Halloween Convention
by JammyjjSometime in May '04
I was randomly searching the internet as you do and discovered that James was performing with Ghost of the Robot in Coventry (my home town) the following week. I planned to go down there but my manager would not let me have the time off work. I was gutted to the point of despair... had i missed my only opportunity to meet James?? I wassurfing the internet a couple of weeks later and hit the Halloween Convention site. Wow.. maybe just maybe... until I discovered the price tag. Jez, i had just finished university how the hell was i gonna be able to pay for this? There was no way I was going on my own so I asked my brother if he was interested in going as he is also a big Buffy fan (he's the reason I started watching the show). He was like yeah but its a bit steep. So being the kind person I am I offered to pay for both pof our tickets, the hotel expences and any merchandise he wanted on the day. Oh dear, my bank manager was gonna love me!! Thank god for Barclaycard!!!Friday Night
We got our parents to drive us down to London, they dropped us off outside the venue so that we could register, we got there about 1930 and there were only a few people milling around. We registered and got our programme and bag full of goodies. We jumped back in the car and sped off to the hotel while we were studying the programme to get some idea of what was happening.that night, Sarah Michelle Gellar was on the Jonathan Ross show in the UK. We stayed up to watch it and were wetting ourselves with laughter. Towards the end of the interview Jonathan Ross touched on the chemistry between SMG and David Boreanaz and they showed a photo of the two. Oh my god! we were actually gonna be meeting this hunk a guy. We just couldnt comprehend that we were actually going to be in the same room as these guys.
Saturday AM
We drove past the queue of people waiting to register and get into the venue. we were glad we'd registered the night before!! We couldn't get over how long the queue was. We were waiting nervously to get inside, when the doors flung open and all those wearing an orange wristband were ushered inside to get into our seats. We walked into the hall and were suprised at how small the venue was. It had been decorated with Halloween banners, bats, skeletons, axes etc. But the biggest shock was yet to come. We were to be sat 10 rows from the front and we amanged to get aisle seats as we were the first from our row to arrive. We couldn't believe our luck, we'd both figured we would be right at the back with a crap view!! Boy were we wrong!!Whilst we were settling into our seats, the hall gradually filled with people taking their seasts and joingin two queues. At the back of the hall, on ewither side there were merchandise tables selling brand new, limited edition photos of david on one side and james and the other guests on the other. The queue for David started off but the next thing we know, the queue for James has lapped Davids!!
We contemplated whether or not to join the queue now before it got even longer but decided we would wait because we didnt want to miss anything else. we gazed all around us still having difficulty to come to terms with the fact that we were actuall there, the months of aniticpation and waiting had come to a head, we were actually going to be meeting James Marsters and David Boreanaz (swoon, swoon!!)
The big screen on the stage sprung into life as they started showing buffy music videos and episodes of Buffy. We could see the rows infornt of us getting called for the photoshoot with David and James. Boy was I nervous, there was some movement on stage ad Lisa (one of the organisers) made a few housekeeping announcements and then introduced Jane Espenson for her Q and A session. A huge round of applause greeted her and she looked thrilled.The questions were interesting, although my brain was trying hard to pay attention to what was going on on stage, i was starting to get nervous about the photoshoot.
The next thing i know, a steward approaches us and askes us to go for our photo. Trying not to run but walking at a brisk pace we headed down to the basement. Fortunately there were only a couple of people infront of us so it wasnt long before we were actually queing in the room with them. I kept buging my briother by asking if i looked alright, is my hair alright!! if i had sasked him one more time by the end of the weekend i swear he would have hit me!!
I was trying to think of something intelligant to say but i ran out of time. my brother was infront of me and walked up to james, who said hi and shook his hand, my brother then sttod inbetween james and david, said hi to david who had to do a double take of the shirt he was wearing, 'your mother loves you but everyone else thinks your a t**t'. He didnt quite know what to amke of it, they posed for photos and it was my turn.
The floor was very slippy and i was trying to walk over with some sort of composure, by the time i managed to get over to James and David, James had swung his chair around and was making some comment to David about my brothers shirt I think. I stood next to James, who then turned round and sai hi, he put his hand out to shake mine, I asked if i could have hug instead...... he was like, 'yeah of course darlin' so i gave him a great big hug!!!! I then stood inbetween david and james and david said hi, i was like can i have a hug aswell, david was just like yeah as a flung my arms around him like a child!!! James put his arm aroun me for the photo and posed, i then thanked the guys and left. Apparently i am one of the lucky ones because David didn't smile a lot during the photo shoots but i got a sly grin!!!I was walking on air at this point, i was shaking all over, i just cant believe that i had been inbetween james and david, hugged them both and had james' arm around me.
Part 2
After getting my phot with David and James, taking a few deep breaths, I walked as calmly as I could back to my seat in the hall. I was still a little shaky, Jane Espenson had finished her Q and A session and there were some more Buffy/Angel muisc videos being shown. I exchanged information as to what had happened when I met James and Dvaid with the girls in the seats around me, while still shaking!!We are sat in our seats when there is some movement on stage. The next thing I know, David and James are walking down the hall towards the satge, they were preparing for the offical welcome. everybody turned in their seats to see what everyone else was looking at. The turned, smiled and carried on waking towards the back of the stage.
