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Much more positive than the hotel. The worst part of the con programming for me was missing parts of it because Drew needed to be taken care of too. I did not want to miss a minute. But Drew is 2 and not always up to patient sitting, so miss some minutes I did. Scott missed more, bless his willingness.
One note for those inclined to be surprised by my commentary - I didn't attend filk at ALL until Conflikt I, and have in fact made it to very few cons with filk (four? five?), three of them Conflikts. So. I am not as familiar with the music as others. :)
The detailed notes:
Lots of good time throughout the weekend - brief, but good - saying hi to / socializing with / hugging friends. Got to see many friends and good acquaintances. Happy things. Also, a few lovely rounds of punning (mostly on Saturday, when I was wearing the "A Pun At Maturity Is Fully Groan" shirt that Scott got me for my birthday).
Friday
We arrived in time to get registered, go out to grab dinner (hi, IHOP), and come back for opening ceremonies. The entire room singing Hope Eyrie? Oh yes, thing of beauty. I am sorry I didn't do brunch this year and thus didn't get the CD - I debated so hard - and I still conclude I don't want brunch, but I do want the CD. Alas.
Ben Newman's concert: I don't, honestly, recall it. I know I was in there, I remember the introduction commenting that his concert was only a half hour because of the play on Sunday also being part of what he was putting on. :/ Hopefully someone will post a set list later, and jog my memory.
Steve Dixon's concert: another I don't remember. Arrrgh. Maybe I was out with Drew? Again, fingers crossed for a set list to jog my memory.
Cecilia Eng's concert. I don't remember a single song clearly, but I remember a lot of enjoyment and I think laughter. I remember not wanting it to end when it did. (The fact that I remember her concert the best of Friday night may be because the later it got, the more I absorbed the con atmosphere and the more tired I was, the more I relaxed. I'm not sure.)
Open Filking: hahahahahaha no. Sadly, I missed all of Friday's open filking and went to bed, because hi, toddler wanted mommy to sleep and mommy was stressed and tired.
Saturday
Went out for IHOP breakfast while the brunch attendees had, well, brunch. Open Filking opposite brunch: dead, dead, deader than dead, too dead to rise. (Yes, Feed reference.)
Wandered in to Harry Potter / Wizard Rock for a little while but then needed to go touch base with Scott and Drew. Missed the songbook singalong getting lunch. I forget where.
Went to Two-fers, heard most of them but Drew needed me. Don't, sadly, remember them clearly. I remember enjoying them. I just don't remember what I enjoyed.
Katie Tinney's concert. This one I remember. Her voice is GORGEOUS, and she does Dear Gina beautifully and wickedly. I do not remember her full set list, but I remember very much enjoying it, and being sad when it ended.
Leannan Sidhe's concert. Again, I don't remember the set list. I remember very much enjoying both the lyrics and the sound of her voice, and being sad when it ended. I really like her music.
Interfilk auction: sadly, I missed all but the beginning of this. There wasn't anything I wanted to bid on, and I weighed watching the fun versus dinner and came up with dinner, as we wanted to be back for the Alexander James Adams concert. (I heard his concert last year while Scott took care of a fussy Drew. When we found out he was substituting for Vixy and Tony this year, I immediately said we would reverse that.)
(This was the night we went over to the mall area, discovered an enormous wait at a restaurant, and ended up at the McDonald's drive thru...and I got shorted a sandwich (which they were willing to make up but I'd've had to drive back over since I paid in cash, and I never made it). Argh. Oh well, we all ended up fed. Drew ate most of one of his Dad's cheeseburgers, and instead of eating his chicken McNuggets, fed them to me.)
Back for the concert. Drew was, indeed, high-energy and I was only in the room or the hallway adjacent for maybe half the set, probably less. However, I did get to hear Good Beltaine Fire and Hymn to Herne that I can remember, and others I've spaced since then. Scott got to enjoy the entire concert, and loved it, so I was very happy about letting him do that. This is also when I learned there was streaming of the concerts. I was able to pick it up on my iPhone when we were in our room, and the con suite had it going in the second room. Sadly, Drew wanted to talk over the concerts and tell me to turn them off at this point, so I was getting bits and snippets - pity, as the stream seemed to be good. Looks like I can go back to http://www.ustream.tv/channel/conflikt and watch what I missed of this one, tho. GLEE.
