Salute to Supernatural Toronto 2015 Report: Day One

Sadly, one reality that happened was the I would not be able to attend the con on Friday.  My son had tests at school, the hubby and I had priorities at work, blah, blah, we arrived later in the evening even too exhausted to take in Karaoke.  I didn’t hear much about how Karaoke went without me, because as you know what happens there stays there and no one was talking.  

For me, even getting in on Saturday morning proved to be a challenge. I decided to stay out in the suburbs and take the train in (that cost thing again) and navigating all the pathways out of Union Station for the first time is like trying to get through a corn maze.  Myself and the family made it though to the convention center, just in time for me to catch the second panel of the day, Gil McKinney, Osric Chau, and Alaina Huffman.  Ruth Connell had to cancel, so Alaina was the last minute replacement.  

(The trio bring in a special guest)

Sadly I did miss the panel with Kathryn Newton (Claire Novak on the show), but I did get a quick impression of how it went from a couple of people in the autograph line later.  They said she was such a sweetie and did a great panel.  They also pointed out that they weren’t fans of Claire at all (nor was I), so they weren’t sure how her panel would go.  She pleasantly surprised them.  She’s so much nicer in real life.  So there you go, make sure to check out Kathryn at whatever cons she does in the future.   

One thing I noticed about this con, and while I concede that I haven’t been to one in a while, it just seemed that there are less panels and more time set aside for photo ops and private meet and greets.  Each guest used to get their own panel, now they’re doing all these combos.  Because there was such a huge break between Gil, Alaina, and Osric’s panel and the next one, Richard, Rob, and Matt (3 hours?) I went sightseeing with my husband and son who joined me on the trip.  You know what I found out?  Toronto is closed on the weekends.  We walked to the Eaton Centre via The Path and I couldn’t believe how devoid of human life The Path is on the weekends!  All the stores are closed, no one is there, not even vagrants.  Its like a scene from Last Man on Earth.  It was both extremely fascinating and completely terrifying.  Of course we got to Eaton Centre and realized it was just an average mall, so we walked back, but not without getting a snack first!  In the financial district, where the con was, every quick eating establishment nearby was closed.  The coffee shop in the convention center that serviced this massive con only had two people working there, not enough to handle the long lines of people.  And I won’t even get into the bathroom situation.  Who only has 3 open sets of bathrooms for a whole convention and two of them are upstairs and pretty small? They are going back to the Westin Harbour next year and I think that is a better move. 

As for the Gil, Alaina, and Osric panel, the banter between these three was lively and fun.  Gil and Alaina obviously knew each other, but they we wondering how Osric fit into this.  “Were you in the show?” Gil asked Osric.  “Yes, I played the Asian guy,” Osric joked, but if you think, it’s really true.  Even Osric later commented on how Kevin was the stereotypical Asian, playing cello and being the advanced and overachieving student.  Kevin was so stereotyped he wasn’t sure if he wanted to do the show at first.   

Osric did come in costume!  He was dressed as Rob Benedict’s character in The Sidekick.  That meant a red body suit, a cape, and tights, not to mention the neck brace for the ideal finish.  I heard that Rob was very touched and honored that Osric did that.  The look on his face was priceless.  Rob was a little emotional all weekend though.  Toronto holds a special meaning for him.  It’s where he had his stroke two years ago.  He brought it up a few times and it seems like that the experience has taught him how to celebrate life.  He was one energized man all weekend.  

All through the panel though, you could see Osric playing with the costume. There was a lasso hanging from his hip that he was caught playing with a few times, and I think overall he was feeling out the material.  Any doubts were confirmed when Rob with Louden Swain came out to give the cue the panel was over.  Osric asked, “Have you ever done this and realized how awesome it feels?”  He started rubbing his cape on the white tights.  Rob spent a lot of time in that costume so he knew all about the feels, good and bad.  The tights make it interesting.  Richard, who was in a similar outfit for his role in that movie, said it felt great.  

