great and the audience was happy to go along for the ride.

Early in the show they announced the winner of the MST cosplay contest. I know I’ve seen this cute Servo before, but I have to admit she would get my vote too.

The evening’s show consisted of seven short subjects being performed by various permutations of the group. First off was The Talking Car (1969) by the RiffTrax crew.

A Word To The Wives (1955) (w/ Darren McGavin) by Mary Jo and Bridget

More Dates For Kay (1952) by Trace and Frank

Americans At Work: Barbers & Beauticians(1959) by Joel and Jonah

Shake Hands With Danger (1980) by RiffTrax again. They then showed a Best of RiffTrax montage celebrating their 10 year anniversary.

Stamp Day For Superman (1954) brought everyone on stage for the much anticipated Super Riff-A-Palooza.

At Your Fingertips: Grasses (1970) by the entire gang closed out the show.

A an amazing site seeing so many amazing, talented people on stage at once. Everyone was hilarious and Jonah Ray seemed to fit in like he had always been part of the group. This evening only helped fire my anticipation for the MST3K Revival.

Here is a great shot of the standing ovation by the audience. I left it as a thumbnail so you can look for yourself or just look at the happy faces. I was in the center aisle Row K, Seat 1. Pretty great locations. I was glad to have a chance to talk with Katy Beaulieu who was sitting across the aisle from me. I also caught up with Chris Cornell while still inside the theater. I wish I had the opportunity to meet Beez McKeever, Dan Griffith, Gary Glover and to see Ron Degroot again, but I was a bit blurry eyed by this point as well as wondering how I was going to retrieve my camera.

As the applause thundered the entire cast lined up to take a bow and receive the appreciative cheers of the grateful fans.

I’m really glad that someone took this picture of the fully lit up marquee because by the time we came out after the show it had already been switched over to advertise the upcoming Peter Frampton show.

The VIPs headed back the Kieran’s for one last event with some of the cast and of course a festive meat raffle.

Pam Brisjar won one of the “mystery meat” prizes that turned out to be “beef feet.” After rejoining our group later that evening she graciously passed the semi-frozen cow feet to Robby Virnig who seemed almost too happy to have them.

Our gang ended up just down the road at the MacKenzie bar to bask in the afterglow. We shared stories of our favorite parts of the show and reminisced about our personal histories with MST 3K, RiffTrax, Cinematic Titanic and our expectations for the revival. We must have been exhausted because I have not found one photo taken after the show to add here. I’m happy to have the memory in my mind’s eye. What a fantastic evening and what a great group of MSTies. I would love to meet up again with every single person I met on this trip.

Finally, here is the reward “postcard” offered to those attending the show. A great picture of a great group of people. The next day I drove home. I ended up driving straight through to Detroit, getting home about 9:15 PM. I was pretty wore out, but immediately put a note on my calendar to go see the rebroadcast on 7/12. It was fun to watch it again and see myself twice during the credits plus my name listed with the Kickstarter contributors.

And to top it off my good friend Gary Glover was kind enough to send me an extra VIP pass to add to my collection. Thanks Gary and to all MSTies world wide for making this whole Nerd-vana such a great group to be a part of.

	I hope you’ll forgive me for adding a few non-MST items in this write up, but in the days before leaving for Minneapolis I was keeping busy and having a lot of fun. First my family went to the Detroit Zoo (actually located in my home town of Royal Oak, MI and visited the brand new Polk Penguin Conservation Center. This amazing facility allows you to view them in colonies, from under water and in one area within inches of them with only a pane of glass between you and them. They seem to enjoy watching us as much as we did them.
	On 6/23 I saw Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band at the Fox Theater in Detroit with my sister Anne. I’ve been a Beatles fan my whole life, I had seen Paul McCartney back in 1990, but this was my first Ringo concert. I can’t believe how energetic he was just two weeks before is 76th birthday.
	I love baseball and was able to attend the game between the Tigers and the Indians on 6/25 (the day before I left on my trip). It was fun hanging out with my sister, my nephew Rick and his wife Melissa and their daughter Caitlyn even though the Tigers got stomped.
	OK. Enough back story. The next morning after the ball game I left for Minneapolis. I decided to drive even though I hadn’t really made a plan to stop at any sites along the way like I usually do, but the anticipation of the show and getting to meet a bunch of new MSTie comrades made the drive exciting.
	Well, as it turned out “exciting” probably wasn’t the best description. There was construction every where with long back ups. After finally making it around Chicago there were also multiple accidents. I think whenever the orange barrels disappeared the other drivers all floored their accelerators to make up time. The drive turned out to be dangerous and exhausting. Finally, I reached the Dells region of Wisconsin and decided to find a hotel for the night. I know in that area they tell you to “Ride the Ducks,” but this was the only duck I saw and it wasn’t really what I would call rideable.
	While I was considering ducks some MSTies had already arrived in Minneapolis. Sunday evening the met up for dinner at the Nicollet Diner. Here we see Pam Brisjar (one of our VIP insiders), Brian Henry (erhardt from The Satellite News), Greg Tally (of MST3K Revival League Podcast fame), Rob Hinkle (from North Carolina) and Stacie and Caleb Straub (who’s camera supplied some great pictures from the events over the next few days).
	I had about four hours of driving left the next morning to get to Minneapolis. As I drove through the Black River Valley I stopped to stretch my legs and saw this historic marker. I neglected to take a picture of the other side, but it discussed the use of pigeons for sending messages tied to their leg. I didn’t know that this was how FedEx began and their original, although unsuccessful, motto was “When it absolutely, positively has to be there EVER…you may want to consider a more reliable delivery system than a freakin’ bird.”
	I drove directly to the Holiday Inn Express – Downtown, my home for the next couple days. My stay was very comfortable, but I couldn’t help but noticed I had the smallest room I had ever stayed in (the pictures below shows the extent of the room).