Lisa, one of the organisers came on stage and started the 'welcome'. First she gave a little introduction and then everyone cheered as Jane Espenson came onto the satge, waved and said how great it was that she had been invited. Next up was Amy Acker, she looked a little terrified when she first saw everybody but seemed to be put at ease a little by the loud cheering and applause she recieved. Okay, it was Luke Perry's turn and he was given a very warm welcome. Juliet Landau was next, she was cheered as she walked on stage, Lisa had told us during her introduction that she had flown all the way from America to be there and would only be able to stay till Sunday morning becasue she had to catch a plane back to finish filming her new movie.
So, now we have Jane, Amy, Luke and Juliet all stabnding on the stage. everybody was shuffling in there seats because they knew who was coming next!! I could see James waiting in the wings....... Lisa said she would not prolong the introduction of the next guest..... JAMES MARSTERS......... yey, the audience went mad, cheering appluading and stamping their feet together to the point where i though the floor was gonna break!! James said how pleased he was he could make it and that it was gonna be a great weekend. James took his place next to the other guests lined up on the stage. We all knew what was coming now......... again Lisa gave a very quick introduction and David Boreanaz graced the stage, he looked genuinely happy to be there and was given the same warm welcome that all the other guests had quite rightly recieved. He welcomed us and thanked us for coming.
All the guests waved goodbye as they exited the stage, all except for David who was to give his Q and A session while the other guests went for lunch. David sat down and looked very relaxed, despite having a thousand people gawking at him!! Whilst he was giving his Q and A, James, Juliet, Luke, Amy and Jane all walked through the audience to get out of the hall, this said a lot about how relaxed they must have felt becasue they didnt have 100s of security guards folowing them all the time, at most i only ever saw 2 escorts!
Part 3
Davids Q and A was hilarious, he was very laid back and fed off the crowd. He is a very very funny guy and came across really well throughout the weekend. I cant really remember all of what went on cos I was just so caught up in the moment. David explained that the photos which were available only at the con were taken at his house.Haagen Daz was featured quite heavily aswell... LOL. I think he had been asked what he would do for a romantic evening, he replied that Haagen Daz and Jaime would do him fine... SOmething along those lines.. This did set the tone for the event and as soon as anything food related was mentioned, everybody was in hysterics.
After DB there was time for a quick fag before James would grace the stage. He came bounding onto the stage with such enrgy and enthusiasm. He had a great big grin on his face and held his arms in the air before settling down to begin the questions. The questions asked were varied and because I had never attended a con there was no bench mark and I would never have guessed if the question had been put to James a million times before. He told us about his first theatre performance. He was to be wheeled onto the stage naked, but because the lighting was to be low he went along with it, until the head lightin guy wasnt there for the first night and an over eager assisstant decided to light te hell out of the stage emaning all was on show!! LOL
James was asked a question about his first ever acting role, playing Eeyore in the 3rd grade, he delighted the audience and little girl who had asked the question by giving us a line from the play!!
James gave us some details about his role in The Mountain. He was only emant to be on set for 2 days but was there for 4. He explained a little about his role etc.
All too soon the q and a came to a close. There was only one thing left and that was to draw some raffle tickets for some prizes. James pulled one out and the winner was on the balcony, so he started climbing the stage to get up to her, not realising she was running down the back to get to the stage!!! The organisers looked on in horror, having visions of him falling off the stage and breaking his neck!!
Unfortunately I was queing to get an autograph from Juliet and Amy whilst Luke was doing his Q and A, from what I heard it was very good and I made sure I caught his second one on the Sunday.
We were queing for autographs and Juleit and Amy walked up the stairs to take their seats. I first approached Juliet who was very laid back and I had wracked my brains to think of something intelligant to say... she asked what my name was to personalise it.. I replied its Juliet with an extra t and e!! she laughed and said that she liked the name and had head it somewhere before!!
Next was Amy, as I approached the table, her partner was just sitting down next to her. she is sooo sweet and Fred like! my brother had spent the past 5 minutes talking to ehr and asking what she had been up to during her stay in london, she commented that she had seen a play and was going out for dinner that night to a swanky restaurant. i was only able to have a brief hello and goodbye.
We made a quick dash to the BP for some more money and some food, only to find that the place had been ransacked by all the other people attending the con! No money in the cash machine and hardly any food left!!!
We made our way back to the hall and listened to Amy's Q and A. She looked very nervous and kept laughing, the one like Fred. She was sooo sweet and lovable. It is easy to see why everyone took her under their wing on the angel said.
After Amys Q and A we made a beeline for the queue to have photos with her. We beat the rush and said hello again, she looked very tired but she kept on smiling. when it was time for the photo, i couldnt think of anything to say incase of sounding stupid!! i told her it was nice to meet her and that i hope she enjoyed her stay. she said thank you and i made my way back to the hall.