Osric had also commented in the panel that the only time he wore a costume outside was the Rapunzel one, and he did it in Hollywood!  He was there for one of Ben Edlund’s premieres.  He was hit on by a bunch of guys.  One of them grabbed his butt.  It made him appreciate what women have to go through.  Alaina related to that!  She hates it when guys start grunting at her in public.  “Eww.”   So yes, if you’re a male Asian that dresses as Rapunzel in Hollywood, be prepared! 

This panel also earned Gil the superhero nickname of “Dr. Naked,” something they were repeating that evening at the Saturday Night Special concert.  Yeah, I’ll probably have to explain where that came from!  It’s a combination of two discussions that came from fan questions.  

The first fan wanted to know the “Naked Gil” story,  It’s a story Richard naturally prompted, being the con troublemaker and all.  Gil in his early acting days played a naked ghost in “The Ghost Whisperer.”  His character was skinny dipping with his girlfriend and drowned.  He spent the episode with Jennifer Love Hewitt trying to find his pants, which had the engagement ring in it.  He wanted to let her know he was going to propose (Wow, wouldn’t that have made her feel worse?).  So, he had to come to work everyday wearing nothing but a dance belt while his private parts were concealed by all sorts of objects in the shots.  He did comment how Jennifer Love Hewitt was a total professional during all that.  

Average story right?  Combine that later with the question with what sort of collaboration would they do together.  Given Gil’s singing chops, they decided a Superhero Musical.  Osric would be the sidekick.  Gil would be Dr. Naked.  Yes, they came up with this on their own.  Then Osric in their banter found the perfect sidekick tagline.  “Hold the mayo!”  Oh yes, it was one of those “had to be there moments.”  It’s also what happens with creativity is left in the hands of the actors.  

The three also got to talk about their beautiful moment on the show.  Osric said that one time he was there and Jared was about to be a new dad. No pranks that time.  It was sweet to see Jared like that.  Alaina was stunned by the answer, saying she’d never been pranked on the show. Osric – “It happened to me all…the…time.”  Gil had a beautiful moment and a prank!  He remembers sitting in the back of the Impala, eating a sandwich, and just enjoying the sheer beauty of the car and the peace of the moment.  But he also remembered sitting in the back of the car when Jensen and Jared got in, and Jensen screeched out of the parking lot and did a wicked 180.  Since there are no seat belts in the car, he had to hold on tight!  He was amazed how well Jensen knows how to drive that car, but freaked out a bit as well.  As the two guys snickered over Gil’s alarm Jared said to him, “Do you need new shorts?” and then high fived no one.  

Now this question I loved.  Someone asked what sort of head canon they had for their characters, aka what they thought the character backstory was.  Osric had the best answer, saying he thought about Kevin’s Dad.  At first he wanted it to be Crowley.  Now, he wonders if it was Dean, given his affection for Asian beauties.  Hmm, it does make you wonder, doesn’t it?  This led into a talk about directors and how a character’s action isn’t just prompted by the writers, but the directors as well.  Gil and Alaina’s first episode was the first ep directed by Serge Ladoucer, who brought so much to the story.  Like Abaddon at the table eating grapes.  That’s something that only a director can bring out and Serge was very good.  Osric’s first episode was directed by Ben Edlund.  They talked about “The Tick” for an hour!  Talk of directors also led to an interesting tidbit from Alaina.  The last few years of “Smallville” there was a rule for the actors.  No folding arms.  That’s because actors would stand there all the time looking bored with their arms folded when getting direction.  She even demonstrated!  It was a hoot.  

There was an interruption in the panel, once again echoing my complaint that there isn’t enough room in the schedule for photo ops and panels.  A bunch of fans got up and started leaving while the panel was still going on.  That’s because on the screen a notice that Misha’s photo ops were starting.  Gil wasn’t going to let them go unnoticed.  “You’re going to miss something awesome.”  

