ONI-CON 2009
let’s see how long this gets… I dunno… I’m bloody tired
As soon as class got out I booked it back to H-Town for my favorite con of the year! Though on the way down there were SEVERAL times I thought I would surely die because the weather was HORRIBLE - I couldn’t even see the front of my car for a good while there - I persisted and even managed to snag our group’s badges the Thursday before so we wouldn’t have to wait in line for them on Friday. Aren’t I naisu~
Friday, October 30, 2009
Though we planned on meeting up at the con around 11:30… it just didn’t happen. I went to get snacks, analienrobot and chicnbebop went to get Which Wich, and ellacrain was running late too. Even still I got there around 12:00 and proceeded to scope out the new venue. At that point it seemed alright, though as the weekend progressed its many faults became apparent. Deciding I was in need of caffeine I took the opportunity to walk over to the nearby Starbucks and grab me a iced double shot. After learning of everyone’s prolonged lateness, I decided to wander around the Dealer’s Room (ohhhh, my beautifurr. I have missed seeing you soooo) instead of waiting in the long line to check into the hotel. I managed two thorough rounds before getting a call from analienrobot saying that they had arrived. ellacrain came just after them. Back into the Dealer’s Room and straight into buying mode for analienrobot (which never happens!! O.O). After the “Secret Dealer’s Room” (it was actually just an overflow dealer’s room that was far from the main one), Artist Alley, and Main Dealer’s Room first run, he already had four figures and a Kine in Aqua folder. Ah so proud!! Big spenderrr. I was waiting for some fotz to get her before I bought anything, and I was trying to keep the spending to a minimum (don’t think that actually happened in the long run though); my first purchase was also at the Kine in Aqua booth (I bought part of a card deck and two paper holders). Once the first run though was done we considered waiting in line to get our hotel room, which brought up the topic of sleeping, which brought up the need for sleeping bags, which resulted in analienrobot calling chicnbebop a baka because he forgot them!! After we had told him several times! So they went to go back to chicnbebop’s house while ellacrain and I waited to get our hotel room. It took 40 minutes.
Later the rest of those nastehs got there. chancc had picked up roboslant and plebians from UT and they took FOREVER to get to the hotel! We decided it was because chancc drives like a blind grandma at 5mph. Once all fotz were present we went to go eat at La Madeline. NOM.
After that we fotzed in the room (including filling out our Secret Magic Pumpkin lists and distributing them) until we heard the sounds of the concert from below our window.
CONSATO
The first three bands were BLECH. For one, why the hell do you book four bands in the first place?? And moreover, why have them all play on the same night? First one: ”Buranden” i.e. nast egotistical white boy that was obviously emulating the “Edward Cullen look” and sang in Japanese for a few songs then switched to ridiculously repetitive English songs. *delete from brain* Second: Satsuki. Okay, I like Satsuki’s music, don’t get me wrong, but he didn’t have a band and it was just him on the stage singing to recorded music… then when he switched to guitar (lol “where. is my. gii-tar. pick?) and piano they were short songs and ALL of them were ballad. It just wasn’t working… I still respect him as an artist though (unlike the others). Third, and by far the worst in my opinion, Echostream. Lead singer chick that sings ridic high and ridic slow with a white boy DJ that has the gall to say, “you needs to move around more - this is a rock concert.” UM BITCH NO. it is YOUR job to move us with you music - if it was GOOD we would be moving! And what’s more they WERE NOT paying rock. It was pretty much some kind of techno with a few guitar riffs here and there. And that’s what’s sad: they had a kick ass guitarist that was fun to just listen to when he was warming up (he rocked!) but none of the songs they played involved him actually playing much (just some chords). Echostream played for far too long and by the time they were done I was so happy. If I didn’t know that the next band was REAL rock I probably would have been crying in a dark corner by then.
Finally it was time for the LEGIT concert - born!! I had listened to a few of their songs but not enough to know any of them. All I knew was that they were J-ROCK, the kind I expect from Oni-con, the kind that makes you bang your head until you feel like passing out. And man did they DELIVER. As usual, after the concert, born had won another fan in me. By that point though analienrobot and chicnbebop had had enough, so they left. Nothing was moving me for the world.
Born started out as any good rock band should - with an intense screamo number that had everyone in the mosh pit jumping and screaming immediately. It was EXACTLY what I needed, and I knew it was what everyone else was expecting too. In the short break between shows we had managed to move our way really close to the sage (successfully maneuvering around the “monster” i.e. elephant sized man that smelled like a sweat bucket before the real concert even started. Oh and ellacrain fondly called him the “groper” because he kept turning around when he was in front of us and sticking his thigh sized arm all up in my face and the other general area). ellacrain and I were only a row or two behind the front bar and roboslant, chancc, and plebians were right behind us (until Bistank got separated and ended up in front of the monster D:).
ALL of the members were pretty good looking. And all were wearing tight, shiny leather pants (that elicited several cat calls when they were setting up with their butts to the crowd O3O) and leather jackets (the exact same outfits that they wore in their felony MV actually). One the far left hand side of the stage was Ray. He almost looked part Chinese to me, but it might have been b/c of his heavy eye shadow. He looked habitually pissed off (or at least like he didn’t want to be there at all XD). Next to him was the bassist Kifumi who was definitely the most happy-go-lucky member. He was also the crowd favorite just because of his charisma and how he shouted something really loudly in English after his introduction. In the middle was Tomo the drummer, who despite not being close to the stage made his presence known in the introductions by also shouting something loudly in English (it’s just so funny to hear them do that!). On the far right was K the other guitarist that was just a cool persona. He was also the only one with orangish hair (dyed of course). And finally, the vocalist Ryouga who was all over the stage (though mainly in the middle, where we were 8D). He was also charismatic and definitely fulfilled his role as the voice of the band. His habit of yelling/growling at the crowd (rraaa, rraaa, rraaa) and then having us repeated it reminded me of Dio and Rentrer en Soi. It definitely got the crowd involved too.
