Oh man guys, we’re halfway through the countdown, and we’ve only got 25 more days to Dragon*Con!
On 25 Days to Dragon*Con in 2010 I posted the trailer for the 4 Days at Dragon*Con documentary. And then about a year ago, at the end of July 2011, I posted a link to the actual 4 Days at Dragon*Con documentary, and also had a giant mini-fame moment because I AM TOTALLY IN THE DOCUMENTARY. If you want to find me start at the thirty-six minute mark, and then at thirty-six minutes, ten seconds, there I am, tearing up the dance floor. Since this documentary was filmed at my first Dragon*Con (in 2009) I have so much nerd pride at having made it into the film!
Since we are at the halfway mark, I figure it is time for all of us to re-watch the film (or watch it for the first time, if for some reason you haven’t watched it). EVERYONE SHOULD WATCH IT, you can get access to it here. It will give you so much joy as we head into the final stretch before Con!
I hope everyone’s Dragon*Con preparations are going well!
A blog commenter had the FANTASTIC recommendation of profiling some of the musicians and performances which will be happening at Dragon*Con. This is a great idea, right? I mean I have no idea who any of the bands are at Dragon*Con (minus, like, the Cruxshadows or Voltaire) and also they change lots, and also what if maybe I’d really like one of those bands but I don’t check them out because there are so many other things to do at Con? Anyways, over the next 46 days I’ll be blogging about some of the live acts who will be at Dragon*Con. I’ll do a mini-profile and drop some identifying features and also maybe some music clips. This is way more interesting than photos of dragons, amirite (sorry guys, I had to get the countdown rolling with something!)
I first need to state that I am in no way, shape, or form a music connoisseur. I like what I like and try not to focus on the popular trends and I’m not too discerning. I’ll listen to pretty much anything except for country music, which is terrible, and yes I will listen to opera, which is great. Also, “Call Me, Maybe” is pretty great too (shut up), so there you go. So, these are not the opinions of a music critic, just someone who enjoys what she enjoys and is going to pass some pretty quick judgments on some bands based on a bit of internet searching. Okay? Okay.
So I’m going to go in order via the Dragon*Con guest page, and the first band on the list is Calabrese. Calabrese (great name, btw), describes itself as the world’s greatest horror punk band. The band consists of Jimmy, Davey, and Bobby Calabrese, brothers with an awesome last name. The Dragon*Con website describes Calabrese as catering those who are not down with popular music nowadays (love it). They have song titles like “Voices of the Dead” and “Backseat of my Hearse.” The video for “Voices of the Dead” features some lucha libres. Check it:
And here is “Backseat of My Hearse”
So the more I listen to this stuff guys, the more I legit like it. It might not be the most original music, but it is fun, and these gentlemen seem to have a good sense of humor. Also, leather jackets?! Also, it seems like they could have a good live show. Also, it seems like my boyfriend would like Calabrese’s music too (plus!) Also, they have webisodes!
This might not be the funniest of the webisodes but I like it because they go to Italy and they take their dad with them and they all eat gelato and it is sort of adorable. I don’t like that they say their name with an American accent, and not the appropriate Calabray-seh. Oh well, you win some, you lose some.
So here are the talking points for Calabrese (pronounced like an American would say it, sigh):
-Composed of three brothers with a penchant for leather jackets.
-Punkish-style band that sings about horror tropes.
-Webisodes with antics.
I’ll also score these bands on the very scientific two thumbs up (I’d totally see them at Dragon*Con!), one thumb up (Maybe I’d see them if my feet hurt and I needed somewhere to relax for a bit but I wouldn’t go out of my way to see them), no thumbs up (which band is this again?) and two thumbs down (ABSOLUTELY NOT).
Let’s give Calabrese a two thumbs up! I can dig it.
OH ALSO: Their website has an ouija board. It isn’t currently functional but still, an ouija board! Rock on.
Okay y’all, a few more dragons and then I’ll get off this dragon kick–it is Dragon*Con, after all, so I am allowed to post about dragons as much as I want!
Did y’all see How to Train Your Dragon? If you didn’t you should see it! I’m watching it for like the 20th time right now, and the first big flying scene with Hiccup and Toothless just happened, and it is so amazing. The cinematography and the music and also that whole “What it would be like if I could actually fly” thing? So good! If you didn’t want a pet dragon before, you’d totally want one after watching this scene:
I’ve decided to kick off my second iteration of 50 Days to Dragon*Con by talking about some dragons that I have known. The How to Train Your Dragon dragons are just a recent obsession, one that burrowed into my mind because a) the Toothless dragon is pretty cute and b) the dragons in this movie are basically like giant cats. And who doesn’t want a giant adorable fire-breathing cat that you can love (and maybe even fly on? I originally had “who doesn’t want a giant adorable fire-breathing cat that you can ride and love, but that came off a little wrong). The movie even features little tiny dragons–little tiny pet dragons guys! How amazing would that be?
Last Dragon*Con I stumbled upon a booth selling these little poseable dragons, and they had a black and red model with a face that looked like Toothless. So I totally bought it (duh).
Cute right? Of course now it just sits, coiled up around my nightstand lamp. Dragon*Con impulse buys, what can you do right?
Hey y’all! I skipped it last year, but this year I’m planning to do my 50 Days to Dragon*Con countdown! Aren’t you excited?
I wanted to give y’all the opportunity to have a voice in this. What would you like me to write about? The last go-around, in 2010, focused primarily on fun, nerdy things that I enjoyed. Nowadays, however, I consider myself pretty informed about Dragon*Con, so I’d happily expand my postings to my tips on how to survive and enjoy the convention. Do you have nerdy topics about which you’d like me to write? I can do that! I plan on revisiting some anticipatory posts I wrote in 2010, to walk about how the reality was (ie: Game of Thrones, etc.) But mostly I’ll be winging it–although hopefully, with your help, I won’t be totally winging it.
Anyways, chime in and let me know what you want to know! I’m here to countdown with y’all, because I can Dragon*Con and so can you! I’ll be starting this journey on July 11th, so let me know before then!
The Dilettantista 