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I went to Boston! And yes, James happened to be there at the same time. What? Coincidence! You believe me, right? :-D Actually, this trip was to make up for not going to DragonCon. But it was especially fun because I'd never been to Boston, and I LOVED seeing the historical sites. So I was a happy tourist while not at the New England Comic Con, getting my geek on. I thought I'd share some reportage and piccies.
It's kinda long, but if you just want the Jamesy portions (I CAN NOT BLAME YOU) just scroll down to the Saturday and Sunday bits.
First, a little preview of James walking on stage for his concert. Man in motion.
Thursday, Oct 14
Alrighty, so! My awesome roomie (Rosie) and I got to Boston on Thursday, which was a day before the con began. We almost immediately set out to find historical sites. Because, who wouldn't, right? (These pics of Boston were all taken with my CrackBerry!)
Starting at Boston Common, we walked to places like the Granary Burying Ground (final resting place of Paul Revere, John Hancock and Samuel Adams).
The Boston Massacre site. See where that red umbrella is? There.
Faneuil Hall, where opposition to British authority began.
Paul Revere's house.
The Old North Church. One if by land, two if by sea!
Now Rosie, being a Brit, was feeling rather guilty going to these sites. I hope it didn't have anything to do with my running commentary. ::whistles innocently:: "Oh look, THIS IS WHERE THE BOSTON MASSACRE WAS." Or: "Hey Rosie, why did y'all raise the tax on tea, anyway? We'd all still be talking Brit if you hadn't." :-D Rosie, she's a trooper to put up with me. ::squishes her::
And speaking of tea, Rosie was close to expiring because of missing tea time, so we made our way back to the Faneuil Hall area where Quincy Market is. That's Rosie with the red hair. It turned out that Quincy Market was THE place to be. The shopping. THE FOOD. Yeah.
Rosie had her first ever bowl of clam chowder there. She thought it was bloody brilliant. \o/ The next day, we went back. Rosie got the lobster roll and lobster bisque. I got baked oysters. Then we went back the following day and Rosie tried the baked oysters for herself. A world of NOM.
I've gotta share about these bags that I found at Quincy Market. They roll up really small. But wait! When you need them they unfurl into giant baggy goodness! How did I live without these before? I DON'T KNOW.
Friday, Oct 15
On Friday, the weather tried to derail our plans to traipse around Boston again. We're talking 50 mph winds, rain and cold. But because Rosie and I are both awesome, we weren't gonna let a little weather deter us (much.) OK, we were nearly knocked off our feet a couple of times, but that made it that much more festive! What we did is walk to Quincy Market, and do some shopping/eating to stay out of the elements.
Then off to the con! It was only open between 5 and 9pm on Friday. While we were waiting to get our badges, Froggy came out and told us that James' plane had been delayed, so he wouldn't be appearing at the con until the next day (Saturday). No biggie for me because I wasn't planning on getting a photo op on Friday anyway, and that was the only thing James was scheduled to do. So I just had fun looking around the exhibit hall.
I had already gotten a Grave Spike (all hurt, no comfort) figure included with my registration packet.
But I also scored some comics AND a Harsh Light of Day Spike Palz! Oh my gosh, have you seen this? It's the best action figure ever! And possibly the smallest, dunno. But yay! They painted in his cheekbones. And check out his six pack. Hee! But the best feature is his rotating head. You take his hair off, rotate his head, and eeek! Scary vamp face! ::lurves::
There was also Jabba the Hutt complete with gross moving tongue.
Saturday, Oct 16
Saturday was the busiest con day, including Q&As, photo ops and a concert. First up was the Q&A in the smallest room ever (he said that we being there made it the coolest 300 sq. feet in the universe, haha.) I got a seat along the side so I could stand up to get some pics. When James first came in, they spent a few minutes inducting him into the New England Stormtrooper 50-something something.
Then it was time for ogling! Yay!
Highlights, lowlights, and just lights of the Q&A:
Most terrifying time in his life was NOT when he was knifed or had a bottle shoved in his face, it was when his child was born. He knew then that he would go to L.A. and "whore himself out". And that's why he's in front of us (at the Q&A).
He used to jack cars.
He was the one person who could get away with clocking SMG during fight scenes, and she would feel the whoosh of air going by her face. So in retaliation her fist would get really close to his nose, and actually make contact (barely). He also said that he was the one person who could put SMG in her place, and he would have fun dissing her to her face. His favorite person was Tony "We don't say it like that, you prat" Head.
There was a monster on Buffy that was a spongy giant puppet, and it got all wet and soggy, so the puppeteers left (!) and James had to fight the puppet, so he took its arm and started whacking himself with it. :-D He did the same on Angel in the puppet ep.