Then we traded off and I got to enjoy Mark Osier's and concert, and most of Dr. Mary Crowell's concert. Much fun. Especially a bit of New Bunk Foss as I missed them last time I had a chance to hear. Happyhappy bounce. I want set lists. I do not remember much. I had fun, but I had no brain. I do remember Mark Osier's "I Want Groupies" - both because it's hysterical in its own right, but also because the extended story was going to be told in open filking and I wanted to hear it.
And off to bed because, again, no open filking as Drew wasn't sleeping until I was there. Argh! Toddler, not so much for filk con hours. Alas. That's how I came to miss the last couple songs of Mary's concert - because it was 11 and Scott was veryvery tired.
Sunday
Lazy morning hanging out, talking a bit, entertaining Drew and getting food. We skipped the wedding due to lack of knowing people. We did wander up to the main area after the wedding and hung out a bit but not much was going on (as you'd expect, since not much was scheduled to go on just then), but I think this is when Drew & Scott looked out the window. It's also the first time the curtains were pulled and I happily noted how much it helps.
I did, however, get at least the vague extended story of how the groupies thing got extra-funny when first debuted. I don't think I could reproduce it, but I did get to hear.
I was sad the downstairs open filk wasn't happening, but not surprised. It pretty much needed a gravestone of its own all weekend.
Songwriting contest: "Why Can't We Go Into That Room?" (Regarding the Queen Anne room we didn't get access to.) I believe lyrics for these may go up on the web site as permission is received? Something about doing that seemed to be planned. There were some brilliant entries; I think my favorite was Andrew Ross's if I remember right, but Creede Lambard had a single line that had me falling over laughing. (He asserted that Mark Osier's groupies were being housed in there.)
Then "Walk In the Day - A Science Fiction Musical" about first contact, about helping, about a race of aliens that live nocturnally, for whom dark is good and light is bad and danger. It was veryvery fun. And both Scott and I got to watch it (it was the big thing he wanted to watch, and I'd agreed if Drew needed out I would leave), because it started at 2, and Drew slept through it in my arms. He woke up right at the end, when the applause startled him. Very, very cool. And I need to hear more of the singer who was the "head" of the new group of scouts, I liked her voice and her stage presence. (I liked everyone in this, but most of them I was familiar with already.)
Band Scramble, which I sadly missed more of than I witnessed.
Creede Lambard's concert, which I enjoyed.
The Farewell Jam which I hung around for most of. Sharps and Flats, where I think we said too many flats and too few sharps purely because the flats had lots of sub-details (which is kinda good, because then they can be addressed), while the sharps were huge and vague.
This is when we had dinner at the hotel, so we could get back into things quickly. And up to the smoked salmon, where I hung out until almost 1 am, with a break around 9 or 10 (I forget) to settle Drew to sleep. He was NOT HAPPY at almost 1 am when he woke up and found I'd snuck off, so I went to bed. He woke several times enough to check I was still there, and I had to wake enough to reassure him, so I think it was time for me to be gone.
And then it was over and Monday morning we left. It felt like a very large let-down to be done. Luckily, I was distracted from the long drive back by a serious case of falling asleep, since I'd been up until 1 am. ;)
I complained about the hotel in my first post on this. Let me just stop here and say that, while I would've liked to have more time where there was music (that whole 'toddler' thing), this con ROCKED. The con suite always had something I could eat and was very on top of things as far as I could tell, the main-room programming was great, the music and concerts were great, I laughed a lot, I got hugs from friends, there were puns, there was money spent happily in the dealer's room, and Drew had a good time overall (someone let him strum a guitar; he has been saying 'banjo' a lot and actually had to be removed from the smoked salmon at one point because he was fussing because Creede stopped playing and let someone else have a turn, and I think he had to be removed at another point for the same reason; he saw and heard lots of music).
And I may be wrong, but I think Drew - who has been singing little children's songs for a few months - has been singing more today than other days.
And this? This is why I will be back, even if it's in that hotel, even if none of the things that bugged me are changed. For the people, and the music, and the fun. (On the other hand? Conflikt con-com rocks. I do not in fact expect that it will be the same hotel without any adjustments next year. That would be very odd.)
Any chance I'll see you there next year? :)
One note for those inclined to be surprised by my commentary - I didn't attend filk at ALL until Conflikt I, and have in fact made it to very few cons with filk (four? five?), three of them Conflikts. So. I am not as familiar with the music as others. :)
The detailed notes:
Lots of good time throughout the weekend - brief, but good - saying hi to / socializing with / hugging friends. Got to see many friends and good acquaintances. Happy things. Also, a few lovely rounds of punning (mostly on Saturday, when I was wearing the "A Pun At Maturity Is Fully Groan" shirt that Scott got me for my birthday).