A very popular question to the actors is what sort of story would they write for their characters?  The three actors pretty much stated the obvious, there’s a reason why they aren’t writers.  Still, they tried to come up with something.  “Mad Men of Letters,” Gil answered.  He then said in a very flamboyant voice, “Which one of you is John Winchester.”  He joked that the Asian chick was pretty hot.  Yes, you just needed to be there. Tangents are just one of the bonuses you get at a “Supernatural” con panel.

Gil and Alaina had an idea since their characters were connected.  Soon we’re listening to the pitch for “When Henry Met Josie.”  A 50’s era throwback type show.  There would be dancing, lots of dancing.  “Naked dancing while holding the mayo!” exclaimed Osric, just in perfect time for Rob to close down the panel.  Yes, that’s quite a visual to go out with, until Osric started playing with his costume.  New visual!  Osric did go out complimenting Rob on “The Sidekick,” which he saw recently.  “It would be odd if he said he didn’t love the film,” joked Richard.  

Yeah, so, I caught a little bit of Richard, Rob, and Matt’s panel three hours later because we were having too much fascination with navigating a city that was closed and boosting our Fitbit stats in the process.  I can’t recap one of their panels.  It’s total pandemonium.  Here’s what you need to know.  Richard wasn’t pranked while directing his recent episode (which we know to be a comedy episode) unlike Misha, Matt Cohen is in the Kings of Con, which was under tight spoiler restrictions by the guys, and we got the first comment of what will come up again about how good Jensen Ackles smells.  Wait, that happens every con, doesn’t it?  

Mark Sheppard

I love how Mark Sheppard doesn’t give a crap about things.  Like he didn’t need an introduction from Richard or Rob.  While Louden Swain was coming on stage and getting set up he just walked right on.  That inspired the band to break into a theme song and “Mr. Crowley” was born.    This also led to a story about when Rob had his stroke at Toronto con two years ago.  Mark texted him, lifting his spirits with a typical Mark comment.  “WTF?  Is this you trying to not play in the band with me?”  With that, it was time to spend a little time with the King of Hell. 

Mark made it very clear that he was coasting on fumes with two hours sleep.  He worked until 5:30 am and then caught a flight, not sure if he would make it or not.  He blamed Jared for not getting his scenes right.  “So unprofessional.”  Since polling the audience is a fun way to get a panel started, Mark asked how many people would be coming to the concert that night (Louden Swain’s Saturday Night Special).  He polled who wouldn’t, and then asked why not when he got some responses.  “Too poor!” a fan shouted.  “Get one less Misha photo,” Mark answered in a belittling tone.  Oh yes, snarky Mark showed up.  Fatigue will do that to a person.

Mark also doesn’t like staying still during a panel, and/or he was likely jumpy on some really great coffee.  He walked through the ballroom, spending a bit of time in the back of the room in the “cheap seats.”  As we surmised, Crowley wasn’t dead this week.  That makes him safe…until next week.  He asked a fan, “Happy I’m not dead?  Me too.”  Although if he was dead he could get some sleep instead of hanging with Moose until 5:30 am.  Mark is aware though he always says Crowley is dying, so perhaps we aren’t buying that anymore.  Speaking of Crowley in the premiere, he loved the job the actress playing Crowley did.  He offered her pointers and never heard from her.  She did that all on her own and nailed it!  

Mark did realize somewhere in talking that the crowd was a little stiff.  Oh yes, he forgot this was Toronto.  They’re too cool for the room.  “Same as Vancouver, but with bad weather.”  That is one of the many remarks he had for not only people from Toronto, but Canadians as well.  Like when a fan during the panel later was purposely abrasive to match Mark’s snarky tone.  He blasted her for being a Canadian.  “It proves that Canadian’s aren’t nice.  They’re passive aggressive.”  