We managed to catch the last 15/20 mintues of Juliet's Q and A. She is sooo elegant. We only caught the tail end of what she was saying and so it is hard to put it into context cos we missed the question!!
I was now getting extremely excited about the evenings entertainment. It was now 6 pm and we only had 2 hours to wait!!!!! We were very hungry so we took a 20 minute walk to a chip shop. the chip shop man asked what we were up to, we explained we were at a buffy convention. for some reaosn he though buffy was a type of food?? we explained it as a tv show and he suddenly knew what we were talking about
He hadnt got a clue it was happening just down the road!Part 4
The evening entertainment was kicked off by a commentary on 'The Girl in Question'. David and James made their way to the stage amid cheers from th audience. While the footage was being set up, DAvid pased the time by picking up a prop from the stage, a witches broom stick. The brush end fell off and everyone was in hysteris. David then approached the big inflateble cat holding a pumpkin and proceeded to hit hit it with the stick.. He was working out some issues!! David seemed utterly fascintaed with this inflatable throughtout the event. The broom handle was Davids companion for the duration of the commentary. The both sat down next to the big screen on the stage which was showing the episode. Initally the sound has been cut but they didnt have a clue what was happening in the episode so they started improvising and doing voice overs for the characters. The David tried to get the sound tyurned back on, but this distracted us from the comic duo, David and James!! They were on fire that night, we all agreed that they should continue with what they were doing to begin with and got the sound turned off again. James impersonated Fred's parents and the dialogue he gave was about investments if i recall correctly. Highly hilarious.
At one point during the commentary, David was sat towards the edge of the stage and kept inching nearer to the edge of the stage untill a security guard noticed that if he went any further back he would be in the laps of the front row!!
During the car/moped chase James and David provided the sounds of the vehicles tearing around the streets of Italy. When Angel and SPike were meeting with the Italien head of Wolram and Hart, Davuid made a comment about her breasts, then h e noticed that SPikes eyes wandered south and that he was getting an eyefull!! So whenever SPike and the Italian were in a scene, everyone was watching SPikes eyes, and occasionally he would look down. Then there was a competition during one scene to see who got an eyeful first, Angel or SPike??!! Spike won but only by a second as Angel closely followed!!David's Trick 'n Treat!!
The intial plan had been for David to read a story written by Ann Evans I think. David announced that becasue it was Halloween he waas turning the tables and was going to trick us and then treat us!! David gave out gifts to members of the audience. SOme of the things he said were truely beautiful and touching. I even found myself on the verge of tears at numerous times during the course of his 'session'. David left the satge and Lisa announced that they would be drawing the raffle prizes of breakfast with James and David the next day. Everybody was sitting on the edge of their seats, unforutnately I was not one ofthe lucky ones!! Boo hoo.James Solo Performance!!
The the moment we had all been waiting for. James Marsters first ever, solo, accoustic European performance. He walked onto the stage, he asked the audience who had met him and said how nervous they were, a number of hands went up and James replied, ' I am just as nervous performing for you now'. He had no need to be nervous, he rocked. I would have been prepared to pay the ticket price just for the performance. I can't remember the exact order but he played the following songs.Patricia: a new song which will be on his solo album
This Town: he announced this as another new song but any fan will know that this track was previous released with GotR.
Dangerous
Bad
Over Now
Runaway. This was soooo cool, James started whistling towards the end of the song during what wouold have been the instrumental from the reat of the band. Boy can he whistle.
Goodbye. Wow!!
Katie ( I think that is the name)
Everyman (thinlks God is on his side)
He ended with his favourited: Smile!!His performance eneded all too quickly. At one point, after the first couple of songs which were ver 'rocky' he had to take a break cos his hand kept cramping. He annlunced tat he though he should have started with the slow stuff then gone into the more upbeat trakcs. Whilst he was stretching his hand he aske if we wanted to hear a story, the audience shouted 'YES'. He told us about how, when he was just starting out, he was rehersing a play in the basement of a church. They had a performance that evening and they were doing the final dress rehersal, the preacher sat through the rehersal and really screwed it up cos he kept putting people off. James approached him and asked why he was there, the preacher responded that it was his basement and he had every right to be there. James being the gentleman he is punched the wall instead of the preacher! Only the wall was made of concrete. OOOWWWW!! Because he was por at the time he had no health insurance and he had to kewp going back to the doctors to have his hand rebroken so that it would men 'properly' (he couldnt afford to have an operatyion to put pins in his hand). James said that thinking back it would have been better if he had indeed punched the preacher!! He was of course joking!!
At the end of his performance he recieved a standing ovation and was beeming with happiness at how well his performance had been recieved. If only it had lasted longer, it was like being in a time warp, there was abosuletly no concept of time and all too soon it ended. It was the highlight of the weekend.
We made a dash for the tube station to try and avoid the ruch. There were people everywheer wearing the orange wristbands, we didnt get back to the hotel toll midnight, we pordered room service and tucked in. The fell into our beds and went to sleep, it had been a very long day and we were still buzzing but we knew that it was to be another long one tomorrow.
Part five will be added soon