He views doing love scenes like it's prostitution. He bit John Barrowman while doing the kissing scene on Torchwood. And this news just in: He prefers kissing JB. (And who wouldn't? nom nom)
His most rewarding role was Spike. More depth than Hamlet, yo.
Fan: What was it like doing the almost rape scene?
James: I almost committed suicide.
Fan: For real?
James: Yeah.
But it got him into therapy, and his girlfriend's happy about that.
He's got a man crush on Tom Welling.
A novel based on his life would be a comedy called "Let's Try It Again."
And that's the Q&A in a coupla nutshells!
Next up for me was a lunch break, which meant missing Nick Brendon's Q&A. Aw, I missed the Snoopy Dance. Possibly tragic, that. But I did end up with a really nice lunch which included lobster bisque and some type of mysterious fish I'd never heard of before. Bon bons for dessert. I ate bon bons while missing the Snoopy Dance.
I got back in time for the Charisma Carpenter Q&A. Sat in the back so I could inconspicuously slip out when it was time to get my James photo op. She's gorgeous and funny, and really quite sweet. My favorite part was when she heard the Obama rally noise and was all, "Q&A here, hello! Don't you know who I am?" LOL
I did indeed slip out before Charisma finished. Luckily she didn't take it personally. I went into the bathroom and put some makeup on in a vain effort to look presentable for my one and only photo op with James. Ended up near the back of the line, and finally got my turn. When I was handing my bags to Steve, I hear James yelling. lol He was yelling at me. So I look at him and he yells again.
James: Hey! It's so great to see you. Are you doing all right?
Me: [Am I doing all right? Do I look ill? I knew I should have used some blush.] Yeah.
James: I'm all right too. [Squishes me like whoa. Big huge hug that lasts forever. Big smile. We pose, James looks adorable, I slouch, pic is taken, we separate.] Yeah, my son's grades are up and my niece has friends. So everything's great.
Me: [Aw, yay.] That's wonderful, James. [I figure Froggy's probably staring death rays at me, so...] I'll see you later. [We shake hands.]
And we parted. I'm not usually one who enjoys photo ops that much. But I thought that was fun.
Up next was the concert. It wasn't for another three hours or so, but we wanted to get a good spot in line, so off we went. Handy that they had seats along side the hallway. So we chilled there, talking with our line mates until the gig. When we were let in (same room that held the Q&A), I again got a seat on the side against the wall so I could stand up. Lighting was blue! I love blue lighting for some odd reason!
He was quite talkative during this concert, which is always a good thing. He said that Sullivan watches him sing on YouTube and then tells him things like, "Dad, you messed up on the third verse." Haha. Keeping it real.
Also, he talked about playing at "14 Below" with Sullivan. He called it that because he couldn't remember its new name. (But can you blame him? It's "The Central Social Aid and Pleasure Club". o.O) He was happy that we were all SRO (standing room only). Said that made him feel really good about himself. But really, the room was so small, they had no choice but to make most of it standing.
James describing playing catch with his son. James sucked at baseball in high school and said he was the worst catcher in history, and he caught it in the balls a few times. :-D His son excels at it, and is the best pitcher in the county.
OK, who thought it was a good idea to ask James to sing "Rest in Peace"? Because, bad idea! lol That's really what was happening here.
Set list:
All That She Wanted
Layabout (Sullivan wrote part of this song.)
Moonshoot (Says he's kinda embarrassed now to play without his son. Aw. Told about how he felt claustrophobic and was having nightmares of drowning when he was filming Moonshot.)
For What I Need (Said afterward that he hoped he was half the musician as we are as an audience.)
Angel (Said he wrote this for his former girlfriend who was a porn star and a wonderful person. Afterward, he said that one is always for Helena.)
Truth is a Heavy Stone
London City (He tuned his guitar right before singing this one. Said it sounded good enough for government work. Afterward, he said that while he's playing, he always thinks he should stop because we're bored and he should just let us go to the bar. But then when the songs are over, we all clap, and he's like, "Wow!")
Don't Worry Son (He said he wished his son was there playing with him. And then starting telling a story about how SMG would ask for special lighting on set which was time consuming, so that took time away from his son, and he can't quite forgive her for that. Every other week he would drive 350 miles to visit his son, and "Don't Worry Son" was written about that.)
Finer Than Gold (Says it's a very serious song about giving his girlfriend the wrong gift. He was joking about it being serious, but then said it actually is. Afterward he said that's why all males need to learn three chords. He says that's all he knows.)
Too Fast (Said it's about Eliza Dushku.)