He did get to questions, kicking it off with an “I’ll pretend to care” remark.  I give fans credit though, they came up with some creative questions for Mr. Sheppard.  One of the first knew her Rocky and Bullwinkle references!  Given that Crowley called Sam and Dean Moose and Squirrel, that makes him Boris.  Who’s his Natasha?  “Misha,” Mark answered.  Someone else later in the panel asked a question about why Sam/Jared was Moose and why Dean/Jensen was called squirrel.  Obviously, she didn’t know her Rocky and Bullwinkle history.  Mark created something fun out of that though.  Sam/Jared is a moose more that because he’s tall.  A moose is big at the top, with great upper body strength, but he’s got skinny legs.  Easy to take down at the legs.  Hit a moose, its like running into a two ton giant thing.  That’s Jared. 

What was his most intense scene?  The first one that came to mind was “Sacrifice” from season 8.  Although the season nine closer was a pretty cool speech for Crowley too.  He called him sitting there giving that speech to Dean his impersonation of the Lincoln Memorial.  

Someone asked him if he would ever do a cosplay. No, not his thing. He does it for a living. He thinks cosplayers are courageous and brave, and Osric does great with it.  There used to be this negative impressions of fans, because doing things like cosplay made them seem weird. Now the geeks have won. It’s accepted and celebrated.  He doesn’t trust anyone that’s not a fan of anything. Fans come together and do beautiful things. He even admires the parents who come with fans pretending to like a show they’ve never seen.

This really sweet five year old little girl, who was dressed like the child Lilith, with fake blood on her dress (really parents?) asked if Crowley will ever get the good guys.  “How do you know he’s not the good guy?”  He raised an excellent point.  The Winchesters have killed more people than Crowley.  He is the good guy.  It’s the Winchester’s that are the bad guys.  Honestly, none of us could argue that point.  

The highlight of the panel no doubt was Mark teasing a fan who had her question documented on her phone.  She wanted to get it right.  Mark walked over and snatched the phone from her.  She tried to get it back so Mark ran.  She chased him!  They ran all around the ballroom for a few minutes.  Eventually they stopped on stage and he read the question, then gave the phone back.  He asks her age, which I think was 18.  ”I’m 51!” Then he asked ”What was the question again?” In the end, (I don’t remember the question), he had no idea. “Are we going for a run? Give me five minutes,” he said breathing heavily.  

There were plenty of other questions I would put into the “fast answer” category.  Mark goes through a lot of questioners!  I’ll just share them in a list.

• Has he ever had a paranormal experience?  ‘I’m having one right now.  No one here is normal.”
• Someone asked about Crowley’s Mom.  “It’s Fergus’ mom, not Crowley’s.”  Crowley really doesn’t like Fergus inside of him.
• Did he think he’d be doing this so long?  “No.  Next question.”
• Fan wants to date his son.  Mark just encouraged people to go to his Instagram.  “Max A. Sheppard.  A pretty boy.”
• To a tall fan that was next in line to ask a question:  “Hello Jared.”
• Who does Crowley want for a sidekick?  “I have a sidekick.  It’s Dean.”
• Which Crowley do you prefer?  “The tall one.” 
• Why do Sam and Dean always draw the perfect salt circle?  The fan asking the question said she tried and it always came out wrong.  “We have an art department that spends hours on that.”  He instructed the fan to go off and keep practicing.
• Someone asked the “Who would be easier to kill?” question.  “I’ve had two hours of sleep and now you want me to write fanfiction?”
• How does he mentally prepare for being The King of Hell?  “By doing this.” 
• Has he developed any traits from Dean?  “I murder people on a regular basis.” 
• Someone asking a question said she was the Queen of Hell.  “I thought I was the Queen of Hell.”  
• Why didn’t he do the “Supernatural” parody?  “What, The Vampire Diaries?”  He claimed he wasn’t invited.  More to come on that…
• Thanks to the powers of harassment, he gets a soft-spoken fan to shout her question. “There’s no need to shout.”
• Firefly was almost as fun as “Supernatural.”  Nathan was a nice guy.  
• He had some comments about Ruth Connell.  “She’s so little she’ll bite your ankles. It’s so annoying. She’s like a chihuahua.”
• What TV shows would he recommend?  He mentioned he’s watching “The West Wing” right now.  The fan asked what was his recommendation.  “Have you seen it?”  “No.”  “There’s your recommendation.”
• Would Crowley not be such a “motherf***er” badass if he didn’t have a beard?  “Motherf***er.  That’s a colloquial word for moose.”
• Besides himself, who is his favorite character.  He challenged the fan, wondering why his favorite character would be himself.  Meg and The Trickster are who came to mind.  
• “Do you miss Demon Dean?”  “Do You?”
• If Crowley had a special car, what would it be?  If he’s driving, a Bentley.  If he’s being driven, a Rolls Royce.  
• To a fan in a Misha costume:  “Constantine was cancelled.” 
• Does he relate to Crowley?  Yes, in everything he does.  “Everyday I’m in Hell.” 
• Someone needed an idea for a play from him.  “It should be the long walk home.  Go!”