I found the set list on Tomo’s blog:
10/30(金)Houston Marriott Westchase
1.THE GOD STAR
2.Dust pain
3.with hate
4.shrive
-se-
5.Tragedy
6.Extremly waltz
7.Innocent Bullet
-se-
8.Vermin's cry
9.ケミカルロマンス(Chemical Romance)
10.MAD whistle
11.COURTSHIP
12.shrive
en.COURTSHIP
Pretty early on, maybe after the first four or five songs, Ryouga got off the stage and decided to crowd surf a bit. He went to the right side and then to the left, but I think they dropped him (lame sauce) because he did not come to the middle. Still, this was definitely a good sign of things to come. I was really putting my all into moshing, and I was so out of practice! I got tired after just a few songs, lol. But it was probably also because we’d been standing for a long time with the freaking three other bands before this. But born’s music kept pounding away, just the beats I wanted to hear, and I couldn’t stop jumping and screaming and head banging. Plus we were so close and could see every band members’ moves. It was exhilarating - we’d never gotten so close so fast before! It was also HOT, which naturally meant that the lead singer had to spit water on us… yaaaaaaaaaaaaaayy. It was only okay when Miyavi did it. 8D But I don’t really like really like this aspect of concerts; eh I deal. More than anything I was just sad he was wasting the water because I was super thirsty!! At one point he even took a bottle and poured it over his head. In this case, however, the sight was so nice the wasted water was well worth it. ^o^
Another big step for born in the fandom sector was FAN SERVICE. ♥ OMG none have been so dirty and none have been seewwww good afternoon. Ryouga is a winnar. First he started licking the back end of the mic, then whooooooooo into the mouth it went!!! XD in and out and in an out…. Oohhh my. Then wheee! Down the pants it goes too! Then back in the mouth! Fufufufu so wunderfur. Plus Ryouga took the liberty of hugging/molesting Kifumi and kissing him! So gay-y I rub it! Plus Ryouga’s fly was open throughout the concert b/c roboslant willed it so.
Eventually, after a break, Ryouga said, “Last song!” And I was like what?? Already?! But he meant “last three songs,” which he said afterward. XD These three songs were epic, however, because during this time EVERY SINGLE BAND MEMBER STAGE DOVE. It was Dio all over again!! BUT BETTAH. Ryouga started it and he successfully “laid” on our section. He didn’t seem to want to go back on stage very fast though because even though I could tell the security guy was pulling him back he kept trying to lay over more of the crowd. I didn’t complain because this just meant that the struggle between the two of them left him suspended above us for longer! So I ended up running my fingers through his sweaty hair~~~ >w< Once Ryouga was back on stage and the concert was proceeding as usual, I began to notice, oh now that member doesn’t have an instrument. HUM I WONDER WHAT THAT MEANS. Next thing you know he’s on top of us too. XD I’m pretty sure Ray went next, which surprised me because of his stoic attitude throughout the whole concert. He didn’t want to be in the crowd too much though and was back on stage pretty fast. All the same, I touched him. ^o^ Next came Kifumi the one everyone was waiting for! He did a running jump onto us, but good thing we were ready for him! (Unlike poor Erina from last time). Everyone was all over him and he had a hard time getting back on stage. He had taken off his jacket and was just wearing a black wife beater - I heard it ripping as he was hoisted back on stage! Luckily it didn’t actually tear, but the shoulder strap was so loose that it wouldn’t stay on for the rest of the show. During the commotion K stage dove too but not on our section, alas. Ryouga stage dove again, and it was at this point, when plebians had somehow muscled her way in front of us, that she found his crotch so accessible and pondered groping it. Then finally, just before the encore Tomo stage dove too! I wasn’t as close as with the others but is still managed to run my hand down the length of his side as he was pulled back on stage. XD LOVE LOVE LOVE it when they stage dive! I’m so happy the last two bands that have come to Oni-con did it!
Actually, ellacrain and I learned the next day during their Q&A section that this was the first time every member stage dove. And it was Kifuni and Tomo’s first time to stage dive ever! *feels so honored* Lol and Ryouga also said that when he was crowd surfing some girl was rubbing his crotch and “he got excited.” XDD (when we heard this we immediately thought of plebians!)
After the concert we were all exhausted, so we ended up just going to bed around 2:30 AM.
Saturday, October 31, 2009 - HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
We ended up getting up around 10:00AM or so but we did not make it back downstairs until around 11 - 11:30. We went straight for the Dealer’s Room, but found a line (something that they had taken to doing b/c the Dealer’s Room was way too small and it got too crowded in there. One girl even had a seizure and had to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance.) Moreover, the wait for an elevator was hell because there were NO STAIRS. At all. “Only for emergencies” i.e. hidden in some random corner and armed with an alarm. This meant that even if you wanted to take the stairs to the top floor b/c the wait was so long, you couldn’t. This also meant that if you were on the second floor and wanted to go down via the stairs to expedite things, you couldn’t. BAD IDEA. The hotel was waaaayyy too small (something Oni-con should have learned the first two times they had it in a hotel) and I’m really sad that they didn’t have it in the convention center like usual. It just didn’t feel the same.
Anyway, though we tried to keep together, it didn’t happen, which is kind of a necessity when you do Secret Santa-esque games. Your person can’t know it’s you! And moreover, you usually confide in someone/someone finds out who you have so they help you pick your present. Just how it works~ ellacrain and I kept together. She had plebians (which I discovered b/c she said “I think I know who my person is.” And I was like, “wtf how can you not know?” And she said, “They didn’t write their name.” XD “OH SO YOU HAVE ANGIE.”) and I had analienrobot. I encouraged her to buy the cute Mario bag b/c I knew plebians would like it, and she found it funny that everything I bought for my Secret Magic Pumpkin I also bought for myself! (couldn’t help it…)
Around 2:00PM, while looking for the Artist Alley booth that had the Axel badges (it had disappeared b/c the booths kept playing musical chairs for some reason) ellacrain and I stumbled upon the born Q&A session. Completely by chance! How rucky! And the line was just going in so we didn’t have to wait at all~ Even still I had to drag ellacrain in. It was worth it though b/c the band members were hilarious. Such a good sense of humor! Some questions were kinda bland, but then you’d get a juicy one like, “What color underwear are you wearing right now?” only to find that a certain bassist ISN’T WEARING ANY UNDERWEAR AT ALL. ^o^ I really wish I could have recorded the whole thing b/c it was GOLD. What with Tomo (for “his ideal girl”) making his hands pop out in front of his chest while saying “BOING! BOING BOING! BOING BOING BOING BOING BOING!!!” XD He got really into it and even stood up to make curving gestures up and down while still shouting “BOING!!” There were so many times when the translator was laughing so hard she couldn’t tell us what they said until she calmed down. But it was okay b/c we were laughing too. Plus there were times when she just said, “ya… that doesn’t need translating!” And it didn’t. ^3^
For the question “where would you take a girl on the first date?”