Goodbye (Said it's one of the first songs he wrote, and it's about self pity. Afterward, he said it's another reason why guys should learn three chords because every time you sing songs like that, you get revenge. Haha. Then he added, "On beautiful, wonderful, human, female people." [That's so true about his songs. Many are revenge songs. My favorite being Over Now.])
Dance Slow (After this one, he said that love is worth the pain. Last week, he was ready to give it up. This week he's like, "Marry Me!" Someone in the audience yelled, "Right here!" lol He thanked her, but said he's found his.)
Dangerous (Said it's about Michelle Trachtenburg. And because he said that, it got a lot of laughs. First time I've heard a crowd react that way to this song.)
Button Down Vandals (First song he ever wrote. He was writing it while in his apartment in Queens, New York, on the phone with his friend Gordon Hart. It's about their wild childhoods.)
James said that everyone should come to California to see Ghost of the Robot perform. Said they've got the best drummer, bassist, and lead guitarist on earth. Sadly they lost their rhythm guitarist (Steve Sellers) to drugs. But Sullivan is going to replace him. Random alert! He said he's Unitarian and so he gives good back rubs. They used to talk about nuclear disarmament and gave back rubs in church. He loved that church. lol)
Smile (After singing this, he pointed out that he has a bad cut on his finger. He said we give him as much pity as his kids do: zero. And he loves it. :))
Cowboy Song (Tells about being very serious about that cowboy movie he did, and writing the backstory about why his character was going to be hanged. And that's how this song came about. He got emotional while singing it.)
And that was the last song! He said we rocked and that he loves us. And he was gone.
After the concert, Rosie and I rounded up Patti and we went looking for somewhere to eat. Next door at the Prudential building was the perfect place to find something, and we eventually found a Cheesecake Factory! Briefly saw Steve Himber and company there, but they took a look at the wait and decided to look elsewhere. Erm. Who turns down cheesecake just because there's a long wait? SERIOUSLY, THAT'S MESSED UP. We eventually got our table, and had a delicious meal and solved all the problems of the world. Don't you love it when you can save the world over dinner? I just had artichoke dip so I'd have enough room left for a slice of this amazing layer cake. My momma didn't raise no fool.
Rosie and I caught the train back to the hotel. Poor Patti, who was staying further away at another place, was too late for the train, so she had to catch an expensive taxi.
Sunday, Oct 17
Sunday was the last day of the con. There was a screening of Chance (starring Amber Benson and James) with a Q&A by Amber. I hadn't seen Chance in a while, so that was fun. Aw, great seeing Andy Hallett too. Amber was very sweet during her Q&A, answering questions on any subject. She said she was happy to get James into a dress in Chance. And she used James as inspiration when playing her vampire role in Supernatural.
My main goal for Sunday was to get my James autograph. At San Diego Comic Con, James had left before some of us got there on his last day. No autos for us! Woe. I was determined not to let that happen again. So first thing on Sunday, I went over to the auto area, and found Helen (James' assistant at some cons) and Craig (Steve's partner). I started to walk over to them, when I'm intercepted by someone that works at the con. She says I can't go over there. Perplexed, because there weren't any famous people sitting there at that time, and therefore didn't know why I should be prohibited, I explained that I needed to ask the two people sitting at the table when James Marsters was going to stop doing autographs today. OH NO, says she. She can't have me asking a PERSONAL question like that. No, really. She said that. o.O Clearly, she thought I had said I wanted to ask them where James' hotel room was and if he still goes commando. But I was done with my visit to the Twilight Zone, so I just said, "They know me." And that's all she needed hear. I was allowed to go up and ask them my question. Damn if after all that, they didn't know the answer. lol They said Steve would know. So I found Steve later manning the photo op booth, and asked him. He didn't even blink an eye at how personal I was getting, and said 4pm. Next time I'll try the commando question. Anyway, good thing I showed up a couple hours early, because James left early. Haha. To be fair, they did make an announcement over the loud speaker for last call. But still! Life lesson learned: Always show up hours early to James auto sessions if you actually want him to be there.
On his way to the autograph table, James stops to talk with some fans. After he was escorted away from the fans, ::cue Twilight Zone music AGAIN:: a con person told me that she regretted that I'd gotten those pics. I just smiled agreeably and backed away slowly, making no sudden moves.
Being escorted to the autograph area.
I got photos of James signing stuff! I took them while standing in line waiting for my auto, and the con staff didn't say strange things to me! WTH con staff, just when I thought I had you figured out, you go and surprise me! :-P Have you all noticed the straight hair? Yeah, I miss the curls too. They got obliterated by the Three Inches peeps. Don't make me hate you, Three Inches peeps.