When it was time for Mark’s panel to end, Richard came out with a bone to pick with him.  Mark was invited to do the “Supernatural” parody.  He wouldn’t disclose, as Mark didn’t, why he didn’t accept, but he had his chance!  No the whole “not being invited” line didn’t cut it.  Richard pointed out that even Louden Swain was in it.  But Mark did come back and say that he heard great things about the episode Richard directed.  Spoiler alert, it sounds like Crowley is not in that episode.  

Mark also had some very kind closing words.  He explained that in the TV world, they make the show without the fans.  They are left to creating something and hoping the fans will like it.  Coming to the conventions, seeing the fan reactions, it makes everything full circle.  It’s inspiring to them for sure and it gives them the reinforcement they need to do their jobs.  Aww, so after all that messing with us, Mark is a softie!  Thank you Mr. Sheppard, right back at ya!  

Misha Collins

You all know who comes after Mark. This time there was a proper introduction after a Louden Swain number.  Misha’s song, Aerosmith’s “Angel.”  Yes Misha, you’re our angel indeed.  Come save us tonight.  

What can you say about Misha?  He’s a rock star.  Fan girls cry in his presence.  Misha is humble, Misha is honored, but sometimes he just doesn’t know what to say when a fan gushes over him and then starts to cry.  That happened more than once in this panel.  But overall, Misha was a gem. I think he’s leaving the messing with fans to Mark these days.  

Misha was instantly freaked out after accepting cheers from the crowd, who were so loud at one point Misha put his fingers in his ears.  What scared him was fans in the front wearing masks of his face.  That would definitely throw me.  “I love you equally. Some more than others.”  Misha took his seat eventually.  But he had to pause to tie his shoe.  “It’s the opposite of stripping.”  Only Misha makes shoe tying look that great! 

Before taking questions, Misha ran to the back of the room to greet fans there.  In the process of working through the crowd he found a young fan he knows, one that has been coming to cons for 7 years.  He’s 14 now.  Misha observed how much he’s watched this kid grow up and gave him a hug. “Bring your wife next time.”

Would Castiel do GISHWHES?  Yes and he would win because he has super powers.  However, he wouldn’t pass the recruiting questions.  He elaborated further on that answer.  Some teams are taking this so seriously now they are interviewing candidates for their team and testing their skills.  Fans are doing some really extraordinary things for GISHWHES.  One guy was from NASA and built a robot that was the height of a garage.  He would come out with a threatening machine gun and fire flowers!

The next fan came from Malaysia. Her name is Swan. “That is a lovely name. Do you fly?”  She gushed with loads of compliments for Misha (not sure what to say moment number one).  He joked that after saying all that her question will be, “If you could felicitate anyone in the cast…” (we know that answer is Jared!)  Her question really was why doesn’t Jared/Sam have a bromance. Misha wasn’t sure.  “He’s too tall? Hard to cuddle?” “Height differences can be overcome with imagination,” she said.  Misha said that can be fixed with Apple boxes. He’s had to use them on the set and described a circumstance where they were shooting a scene on a hill and Jared was much higher up!  

