Star Wars in Concert - a fantastic show!
Grrr... sometimes I hate LJ. I had a very long post with photos in the works and hit the back button by mistake and lost it all *sigh*
So, I'm starting over.
I had a very busy Star Wars costuming weekend. Saturday we were busy from 9:00-5:00 with an appearance at Pottery Barn Kids at one mall, then taeriel and I drove to another south bay mall to appear at a Lego store for the DK SW Lego Visual Dictionary Launch. Both events were a lot of fun.
Sunday was even busier with back to back Star Wars concerts at the HP Pavilion in San Jose! The concert was fantastic, and doing this event in costume was really kind of surreal. I'd never experienced crowds like this. Yeah, Comic Con is crowded but the con goers are more jaded. Once people have seen one Leia one year, they are kind of over it. The people attending the SW concert were families who would not usually go to a convention. So they were all super stoked to see anyone in costume, regardless if you were a Generic Jedi or a Stormtrooper you'd have a constant crowd surrounding you lined up to take photos. It was endless.
The concert itself was fantastic. Just think of seeing your favorite Star Wars scenes on a gigantic screen with a live symphony score. There were some added pyrotechnic surprises too. The front rows (I was in the 3rd row) literally were getting roasted! The flames were so hot! We were originally worried that front row seats would be poor for viewing the movie screen, but it's far enough back behind the orchestra the screen looks fine. Not just fine, great! And you have the added bonus up front of seeing Anthony Daniels tell the story and make eye contact with the audience. My only critiques of the concert were the technical problems with the video screen. Some were really bad... where one side of the screen was totally scrambled, some were just slight blips here and there where panels were not synching up properly (it's as if it's projected in 4 segments or something...) I think things may have been corrected by the 2nd show at 7:00pm (I only watched the first half of it). The funny part about the 7:00pm show is that Anthony Daniel's wireless microphone went out. We could all tell he was pissed. He had a very stern look on his face as he walked off stage and had to grab a regular microphone. He then waved his hand and attempted to do a Jedi Mind Trick "You did not hear a mistake... did you." LOL! I guess my only other slight critique was the editing and footage used for the final "celebration" song. The were reusing a lot of the same clips they'd already shown earlier in the show. And the way Anthony Daniels tells the linear story, in my mind it is supposed to be a celebration of the Rebel Alliances triumph over the Galactic Empire. So throwing in all of these clips of Padme and Anakin hugging from Ep III, it just felt cheesy and rushed together with a lot of reused footage. Like, anything with people looking happy, let's throw it in!
Getting ready for the concert was a little stressful. I had to get up around 7:00am to do the Leia buns and makeup and pack up my costume. I met Alison in a neighborhood close to HP Pavilion and we eventually found the employee parking lot with reserved spots for the costume volunteers. I had to quickly send text messages to the rest of the volunteers with instructions on exactly where to park so they wouldn't make the same mistake Alison and I did. I then ran to a restaurant with Alison, got take-out, and had to walk several blocks with my huge duffel bag back to HP Pavilion. I didn't get to the back entrance until roughly 11:45. I was escorted inside and met up with the rest of our group who were awaiting an escort to a changing room. Around 12:10 they ended up putting us in a balcony and setting up some drapes to block our view from the audience.
I inhaled my lunch, helped Dale suit up into his X-wing costume, and sent out additional text message instructions to our volunteers who would arrive later for the 7:00pm show. Most of our volunteers were ready for their appearance just after 12:30. Around 12:45 I headed out to the concession stand to get a soda (I'd forgotten to bring water with me) and while I was out there I figured I better buy my souvenir schwag. That took a little longer than I anticipated even though there were only about 3 people ahead of me in the line. So I was given a bit of a hard time for not being a better 'handler' but that was the show I was paying to see, so I needed to make sure I took a little time to get my t-shirts before my size sold out. I was actually very excited that they had Leia t-shirts and hoodies! And the Leia t-shirt actually had a boat neck so I could fit it over my buns and wear it during the concert. Yay!
So, it was probably some time after 1:00pm that I headed back out and tried to check on our various members and take photos since I was handler/photographer. That was easier said than done! The place had suddenly become jam packed. You couldn't see any of the exhibits, you could hardly move through the concourse, it was just insane!