All right. So. I had brought my Ghost of the Robot 2.0 t-shirt for James to sign (see pic below.) I even wrote on a piece of paper what I hoped he would write on it. "The Central. Oct 2, 2010" which of course was the venue and date of their reunion concert.
Right when I was about to be able to speak to James, Steve interrupted and said he had sweet nothings to say to James. lol So I waited. The sweet nothings were about his flight out. James told Steve that if he (James) was fucked, so was Steve. Haha. That was a reference to the screw up with James' arriving flight. Anyway, Steve turned to me and said James was all mine. (IS THAT LEGALLY BINDING? ::iz hopeful::)
James: Hey Becky... [smiles]
Me: Hi. [I hand over the t-shirt.] Instead of writing my name, could you write this? [I show him the paper with "The Central. Oct 2, 2010" written on it.]
James: Yeah! [He signs it.]
Me: I had so much fun that night.
James: That was a magical night for me. As a human being, that was the pinnacle of my experience. Seeing my son rock it, oh god. And for him, it was huge. It's amazing, he doesn't understand how attractive he is, he doesn't understand how talented he is. Woman fall all over him and he just doesn't get it. He always falls in love with girls he can't have. He's fourteen, and his ego is just building itself, and so that was just huge for him.
Me: Is he a lot like you?
James: He's just like me. Well, all the good parts. [He laughs.] Well, he's a little more competent than I am. And he's a little less rash. Oftentimes he'll say, "Dad, I don't think that's a bad person, actually. You just don't understand him."
Me: Cool.
James: Yeah. He's a very cool guy.
Me: I have some videos to give you (from the GotR gig), since you asked for them. There's some of you and Sullivan.
James: [He gasps.]
Me: I didn't know you'd want them, so I cut off some of them. Sorry.
James: That's OK! [waves the DVDs around] This was the best night of his life. He made me take pictures of the pictures I got with my cell phone and text him the pictures because he couldn't wait. (Hee!)
Me: I've got some photos in there too. Of him, and of you and him together, it's great...
James: ...and Aaron and Kevin. [At this point, both James and I are squeeing together, fist pumping and all. lol]
Me: Yeah! [Squeeee! But my time is running out, and I have something important to ask so...] I then asked him if he would [blank] at [blank], to which he said, [blank]! Happy to hear that, I then said, [blankity blank blank], and so he [blanked] and gave it to me. Mission accomplished! LOL I crack myself up sometimes! But I really did ask him something WHICH I CAN'T REVEAL. Ugh. Don't you hate it when people do that in reports? Like why even mention it, if you're not going to tell all. Yeah, that's right. I suck! I hate myself for typing this! Only not! Because this is a really good secret, that hopefully won't be secret forever, and then I can squee about it with everyone. (And if it doesn't work out, then I'll be the only one who'll be bummed. Haha.)
Awesome auto on Ghost of the Robot shirt:
And that was my auto experience. Lots o' fun with mysterious ending. ::shifty eyes::
Oh! One last thing about the autograph session. James knew my name. Unless Steve was behind me holding up a sign to James which said, "Hi, this is Becky and she'll be your fan today!" in which case, James was just reading it off his cue card, and he really doesn't know my name. All I know is that I didn't give it to Helen to write down. So! I guess he knows it. Maybe kinda sorta.
No Sharpie incidents to report.
I had missed Clare Kramer and Mercedes McNab's Q&A, so it was nifty getting to see them at the autograph table:
I took a last walk around the exhibit hall. Earlier I'd found a Spike ornament! I loved it so much, I got two.
And I also got a Subway Spike. Rawr.
Got some more comics, if Spike was on the cover. One of my favorites being this Comic Con exclusive, where Spike is burning Twilight's mask. Bizarre though appropriate.
Aaaand. I bought some season 8 comics. You know, the final arc with Spike? Yeah. I'm not sure if I hate myself for that or not. Time will tell. ;)
Before I knew it, Rosie was ready to leave, so we headed out to Quincy Market again. Gee, what were we gonna do there? :-D We both got baked oysters. I got lobster bisque too. And then we followed that up with a chocolate truffle bomb. Oh yes. We know how to eat our way through Boston.
Can you tell I had a fantastic time? \o/ Awesome sights were seen. (And as I left through Logan Airport where they use the Naked Scanners, I was seen in Boston too. Full Monty! The scanner person asked me out! Haha. Joking, natch.) It was great spending time with friends and squeeing with James! :-D
There are more Comic Con pics to be found here:
Autographs
Q&A
Concert
Big yays and thanks to seapealsh for the candy cane, and ghostgirl13, oanimation and chic_c for the holiday presents! xoxo
Cookies and mad props to any who made it through this whole post. :-D
It's kinda long, but if you just want the Jamesy portions (I CAN NOT BLAME YOU) just scroll down to the Saturday and Sunday bits.