Someone approached him with the dreaded “hypothetical” question, even being silly enough to say so upfront!  ”My rule is no hypotheticals,” Misha said firmly, then continued,  “So what’s your hypothetical?”  If there was a sequel to “The Man Who Would Be King” what does he think Castiel’s story would be?  Misha instead credited writer Ben Edlund for that script, and then went on to praise how Edlund took the show in unexpected directions. He wrote “The French Mistake.” “In the hands of a less capable writer that would have been what you call in the business a fiasco.” Bottom line, he misses Ben and he’s not answering the hypothetical.

A fan was looking for advice on becoming an actor.  Misha advised her to love the process. Approach it with verve and tenacity. He told the story about how he worked in public radio, which he loved.  He kept calling them daily, harassing HR to see if there was an opening.  Eventually they gave him a job so he would leave them alone.  “Try also to be awesome. It’ll give you a leg up.”

Someone wanted to know about what happens when Castiel meets God. Misha was surprised to hear that.  ”I haven’t yet seen that episode that you read.”  He did speculate though that if it happened, Cas would be pissed. He would go off and punch him.

Next person said that she met him at the photo op. Fan began bawling her eyes out. (Not sure what to say moment number two.)  He found a joke though. “Sorry, I forgot my deodorant.” Eventually, she got the question out.  How does he stay humble? “It’s all an act.” He practices in front of the mirror. No, in all seriousness, it helps that he is older. He’s fully formed and secure person. He understands it’s not about him, it’s a greater phenomenon that he is a part of. He likes to spurn that energy with charitable acts.  The creativity of fans is incredible.

At this point Misha took off his long sleeve shirt to reveal the short sleeve t-shirt underneath.  “Who are these kids and why are they calling me dad?” Bwah, I love that!  

What are his favorite episodes to shoot?  “The French Mistake.  The Mockumentary. “Everybody Hates Hitler.” (I’m sensing Misha is as big an Edlund fan as I am.) 

Here it comes, QUOTE OF THE DAY:  Misha caught the crowd during a strange off moment.  ”You are all so quiet when you’re listening. Nobody is even farting.”

How does Misha prepare for Castiel?  He plays Castiel in a way that’s relatable. Of course the writers looked what he was doing and adapted. At first Castiel was a tough, strong, badass angel warrior.  Then he came along, added his own twist and they changed the direction.  ”Misha can’t do that tough guy stuff. Let’s make him the nerdy weirdo.”

A fan asking a question came from Manitoba.  That got Misha’s attention.  He was fascinated.  “How many here live in Manitoba?”  He polled.  No answers.  He went back to the fan.  “There are dozens of you, right?”  Then he kept talking about Manitoba and asking her questions. “What are the underpinnings of the economy there?” “What brought your family there?” “Have your parents or grandparents talked to you about what they do for a living?” The fan didn’t know what to say after answering all his questions.  ”Thanks for taking time to get to know me.”  Misha went on though.  “Is there anything else you’d like to talk about?”  Yes, she did have a question.  She wanted him to describe Dean and Castiel in five words.  Misha grabbed the mic and got some words from the audience. “I should crowd source my answers more often. It was incredibly efficient.”

Since Misha has had roles that require him to be flexible, he had a fan come up on the stage and have a “split off” with him.  She did the splits on stage, and then so did Misha!  The only difference was his experience was so much more painful.  

Any more episodes coming for “Cooking Fast and Fresh with West?”  He isn’t sure.  He doesn’t want to exploit his son. He’s already been seen enough, he doesn’t want to make it worse.  However, this has fueled West’s culinary escapades.  He wants to keep making something that no one has ever done before. On the show he was supportive and let him do what he wanted.  But now the dad in real life steps in. “Whoa, what are you doing?” West calls his creations “Concoctions.”  He wants concoctions that no one has ever had before and never will again. Misha told this hilarious story of how he was trying to tell West the proper way prepare boiled celery with vitamins and honey.  

