Now, this weekend was anything far from typical for us, at least from the standpoint of most congoers, as myself and the rest of the crew here were running all over the place for interviews, event coverage, concerts and trying to get in just seeing the sights between the chaos. (I literally got to the convention and checked in about 5minutes before my first scheduled interview, which set the pace for the rest of the weekend for me.) That said, you could just tell that while this is a small/medium sized convention, no one there ever thought that for one minute. Everything just seemed larger and grander for some reason, maybe it was the venue or maybe it was just that good a time or somehow the con heads managed to infect everyone with their energy. I'm not sure, but I'm going to go with all of the above as I know that we all had a blast.
Also, I did get a chance to sit down with several of the higher ups as far as staff goes and I'll be doing a "behind the scenes" kind of piece over the weekend as well that has a lot more of an in depth technical/behind the scenes look at the convention as well. So keep an eye out, eh?
- Recomendation: Go. Start making plans now for next year. Seriously, this show is really something special and should be experienced by everyone. Not only for the laid back and relaxed atmosphere but for the music as well (even if it's just for the music it's totally worth it). The talent they get in from Japan is simply amazing.
A look towards the DLCC from outside the Westin, where we stayed |
Beware the blurry pic of huge expanses! |
So while this layout was a little odd to deal with at times, I have to say it generally did work out for the most part. It really left a lot of open areas for people to gather without blocking movement and didn't lend itself to any bottle necking when trying to get from one place to another. (I'm looking at you Ohayocon.) Having lots of space for conversations/gathering to take place and for photos without clogging up the main thoroughfares is never a bad thing, ever. So, there was definitely some good to that one as so many cons (including Tekko the past couple of years) have hall crowding issues galore and that just wasn't present at all.
The overall layout of things (sort of in a straight line on the 3rd floor) where the main events and panels were also helped out severely, having access to the roof and balconies of the DLCC didn't hurt either and provided for some amazing locations for cosplay photoshoots to boot. In fact, that's where most of the groups went for their pictures from what we could tell as they were mostly absent from the main hallways, but they weren't hiding by any means as you could see them moving from place to place and they did get stopped quite a few times. The only thing that was a bit weird was that our friends from Sleeping Samurai were waaaay down at one end, far from anything really going on. Though while I guess that provided them with the space they needed to operate, it was still strange to walk past all those empty rooms on the way to them.
Screenshot from my phone |
The aforementioned "Rock Star Elevator" with most of us! |
There were a few other head scratching moments too. Like why a ton of chairs in the main events room during the concerts on Saturday night and also during the "dance" after them? It did become known to us a bit later that it was something in regards to labor at the convention center or something along those lines that half of them had to be there for some reason. It didn't seem to effect anything in a major way either. So, again, even the weird stuff, like the chair situation, turned out to be a plus for many people as we saw quite a few people doing a little recharge on them throughout the night on Saturday.
Too tough to call... |
Regardless of this, there was still a great variety of items to be had, covering nearly everything you can think of and no one was really high on prices. Not sure if this is a trend or what, but it seems most are being a lot more realistic about things lately. Something that we appreciate and I'm sure many other congoers do as well. One of the more interesting things was seeing all the musical guests with booths as well, which led to some pretty interesting and spontaneous moments throughout the convention. It also allowed for a lot more interaction with them as well, while sometimes chaotic it was a nice thing to see and they really got into things with fans in a great way. Chii Sakurabi mentioned that she loved seeing all the costumes pass by her booth as well!
The artist alley was definitely packed full of amazing artists, many whom we hadn't yet had the pleasure of running into before at all. Some of the prints were definitely on another level and it seemed like everyone there was on top of their game for the event. It wasn't an overwhelming number of artists, but they certainly did pack them into the front area of the room and most seemed to be having a great time with eachother due to the closer quarters. (The Sgt Frog cosplaying artists were hysterical).
A few things we picked up in Artists Alley |
Of course, we've forgotten pretty much everyone that we bought from, but that's not atypical for us either! Most of our purchases (and time spent in the area) were made on Friday/Friday night, mostly due to the insane amount of things that we had scheduled on Saturday, but we did pop into both areas on Saturday and Sunday as well. No one seemed to be low on stock and if anything, some artists even made more during the over night hours!
Even Dazzle Vision got into the spirit of things |
Again, this small to mid-sized attendance doesn't just effect the cosplay, attendees or staff, even the guests seemed to like the more laid back nature of the whole thing. There wasn't that sense of the "crush of people" vying for the attention of guests, it was more free flowing and relaxed.
At one point we were on the escalator with Tommy Yune and had a completely random conversation. Our time with Chris Cason, even though it was scheduled, was even more bizarre and Dazzle Vision even got into the swing of things with cosplaying themselves. Though, I think it really hit home during our talk with Tony Oliver while talking about Tekko, and cons in general. He stated that he actually really enjoyed the smaller conventions and it not only allowed him to catch up with other guests, but also have time for more interaction with the fans. It wasn't so much of a "do what I have to do and then get out" kind of event. (Stay tuned for more from our interview with Tony in a couple days!)
Dazzle Vision @TekkoX2 |
They do their best every year to bring in the most talented and unique artists that they can which fit the show. While in the past it was mostly "garage" type bands, things really took off when Existrance played in 2012. Sure, every year they've been getting more and more offers from bands but also endorsements from previous invitees telling others that they have to play this event. So much so that they have a fairly solid process in figuring out which bands to invite over and which not to. (admittedly when talking with Jim Gogal, this takes places in his basement with his huge stereo. We can get behind that.) Though, it's not always perfect as CANTOY was a band that they overlooked last year, due to only being sent PV's and not full songs. That was quickly rectified with their addition and US debut this year along with Dazzle Vision's return to the US.
Sadly we weren't able to cover the CANTOY show, but everyone we talked to said that it was amazing and that they really put on a great performance. Maybe next year we wont' have any issues with recharging, etc so that we can get in both shows as I'm positive that whoever they bring in will be able to rock the place.
Initial P: "I'm my own Opening Act, Headliner and Closing Act!" |
Between the videos running on the sides of the stage to the massive conga lines and shuffling happening all over in random locations, the room was alive, infectious and didn't want to shut down. No one seemed to want things to end Saturday night. I think they would've (and probably did) kept partying well onto dawn if the convention center and schedule had allowed it to happen.We didn't want to leave early ourselves, but alas we had to drive home so that we could get some sleep before finishing things up on Sunday.
It speaks a lot to Initial P as an artist and lover of music that he was able to go on for as long as he did, though it is a bit weird that he was the only DJ scheduled. Top that off with the short concert that he DJ'd for Cristina Vee the next day and you've got to give credit where it's due. Typically at most "dances"/"parties"/whatever (just don't use the "R" word), there's more than one act as one hour time slots are the norm. Either way, he was able to knock it out of the park and somehow explode with energy throughout the whole thing (and he didn't even throw up on stage once, we're proud of ya man!).
A sea of bodies rockin out to Initial P |
We'll definitely be back next year and hope that things only continue to get better and even if Tekko does grow to be huge, we hope that they never, ever forget that quality is always better than quantity!
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