First, a little preview of James walking on stage for his concert. Man in motion.
Thursday, Oct 14
Alrighty, so! My awesome roomie (Rosie) and I got to Boston on Thursday, which was a day before the con began. We almost immediately set out to find historical sites. Because, who wouldn't, right? (These pics of Boston were all taken with my CrackBerry!)
Starting at Boston Common, we walked to places like the Granary Burying Ground (final resting place of Paul Revere, John Hancock and Samuel Adams).
The Boston Massacre site. See where that red umbrella is? There.
Faneuil Hall, where opposition to British authority began.
Paul Revere's house.
The Old North Church. One if by land, two if by sea!
Now Rosie, being a Brit, was feeling rather guilty going to these sites. I hope it didn't have anything to do with my running commentary. ::whistles innocently:: "Oh look, THIS IS WHERE THE BOSTON MASSACRE WAS." Or: "Hey Rosie, why did y'all raise the tax on tea, anyway? We'd all still be talking Brit if you hadn't." :-D Rosie, she's a trooper to put up with me. ::squishes her::
And speaking of tea, Rosie was close to expiring because of missing tea time, so we made our way back to the Faneuil Hall area where Quincy Market is. That's Rosie with the red hair. It turned out that Quincy Market was THE place to be. The shopping. THE FOOD. Yeah.
Rosie had her first ever bowl of clam chowder there. She thought it was bloody brilliant. \o/ The next day, we went back. Rosie got the lobster roll and lobster bisque. I got baked oysters. Then we went back the following day and Rosie tried the baked oysters for herself. A world of NOM.
I've gotta share about these bags that I found at Quincy Market. They roll up really small. But wait! When you need them they unfurl into giant baggy goodness! How did I live without these before? I DON'T KNOW.
Friday, Oct 15
On Friday, the weather tried to derail our plans to traipse around Boston again. We're talking 50 mph winds, rain and cold. But because Rosie and I are both awesome, we weren't gonna let a little weather deter us (much.) OK, we were nearly knocked off our feet a couple of times, but that made it that much more festive! What we did is walk to Quincy Market, and do some shopping/eating to stay out of the elements.
Then off to the con! It was only open between 5 and 9pm on Friday. While we were waiting to get our badges, Froggy came out and told us that James' plane had been delayed, so he wouldn't be appearing at the con until the next day (Saturday). No biggie for me because I wasn't planning on getting a photo op on Friday anyway, and that was the only thing James was scheduled to do. So I just had fun looking around the exhibit hall.
I had already gotten a Grave Spike (all hurt, no comfort) figure included with my registration packet.
But I also scored some comics AND a Harsh Light of Day Spike Palz! Oh my gosh, have you seen this? It's the best action figure ever! And possibly the smallest, dunno. But yay! They painted in his cheekbones. And check out his six pack. Hee! But the best feature is his rotating head. You take his hair off, rotate his head, and eeek! Scary vamp face! ::lurves::
There was also Jabba the Hutt complete with gross moving tongue.
Saturday, Oct 16
Saturday was the busiest con day, including Q&As, photo ops and a concert. First up was the Q&A in the smallest room ever (he said that we being there made it the coolest 300 sq. feet in the universe, haha.) I got a seat along the side so I could stand up to get some pics. When James first came in, they spent a few minutes inducting him into the New England Stormtrooper 50-something something.
Then it was time for ogling! Yay!
Highlights, lowlights, and just lights of the Q&A:
Most terrifying time in his life was NOT when he was knifed or had a bottle shoved in his face, it was when his child was born. He knew then that he would go to L.A. and "whore himself out". And that's why he's in front of us (at the Q&A).
He used to jack cars.
He was the one person who could get away with clocking SMG during fight scenes, and she would feel the whoosh of air going by her face. So in retaliation her fist would get really close to his nose, and actually make contact (barely). He also said that he was the one person who could put SMG in her place, and he would have fun dissing her to her face. His favorite person was Tony "We don't say it like that, you prat" Head.
There was a monster on Buffy that was a spongy giant puppet, and it got all wet and soggy, so the puppeteers left (!) and James had to fight the puppet, so he took its arm and started whacking himself with it. :-D He did the same on Angel in the puppet ep.