K: my house
Ray: also my house
Ryouga: Dinner… and then my house
Kifumi: Movie, Dinner, then my house
Tomo: Movie, AFTER SEX. ZEN AFTER SEX. AFTER SEX. AFTER SEX. SEX. SEX.
I also love it when they ask “if the other members were girls, who would you date?” (fufufu, more gay rubu).
K: Ray [at least I think he said that]
Ray: K
Ryouga: Kifumi “b/c when I want to hug or kiss him he doesn’t move away” XDD
Kifumi: anyone but Ryouga! [LOL Ryouga pouted at this]
Tomo: [gah, I don’t remember… maybe Kifumi or K]
Then there was the “if you were stranded on an island which member would you take?”
K: Ryouga b/c he seems like he could find ways to survive, like catching fish
Ray: K [I think…]
Ryouga: [I forgot]
Kifumi: Ryouga b/c he seems reliable
Tomo: Ryouga “b/c I think he would be good at sex”
“What are some of the member’s bad habits” (to which they all go OHHHHHHHHHHH)
K: I wish Ryouga would be on time more!
Ray: Ya, Ryouga is often really late
Ryouga: K tells so many bad/dirty jokes… he really needs to stop b/c the “atmosphere is heavy now”
Kifumi: Ryouga needs to be on time
Tomo: Ryouga needs to be later so it doesn’t look as bad when I’m late
[lol Ryouga crossed his arms and squirmed and pouted like a kid throughout this whole question]
I wish I remembered more!! It was really good, and I’m glad we ran into this Q&A session! It always makes them seem more human. And I can’t get over that when I look at the pics they take for Cure and stuff they look so serious, but in real life they’re mostly goofy!
added mostly for my own memory....
Q: What kind of music do you like to listen to?
Ray: Techno
Q: Today's Halloween so what trick would you do if you didn't get a treat?
Kifumi: A big warm hug!
Tomo: SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Q: If you could get away with any kind of crime without punishment what would it be?
Ray: Close down Disney World!
Ryoga: Rape.
Tomo: I'M A PSYCHO. *Stands up and makes stab motions* KILL YOU. KILL YOU.
Q: What kind of a girl do you like?
K: Foreigners. Specially Americans.
Ray: Big boobs.
Kifumi: Anyone that comes to me.
Tomo: NICE BODY. BOOM *Does hand motions for big boobs* BOOM *Does hand motions for big ass* TOK TOK TOK *Imitates buttons popping off a shirt*
Q: What was the most embarrassing moment in your life?
One of the members: I remember calling my elementary school teacher mom once.
Another one of the members: I remember I was at the supermarket with my mom when I was little and I saw a snack I wanted. So I saw my mom's back and I ran to her screaming, "Mom!" but when she turned around it turned out to be an old lady I'd never met in my life.
Ryoga: Yesterday at the concert...when I was diving...a person was rubbing (or groping) my thing and they kept on doing that. I felt good! And then...something happened.
-Everyone laughs at this-
Kifumi: Well, lately I've been forgetting to do my laundry so sometimes I walk out of my house without any underwear on. That's pretty embarrassing.
Q: What color of underwear are you wearing?
K: Black with Mickey Mouse in the middle.
Kifumi: Crap! I'm not wearing any!
(THE MEMBERS HAD A KICK WITH THIS ONE. THEY WERE LIKE LOOKING IN THEIR PANTS AND STUFF LOL).
from syunistan's Oni-con post.
By the time the panel was done, everyone was finishing up their purchases and we were all starving. Time to go back up to the room and dress up in foil! OwO This was the first time I’d ever gotten free chipotle ever, but especially for dressing up in foil. It was fun and everyone got pretty creative with their “costumes.” We had no problem walking through the con with our foil on, and no one even really gave us a second glance, but as soon as we got out of the car in the Chipotle parking lot everything changed. It just felt odd! And it didn’t help that the people sitting outside in the adjacent Starbucks stared at us the whole way from the car to the Chipotle door. We were kinda loosing our nerve when an older couple came up and asked what the deal with the foil was b/c there were a lot of people in Chipotle wearing it. We all felt so relieved! And we told them it was b/c it was Halloween and you got free burritos if you dress up in foil. Still, when we walked in there was NO ONE dressed in foil! And the people behind the counter were like, “um we don’t start until 6:00PM” when I damn well read that they’d honor it all day. I told them so and they gave us free burritos~ ^o^ AND IT WAS THE BEST TATING BURRITO I’D EVER HAD. B/c I was starving. And it was free!
After our chipotle escapade we decided to do our Secret Magic Pumpkin reveal before the cosplay show. We wrapped our gifts in the extra foil and then it began!
Bianca got her desired Attari hat from Kevin
Kevin got a figurine from VJ
VJ got ze cute little birdie, fotz Axel badge, and free Manga Sutra porn from me
I got my desired Roxas key chain from Chrissie
Chrissie got porn a doujin from Bianca
Angie got a sweet Mario bag from Kaitlin
Kaitlin got ANOTHER BLACK MONOKOROBU from Angie
Lol at first Kaitlin was pretending nothing was wrong but we all knew it was not the right color!! She didn’t want a pair of black! She just wanted a pair! XD But it was all good b/c Angie swapped it no problem in the Dealers Room that stayed open till 8:00PM this night.
