[Con Review] Tekko 2014 - Still Going Strong

In case you haven't noticed, this post is a little late. A month ago now, we were at Tekko 2014 to cover all of the events and see all that could be seen over the course of three days. Between then and now a lot has been going on and I just haven't gotten this out in time. So, apologies for that.

Either way, this was our second time attending and covering the event and I'm still sticking with my original thoughts from last year in that this is one convention that you should definitely check out if you're near the area. As always, we had a great time, but that doesn't mean that there weren't some issues to be had. Some were out of anyone's control for sure, though others definitely could be handled a little better.

So, by this point you've seen all the pictures and probably some of the video as well, but now it's time to take a closer look into things that they just can't do on their own. As always, our experience is slightly different and full of bizarre running around for interviews and all kinds of things, so if we missed something, apologies on that. We can only be in so many places at once, but we do try!

Recommendation: You really need to get to Tekko if you haven't been already. Not only is the DLCC a great location for the event, but it's smaller scale can make for a much more enjoyable weekend too. There's always a pretty good line up of panels and of course, the music. Seriously, these guys always get some of the best bands from Japan and the US to come in and rock the place!

Disclaimer: Myself and the rest of the Kitsuneverse staff was invited to this year's event and given complimentary media badges. However, in no way has that ever skewed our thoughts and views of this event or any event that we attend.

So, for those crazy enough to brave the TL:DR that's below...let's get on with the full review of this year's Tekko!

Okay, to start with, none of us arrived on site until about 4:30pm on Friday and by the time we got over to the convention center to check in, after getting into our room and all, it was already about 5:30-6pm. Either way, registration seemed to go pretty quickly at that point and the new line set up seemed to work pretty well, even if there was a little confusion as to where exactly we had to go for our stuff.

Once again, we were not staying at the the official con hotel, and chose to stay at the Hampton Inn just a couple of blocks away.

Why? Not only was our room bigger, but walking 4-5 blocks or having to wait for the shuttle just isn't our thing. Speaking of that, a lot of people we knew were either in the Hampton or Courtyard Marriott with a few in the Westin as well. So, we didn't feel too outside of things either, which was nice. Last year we felt a little more separate from things so seeing more con goers spread out was definitely a good thing.

Anyway, back to the DLCC. As always, it's full of it's own weird issues due to the size and layout of the place. No matter what, the massive building can lead to some bizarre things to deal with, not only for the staff but also for attendees and that goes for any convention being held there that doesn't take up every bit of space it has to offer. However, this year Team Tekko had a few creative ways of dealing with that and it definitely seemed to work for the most part.

The first thing we noticed was that registration was moved. This year it was located right by the dealers room and artist alley are both still on the second floor, they've just moved the reg area down to the end (facing North) and it works better than where it was previously for sure. That was definitely nice to see, but with this set up you still have the whole "having to walk a mile" to get from the dealers room/artist alley problem. However, this year they came up with an interesting solution to this for those who picked up on it. You could go up the stairs just beyond and walk across the catwalk hallway that overlooked the room below! Definitely saves some time and of course you could always go back to the middle and cross over the skybridge over Hall B as well too.

Another thing that was new this year was the "Premium Lounge", which was in the same space as the Maid of Hearts Cafe. For those that ponied up the $75 for the Premium level badge (as well as those on the $150 Rock Star badge), they had access to the room throughout the weekend and could enjoy a place to just chill that included water, snacks and even private performances from the Maid of Hearts too. Additionally there was a live stream of all the events in the main room and the likelihood of getting some more time with guests that stopped in throughout the weekend as well. Definitely a nice touch and while we didn't really get use of it, still nice for those that did.

Since it was so late, we missed a couple of things that we had wanted to cover, (more on that later) we ended up getting our bearings a little bit. We also wandered around to see where everything was as well as catching up with some friends and getting a few cosplay pictures as it was already in full swing in that department around the convention center. Overall, not much had really changed. One of the AMV rooms had moved and Sleeping Samurai was moved closer to the main area of things as well too, both good things to see and made everything a little more "close together" around the main con area on the South side of the DLCC.

So, our first day wasn't very eventful with things at the convention to be honest, but those things happen when you can't get in until later. That said, we did have a ton of fun just roaming the halls, talking with new and old friends, and getting our bearings again. So there is that and remember, a con is what you make of it! So after heading back to the hotel and not getting much sleep, we were ready for day two.