He views doing love scenes like it's prostitution. He bit John Barrowman while doing the kissing scene on Torchwood. And this news just in: He prefers kissing JB. (And who wouldn't? nom nom)
His most rewarding role was Spike. More depth than Hamlet, yo.
Fan: What was it like doing the almost rape scene?
James: I almost committed suicide.
Fan: For real?
James: Yeah.
But it got him into therapy, and his girlfriend's happy about that.
He's got a man crush on Tom Welling.
A novel based on his life would be a comedy called "Let's Try It Again."
And that's the Q&A in a coupla nutshells!
Next up for me was a lunch break, which meant missing Nick Brendon's Q&A. Aw, I missed the Snoopy Dance. Possibly tragic, that. But I did end up with a really nice lunch which included lobster bisque and some type of mysterious fish I'd never heard of before. Bon bons for dessert. I ate bon bons while missing the Snoopy Dance.
I got back in time for the Charisma Carpenter Q&A. Sat in the back so I could inconspicuously slip out when it was time to get my James photo op. She's gorgeous and funny, and really quite sweet. My favorite part was when she heard the Obama rally noise and was all, "Q&A here, hello! Don't you know who I am?" LOL
I did indeed slip out before Charisma finished. Luckily she didn't take it personally. I went into the bathroom and put some makeup on in a vain effort to look presentable for my one and only photo op with James. Ended up near the back of the line, and finally got my turn. When I was handing my bags to Steve, I hear James yelling. lol He was yelling at me. So I look at him and he yells again.
James: Hey! It's so great to see you. Are you doing all right?
Me: [Am I doing all right? Do I look ill? I knew I should have used some blush.] Yeah.
James: I'm all right too. [Squishes me like whoa. Big huge hug that lasts forever. Big smile. We pose, James looks adorable, I slouch, pic is taken, we separate.] Yeah, my son's grades are up and my niece has friends. So everything's great.
Me: [Aw, yay.] That's wonderful, James. [I figure Froggy's probably staring death rays at me, so...] I'll see you later. [We shake hands.]
And we parted. I'm not usually one who enjoys photo ops that much. But I thought that was fun.
Up next was the concert. It wasn't for another three hours or so, but we wanted to get a good spot in line, so off we went. Handy that they had seats along side the hallway. So we chilled there, talking with our line mates until the gig. When we were let in (same room that held the Q&A), I again got a seat on the side against the wall so I could stand up. Lighting was blue! I love blue lighting for some odd reason!
He was quite talkative during this concert, which is always a good thing. He said that Sullivan watches him sing on YouTube and then tells him things like, "Dad, you messed up on the third verse." Haha. Keeping it real.
Also, he talked about playing at "14 Below" with Sullivan. He called it that because he couldn't remember its new name. (But can you blame him? It's "The Central Social Aid and Pleasure Club". o.O) He was happy that we were all SRO (standing room only). Said that made him feel really good about himself. But really, the room was so small, they had no choice but to make most of it standing.
James describing playing catch with his son. James sucked at baseball in high school and said he was the worst catcher in history, and he caught it in the balls a few times. :-D His son excels at it, and is the best pitcher in the county.
OK, who thought it was a good idea to ask James to sing "Rest in Peace"? Because, bad idea! lol That's really what was happening here.
Set list:
All That She Wanted
Layabout (Sullivan wrote part of this song.)
Moonshoot (Says he's kinda embarrassed now to play without his son. Aw. Told about how he felt claustrophobic and was having nightmares of drowning when he was filming Moonshot.)
For What I Need (Said afterward that he hoped he was half the musician as we are as an audience.)
Angel (Said he wrote this for his former girlfriend who was a porn star and a wonderful person. Afterward, he said that one is always for Helena.)
Truth is a Heavy Stone
London City (He tuned his guitar right before singing this one. Said it sounded good enough for government work. Afterward, he said that while he's playing, he always thinks he should stop because we're bored and he should just let us go to the bar. But then when the songs are over, we all clap, and he's like, "Wow!")
Don't Worry Son (He said he wished his son was there playing with him. And then starting telling a story about how SMG would ask for special lighting on set which was time consuming, so that took time away from his son, and he can't quite forgive her for that. Every other week he would drive 350 miles to visit his son, and "Don't Worry Son" was written about that.)
Finer Than Gold (Says it's a very serious song about giving his girlfriend the wrong gift. He was joking about it being serious, but then said it actually is. Afterward he said that's why all males need to learn three chords. He says that's all he knows.)
Too Fast (Said it's about Eliza Dushku.)