Friday
We arrived in time to get registered, go out to grab dinner (hi, IHOP), and come back for opening ceremonies. The entire room singing Hope Eyrie? Oh yes, thing of beauty. I am sorry I didn't do brunch this year and thus didn't get the CD - I debated so hard - and I still conclude I don't want brunch, but I do want the CD. Alas.
Ben Newman's concert: I don't, honestly, recall it. I know I was in there, I remember the introduction commenting that his concert was only a half hour because of the play on Sunday also being part of what he was putting on. :/ Hopefully someone will post a set list later, and jog my memory.
Steve Dixon's concert: another I don't remember. Arrrgh. Maybe I was out with Drew? Again, fingers crossed for a set list to jog my memory.
Cecilia Eng's concert. I don't remember a single song clearly, but I remember a lot of enjoyment and I think laughter. I remember not wanting it to end when it did. (The fact that I remember her concert the best of Friday night may be because the later it got, the more I absorbed the con atmosphere and the more tired I was, the more I relaxed. I'm not sure.)
Open Filking: hahahahahaha no. Sadly, I missed all of Friday's open filking and went to bed, because hi, toddler wanted mommy to sleep and mommy was stressed and tired.
Saturday
Went out for IHOP breakfast while the brunch attendees had, well, brunch. Open Filking opposite brunch: dead, dead, deader than dead, too dead to rise. (Yes, Feed reference.)
Wandered in to Harry Potter / Wizard Rock for a little while but then needed to go touch base with Scott and Drew. Missed the songbook singalong getting lunch. I forget where.
Went to Two-fers, heard most of them but Drew needed me. Don't, sadly, remember them clearly. I remember enjoying them. I just don't remember what I enjoyed.
Katie Tinney's concert. This one I remember. Her voice is GORGEOUS, and she does Dear Gina beautifully and wickedly. I do not remember her full set list, but I remember very much enjoying it, and being sad when it ended.
Leannan Sidhe's concert. Again, I don't remember the set list. I remember very much enjoying both the lyrics and the sound of her voice, and being sad when it ended. I really like her music.
Interfilk auction: sadly, I missed all but the beginning of this. There wasn't anything I wanted to bid on, and I weighed watching the fun versus dinner and came up with dinner, as we wanted to be back for the Alexander James Adams concert. (I heard his concert last year while Scott took care of a fussy Drew. When we found out he was substituting for Vixy and Tony this year, I immediately said we would reverse that.)
(This was the night we went over to the mall area, discovered an enormous wait at a restaurant, and ended up at the McDonald's drive thru...and I got shorted a sandwich (which they were willing to make up but I'd've had to drive back over since I paid in cash, and I never made it). Argh. Oh well, we all ended up fed. Drew ate most of one of his Dad's cheeseburgers, and instead of eating his chicken McNuggets, fed them to me.)
Back for the concert. Drew was, indeed, high-energy and I was only in the room or the hallway adjacent for maybe half the set, probably less. However, I did get to hear Good Beltaine Fire and Hymn to Herne that I can remember, and others I've spaced since then. Scott got to enjoy the entire concert, and loved it, so I was very happy about letting him do that. This is also when I learned there was streaming of the concerts. I was able to pick it up on my iPhone when we were in our room, and the con suite had it going in the second room. Sadly, Drew wanted to talk over the concerts and tell me to turn them off at this point, so I was getting bits and snippets - pity, as the stream seemed to be good. Looks like I can go back to http://www.ustream.tv/channel/conflikt and watch what I missed of this one, tho. GLEE.
Then we traded off and I got to enjoy Mark Osier's and concert, and most of Dr. Mary Crowell's concert. Much fun. Especially a bit of New Bunk Foss as I missed them last time I had a chance to hear. Happyhappy bounce. I want set lists. I do not remember much. I had fun, but I had no brain. I do remember Mark Osier's "I Want Groupies" - both because it's hysterical in its own right, but also because the extended story was going to be told in open filking and I wanted to hear it.
And off to bed because, again, no open filking as Drew wasn't sleeping until I was there. Argh! Toddler, not so much for filk con hours. Alas. That's how I came to miss the last couple songs of Mary's concert - because it was 11 and Scott was veryvery tired.