	After dropping off my luggage in my room I started trying to locate any MSTies that knew where the next meet up was. Joe Martin replied that he and his girlfriend Sam Miller were staying at the same hotel and were about to head to the Blue Sun Soda Shop where the gang was gathering. I met Joe and Sam downstairs and we were on our way. We got there a bit late to see Ryan Smith, James Rohling and Greg Tally, all from the MST3K Revival League Podcast actually tasting anything, but we did get to meet them and some of the other MSTies who had shown up.
	Along with Joe and Sam here is Brian Henry, who I had met back in 2008 at the MST 20th Anniversary gathering at San Diego Comic Con.
	From there most of us went to the Surley Brewing Co. for a place to sit down, have some refreshments and begin to get to know each other a little. Going around the table (left to right) are Sam, Joe, (native Minnesotan) Robby Virnig, Caleb, Stacie, Michael Albright (from the Chicago movie riffing group Down In Front), Cindy Marquis (another Chicagoan and Mike’s girlfriend), Morgan Stephens the son of, Philip Stephens (originally from Australia), Yusef Naqvi (yet another Chi-Towner and writer for Down In Front), Pam, Kathryn Ryce (creator of a cool retro-Victorian looking Gypsy costume for the cosplay competition) and myself. I had a really good soft pretzel with horseradish sauce here.
	After we left Burly some of the group headed off to the VIP meet and greet at the Keiran Irish Pub. The entire MST cast including the newbie Jonah Ray were on hand for a photo op, autographs and some casual chatting with some of their fans with deep pockets.
	Meanwhile, Joe, Sam and I went to Brit’s Pub for dinner and to watch league lawn bowling (really). Eventually more of the group showed up and once the meet and greet was done those MSTies joined us as well. The new folks in this picture are all at the far end of the table and a bit hard to see, but they include Ron McAdams (who was a pleasure to finally meet after chatting on line for many years), Douglas Prostorog, Debbie Holzhauer and Rob Baiter. This photo was taken by the initially camera shy Katy Pika who escaped under the table rather than be captured on film (at least this evening).
	On the way back to the hotel we wandered past the State Theater to see the marquee all made up for the next day’s event. Most of us ended up back in Pam’s room chatting and drinking Ecto Coolers (thanks to Joe) until the wee hours of the morning.
	The day of the show started with a field trip to the old Best Brains Studio in Eden Prairie. It’s not just an empty building, but it still brought back some fond memories of the two times I visited there while the show was still in production.
	While there Ryan, James and Greg recorded a podcast for the MST3K Revival League Podcast. They even interviewed a few of us including yours truly. I discussed being on the very last tour of Best Brains back in 1999. Also interviewed were Katy (discussing riffing gay porn), Ron (letting us know to call Colin Quinn to rent this building), Brian (the flamingo story from the 1994 conventio-con) and Michael (Chicago riffing group).
	How wonderful is this picture? Occupy Eden Prairie! Front row (left to right): Yusef Naqvi, Debra Holzhauer, Robby Virnig, Stacie Straub, Caleb Straub, Meredith Morris Tally, Katy Pika, Cindy Marquis, Michael Albright. Back row (l to r): Douglas Prostorog, Rob Baiter, Ryan Smith, Rob Hinkle, Philip Stephens, Ken Hunt, Morgan Stephens, Ron McAdams, Tom Noel, Greg Tally, Joe Martin, Pam Brisjar. (New in this picture is Greg’s wife Meredith. Brian Henry showed up a bit late to be in the picture.)
	This is quite a special picture for me. Ron and I have been chatting with Brian for years and it was great to finally meet him. The moment we started talking it seemed like we were old friends. As I mentioned above I first met Brian face to face in 2008, but we have been on-line friends in MST3K for many years before that. Shortly after these pictures were taken Brian was heading to the airport to pick up Chris Cornell (msampo from The Satellite News), another great friend and MSTie.
	As we bid a fond farewell to the studio we reconvened at the Prairie Tap Room for lunch. Most of the gang is pictured here although a few had to be placed at a nearby kid’s table. The VIPs in attendance had to make a quick departure to make it to the dress rehearsal at the State Theater.
	And here it is. During the dress rehearsal the entire gang of performers ran through a couple of the shorts that would be aired that evening mainly to prove out the positions on stage plus some lighting and sound adjustments. The VIPs had to promise not to spoil the surprise that a second riff-a-palooza short was being performed by the whole group.
	A press conference was held immediately following the rehearsal. Most questions were asked by Jon Foss from CW23, the latest version of what had once been KTMA 23. One kind of cool image was seeing the three once and future hosts of MST3K seated side by side.