Here is what the concourse looked like:
The costume volunteers would literally get stuck with a mob circling them for photos (hence, they were wondering where I was and why I wasn't looking after them when I was buying my soda and my merch... I had no idea that it had gotten that bad!). Our biker scout was easy to find, he smartly positioned himself outside of our changing room door so he could easily duck inside for a break without any help or worry about moving through a crowd.
I then proceeded to find one of our Lukes just a few doors down. It took forever to get to him even though he was only a few yards away. As I was walking along I heard a little girl say "Mommy, I think that's the real princess Leia!" Her mom played along and said "You think so?!" and she said "Yah! I think that's her!" As if I was Carrie attending the concert incognito. LOL! Too funny! Quite a few others commented on my hair as I walked along, asking how long it took to do, etc. Some wanted photos. Some called me Carrie, it was pretty funny. I eventually found a stormtrooper, then turned around to try to find our other Luke and X-wing Pilot. It became so impossible to move through the crowd. I ran into Jessica who was helping Brian (our other stormtrooper) make a break from the crowd so he could dress down in time to watch the concert.
I figured there was no way I could get to our other members before the show started, and I still needed to find my friend who was bringing me my ticket! As I shuffled along with the crowd I looked to my right and who was shuffling along shoulder to shoulder with me? Joanie "Biba Fett" from FIDM! I said hello, and said I wasn't sure if she remembered me from FIDM. She did, and said she liked my hair :) Joanie was also amazed at how crowded it was. She wanted to look at the Vader display and couldn't even get to it. She'd already seen the show premiere in England since she helped set up the exhibit there, but she was not traveling with the tour in the US.
Finally I met up with Joan, got my ticket, and then I think our other Luke and X-wing Pilot ran into me and I told Joan I'd meet up with her. I quickly took photos of the other Luke and then we headed down to our seats for the show.
As soon as the concert was over and people were leaving the venue, it was time for the 7:00pm wave of volunteers to come in! We said goodbye to our friends and headed back to the changing room. After touching base with the production assistant and figuring out who was going to keep track of which volunteers needed concert tickets, I headed off to change into my Leia costume. Shea arrived around 5:00pm and asked if she thought it would be OK to wear Slave Leia. I said I'd seen a photo from a concert held earlier in the week (Arizona) and saw a photo of a Slave Leia there (she looked like an RL member) so I figured it was fine and they had approved her for the San Jose show. I just warned her she better keep a handler with her because the crowds were crazy... she should not be alone in the costume. So she teamed up with one of our Jedi Scott who is a big tall guy. He literally could wrap his cloak around her and hide her from view as they walked. I didn't even have a chance to make it over to her to see how she was doing. I'd just see her pass by with Scott. Scott had said there were some guys who were literally trying to push him out of the way in the photos! Haha!
Alison and I found a backdrop close to our changing room and stayed there for a good hour & 15 minutes posing for pictures. It was a constant wave of people. We were circled the entire time and we just stayed put because if we had moved there were going to be some really sad kids. The best moment was when a tiny little girl (I'm guessing around 2-3 years old?) just came up and hugged my leg. I crouched down and gave her a hug. She was so sweet, she really loved Leia. The crowd only lightened up when the announcements saying the show would start in 5 mintues were going on over the PA system. Liz from Sunrider base ran into us and took a photo. (probably the only photo taken by someone I knew from that entire stint!)
We were given free tickets to watch the show again and I didn't want to let a chance to see the conert for free go to waste! So I watched the first half of the concert up until intermission. It was kind of cool to see it again from the center of the Arena. I had really wanted to look at the exhibit, so I skipped the second half of the show and I knew I only had 45 minutes to run around and take pictures. (honestly, the only way to see the exhibit is when people are watching the concert. It is too crowded when people are entering, and when the show is over Security will not let you linger around to look at anything as they need close down the venue and clean up) . I had my pantone guide, but by the time I was ready to use it the concert was being let out. I was tired, and not super passionate about any particular costume. I was trying to get a read on the Red Royal Guard and just couldn't because the spot lights were so harsh. I just gave up.
It was a fun day, but pretty exhausting. If any of you have an opportunity to see the concert or to volunteer in costume for it you totally need to go for it! It's an event not to be missed!