Goodbye (Said it's one of the first songs he wrote, and it's about self pity. Afterward, he said it's another reason why guys should learn three chords because every time you sing songs like that, you get revenge. Haha. Then he added, "On beautiful, wonderful, human, female people." [That's so true about his songs. Many are revenge songs. My favorite being Over Now.])
Dance Slow (After this one, he said that love is worth the pain. Last week, he was ready to give it up. This week he's like, "Marry Me!" Someone in the audience yelled, "Right here!" lol He thanked her, but said he's found his.)
Dangerous (Said it's about Michelle Trachtenburg. And because he said that, it got a lot of laughs. First time I've heard a crowd react that way to this song.)
Button Down Vandals (First song he ever wrote. He was writing it while in his apartment in Queens, New York, on the phone with his friend Gordon Hart. It's about their wild childhoods.)
James said that everyone should come to California to see Ghost of the Robot perform. Said they've got the best drummer, bassist, and lead guitarist on earth. Sadly they lost their rhythm guitarist (Steve Sellers) to drugs. But Sullivan is going to replace him. Random alert! He said he's Unitarian and so he gives good back rubs. They used to talk about nuclear disarmament and gave back rubs in church. He loved that church. lol)
Smile (After singing this, he pointed out that he has a bad cut on his finger. He said we give him as much pity as his kids do: zero. And he loves it. :))
Cowboy Song (Tells about being very serious about that cowboy movie he did, and writing the backstory about why his character was going to be hanged. And that's how this song came about. He got emotional while singing it.)
And that was the last song! He said we rocked and that he loves us. And he was gone.
After the concert, Rosie and I rounded up Patti and we went looking for somewhere to eat. Next door at the Prudential building was the perfect place to find something, and we eventually found a Cheesecake Factory! Briefly saw Steve Himber and company there, but they took a look at the wait and decided to look elsewhere. Erm. Who turns down cheesecake just because there's a long wait? SERIOUSLY, THAT'S MESSED UP. We eventually got our table, and had a delicious meal and solved all the problems of the world. Don't you love it when you can save the world over dinner? I just had artichoke dip so I'd have enough room left for a slice of this amazing layer cake. My momma didn't raise no fool.
Rosie and I caught the train back to the hotel. Poor Patti, who was staying further away at another place, was too late for the train, so she had to catch an expensive taxi.
Sunday, Oct 17
Sunday was the last day of the con. There was a screening of Chance (starring Amber Benson and James) with a Q&A by Amber. I hadn't seen Chance in a while, so that was fun. Aw, great seeing Andy Hallett too. Amber was very sweet during her Q&A, answering questions on any subject. She said she was happy to get James into a dress in Chance. And she used James as inspiration when playing her vampire role in Supernatural.
My main goal for Sunday was to get my James autograph. At San Diego Comic Con, James had left before some of us got there on his last day. No autos for us! Woe. I was determined not to let that happen again. So first thing on Sunday, I went over to the auto area, and found Helen (James' assistant at some cons) and Craig (Steve's partner). I started to walk over to them, when I'm intercepted by someone that works at the con. She says I can't go over there. Perplexed, because there weren't any famous people sitting there at that time, and therefore didn't know why I should be prohibited, I explained that I needed to ask the two people sitting at the table when James Marsters was going to stop doing autographs today. OH NO, says she. She can't have me asking a PERSONAL question like that. No, really. She said that. o.O Clearly, she thought I had said I wanted to ask them where James' hotel room was and if he still goes commando. But I was done with my visit to the Twilight Zone, so I just said, "They know me." And that's all she needed hear. I was allowed to go up and ask them my question. Damn if after all that, they didn't know the answer. lol They said Steve would know. So I found Steve later manning the photo op booth, and asked him. He didn't even blink an eye at how personal I was getting, and said 4pm. Next time I'll try the commando question. Anyway, good thing I showed up a couple hours early, because James left early. Haha. To be fair, they did make an announcement over the loud speaker for last call. But still! Life lesson learned: Always show up hours early to James auto sessions if you actually want him to be there.
On his way to the autograph table, James stops to talk with some fans. After he was escorted away from the fans, ::cue Twilight Zone music AGAIN:: a con person told me that she regretted that I'd gotten those pics. I just smiled agreeably and backed away slowly, making no sudden moves.
Being escorted to the autograph area.
I got photos of James signing stuff! I took them while standing in line waiting for my auto, and the con staff didn't say strange things to me! WTH con staff, just when I thought I had you figured out, you go and surprise me! :-P Have you all noticed the straight hair? Yeah, I miss the curls too. They got obliterated by the Three Inches peeps. Don't make me hate you, Three Inches peeps.
