Instead of one massive post about the best week of the summer, I’m going to split it up this time. Yeah, this might be an old hat for me but every year there is something new to do and something cooler to experience!
We got to stay at the Hilton Bayfront this time around. This hotel is a little more out of the way but it’s one of the main hot spots for celebs. This time I lost count of how many I encountered in person. No, I didn’t get pics with everybody but I do have some stories!
Wednesday night is preview night, so some con-goers have badges and get early access to the convention. My best bud River and I tried it out last year and didn’t really think it was worth it. We typically have more fun running around the Gaslamp and seeing what’s going on there. We just find things like this a little more fun
But we checked into our hotel and right off the bat we run into Kristen Schaal (you may know her from 30 Rock). I told her how much fun I thought the Tacky parody video was with Weird Al and she thanked me (she is featured in the video). I asked her how she was enjoying herself and told her we planned to see Weird Al’s panel. She wasn’t aware he was at the con too so she was glad I told her. She was really sweet!
Thursday I didn’t really try for a lot of panels. I got to attend the one for Teen Wolf and that worked out well. I wasn’t as close as I got to be last year but it was all good. I haven’t watched the new season yet but I plan to catch up next month. The midseason trailer looks awesome. They also passed out a Bestiary for the fans. I actually got mine signed later by the artist which was nice. I have a couple extra so I think I’ll plan a giveaway for this. I really enjoyed the panel and one highlight was a fan who couldn’t compose herself while asking a question to Dylan O’Brien. I’m sure he made her feel like a million bucks that day. It was too adorable (it starts around the 26 minute mark).
My biggest goal for this day was to attend the Linkin Park concert. It was actually a part of the MTVu Fandom awards. But the night for River and me was all about Linkin Park. We’ve been fans since their debut album in 2000 so this was a special treat for us. We got in line at 5pm. Doors didn’t open until 7 and we rushed the stage and didn’t move until it was over at nearly 11pm. The awards were nice as we got to see all the celebs come out and present. When the camera would cut to the nominees Tyler Posey and Channing Tatum were goofballs, lol. The fans were loving them. Here are a couple of videos of Channing Tatum and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (aka Jamie Lannister) with Natalie Dormer (aka Margaery Tyrell) from A Game of Thrones.
And here’s the Teen Wolf cast with their awards.
We got to see local talent G-Eazy as the opening act. He was cool and reminded me a little bit of Mackelmore. Finally around 10pm Linkin Park comes out and they brought old AND new to the table. The crowd was having an awesome time. I know I was. We were SO CLOSE to the stage! The sound is terrible on my phone but I was right beside the speakers so it was a little too much for it I guess.
Unfortunately since I was flying I didn’t get to watch the Fandom awards air on MTV that Sunday, but one of my co-workers spotted me in the crowd. You can watch the whole awards show here: http://www.mtv.com/shows/mtvu_fandom_awards/
I haven’t watched it yet myself but I’m looking forward to when I spot myself. They don’t seem to include G-Eazy or Linkin Park’s complete set (they both sang several songs) so I hope they are added later but I’m not holding my breath.
We’d been standing for hours, our voices were hoarse, and our feet were killing us, but it was TOTALLY worth it! As far as I’m concerned the con completely paid for itself right there. Anything else was a bonus! Stay tuned for my report of the next few days!