After wandering around the Dealers Room again we decided to get in line for the Cosplay Show. We all brought our DS-es and whipped them out for some dirty picto-chatting. There weren’t many random people in our room this time, which was probably a good thing. When the line finally started moving and we got closer to the room, I realized that there was going to be a big problem: we weren’t all going to fit! I think they were going to cut us off and just say “sorry leave.” But then they decided to line us up against the walls. I had been looking forward to sitting and watching the show. My feet were killing me, and so were everyone else’s. So we sat until the cosplayers started walking on stage. I know it’s mean and that a lot of work goes into cosplay… but pretty much ALL of them sucked. :/ There was not a single one that I thought, “OH THAT IS SO GOOD OMG.” There was “okay” at best. The two that I even remember were Princess Mononoke and a really cute full-body bear w/ a gun. The “skits” were even worse. Most involved dancing (namely Caramelldansen or Haruhi) or really horrible singing, or both. There were two One Piece skits in a row (WOW GREAT PLANNING THERE). By 9:30 I was done, plus I wanted to go to the born autograph session.
ellacrain was wonderful and came with me~ I’m really grateful girl b/c I know no one else would go w/ me ♥. The line wasn’t long (lol the elevator line was longer) and it moved pretty fast. We didn’t even have to buy anything to get an autograph! Though I’d have really liked a poster. I really wish I’d have left the free Cure pamphlet in my bag so they could have signed that! But as it was I used a small, pink piece of paper that was in my bag from the Dealers Room. First was Ray, who, despite his grumy-ish demeanor, clapped his hands and kinda nodded and said “Hai!” after he signed my paper. He did the same for Kaitlin. Next was Kifumi, who everyone was hugging, so I asked for a hug too. ^o^ He was so cute about it too. Then Ryouga, who everyone was also hugging and you could tell he loved the attention, so I asked for a hug from him too. He was really getting into the hugging thing and held on for a while, lol, and said “I RAB YOU.” XD adorable. Then was Tomo and then K. I kinda wanted a hug from all of them, but at the same time some of them did not look like they wanted to be hugged. Oh well, Kifumi and Ryouga was enough for me! ^^
Around 11:30 we headed to the Halloween Rave! It was the same white DJ guy from Echostream at the turn tables, but at least the music had a beat. They were throwing candy out to the crowd from the stage, so we went up front. After getting some candy, people started rushing the stage! So all of us except roboslant jumped on and started dancing up there. ^O^ The cool guitarist from Echostream was also there and analienrobot said he tried to dance w/ him, fufufu. Unfortunately so was Buranden, who I most certainly tried to avoid. They made us get off the stage though, but it was cool b/c really it’s kinda awkward being up there.
So we went to dancing in our group like usual, and really there is no dance like a fotz dance. Going dancing just isn’t the same w/out fotz! Therefore, the rave was a much needed dance w/ no reserve break. XD
At one point the DJ had us leave a circle open in the middle for ravers to do their thing. Everything was going fine (though I couldn’t see much) when suddenly chancc tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Look behind me!” with a D: face. At first I didn’t see anything then OH SHIT where my ID? where my ID? there was a nast guy grinding her ass into fine powder. Must save her!! So we pulled her up in front of us so he couldn’t get to her. I was glad chicnbebop was in the back to protect us! The guy mad and angry face when we took chacc away, but WHATEVER. That groce needed to be removed from the dance anyway. It was just so weird b/c this has never happened at a con before! No one usually bothers us!
And then, after the middle circle was done and we resumed our usual group dancing, I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was a guy, and he asked me to dance! (these things really never happen at cons… I was so surprised! roboslant said she got asked to dance too) What surprised me even more was that the guy was actually good looking. XD He was Asian and had a kinda mohawk; his style was kinda punk I guess. The weird thing is I know a guy that had the same face (or at least his face is really similar) but I know that the person I’m acquainted with is much taller. I told him, “No thanks.” But I dunno… I kinda regret it, kinda don’t. B/c I mean he was good looking! But at the same time I was w/ fotz and I don’t get to dance w/ them much anymore (plus I’m sure it’d be more fun w/ fotz). Plus there were two slutty girls on stage before and he tried to dance w/ them, and I sure did not want him to be dancing all up on me. So it was probably for the better, but I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if I said yes!
By around 12:45, analienrobot ordered a pizza to be delivered, and it arrived pretty fast, so we left the rave and returned to our room.
With pizza came Apples to Apples! (or Asses to Asses) and an onslaught of fotzery. “Wait, what happened to watching football??” and “taking a bath in soy sauce while spitting and barfing, and the CIA shoots your brains out. OOOOO SO REFRESHINGG!” and “Glacier! b/c it sunk the Titanic - WAIT THAT WAS AN ICEBURG.” and “Custard’s Last Stand is so not desperate.” We played until around 3:00 (thank goodness for the extra hour b/c we “fall back”). chancc was a pro, but somehow I out fotzed her this time! Then came some Dirty Minds. I took a shower while they played though. Some of those clues are really hard though!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Alas the dreaded morning came! The owari of Oni-con 2009! What we had waited so long for just rushed by so fast. Even though we got up earlier, with packing and putting our things in the cars, it still felt like a long time before we got down to the con again. It was a lot less crowded but also a lot of the Artist Alley booths were already gone. We waited to get into the Dealers Room and I finally bought my magazines, though they were not on sale as I had hoped. I also bought a Kine in Aqua poster (damn that booth!). And I realized just recently - this is the first con in FOREVER that I have not bought a single pin!! (Though I lost two T^T) There just weren’t any good ones this year… and our usual good booths were not present. It seems like a lot of things we usually do we did not do at this con. We didn’t even see a lot of the people we usually see. In a way it didn’t feel like Oni-con at all, and I feel kinda jipped. They better have it in the convention center next year!
chancc, roboslant, and plebians all left early. Shortly after, around 12:00, we all decided to depart as well. I didn’t want to leave, though there was nothing left to do there really. I missed being able to just sit around and look at our purchases like usual. I didn’t want to come back to reality and have to think about the shit loads of school work that I left behind. I’d miss fotz and continue to lament my choice of school. The world would turn grey like it always does after cons. And indeed, once I go on the road I cranked up all the born music I had and reveled in the screamo that matched my feelings. *le sigh* I swear I almost cried. Anime Matsuri cannot come fast enough!
LOOT
Kine in Aqua paper holders (like a little folder)
Satsuki
The guitarist from Echostream
Born (FUCKING GIRL AND YOUR BOW)
Tomo and Ryouga (LOL at the $5 Photo shoot sign that I just noticed. I pay nothing!)
