I went to Long Beach this weekend to perform with Kirby Krackle at the Long Beach Comic Con.
The view from our hotel room:
The town was strangely deserted all weekend. When I lived in CA it seemed like every square inch was packed with people.
The hotel lounge was very nice.
And had cool carpet.
This is Nelson and Bryce, drummer and keyboardist for Kirby Krackle, cooling their heels.
The conference was held at the convention center nearby:
These pictures can't convey just how huge and packed the conference was:
Kyle and Jim, the songwriting brains:
Celebrity guests were a really, really bizarre mix of famous comic artists, D-grade scifi/horror actors, and 80s TV stars. Most wanted money in exchange for snapshots. I managed to ninja-cam a shot of Berke Breathed:
And this shot of Anthony Michael Hall with the OC Rollergirls:
Somewhat famous people I saw at the convention but didn't take pictures because I either missed them or it cost money:
Seth Green Lou Ferrigno Richard Hatch Wil Wheaton (he was wandering around) Vernon Wells (mohawked raider guy from Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior) Thomas Jane Corin Nemec (now known for his role on Stargate but also known as Parker Lewis from Parker Lewis Can't Lose). George Lazenby (!!!) Pat Harrington Jr. (???) Dave Ellefson (?!?!?!?!?!??!!) Edie McClurg (?!?!??!?!?!??!??!??WTF?)
There were also tons of costumed nerds. Check out Sean Doorly's Flickr Set for lots of shots. (Or, just Google for "sexy Deadpool," I dunno.)
We played in a conference room on the second level.
It had ugly, ugly carpet.
Check out the bass amp I was given to use:
It looks like it was pushed down a flight of steps, thrown in a trunk and driven to a cornfield where Joe Pesci beat the crap out of it with a baseball bat. It's not even square anymore. (It worked fine though.)
Surprise, an opening band! The called themselves Bigfoot and played wheedly-wheedly! blues rock.
AKA the Abominable Frontman, Bassquatch, and...Sasquatch? Booo! Dude, you either pick a name or I'm naming you Drumsquatch. Or Skunk Ape. Anyway, thanks for letting me use your battered bass amp, Bassquatch.
Anyway I couldn't take any photos while playing but this guy got a shot of us doing soundcheck:
Maybe more photos will surface, who knows? UPDATE: popculturegeek has some good pics. Thanks to everyone who showed up, including the four dudes in Guy Fawkes masks who creeped out Nelson.
Back to the hotel lounge for drinks and nerd-talk.
Parting shot of the L.A. river on the way back to the airport the next day:
Bye Long Beach, it's been fun!