VanCon: Karaoke
I'mma let you finish, but VanCon had the best Karaoke Night of all time. Of all time.
I'd heard that it was hard to get on the stage at one of these things because so many people want to sing. But apparently VanCon is smaller than other cons, or run differently, because I had no trouble handing off my slip and getting on the roster. The great thing was that, unlike other karaoke nights, there was more to do than just sit back and wait for your name to get called.
Dick and Matt came out first, both of them in sparkly colorful outfits. Matt was in red; Dick was in blue. Dick also had a rather impressive mustache going on. Kim Rhodes came out soon after, in a white shirt with the back artfully shredded. The guys looked hilarious. Kim looked drop-dead gorgeous.
They really made the songs entertaining, with Matt and Kim dancing with the fans and Dick hanging back and improvising spoken-word accompaniments into his microphone. Then, a few songs in, they pulled the next slip in the pile and called Lucifer to the stage. Sure enough, Mark Pellegrino bounded out of the crowd and proceeded to sing "Big Balls."
Around this time, Matt started to have a serious problem with his pants. At first he tried to discreetly fix them, but soon it became clear that the clasp on his fly was completely broken and they would not stay zipped. Dick noticed, and asked the crowd, "Does anyone seriously believe that Matt didn't plan for his pants to keep falling down? His seamstress spent hours making sure that would happen."
Matt: "My seamstress? You mean you?"
Finally someone in the crowd handed Matt a red bandana that he put through his belt loops and used to tie up his pants.
The next guest star was called up when Dick announced, "I've always wanted to do this," and sang the first line of "O Death" in a falsetto. Julian Richings came up, looking very un-Death-like with his eyeglasses, floppy hair, and giant grin.
(I actually don't remember whether they called Richings up before or after Pellegrino, now that I think about it. Actually, the order of many events may be slightly off. I was drunk. So sue me.)
"I'm sure all of you remember my line: 'Luci, I'm home!'" said Dick between songs. (Crowd: "Yaaaay!") "And then I die." (Crowd: "Awwwww.") "But what if I'd said, 'Lassie, I'm home?'"
We were all confused until Tim Omundson (Lassiter from Psych) hopped up on stage, holding a glass of booze and clearly drunk off his ass. None of us knew why he was there, but he seemed to be having a good time.
They also got Steve Carlson and one of the guys from Creation Events up there, but I wasn't really paying attention because that was about when I got called to sing.
At this point I was planning on hugging absolutely everyone on stage, but once I got up there I got nervous and it was all I could do to sing. I sang Carrie Underwood's "Before he Cheats," and I only remembered to hug Kim Rhodes right at the last chorus. And not to sound creepy or anything, but the way the back of her shirt was it almost felt like I was hugging her in nothing but her bra. (In hindsight, there is no way for that not to sound creepy.)
And now I'm getting my timeline messed up again, because I'm pretty sure Steve Carlson sang "Time Warp" when he first came out, not after my song like I remember it. That's what alcohol will do to you, kids. I promise my subsequent reports will be more coherent. Anyway, "Time Warp." We finished it and Mark Pellegrino immediately said, "Let's do more Rocky Horror! Is there 'Sweet Transvestite?'"
Matt: "YES! Here I am! Here I am!"
And then Mark Pellegrino, Lucifer, proceeded to sing "Sweet Transvestite." And rock all of our socks off. I probably should have called it, since he knew every dance move to "Time Warp," but he is clearly a gigantic Rocky Horror buff (later confirmed at his panel). He performed complete with perfect timing, perfect sass, and lots of hip gyrations. For video, see this post.
Dick said what we were all thinking: "ALL HAIL SATAN!" We cheered. I think the hotel staff were alarmed.
angel-kink and I went back to the hostel shortly thereafter, since we figured things were winding down. Turns out we missed Mark Sheppard and Rekha Sharma (Kali) showing up later. We also missed Julian Richings singing and flail-dancing all over the stage.
So basically, if you ever go to Dick and Matt's karaoke, don't go home early.