As soon as class got out I booked it back to H-Town for my favorite con of the year! Though on the way down there were SEVERAL times I thought I would surely die because the weather was HORRIBLE - I couldn’t even see the front of my car for a good while there - I persisted and even managed to snag our group’s badges the Thursday before so we wouldn’t have to wait in line for them on Friday. Aren’t I naisu~
Friday, October 30, 2009
Though we planned on meeting up at the con around 11:30… it just didn’t happen. I went to get snacks, analienrobot and chicnbebop went to get Which Wich, and ellacrain was running late too. Even still I got there around 12:00 and proceeded to scope out the new venue. At that point it seemed alright, though as the weekend progressed its many faults became apparent. Deciding I was in need of caffeine I took the opportunity to walk over to the nearby Starbucks and grab me a iced double shot. After learning of everyone’s prolonged lateness, I decided to wander around the Dealer’s Room (ohhhh, my beautifurr. I have missed seeing you soooo) instead of waiting in the long line to check into the hotel. I managed two thorough rounds before getting a call from analienrobot saying that they had arrived. ellacrain came just after them. Back into the Dealer’s Room and straight into buying mode for analienrobot (which never happens!! O.O). After the “Secret Dealer’s Room” (it was actually just an overflow dealer’s room that was far from the main one), Artist Alley, and Main Dealer’s Room first run, he already had four figures and a Kine in Aqua folder. Ah so proud!! Big spenderrr. I was waiting for some fotz to get her before I bought anything, and I was trying to keep the spending to a minimum (don’t think that actually happened in the long run though); my first purchase was also at the Kine in Aqua booth (I bought part of a card deck and two paper holders). Once the first run though was done we considered waiting in line to get our hotel room, which brought up the topic of sleeping, which brought up the need for sleeping bags, which resulted in analienrobot calling chicnbebop a baka because he forgot them!! After we had told him several times! So they went to go back to chicnbebop’s house while ellacrain and I waited to get our hotel room. It took 40 minutes.
Later the rest of those nastehs got there. chancc had picked up roboslant and plebians from UT and they took FOREVER to get to the hotel! We decided it was because chancc drives like a blind grandma at 5mph. Once all fotz were present we went to go eat at La Madeline. NOM.
After that we fotzed in the room (including filling out our Secret Magic Pumpkin lists and distributing them) until we heard the sounds of the concert from below our window.
Click to viewCONSATO
The first three bands were BLECH. For one, why the hell do you book four bands in the first place?? And moreover, why have them all play on the same night? First one: ”Buranden” i.e. nast egotistical white boy that was obviously emulating the “Edward Cullen look” and sang in Japanese for a few songs then switched to ridiculously repetitive English songs. *delete from brain* Second: Satsuki. Okay, I like Satsuki’s music, don’t get me wrong, but he didn’t have a band and it was just him on the stage singing to recorded music… then when he switched to guitar (lol “where. is my. gii-tar. pick?) and piano they were short songs and ALL of them were ballad. It just wasn’t working… I still respect him as an artist though (unlike the others). Third, and by far the worst in my opinion, Echostream. Lead singer chick that sings ridic high and ridic slow with a white boy DJ that has the gall to say, “you needs to move around more - this is a rock concert.” UM BITCH NO. it is YOUR job to move us with you music - if it was GOOD we would be moving! And what’s more they WERE NOT paying rock. It was pretty much some kind of techno with a few guitar riffs here and there. And that’s what’s sad: they had a kick ass guitarist that was fun to just listen to when he was warming up (he rocked!) but none of the songs they played involved him actually playing much (just some chords). Echostream played for far too long and by the time they were done I was so happy. If I didn’t know that the next band was REAL rock I probably would have been crying in a dark corner by then.
Finally it was time for the LEGIT concert - born!! I had listened to a few of their songs but not enough to know any of them. All I knew was that they were J-ROCK, the kind I expect from Oni-con, the kind that makes you bang your head until you feel like passing out. And man did they DELIVER. As usual, after the concert, born had won another fan in me. By that point though analienrobot and chicnbebop had had enough, so they left. Nothing was moving me for the world.
Born started out as any good rock band should - with an intense screamo number that had everyone in the mosh pit jumping and screaming immediately. It was EXACTLY what I needed, and I knew it was what everyone else was expecting too. In the short break between shows we had managed to move our way really close to the sage (successfully maneuvering around the “monster” i.e. elephant sized man that smelled like a sweat bucket before the real concert even started. Oh and ellacrain fondly called him the “groper” because he kept turning around when he was in front of us and sticking his thigh sized arm all up in my face and the other general area). ellacrain and I were only a row or two behind the front bar and roboslant, chancc, and plebians were right behind us (until Bistank got separated and ended up in front of the monster D:).
ALL of the members were pretty good looking. And all were wearing tight, shiny leather pants (that elicited several cat calls when they were setting up with their butts to the crowd O3O) and leather jackets (the exact same outfits that they wore in their felony MV actually). One the far left hand side of the stage was Ray. He almost looked part Chinese to me, but it might have been b/c of his heavy eye shadow. He looked habitually pissed off (or at least like he didn’t want to be there at all XD). Next to him was the bassist Kifumi who was definitely the most happy-go-lucky member. He was also the crowd favorite just because of his charisma and how he shouted something really loudly in English after his introduction. In the middle was Tomo the drummer, who despite not being close to the stage made his presence known in the introductions by also shouting something loudly in English (it’s just so funny to hear them do that!). On the far right was K the other guitarist that was just a cool persona. He was also the only one with orangish hair (dyed of course). And finally, the vocalist Ryouga who was all over the stage (though mainly in the middle, where we were 8D). He was also charismatic and definitely fulfilled his role as the voice of the band. His habit of yelling/growling at the crowd (rraaa, rraaa, rraaa) and then having us repeated it reminded me of Dio and Rentrer en Soi. It definitely got the crowd involved too.