Here are my photos from the concert, with some photos from the exhibit too: http://imageevent.com/kay_dee/rebellegion/starwarsinconcertsanjose
So, I'm starting over.
I had a very busy Star Wars costuming weekend. Saturday we were busy from 9:00-5:00 with an appearance at Pottery Barn Kids at one mall, then taeriel and I drove to another south bay mall to appear at a Lego store for the DK SW Lego Visual Dictionary Launch. Both events were a lot of fun.
Sunday was even busier with back to back Star Wars concerts at the HP Pavilion in San Jose! The concert was fantastic, and doing this event in costume was really kind of surreal. I'd never experienced crowds like this. Yeah, Comic Con is crowded but the con goers are more jaded. Once people have seen one Leia one year, they are kind of over it. The people attending the SW concert were families who would not usually go to a convention. So they were all super stoked to see anyone in costume, regardless if you were a Generic Jedi or a Stormtrooper you'd have a constant crowd surrounding you lined up to take photos. It was endless.
The concert itself was fantastic. Just think of seeing your favorite Star Wars scenes on a gigantic screen with a live symphony score. There were some added pyrotechnic surprises too. The front rows (I was in the 3rd row) literally were getting roasted! The flames were so hot! We were originally worried that front row seats would be poor for viewing the movie screen, but it's far enough back behind the orchestra the screen looks fine. Not just fine, great! And you have the added bonus up front of seeing Anthony Daniels tell the story and make eye contact with the audience. My only critiques of the concert were the technical problems with the video screen. Some were really bad... where one side of the screen was totally scrambled, some were just slight blips here and there where panels were not synching up properly (it's as if it's projected in 4 segments or something...) I think things may have been corrected by the 2nd show at 7:00pm (I only watched the first half of it). The funny part about the 7:00pm show is that Anthony Daniel's wireless microphone went out. We could all tell he was pissed. He had a very stern look on his face as he walked off stage and had to grab a regular microphone. He then waved his hand and attempted to do a Jedi Mind Trick "You did not hear a mistake... did you." LOL! I guess my only other slight critique was the editing and footage used for the final "celebration" song. The were reusing a lot of the same clips they'd already shown earlier in the show. And the way Anthony Daniels tells the linear story, in my mind it is supposed to be a celebration of the Rebel Alliances triumph over the Galactic Empire. So throwing in all of these clips of Padme and Anakin hugging from Ep III, it just felt cheesy and rushed together with a lot of reused footage. Like, anything with people looking happy, let's throw it in!
Getting ready for the concert was a little stressful. I had to get up around 7:00am to do the Leia buns and makeup and pack up my costume. I met Alison in a neighborhood close to HP Pavilion and we eventually found the employee parking lot with reserved spots for the costume volunteers. I had to quickly send text messages to the rest of the volunteers with instructions on exactly where to park so they wouldn't make the same mistake Alison and I did. I then ran to a restaurant with Alison, got take-out, and had to walk several blocks with my huge duffel bag back to HP Pavilion. I didn't get to the back entrance until roughly 11:45. I was escorted inside and met up with the rest of our group who were awaiting an escort to a changing room. Around 12:10 they ended up putting us in a balcony and setting up some drapes to block our view from the audience.
I inhaled my lunch, helped Dale suit up into his X-wing costume, and sent out additional text message instructions to our volunteers who would arrive later for the 7:00pm show. Most of our volunteers were ready for their appearance just after 12:30. Around 12:45 I headed out to the concession stand to get a soda (I'd forgotten to bring water with me) and while I was out there I figured I better buy my souvenir schwag. That took a little longer than I anticipated even though there were only about 3 people ahead of me in the line. So I was given a bit of a hard time for not being a better 'handler' but that was the show I was paying to see, so I needed to make sure I took a little time to get my t-shirts before my size sold out. I was actually very excited that they had Leia t-shirts and hoodies! And the Leia t-shirt actually had a boat neck so I could fit it over my buns and wear it during the concert. Yay!
So, it was probably some time after 1:00pm that I headed back out and tried to check on our various members and take photos since I was handler/photographer. That was easier said than done! The place had suddenly become jam packed. You couldn't see any of the exhibits, you could hardly move through the concourse, it was just insane!
