Con Report -- Confluence 2004
Mood:  lazy
I'm currently recovering from this past weekend in Pittsburgh at Confluence. I've been a fixture there for at least 5 or 6 years, if not longer, and I did the sound support for this year's concerts and play as well as doing a concert on Friday night.

A few comments about the con:

My concert sucked. ::sigh:: Here's hoping for a better show next year.

Many thanks to all of the musicians who were so gracious when working with me. Overall, the technical stuff went well. My hat's off to Chris Conway, our filk GOH, who turned in an excellent show late Saturday night. Many in the audience never suspected that Chris had been quite under-the-weather for the entire con and was not 100% on Saturday night. I think you can get a pretty good idea of the man's talent and dedication from his performance. Speaking as his soundman, I can say that he was very cooperative and pleasant. I feel awfully sorry for anyone who missed his concert.

I would like to comment on this year's play, as well. Unlike past years, this year's production was not a musical but a drama, and what a drama! Spectacular costumes, amazing special efx, scintillating dialog, and stupendous acting; the audience was riveted to their seats, literally. Many will carry the scars from that performance for life. The show, a dramatic recreation of the STNG pilot, was filled with an existential sturm und drang not often experienced in hotel ballrooms. I'd like to share my most memorable moment from the play.

In a vain attempt to escape the Queue, Capt. Placard calls for greater speed:

Capt. Placard (to Cmd. Datum): Warp factor 9!
Lt. Warp (the Klingoff): 3 times 3, sir!

You can't find entertainment of this quality on cable, let me tell you.

I also want to take the opportunity to thank the concom for their kind treatment and generosity. I've never had a bad time at Confluence and the hard work these folks put into the con shows. I can't say enough about the amazing job that Randy Hoffman has done for the filk track. I can remember a time when filk at Confluence meant one concert and 8 or 10 people sitting in a hallway to share songs. Thanks to Randy's excellent work, Confluence has had some outstanding performances from the likes of Joe Giacoio, Kenny Young and the Eggplants, The Fibs and Chris Conway and there are rooms for fiking and many filkers to fill them. He's really brought the filk track a long way. I'm privy to one or two of Randy's plans for the future; if they pan out, you'll see even more coolness at this con.

All things considered, this was a very good weekend. If you haven't attended a Confluence yet, I whole-heartedly recommend it.