Sunday, February 3, 2013

Tales From The Road #5 - Arisia, Dorian's Parlor & TempleCon Recap

3 weekends, 3 different events!!  That's the way I love to roll!!

It starts with Arisia - the Sci Fi/Fantasy and all things geeky & intellectual convention.  I had 2 shows with Psyche Corporation, and then had time to spend the rest of the con attending all the wonderful panels and jamming with people.  The programming at this panel is really beyond exceptional.  Lots of great entertainment, ranging from a Circus Group & bands to filking & panels on Poly, BDSM, Gender/Sexuality & the the intersection of any of those things within sci-fi, anime, comics, etc., etc.  The other interesting aspect was going to a con, which wasn't particularly oriented around Steampunk and also didn't contain a whole lot of people I know before hand.  The highlight of it for me was getting to jam with Levi Ali.  At one point, the Con Chair asked me for my info & suggested I apply to perform next year... Can't beat that!!

Next up was Dorian's Parlor.  I was Ninja Gigging it here (A term I use when I'm not officially listed on the bill) & was out in the hall making noise all night.  It was a really fun way to do it & oddly similar to busking ... I got to take breaks when I wanted, and interact with people & tailor what I was playing to random passerbys ... I also got to debut my versions of "The Misty Mountains Theme" and "Rains of Castamere" ... The only downside was I missed most of the other acts... it was a really energetic and filled Dorian's ... here are some photos:




And so this past weekend was TempleCon with Psyche Corporation.  TempleCon was also quite fun ... though I missed out on all the gaming and most of the panels this year ... sad to say (It did not help that there were no printed schedules, except on Bulletin Boards with the *tiniest* print)... Our set Friday night was... interesting... there were some very major technical problems with the sound, due to monitor wiring ... It was the worst on-stage sound situation I've ever had in the entire time I was playing, but we trucked on, rocked out & gave it our all & still got to sign a cd or two afterwards :)  The rest of the con was fun, involving some impromptu cello/accordion busking with Magpie of Steampunk Magazine/Combustion Books, and some hanging out with Professor Mark Donnelly.  I also played for the Tea Party, which Prof. Donnelly gave some history (on tea) for, as well as Leanna Renee Hieber (on fans and flirting), which was really a treat.

All in all, it was a good con, and a great 3 weekends!!

Now I get a break, and then Wicked Faire!!  Can't wait!!

2 comments:

testblog said...

Outstanding performance at Dorian's Parlor this past month. Clever ambiance.

Mike Lunapiena said...

Thanks!! That was the first time I've ever played in the hall there ... have even more awesomeness planned for the next one!