This was, strangely enough, one of my most-fun years at DragonCon. I think it had a to do with the fact that Brobdingnagian Bards were such late additions.

We were accepted only two weeks before the show opened. However, Andrew and I already decided we would attend the con nonetheless. We expected it to be laid back, where we could actually se stuff. So when we were accepted as guests, our mindset hadn't changed too much.

Thursday. We arrived on Thursday with the usual excitement. Went to get our badges and I started the Con off right, waiting in line with Evo and his wife Sheila. I had a great time chatting with them while Andrew went to get our band table settled. Evo invited me to the podcast parties. Just what I was really looking forward to.

After getting our badges, I was wiped. The long drive and a little bit o'drinking the night before, I went to bed at 8:30pm Thursday night and woke up 7am the next morning. What a GREAT night's rest. It really set me in the mood to start DragonCon.

Friday. After waking up, I grabbed the table stuff and headed down to the Concourse to sell CDs. Our new album, Real Men Wear Kilts, arrived the day before. Arthur of Emerald Rose arrive just after me. The first thing I did was pick up his new CD. I loved some of the tracks I heard on his SoundClick page. So I hope to share some of that in an upcoming podcast.

A couple hours later, our other table people arrived. Then the excitement began. Because of the lack of officiality from the get go, we ended up overbooking when we became official. For starters, we were asked to perform at the Opening Ceremonies for the Podcast Track. I arrived early and got to spend a bunch of time with some of my podcasting friends. Andrew arrived just before start time. We played “Jedi Drinking Song” and I got to featured my brand new song “Monahan's Mudders Milk”. The new song went over brilliantly.

Then we raced back to the Concourse for a show at 2pm. Fortunately, we didn't have too many problems getting back there. So aside from a bad time slot, the show went smoothly. Then I walked Back to the Hilton again for my Podcasting for Promotion panel.

It was cool to be on a panel, especially with a topic I know SO well. Admittedly, I felt it was too short. While I did learn that Twitter seems to be uber popular with podcasters, I also felt like there were a LOT of things that were left out with podcasting promotion. Ah well, it was an honor nonetheless to be there with people like Tee Morris and Evo Terra who've done a lot for the podcasting world.

A few hours later, Andrew and I were on our last panel of the weekend for the LOTR track. I was a bit worried about this one. We were to talk about and play music from our CD Memories of Middle Earth. It turned out much better than I thought it would. Mostly because, well, it was the first time we've ever had a chance to tell how the album came about. That was so cool. Our audience seemed pretty interested too. I'd definitely do something like that agian in the future.

As if that wasn't enough, we had one more show for the day. It was our big filk show at 10pm. We were booked in a huge room right after our friends the Bedlam Bards. Sadly, because of the last minute booking, I didn't even know they were before us. So that made it tough to really promote the event. The room was huge, but only maybe a half filled. The performance went great though. The audience seemed really into it. I think with a bit more promotion next year, we could have a HUGE show there. When it ended, I was hot and wired. So I went to the first podcast party.

Now I noticed a wardrobe malfunction during our final show. A few weeks back, I washed some clothes and didn't dry them enough. So my shirt started smelling like mildew. So when I got to the party, it was a very short time before my shirt came off. I played one song while there for a birthday girl, drank a wee bit and then after spilling a drink, decided I should head back to my hotel room and get a decent night's sleep, which I did.

Saturday. I have a bad habit of waking up too early, especially when others are shuffling. So when Andrew and company started packing stuff for the table, it was an hour later that I was up and heading downstairs meself.

Saturday was a lighter day. We had a strolling performance through the Art Show at 4pm. Otherwise, I spent time catching up with friends. Oh! And taking a nap before the art show. Which was much needed as tired as I was. It helped. At 7pm, I went to the Parsec Awards to find out when we would play. I figured it out, and we put on a short show there. It wore me out a wee bit before our 10pm show in the same room. But wow! What a show that was!

I was a little bit worried about this show. We were scheduled opposite another comedy act, Paul and Storm. But obviously, I had Nothing to worry about. The room was almost completely full. The songs were much more diverse. This must've been one of my favorite shows of the con! Too much fun.

When the show ended, I headed back up to the podcast party, once again, losing my shirt, just because. 😉 I played a few songs after arriving. They went over great and then just hung out and drank, meeting some new people and getting to know others too.

Sunday morning came too soon. I was tired, waking up too soon once again. I took another short nap before our Art Show walkabout. And then that evening, I headed to my friends' room. Jamie and Gena helped me finalize the costume for my, uh, friend, Captain Black Jack Murphy. The pirate was solidified, and we all headed to the Pirate Party.

The Pirate Party kicked off earlier than anticipated that night. That meant, that Capt. Murphy was joined by Maggie on bodhran and they played a few rockin' songs, getting the pirates rowdy enough for the rest of the evening. I, uh, I dropped by briefly to see the show, but, um, Capt. Murphy has a potty mouth. So I, uh, left early. But, uh, I heard the whole story.

Murphy seemed to have a grand time annoying people, flirting, drinking, and dancing to excess. Good thing *I* missed it all.

Fortunately, I woke up feeling refreshed the next morning. But with overall sleep deprivation, I was surprised I didn't get sick, but I felt great.

All in all, it was a brilliant time that flew by far too quickly. Aside from the lack of sleep, I could use another week of DragonCon.