I found the set list on Tomo’s blog:
10/30(金)Houston Marriott Westchase
1.THE GOD STAR
2.Dust pain
3.with hate
4.shrive
-se-
5.Tragedy
6.Extremly waltz
7.Innocent Bullet
-se-
8.Vermin's cry
9.ケミカルロマンス(Chemical Romance)
10.MAD whistle
11.COURTSHIP
12.shrive
en.COURTSHIP
Pretty early on, maybe after the first four or five songs, Ryouga got off the stage and decided to crowd surf a bit. He went to the right side and then to the left, but I think they dropped him (lame sauce) because he did not come to the middle. Still, this was definitely a good sign of things to come. I was really putting my all into moshing, and I was so out of practice! I got tired after just a few songs, lol. But it was probably also because we’d been standing for a long time with the freaking three other bands before this. But born’s music kept pounding away, just the beats I wanted to hear, and I couldn’t stop jumping and screaming and head banging. Plus we were so close and could see every band members’ moves. It was exhilarating - we’d never gotten so close so fast before! It was also HOT, which naturally meant that the lead singer had to spit water on us… yaaaaaaaaaaaaaayy. It was only okay when Miyavi did it. 8D But I don’t really like really like this aspect of concerts; eh I deal. More than anything I was just sad he was wasting the water because I was super thirsty!! At one point he even took a bottle and poured it over his head. In this case, however, the sight was so nice the wasted water was well worth it. ^o^
Another big step for born in the fandom sector was FAN SERVICE. ♥ OMG none have been so dirty and none have been seewwww good afternoon. Ryouga is a winnar. First he started licking the back end of the mic, then whooooooooo into the mouth it went!!! XD in and out and in an out…. Oohhh my. Then wheee! Down the pants it goes too! Then back in the mouth! Fufufufu so wunderfur. Plus Ryouga took the liberty of hugging/molesting Kifumi and kissing him! So gay-y I rub it! Plus Ryouga’s fly was open throughout the concert b/c roboslant willed it so.
Eventually, after a break, Ryouga said, “Last song!” And I was like what?? Already?! But he meant “last three songs,” which he said afterward. XD These three songs were epic, however, because during this time EVERY SINGLE BAND MEMBER STAGE DOVE. It was Dio all over again!! BUT BETTAH. Ryouga started it and he successfully “laid” on our section. He didn’t seem to want to go back on stage very fast though because even though I could tell the security guy was pulling him back he kept trying to lay over more of the crowd. I didn’t complain because this just meant that the struggle between the two of them left him suspended above us for longer! So I ended up running my fingers through his sweaty hair~~~ >w< Once Ryouga was back on stage and the concert was proceeding as usual, I began to notice, oh now that member doesn’t have an instrument. HUM I WONDER WHAT THAT MEANS. Next thing you know he’s on top of us too. XD I’m pretty sure Ray went next, which surprised me because of his stoic attitude throughout the whole concert. He didn’t want to be in the crowd too much though and was back on stage pretty fast. All the same, I touched him. ^o^ Next came Kifumi the one everyone was waiting for! He did a running jump onto us, but good thing we were ready for him! (Unlike poor Erina from last time). Everyone was all over him and he had a hard time getting back on stage. He had taken off his jacket and was just wearing a black wife beater - I heard it ripping as he was hoisted back on stage! Luckily it didn’t actually tear, but the shoulder strap was so loose that it wouldn’t stay on for the rest of the show. During the commotion K stage dove too but not on our section, alas. Ryouga stage dove again, and it was at this point, when plebians had somehow muscled her way in front of us, that she found his crotch so accessible and pondered groping it. Then finally, just before the encore Tomo stage dove too! I wasn’t as close as with the others but is still managed to run my hand down the length of his side as he was pulled back on stage. XD LOVE LOVE LOVE it when they stage dive! I’m so happy the last two bands that have come to Oni-con did it!
Actually, ellacrain and I learned the next day during their Q&A section that this was the first time every member stage dove. And it was Kifuni and Tomo’s first time to stage dive ever! *feels so honored* Lol and Ryouga also said that when he was crowd surfing some girl was rubbing his crotch and “he got excited.” XDD (when we heard this we immediately thought of plebians!)
After the concert we were all exhausted, so we ended up just going to bed around 2:30 AM.
Saturday, October 31, 2009 - HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
We ended up getting up around 10:00AM or so but we did not make it back downstairs until around 11 - 11:30. We went straight for the Dealer’s Room, but found a line (something that they had taken to doing b/c the Dealer’s Room was way too small and it got too crowded in there. One girl even had a seizure and had to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance.) Moreover, the wait for an elevator was hell because there were NO STAIRS. At all. “Only for emergencies” i.e. hidden in some random corner and armed with an alarm. This meant that even if you wanted to take the stairs to the top floor b/c the wait was so long, you couldn’t. This also meant that if you were on the second floor and wanted to go down via the stairs to expedite things, you couldn’t. BAD IDEA. The hotel was waaaayyy too small (something Oni-con should have learned the first two times they had it in a hotel) and I’m really sad that they didn’t have it in the convention center like usual. It just didn’t feel the same.
Anyway, though we tried to keep together, it didn’t happen, which is kind of a necessity when you do Secret Santa-esque games. Your person can’t know it’s you! And moreover, you usually confide in someone/someone finds out who you have so they help you pick your present. Just how it works~ ellacrain and I kept together. She had plebians (which I discovered b/c she said “I think I know who my person is.” And I was like, “wtf how can you not know?” And she said, “They didn’t write their name.” XD “OH SO YOU HAVE ANGIE.”) and I had analienrobot. I encouraged her to buy the cute Mario bag b/c I knew plebians would like it, and she found it funny that everything I bought for my Secret Magic Pumpkin I also bought for myself! (couldn’t help it…)
Around 2:00PM, while looking for the Artist Alley booth that had the Axel badges (it had disappeared b/c the booths kept playing musical chairs for some reason) ellacrain and I stumbled upon the born Q&A session. Completely by chance! How rucky! And the line was just going in so we didn’t have to wait at all~ Even still I had to drag ellacrain in. It was worth it though b/c the band members were hilarious. Such a good sense of humor! Some questions were kinda bland, but then you’d get a juicy one like, “What color underwear are you wearing right now?” only to find that a certain bassist ISN’T WEARING ANY UNDERWEAR AT ALL. ^o^ I really wish I could have recorded the whole thing b/c it was GOLD. What with Tomo (for “his ideal girl”) making his hands pop out in front of his chest while saying “BOING! BOING BOING! BOING BOING BOING BOING BOING!!!” XD He got really into it and even stood up to make curving gestures up and down while still shouting “BOING!!” There were so many times when the translator was laughing so hard she couldn’t tell us what they said until she calmed down. But it was okay b/c we were laughing too. Plus there were times when she just said, “ya… that doesn’t need translating!” And it didn’t. ^3^
For the question “where would you take a girl on the first date?”