	After a short rest at my hotel I headed back to theater. First I needed one more view of the marquee before the show. My anticipation was certainly beginning to peak by this time.
	Before leaving home I had printed out my ticket for the show on an 8-1/2x11 sheet of paper, but that’s no fun to have in my collection of MST3K memorabilia. Joe had mentioned that he stopped by the box office and they printed a ticket for him. I headed to the State Theater early and had them do the same for me.
	While waiting for my ticket I was pleased to see Trace coming down the hallway. It’s always exciting that he actually remembers me. Plus I was able to meet Zoe Plait for the first time. Zoe has taken on the task of being the promoter for The Mads.
	I was also very pleased to see that Chris Cornell had arrived in time for the show. Here he is with Ron and Brian. Three of my favorite MSTies.
	One hiccup I did encounter was that as I was entering the theater and was going through security I was told that I could not bring my camera in. There were also no lockers of any kind on the premises and my hotel was about 15-20 minutes away (at my walking speed). Luckily Philip Stephens came to the rescue for Caleb Straub and myself and was willing to take our cameras to his hotel about 5 minutes away. Of course immediately upon entering the theater I was greeted by the sight of photos being taken by hundreds of cell phones, none of which were captured on my own phone.
	D’oh!
	Once Mike, Kevin and Bill took the stage there was non-stop laughter and applause. The performers were great and the audience was happy to go along for the ride.
	Early in the show they announced the winner of the MST cosplay contest. I know I’ve seen this cute Servo before, but I have to admit she would get my vote too.
	The evening’s show consisted of seven short subjects being performed by various permutations of the group. First off was The Talking Car (1969) by the RiffTrax crew.
	A Word To The Wives (1955) (w/ Darren McGavin) by Mary Jo and Bridget
	More Dates For Kay (1952) by Trace and Frank
	Americans At Work: Barbers & Beauticians(1959) by Joel and Jonah
	Shake Hands With Danger (1980) by RiffTrax again. They then showed a Best of RiffTrax montage celebrating their 10 year anniversary.
	Stamp Day For Superman (1954) brought everyone on stage for the much anticipated Super Riff-A-Palooza.
	At Your Fingertips: Grasses (1970) by the entire gang closed out the show.
	A an amazing site seeing so many amazing, talented people on stage at once. Everyone was hilarious and Jonah Ray seemed to fit in like he had always been part of the group. This evening only helped fire my anticipation for the MST3K Revival.
	Here is a great shot of the standing ovation by the audience. I left it as a thumbnail so you can look for yourself or just look at the happy faces. I was in the center aisle Row K, Seat 1. Pretty great locations. I was glad to have a chance to talk with Katy Beaulieu who was sitting across the aisle from me. I also caught up with Chris Cornell while still inside the theater. I wish I had the opportunity to meet Beez McKeever, Dan Griffith, Gary Glover and to see Ron Degroot again, but I was a bit blurry eyed by this point as well as wondering how I was going to retrieve my camera.
	As the applause thundered the entire cast lined up to take a bow and receive the appreciative cheers of the grateful fans.
	I’m really glad that someone took this picture of the fully lit up marquee because by the time we came out after the show it had already been switched over to advertise the upcoming Peter Frampton show.
	The VIPs headed back the Kieran’s for one last event with some of the cast and of course a festive meat raffle.
	Pam Brisjar won one of the “mystery meat” prizes that turned out to be “beef feet.” After rejoining our group later that evening she graciously passed the semi-frozen cow feet to Robby Virnig who seemed almost too happy to have them.
	Our gang ended up just down the road at the MacKenzie bar to bask in the afterglow. We shared stories of our favorite parts of the show and reminisced about our personal histories with MST 3K, RiffTrax, Cinematic Titanic and our expectations for the revival. We must have been exhausted because I have not found one photo taken after the show to add here. I’m happy to have the memory in my mind’s eye. What a fantastic evening and what a great group of MSTies. I would love to meet up again with every single person I met on this trip.
	Finally, here is the reward “postcard” offered to those attending the show. A great picture of a great group of people. The next day I drove home. I ended up driving straight through to Detroit, getting home about 9:15 PM. I was pretty wore out, but immediately put a note on my calendar to go see the rebroadcast on 7/12. It was fun to watch it again and see myself twice during the credits plus my name listed with the Kickstarter contributors.
	And to top it off my good friend Gary Glover was kind enough to send me an extra VIP pass to add to my collection. Thanks Gary and to all MSTies world wide for making this whole Nerd-vana such a great group to be a part of.