The first thing we noticed as we stumbled out of our hotel? It was cold. Really damn cold, it was only in the 30's when ventured out and the winds were just brutal. This definitely wasn't a great day weather wise, but we weren't going to let that stop us, even if the chorus of "I'm cold, how is everyone else not freezing?!" was going full steam. Seriously, no idea how some of the cosplayers were dealing with it, was more like early March or February weather, so kudos to them for braving it!

Speaking of the masquerade, this year's was once again helmed by Uncle Yo and as always he was on point. I won't go into too much detail here about it since we've already covered a good bit of in previous posts (here and here), but it was a great time and unlike some other events out there they combine the skit and walk on categories into the same show.

It's always a good time and while we felt a few of the skits fell a bit flat, they were still entertaining none-the-less.

The biggest events of the day were the Masquerade, concerts and rave. Yeah, it's a lot to pack into a short amount of time so if you're wanting to see all that stuff, just block out everything from 4-1am or so. Admittedly, we ducked out of one of the concerts to catch a panel, so we didn't get to see Lolita Dark, but there was no way that we were missing out on "OMG WTF Did I Just Watch?!" again this year. If you can, and are over 18, you definitely have to check it out. It's a mind bending hour and a half that will confuse and make your brain hurt, but it's so worth it.

Again, wish they would merge a couple of panel rooms as it filled up fast. If that can't be done, there's a couple of auditorium style rooms up on the next level that would work great too for larger panels and would offer better views of what's going on for most people as well. Many people already congregate near them, so why not give them another reason outside of photo shoots to be there?

After that we hopped in to check out the Gacharic Spin concert and it was full of energy, like holy wow levels of the stuff. As +Alexandra F put it "They're so bouncy!". They really were, it was insane how active they were on stage, but it definitely kept the crowd into things and everyone was loving it. Not only that but they were really great with interacting with everyone as well, always good to see when it happens. Sadly, due to the band's own rules, we were allowed to get any pictures or video of the show. Kind of weird, but they're musicians, what can ya do, right?

Next up on the crazy busy day that we had was the rave. However, I really don't have anything good to say about it this year. I just don't. Compared to last year, and previous years from what I've heard, it just wasn't anywhere close to what I've come to expect.

For a convention that gets music so much, it's kind of weird that they still can't really get a handle on this event. Sure, people were having a good time and that's all that matters but when you look at Anime North, Anthrocon, Colossalcon, etc, this needs a ton of work.

With Anthrocon in the same building, it's easy to get spoiled by their insane set up. Not only does it take up the entire Spirit of Pittsburgh Ballroom, but they have the talent and show to go with it. It's an amazing experience. Not only was the rave at Tekko brightly lit throughout they had a really sad showing of a DJ. I'm not even sure who it was, but they didn't really seem to be into it like past folks they've had.

I mean, one guy with a laptop and a mixer does not a rave make here. Seriously, you can see the set up in the pic on the right. That's just weird, especially after Initial P from last year!

Sure, they were doing their best and again, people were having fun, but it was kind of a let down. Normally our group is all about letting loose at con raves/dances. This time? We just didn't feel it from the DJ. The rave is definitely something that needs work, big time. So many people look forward to it, so a little love won't hurt here at all.

While I'm on the subject of harping on things, the dealers room was a bit weird this year too. In the past there was a divider up separating them from artists and it made it a little easier to figure out what was what. At first glance, it was a little hard to decipher that this year and I kind of liked the way it used to be handled. It's really not that much different in the long run, but figured I'd throw my two cents in on it.

One last thing before wrapping this up, the whole Friday thing. It's great there's events all day Friday and I've said this before, but starting at 9am is crazy. Some of the con's own staff can't get there that early due to work or school and it's worse for attendees. We didn't end up getting there until about 5pm ourselves after we had gotten into town and checked into our hotel and all. In fact, from what I heard it was rather slow throughout the day and didn't really start picking up until about the time we arrived anyway. Why conventions keep doing this I'll never understand. With most of the attendees having work, school or other things, it's just tough. Probably won't change in the future, but if you're going plan to take Friday off completely if you want to see anything that day.

Okay, now that I've gotten that out of my system, let's wrap this up. Overall, Tekko is a great convention and a few of the things I've pointed out aren't really major issues (well the rave is and Friday could be for some folks) in the grand scheme of things. You'll have tons of fun at Tekko and I'm sure that they'll be working on fixing any issues for next year and probably creating whole new things for folks like us to rant about. That's the way it works, right?

So, if you've made it this far and are looking for a convention in the Pittsburgh area that's got a great spirit about it, some truly awesome music and is just all around fun, you can't go wrong with Tekko. I know that myself and the rest of the team will be back next year to cover all the madness!