K: my house
Ray: also my house
Ryouga: Dinner… and then my house
Kifumi: Movie, Dinner, then my house
Tomo: Movie, AFTER SEX. ZEN AFTER SEX. AFTER SEX. AFTER SEX. SEX. SEX.
I also love it when they ask “if the other members were girls, who would you date?” (fufufu, more gay rubu).
K: Ray [at least I think he said that]
Ray: K
Ryouga: Kifumi “b/c when I want to hug or kiss him he doesn’t move away” XDD
Kifumi: anyone but Ryouga! [LOL Ryouga pouted at this]
Tomo: [gah, I don’t remember… maybe Kifumi or K]
Then there was the “if you were stranded on an island which member would you take?”
K: Ryouga b/c he seems like he could find ways to survive, like catching fish
Ray: K [I think…]
Ryouga: [I forgot]
Kifumi: Ryouga b/c he seems reliable
Tomo: Ryouga “b/c I think he would be good at sex”
“What are some of the member’s bad habits” (to which they all go OHHHHHHHHHHH)
K: I wish Ryouga would be on time more!
Ray: Ya, Ryouga is often really late
Ryouga: K tells so many bad/dirty jokes… he really needs to stop b/c the “atmosphere is heavy now”
Kifumi: Ryouga needs to be on time
Tomo: Ryouga needs to be later so it doesn’t look as bad when I’m late
[lol Ryouga crossed his arms and squirmed and pouted like a kid throughout this whole question]
I wish I remembered more!! It was really good, and I’m glad we ran into this Q&A session! It always makes them seem more human. And I can’t get over that when I look at the pics they take for Cure and stuff they look so serious, but in real life they’re mostly goofy!
added mostly for my own memory....
Q: What kind of music do you like to listen to?
Ray: Techno
Q: Today's Halloween so what trick would you do if you didn't get a treat?
Kifumi: A big warm hug!
Tomo: SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Q: If you could get away with any kind of crime without punishment what would it be?
Ray: Close down Disney World!
Ryoga: Rape.
Tomo: I'M A PSYCHO. *Stands up and makes stab motions* KILL YOU. KILL YOU.
Q: What kind of a girl do you like?
K: Foreigners. Specially Americans.
Ray: Big boobs.
Kifumi: Anyone that comes to me.
Tomo: NICE BODY. BOOM *Does hand motions for big boobs* BOOM *Does hand motions for big ass* TOK TOK TOK *Imitates buttons popping off a shirt*
Q: What was the most embarrassing moment in your life?
One of the members: I remember calling my elementary school teacher mom once.
Another one of the members: I remember I was at the supermarket with my mom when I was little and I saw a snack I wanted. So I saw my mom's back and I ran to her screaming, "Mom!" but when she turned around it turned out to be an old lady I'd never met in my life.
Ryoga: Yesterday at the concert...when I was diving...a person was rubbing (or groping) my thing and they kept on doing that. I felt good! And then...something happened.
-Everyone laughs at this-
Kifumi: Well, lately I've been forgetting to do my laundry so sometimes I walk out of my house without any underwear on. That's pretty embarrassing.
Q: What color of underwear are you wearing?
K: Black with Mickey Mouse in the middle.
Kifumi: Crap! I'm not wearing any!
(THE MEMBERS HAD A KICK WITH THIS ONE. THEY WERE LIKE LOOKING IN THEIR PANTS AND STUFF LOL).
from syunistan's Oni-con post.
By the time the panel was done, everyone was finishing up their purchases and we were all starving. Time to go back up to the room and dress up in foil! OwO This was the first time I’d ever gotten free chipotle ever, but especially for dressing up in foil. It was fun and everyone got pretty creative with their “costumes.” We had no problem walking through the con with our foil on, and no one even really gave us a second glance, but as soon as we got out of the car in the Chipotle parking lot everything changed. It just felt odd! And it didn’t help that the people sitting outside in the adjacent Starbucks stared at us the whole way from the car to the Chipotle door. We were kinda loosing our nerve when an older couple came up and asked what the deal with the foil was b/c there were a lot of people in Chipotle wearing it. We all felt so relieved! And we told them it was b/c it was Halloween and you got free burritos if you dress up in foil. Still, when we walked in there was NO ONE dressed in foil! And the people behind the counter were like, “um we don’t start until 6:00PM” when I damn well read that they’d honor it all day. I told them so and they gave us free burritos~ ^o^ AND IT WAS THE BEST TATING BURRITO I’D EVER HAD. B/c I was starving. And it was free!
After our chipotle escapade we decided to do our Secret Magic Pumpkin reveal before the cosplay show. We wrapped our gifts in the extra foil and then it began!
Bianca got her desired Attari hat from Kevin
Kevin got a figurine from VJ
VJ got ze cute little birdie, fotz Axel badge, and free Manga Sutra porn from me
I got my desired Roxas key chain from Chrissie
Chrissie got porn a doujin from Bianca
Angie got a sweet Mario bag from Kaitlin
Kaitlin got ANOTHER BLACK MONOKOROBU from Angie
Lol at first Kaitlin was pretending nothing was wrong but we all knew it was not the right color!! She didn’t want a pair of black! She just wanted a pair! XD But it was all good b/c Angie swapped it no problem in the Dealers Room that stayed open till 8:00PM this night.