(angel-kink's account of the night here.)
I'd heard that it was hard to get on the stage at one of these things because so many people want to sing. But apparently VanCon is smaller than other cons, or run differently, because I had no trouble handing off my slip and getting on the roster. The great thing was that, unlike other karaoke nights, there was more to do than just sit back and wait for your name to get called.
Dick and Matt came out first, both of them in sparkly colorful outfits. Matt was in red; Dick was in blue. Dick also had a rather impressive mustache going on. Kim Rhodes came out soon after, in a white shirt with the back artfully shredded. The guys looked hilarious. Kim looked drop-dead gorgeous.
They really made the songs entertaining, with Matt and Kim dancing with the fans and Dick hanging back and improvising spoken-word accompaniments into his microphone. Then, a few songs in, they pulled the next slip in the pile and called Lucifer to the stage. Sure enough, Mark Pellegrino bounded out of the crowd and proceeded to sing "Big Balls."
Around this time, Matt started to have a serious problem with his pants. At first he tried to discreetly fix them, but soon it became clear that the clasp on his fly was completely broken and they would not stay zipped. Dick noticed, and asked the crowd, "Does anyone seriously believe that Matt didn't plan for his pants to keep falling down? His seamstress spent hours making sure that would happen."
Matt: "My seamstress? You mean you?"
Finally someone in the crowd handed Matt a red bandana that he put through his belt loops and used to tie up his pants.
The next guest star was called up when Dick announced, "I've always wanted to do this," and sang the first line of "O Death" in a falsetto. Julian Richings came up, looking very un-Death-like with his eyeglasses, floppy hair, and giant grin.
(I actually don't remember whether they called Richings up before or after Pellegrino, now that I think about it. Actually, the order of many events may be slightly off. I was drunk. So sue me.)
"I'm sure all of you remember my line: 'Luci, I'm home!'" said Dick between songs. (Crowd: "Yaaaay!") "And then I die." (Crowd: "Awwwww.") "But what if I'd said, 'Lassie, I'm home?'"
We were all confused until Tim Omundson (Lassiter from Psych) hopped up on stage, holding a glass of booze and clearly drunk off his ass. None of us knew why he was there, but he seemed to be having a good time.
They also got Steve Carlson and one of the guys from Creation Events up there, but I wasn't really paying attention because that was about when I got called to sing.
At this point I was planning on hugging absolutely everyone on stage, but once I got up there I got nervous and it was all I could do to sing. I sang Carrie Underwood's "Before he Cheats," and I only remembered to hug Kim Rhodes right at the last chorus. And not to sound creepy or anything, but the way the back of her shirt was it almost felt like I was hugging her in nothing but her bra. (In hindsight, there is no way for that not to sound creepy.)
And now I'm getting my timeline messed up again, because I'm pretty sure Steve Carlson sang "Time Warp" when he first came out, not after my song like I remember it. That's what alcohol will do to you, kids. I promise my subsequent reports will be more coherent. Anyway, "Time Warp." We finished it and Mark Pellegrino immediately said, "Let's do more Rocky Horror! Is there 'Sweet Transvestite?'"
Matt: "YES! Here I am! Here I am!"
And then Mark Pellegrino, Lucifer, proceeded to sing "Sweet Transvestite." And rock all of our socks off. I probably should have called it, since he knew every dance move to "Time Warp," but he is clearly a gigantic Rocky Horror buff (later confirmed at his panel). He performed complete with perfect timing, perfect sass, and lots of hip gyrations. For video, see this post.
Dick said what we were all thinking: "ALL HAIL SATAN!" We cheered. I think the hotel staff were alarmed.
angel-kink and I went back to the hostel shortly thereafter, since we figured things were winding down. Turns out we missed Mark Sheppard and Rekha Sharma (Kali) showing up later. We also missed Julian Richings singing and flail-dancing all over the stage.
So basically, if you ever go to Dick and Matt's karaoke, don't go home early.
(angel-kink's account of the night here.)