Last question. Fan cries (Not sure what to say moment number three.) Misha hugs her. “I feel like I have caused you both pleasure and pain.” She has a question on her phone, so he takes her phone and starts going through contacts.  Then all the others join him on stage looking at the phone.  Then Misha takes a selfie of the group with it.  This led to Misha and Richard telling the story of how it’s not wise to let someone else on the set have your phone.  Misha said how in Toronto he had an argument with Jensen on what to take when you’re drunk.  He was trying to prove he was right in taking ibuprofen.  He handed Jared the Wikipedia entry, who then started tweeting on his twitter feed that he hated children.  If you leave the phone in the green room, someone will change the signature on the cell phone to be “I love orgies.”  

Anyway, after all that the fan wanted them to create an alarm because she has a hard time getting up.  So Misha, Richard, and Louden Swain all got together and obliged.  It was loud!  

It Ain’t Over Yet

The evening started with the autograph sessions.  I always come away from the autograph lines with a story to tell.  First comes from Misha, a man I have met and interviewed many times.  He knows who I am when he sees me.  He just always forgets my name.  At Comic Con he was even introducing me to people by my name to prove he didn’t forget it.  I get to him in the autograph line and I smile and ask, “Do you remember my name?”  Misha immediately says “Yes,” but that’s all I got.  I laughed, took my autograph item and left.  As I walk away toward my seat I hear Misha shouting from behind the curtain, “Hi Alice!”  So, did that mean he finally remembered my name?  No.  He asked the girl behind me, the person who has been sitting next to me all weekend, what my name was.  Good thing she knew, huh?  

The second story happened in Mark Sheppard’s line.  In coming up with things to have people sign, especially since I’ve been to so many cons, I have been digging up and printing up old WFB Motivational Posters.  Last time I presented one for Mark to sign, it didn’t have Crowley in it and he called me out on it.  He was quite offended.  So this time I showed up with one of Crowley.  I reminded him how he gave me such crap for the last one I had him sign.  Mark smiled and said, “Glad you got your shit together.”  Oh yes, Mark has mastered the art of messing with fans.  

Time for another 3 hour break!  After having a nice dinner with Lynn at Fangasm and Clarissa of ScreenFad, Saturday evening at these cons only means one thing, the Saturday Night Special starring Louden Swain and guests.  The concert went almost two hours this time!  If guests didn’t sing, like Kathryn Newton and Alaina Huffman, then they got to introduce!  After a few Louden Swain numbers, Matt Cohen came out and did what I call a rather offbeat, but so Matt, version of “Blister in the Sun.”  Gil Mc Kinney and Osric Chau brought down the house with their rendition of “See You Again” (sorry, I couldn’t find out in a fair amount of time who actually did this song).  As a bonus, here’s a clip of it!  

Mark Sheppard came on later to do a round on the drums, and Richard Speight Jr. took a turn on vocals, but mostly it was Louden Swain stealing the show.  Rob Benedict, who revealed his “Oh My God Becky” t-shirt earlier in the evening, played a couple of emotional numbers, including a new one that he wrote after having his stroke, “Angela.”   Rob openly expressed later too, moving the crowd to tears, that he wouldn’t be alive without his friends. 

While the concert was a smash, it was also really late by the time me, the hubby, and my son worked our way back to the hotel.  My son had texted me that my husband had fallen asleep in the convention center lobby waiting for me!  Considering we didn’t get back until near 1:00 am and I had to be back the next morning for the Jared and Jensen Gold panel, it almost ruined the fun of the concert.  Not to mention, I had to leave the concert early or miss the last train!  While the cons are fun, when they run these events really late and then don’t use a hotel connected to the convention center for most people to stay, forcing people to blearily go to their various hotels via train, taxi, or walking, it makes you wonder what the fun is of cramming so much into one day.  Autographs, meet and greets, and photo ops are taking too much of the schedule and causing too many gaps between events.  Given the fan demand though, that will never change!  

Next was Jared and Jensen day, aka Sunday.  I’ve got the details of their panels and the rest of the con, not to mention some thoughts on what a Supernatural convention means all these years later to an old timer like me. 

Here’s the gallery from all the photos I took from Saturday.  Remember, give credit to Alice! 

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