After wandering around the Dealers Room again we decided to get in line for the Cosplay Show. We all brought our DS-es and whipped them out for some dirty picto-chatting. There weren’t many random people in our room this time, which was probably a good thing. When the line finally started moving and we got closer to the room, I realized that there was going to be a big problem: we weren’t all going to fit! I think they were going to cut us off and just say “sorry leave.” But then they decided to line us up against the walls. I had been looking forward to sitting and watching the show. My feet were killing me, and so were everyone else’s. So we sat until the cosplayers started walking on stage. I know it’s mean and that a lot of work goes into cosplay… but pretty much ALL of them sucked. :/ There was not a single one that I thought, “OH THAT IS SO GOOD OMG.” There was “okay” at best. The two that I even remember were Princess Mononoke and a really cute full-body bear w/ a gun. The “skits” were even worse. Most involved dancing (namely Caramelldansen or Haruhi) or really horrible singing, or both. There were two One Piece skits in a row (WOW GREAT PLANNING THERE). By 9:30 I was done, plus I wanted to go to the born autograph session.
ellacrain was wonderful and came with me~ I’m really grateful girl b/c I know no one else would go w/ me ♥. The line wasn’t long (lol the elevator line was longer) and it moved pretty fast. We didn’t even have to buy anything to get an autograph! Though I’d have really liked a poster. I really wish I’d have left the free Cure pamphlet in my bag so they could have signed that! But as it was I used a small, pink piece of paper that was in my bag from the Dealers Room. First was Ray, who, despite his grumy-ish demeanor, clapped his hands and kinda nodded and said “Hai!” after he signed my paper. He did the same for Kaitlin. Next was Kifumi, who everyone was hugging, so I asked for a hug too. ^o^ He was so cute about it too. Then Ryouga, who everyone was also hugging and you could tell he loved the attention, so I asked for a hug from him too. He was really getting into the hugging thing and held on for a while, lol, and said “I RAB YOU.” XD adorable. Then was Tomo and then K. I kinda wanted a hug from all of them, but at the same time some of them did not look like they wanted to be hugged. Oh well, Kifumi and Ryouga was enough for me! ^^
Around 11:30 we headed to the Halloween Rave! It was the same white DJ guy from Echostream at the turn tables, but at least the music had a beat. They were throwing candy out to the crowd from the stage, so we went up front. After getting some candy, people started rushing the stage! So all of us except roboslant jumped on and started dancing up there. ^O^ The cool guitarist from Echostream was also there and analienrobot said he tried to dance w/ him, fufufu. Unfortunately so was Buranden, who I most certainly tried to avoid. They made us get off the stage though, but it was cool b/c really it’s kinda awkward being up there.
So we went to dancing in our group like usual, and really there is no dance like a fotz dance. Going dancing just isn’t the same w/out fotz! Therefore, the rave was a much needed dance w/ no reserve break. XD
At one point the DJ had us leave a circle open in the middle for ravers to do their thing. Everything was going fine (though I couldn’t see much) when suddenly chancc tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Look behind me!” with a D: face. At first I didn’t see anything then OH SHIT where my ID? where my ID? there was a nast guy grinding her ass into fine powder. Must save her!! So we pulled her up in front of us so he couldn’t get to her. I was glad chicnbebop was in the back to protect us! The guy mad and angry face when we took chacc away, but WHATEVER. That groce needed to be removed from the dance anyway. It was just so weird b/c this has never happened at a con before! No one usually bothers us!
And then, after the middle circle was done and we resumed our usual group dancing, I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was a guy, and he asked me to dance! (these things really never happen at cons… I was so surprised! roboslant said she got asked to dance too) What surprised me even more was that the guy was actually good looking. XD He was Asian and had a kinda mohawk; his style was kinda punk I guess. The weird thing is I know a guy that had the same face (or at least his face is really similar) but I know that the person I’m acquainted with is much taller. I told him, “No thanks.” But I dunno… I kinda regret it, kinda don’t. B/c I mean he was good looking! But at the same time I was w/ fotz and I don’t get to dance w/ them much anymore (plus I’m sure it’d be more fun w/ fotz). Plus there were two slutty girls on stage before and he tried to dance w/ them, and I sure did not want him to be dancing all up on me. So it was probably for the better, but I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if I said yes!
By around 12:45, analienrobot ordered a pizza to be delivered, and it arrived pretty fast, so we left the rave and returned to our room.
With pizza came Apples to Apples! (or Asses to Asses) and an onslaught of fotzery. “Wait, what happened to watching football??” and “taking a bath in soy sauce while spitting and barfing, and the CIA shoots your brains out. OOOOO SO REFRESHINGG!” and “Glacier! b/c it sunk the Titanic - WAIT THAT WAS AN ICEBURG.” and “Custard’s Last Stand is so not desperate.” We played until around 3:00 (thank goodness for the extra hour b/c we “fall back”). chancc was a pro, but somehow I out fotzed her this time! Then came some Dirty Minds. I took a shower while they played though. Some of those clues are really hard though!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Alas the dreaded morning came! The owari of Oni-con 2009! What we had waited so long for just rushed by so fast. Even though we got up earlier, with packing and putting our things in the cars, it still felt like a long time before we got down to the con again. It was a lot less crowded but also a lot of the Artist Alley booths were already gone. We waited to get into the Dealers Room and I finally bought my magazines, though they were not on sale as I had hoped. I also bought a Kine in Aqua poster (damn that booth!). And I realized just recently - this is the first con in FOREVER that I have not bought a single pin!! (Though I lost two T^T) There just weren’t any good ones this year… and our usual good booths were not present. It seems like a lot of things we usually do we did not do at this con. We didn’t even see a lot of the people we usually see. In a way it didn’t feel like Oni-con at all, and I feel kinda jipped. They better have it in the convention center next year!
chancc, roboslant, and plebians all left early. Shortly after, around 12:00, we all decided to depart as well. I didn’t want to leave, though there was nothing left to do there really. I missed being able to just sit around and look at our purchases like usual. I didn’t want to come back to reality and have to think about the shit loads of school work that I left behind. I’d miss fotz and continue to lament my choice of school. The world would turn grey like it always does after cons. And indeed, once I go on the road I cranked up all the born music I had and reveled in the screamo that matched my feelings. *le sigh* I swear I almost cried. Anime Matsuri cannot come fast enough!
LOOT
Kine in Aqua paper holders (like a little folder)
Satsuki
The guitarist from Echostream
Born (FUCKING GIRL AND YOUR BOW)
Tomo and Ryouga (LOL at the $5 Photo shoot sign that I just noticed. I pay nothing!)