Darren Criss Behind the Scenes at Roseland Ballroom
As cool as this was, the sign cracked me up because it kinda looked like somebody was trolling the Roseland marquis – "YO EVERYONE, DARREN CRISS SOLD OUT! He used to be cool, but man, I don't know anymore . . . "
(All captions by Darren Criss)
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Empty Room
Ah, such a majestic sight – an empty concert hall. Nothing like it. The wood, the smell, the seats, the bar – all completely unaware and unbiased toward the crazy shit that goes down every night. I mean, Beyoncé was here a few times . . . and life just goes on in an empty room.
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Freelance Whales
Always weird when you have friends in the house during soundcheck. They can't hear what we hear in our monitors since the house speakers are off. I can imagine this sounded pretty underwhelming. Fun fact: that's my super-cool brother Chuck in the middle there, to the left of me. He's in the band Freelance Whales.
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Air Guitar
Can't say I typically air guitar during soundcheck, but I just wanted to make sure Tomek knew I was going to lean up against him during one of our breakdowns. You know – rock & roll stuff.
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‘Play More Like This’
Me: "Theo, play the drums more like this, OK?" I'm kidding. I don't know what the hell I'm saying here, but I'm sure it was a super last-minute note that Theo picked up on before I even finished my sentence. Truth is, I would do anything to play the drums more like Theo. Matter of fact, I would do anything to play just about anything more like Theo (who not only served as opening act on this tour, playing and singing his songs on guitar, but also as musical director and drummer for my set. Kid's a freakazoid).
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Bomber Jacket
Got into this habit of wearing some kind of jacket for the first two songs of the set. It was a good entrance look, but a terrible circulation idea – it would get so hot I would essentially have to peel it off my body. But hey, it looked cool. Big thanks to my pal Richard Chai for this killer bomber jacket.
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New York Shows
New York shows are always a big deal for a band. It's a "statement" show. This was the second time I've played Roseland, but there was definitely more pressure this time to make a good impression than before. We didn't always do it on tour, but this particular night we tried to have some kind of pre-show huddle to wrap our brains around what we were about to do. (From left to right: Jack Stratton, Tomek Miernowski, me, Theo Katzman and Joe Dart. Missing: Tyler Duncan.)
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Such Colors
The collection of kicks. Such colors abounding. Couldn't tell you who's who, except for our sound guy, who is definitely rocking the sound-guy attire. I'll let you guess which one he is.
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Go Time!
Wish I could say I posed for this. Didn't even know there was a photographer. This is within seconds of me going up onstage, which is sort of a mental blackout zone. I don't hear, see, smell, taste or feel anything, really. It's just Go Time! And in this moment, it entailed putting on the pink shades.
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Doing My Damnedest
I think the guy in the back scratching his head is wondering why he can't hear anything. Probably because he's sitting above and behind the stage/speaker . . . This is me doing my damnedest on the first song.
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More Rocking Out
More rocking out, more fun. This is what I was going through with Tomek at soundcheck: I'd like to think that even if I hadn't, it would have probably turned out the same way (though maybe I should have kept the air guitar). There could've been no one else in the room but us, and you still would've gotten this photo.
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Setting the Scene
Lemme set the scene for ya: I've got my best pals and favorite musicians onstage with me, and we're all breakin' it down with an instrumental section and having a blast. So that shit-eating smile on my face is 100 percent certified organic, gluten-free, vegan, raw, kosher and pure. This is where it gets outrageously fun for me.
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Finish Line
The finish line, the final song, and the final hit. It literally brings me to my knees. Even the teddy bear passed out.
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Mad Respect
Such mad respect and gratitude for everyone who stuck it out in that hot, crowded room for so long. Even after three sets (almost three hours!) they still brought the energy and sang along with our tunes. Really, really cool.
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Where IS Waldo?
No, seriously, where is Waldo?