Saturday at DragonCon 2011

Saturday at DragonCon began with a mistaken plan.  I wanted to go play for the lines, but I forgot that the parade started at 10am.  That, combined with the fact that DragonCon's new registration system was a huge success, meant that I would stay at the table.

That's when I got the call that Gwen and Kenzie were coming to convention.  I hung out at the table until my art show performance.  They arrived shortly after the Insta-Filk panel.

I gotta say, I had a blast at the Insta-Filk panel.  Our panelists and audience wrote a song using my bluesy version of “Oh Susannah”.  It was about canceled TV shows and the crap that is replacing them.  It was a fun brainstorming session.

I love co-writing with brainstorming sessions.  It's sorta how “Love in the Blood”, my zombie/Air Supply song, came to be.  I had an idea and then Andrew McKee helped me clean it up.

I thought the filk track would post the lyrics or video to our Insta-Filk, but I don't see it on their website yet.

After Gwen and Kenzie arrived, we all headed straight to the Parsec Awards ceremony.  I played “Kilted For Her Pleasure”, “Close Your Eyes” and “Sail the Sky”.  They went over great.  Then came the big surprise that the Renaissance Festival Podcast won Best Music Podcast.  That blew me away!

After spending a wee bit more time at the table, we ate dinner and headed to the Westin for the evening's entertainment.  It started with the Firefly Drinking Songs show.

Ever since I fell in love with Firefly, I've wanted to play music for the Whedonesque track.  The Brobdingnagian Bards played a couple songs several years ago, but that was it.  I LOVE this TV show.  It is easily my favorite show ever with Red Dwarf being a close second.  What was lost after being canceled after one season was made up for by the most incredible fan base ever.

Browncoats Rule!

I was blown away when I walked into the Firefly Drinking Songs show.  The room was 2/3 full with half an hour before showtime.  Fifteen minutes later, I kicked it off early to a full house.  They were turning people away at the door.  One lady told me later she left to go to the restroom and wasn't let back in.  It was packed!

Jamie Haeuser joined me on stage, which is always a treat.  She adds some amazing harmonies that blend beautifully with my vocals.  When she wasn't singing along, she was drumming.  We played four songs that culminated with “Hero of Canton” before my autoharp broke two strings.

With perfect timing, I invited Pandora Celtica on stage.  They brought the house down in two songs.  Then I played “She Said Her Name Was Saffron”.  Before we all gathered together to sing “A Drop of Reever Blood”.  A few more songs and we finished the show with rave reviews.  They want the show back next year, and they want a bigger room!

My only wish is that the Bedlam Bards could've been there.  Hopefully, that'll happen next year.

After the show, the musicians and many of the Browncoats crossed the hall for a Pub Sing hosted by Jamie Haeuser.  She and I sang some of our favorite songs mixed in with songs by Pandora Celtica and String from The Lost Boys.  Again, another smash hit show.

By the end of that, I realized that Kenzie hadn't gone to sleep.  She was exhausted.  It was nearly 11pm when Gwen coaxed down for a wee nap in the hallway of the Westin.  That only lasted until we got to the Hyatt for the filk show.  Then Gwen hung out in the hallway where she finally fell back asleep.

The Filk show was blast and we left that evening for our hotel exhausted.  We were up again at O Dark Thirty (or at least it felt that way) for quick performance at The Signal Podcast panel.

5 comments on “Saturday at DragonCon 2011

Comments are closed.