Here is what the concourse looked like:
The costume volunteers would literally get stuck with a mob circling them for photos (hence, they were wondering where I was and why I wasn't looking after them when I was buying my soda and my merch... I had no idea that it had gotten that bad!). Our biker scout was easy to find, he smartly positioned himself outside of our changing room door so he could easily duck inside for a break without any help or worry about moving through a crowd.
I then proceeded to find one of our Lukes just a few doors down. It took forever to get to him even though he was only a few yards away. As I was walking along I heard a little girl say "Mommy, I think that's the real princess Leia!" Her mom played along and said "You think so?!" and she said "Yah! I think that's her!" As if I was Carrie attending the concert incognito. LOL! Too funny! Quite a few others commented on my hair as I walked along, asking how long it took to do, etc. Some wanted photos. Some called me Carrie, it was pretty funny. I eventually found a stormtrooper, then turned around to try to find our other Luke and X-wing Pilot. It became so impossible to move through the crowd. I ran into Jessica who was helping Brian (our other stormtrooper) make a break from the crowd so he could dress down in time to watch the concert.
I figured there was no way I could get to our other members before the show started, and I still needed to find my friend who was bringing me my ticket! As I shuffled along with the crowd I looked to my right and who was shuffling along shoulder to shoulder with me? Joanie "Biba Fett" from FIDM! I said hello, and said I wasn't sure if she remembered me from FIDM. She did, and said she liked my hair :) Joanie was also amazed at how crowded it was. She wanted to look at the Vader display and couldn't even get to it. She'd already seen the show premiere in England since she helped set up the exhibit there, but she was not traveling with the tour in the US.
Finally I met up with Joan, got my ticket, and then I think our other Luke and X-wing Pilot ran into me and I told Joan I'd meet up with her. I quickly took photos of the other Luke and then we headed down to our seats for the show.
As soon as the concert was over and people were leaving the venue, it was time for the 7:00pm wave of volunteers to come in! We said goodbye to our friends and headed back to the changing room. After touching base with the production assistant and figuring out who was going to keep track of which volunteers needed concert tickets, I headed off to change into my Leia costume. Shea arrived around 5:00pm and asked if she thought it would be OK to wear Slave Leia. I said I'd seen a photo from a concert held earlier in the week (Arizona) and saw a photo of a Slave Leia there (she looked like an RL member) so I figured it was fine and they had approved her for the San Jose show. I just warned her she better keep a handler with her because the crowds were crazy... she should not be alone in the costume. So she teamed up with one of our Jedi Scott who is a big tall guy. He literally could wrap his cloak around her and hide her from view as they walked. I didn't even have a chance to make it over to her to see how she was doing. I'd just see her pass by with Scott. Scott had said there were some guys who were literally trying to push him out of the way in the photos! Haha!
Alison and I found a backdrop close to our changing room and stayed there for a good hour & 15 minutes posing for pictures. It was a constant wave of people. We were circled the entire time and we just stayed put because if we had moved there were going to be some really sad kids. The best moment was when a tiny little girl (I'm guessing around 2-3 years old?) just came up and hugged my leg. I crouched down and gave her a hug. She was so sweet, she really loved Leia. The crowd only lightened up when the announcements saying the show would start in 5 mintues were going on over the PA system. Liz from Sunrider base ran into us and took a photo. (probably the only photo taken by someone I knew from that entire stint!)
We were given free tickets to watch the show again and I didn't want to let a chance to see the conert for free go to waste! So I watched the first half of the concert up until intermission. It was kind of cool to see it again from the center of the Arena. I had really wanted to look at the exhibit, so I skipped the second half of the show and I knew I only had 45 minutes to run around and take pictures. (honestly, the only way to see the exhibit is when people are watching the concert. It is too crowded when people are entering, and when the show is over Security will not let you linger around to look at anything as they need close down the venue and clean up) . I had my pantone guide, but by the time I was ready to use it the concert was being let out. I was tired, and not super passionate about any particular costume. I was trying to get a read on the Red Royal Guard and just couldn't because the spot lights were so harsh. I just gave up.
It was a fun day, but pretty exhausting. If any of you have an opportunity to see the concert or to volunteer in costume for it you totally need to go for it! It's an event not to be missed!
Here are my photos from the concert, with some photos from the exhibit too: http://imageevent.com/kay_dee/rebellegion/starwarsinconcertsanjose