Sunday
Lazy morning hanging out, talking a bit, entertaining Drew and getting food. We skipped the wedding due to lack of knowing people. We did wander up to the main area after the wedding and hung out a bit but not much was going on (as you'd expect, since not much was scheduled to go on just then), but I think this is when Drew & Scott looked out the window. It's also the first time the curtains were pulled and I happily noted how much it helps.
I did, however, get at least the vague extended story of how the groupies thing got extra-funny when first debuted. I don't think I could reproduce it, but I did get to hear.
I was sad the downstairs open filk wasn't happening, but not surprised. It pretty much needed a gravestone of its own all weekend.
Songwriting contest: "Why Can't We Go Into That Room?" (Regarding the Queen Anne room we didn't get access to.) I believe lyrics for these may go up on the web site as permission is received? Something about doing that seemed to be planned. There were some brilliant entries; I think my favorite was Andrew Ross's if I remember right, but Creede Lambard had a single line that had me falling over laughing. (He asserted that Mark Osier's groupies were being housed in there.)
Then "Walk In the Day - A Science Fiction Musical" about first contact, about helping, about a race of aliens that live nocturnally, for whom dark is good and light is bad and danger. It was veryvery fun. And both Scott and I got to watch it (it was the big thing he wanted to watch, and I'd agreed if Drew needed out I would leave), because it started at 2, and Drew slept through it in my arms. He woke up right at the end, when the applause startled him. Very, very cool. And I need to hear more of the singer who was the "head" of the new group of scouts, I liked her voice and her stage presence. (I liked everyone in this, but most of them I was familiar with already.)
Band Scramble, which I sadly missed more of than I witnessed.
Creede Lambard's concert, which I enjoyed.
The Farewell Jam which I hung around for most of. Sharps and Flats, where I think we said too many flats and too few sharps purely because the flats had lots of sub-details (which is kinda good, because then they can be addressed), while the sharps were huge and vague.
This is when we had dinner at the hotel, so we could get back into things quickly. And up to the smoked salmon, where I hung out until almost 1 am, with a break around 9 or 10 (I forget) to settle Drew to sleep. He was NOT HAPPY at almost 1 am when he woke up and found I'd snuck off, so I went to bed. He woke several times enough to check I was still there, and I had to wake enough to reassure him, so I think it was time for me to be gone.
And then it was over and Monday morning we left. It felt like a very large let-down to be done. Luckily, I was distracted from the long drive back by a serious case of falling asleep, since I'd been up until 1 am. ;)
I complained about the hotel in my first post on this. Let me just stop here and say that, while I would've liked to have more time where there was music (that whole 'toddler' thing), this con ROCKED. The con suite always had something I could eat and was very on top of things as far as I could tell, the main-room programming was great, the music and concerts were great, I laughed a lot, I got hugs from friends, there were puns, there was money spent happily in the dealer's room, and Drew had a good time overall (someone let him strum a guitar; he has been saying 'banjo' a lot and actually had to be removed from the smoked salmon at one point because he was fussing because Creede stopped playing and let someone else have a turn, and I think he had to be removed at another point for the same reason; he saw and heard lots of music).
And I may be wrong, but I think Drew - who has been singing little children's songs for a few months - has been singing more today than other days.
And this? This is why I will be back, even if it's in that hotel, even if none of the things that bugged me are changed. For the people, and the music, and the fun. (On the other hand? Conflikt con-com rocks. I do not in fact expect that it will be the same hotel without any adjustments next year. That would be very odd.)
Any chance I'll see you there next year? :)
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It was great to talk to you a again, and I'm glad you enjoyed the musical. That was fun to do, too.
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Are You Out There (Dar Williams)
Confession (Heather Dale, I believe?)
Still Catch the Tide (Talis Kimberley)
Hummingbird (Kris Delmhorst)
Dear Gina (Seanan)
Paper Moon (Seanan)
Shanti's set:
Ways of the Tide
Dragonwagon
Recognition Denied
Dreams
Footsteps
True Hearts
Leannan Sidhe's Challenge
Breaking Skies
Faerie Tales
Step Out of the Shadows
In The Darkness
Silence
(all of these will be on her new CD)
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--Shawna
Conflikt 4 Programming
P.S. I am honored that you enjoyed my performance in the musical. *grin* Sira (the "leader" of the newest intiated scouts) was played by me. Thank you! *big grin*
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And aha! *grins* It was you. I enjoyed your performance (and the musical) a lot.
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