All right. So. I had brought my Ghost of the Robot 2.0 t-shirt for James to sign (see pic below.) I even wrote on a piece of paper what I hoped he would write on it. "The Central. Oct 2, 2010" which of course was the venue and date of their reunion concert.
Right when I was about to be able to speak to James, Steve interrupted and said he had sweet nothings to say to James. lol So I waited. The sweet nothings were about his flight out. James told Steve that if he (James) was fucked, so was Steve. Haha. That was a reference to the screw up with James' arriving flight. Anyway, Steve turned to me and said James was all mine. (IS THAT LEGALLY BINDING? ::iz hopeful::)
James: Hey Becky... [smiles]
Me: Hi. [I hand over the t-shirt.] Instead of writing my name, could you write this? [I show him the paper with "The Central. Oct 2, 2010" written on it.]
James: Yeah! [He signs it.]
Me: I had so much fun that night.
James: That was a magical night for me. As a human being, that was the pinnacle of my experience. Seeing my son rock it, oh god. And for him, it was huge. It's amazing, he doesn't understand how attractive he is, he doesn't understand how talented he is. Woman fall all over him and he just doesn't get it. He always falls in love with girls he can't have. He's fourteen, and his ego is just building itself, and so that was just huge for him.
Me: Is he a lot like you?
James: He's just like me. Well, all the good parts. [He laughs.] Well, he's a little more competent than I am. And he's a little less rash. Oftentimes he'll say, "Dad, I don't think that's a bad person, actually. You just don't understand him."
Me: Cool.
James: Yeah. He's a very cool guy.
Me: I have some videos to give you (from the GotR gig), since you asked for them. There's some of you and Sullivan.
James: [He gasps.]
Me: I didn't know you'd want them, so I cut off some of them. Sorry.
James: That's OK! [waves the DVDs around] This was the best night of his life. He made me take pictures of the pictures I got with my cell phone and text him the pictures because he couldn't wait. (Hee!)
Me: I've got some photos in there too. Of him, and of you and him together, it's great...
James: ...and Aaron and Kevin. [At this point, both James and I are squeeing together, fist pumping and all. lol]
Me: Yeah! [Squeeee! But my time is running out, and I have something important to ask so...] I then asked him if he would [blank] at [blank], to which he said, [blank]! Happy to hear that, I then said, [blankity blank blank], and so he [blanked] and gave it to me. Mission accomplished! LOL I crack myself up sometimes! But I really did ask him something WHICH I CAN'T REVEAL. Ugh. Don't you hate it when people do that in reports? Like why even mention it, if you're not going to tell all. Yeah, that's right. I suck! I hate myself for typing this! Only not! Because this is a really good secret, that hopefully won't be secret forever, and then I can squee about it with everyone. (And if it doesn't work out, then I'll be the only one who'll be bummed. Haha.)
Awesome auto on Ghost of the Robot shirt:
And that was my auto experience. Lots o' fun with mysterious ending. ::shifty eyes::
Oh! One last thing about the autograph session. James knew my name. Unless Steve was behind me holding up a sign to James which said, "Hi, this is Becky and she'll be your fan today!" in which case, James was just reading it off his cue card, and he really doesn't know my name. All I know is that I didn't give it to Helen to write down. So! I guess he knows it. Maybe kinda sorta.
No Sharpie incidents to report.
I had missed Clare Kramer and Mercedes McNab's Q&A, so it was nifty getting to see them at the autograph table:
I took a last walk around the exhibit hall. Earlier I'd found a Spike ornament! I loved it so much, I got two.
And I also got a Subway Spike. Rawr.
Got some more comics, if Spike was on the cover. One of my favorites being this Comic Con exclusive, where Spike is burning Twilight's mask. Bizarre though appropriate.
Aaaand. I bought some season 8 comics. You know, the final arc with Spike? Yeah. I'm not sure if I hate myself for that or not. Time will tell. ;)
Before I knew it, Rosie was ready to leave, so we headed out to Quincy Market again. Gee, what were we gonna do there? :-D We both got baked oysters. I got lobster bisque too. And then we followed that up with a chocolate truffle bomb. Oh yes. We know how to eat our way through Boston.
Can you tell I had a fantastic time? \o/ Awesome sights were seen. (And as I left through Logan Airport where they use the Naked Scanners, I was seen in Boston too. Full Monty! The scanner person asked me out! Haha. Joking, natch.) It was great spending time with friends and squeeing with James! :-D
There are more Comic Con pics to be found here:
Autographs
Q&A
Concert
Big yays and thanks to seapealsh for the candy cane, and ghostgirl13, oanimation and chic_c for the holiday presents! xoxo
Cookies and mad props to any who made it through this whole post. :-D