MechaCon has just completed its seventh year in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Hilton Riverside, and I must say Convention Organizer, Jon Russo’s words about this year being Lucky Number Seven were totally spot on. In my six years of attending this convention, I have got to say this was probably the most fun I have ever had at any con in recent memory. However, as I say this, let me also preface this with this is the first convention I’ve attended where I have stayed at the convention hotel. It really makes all the difference in the world for the experience, living on-site of the convention, versus driving in from my house, or a friend’s house nearby. There aren’t as many issues with staying on-site as with staying at another hotel, or a friend’s place. For example, you can enjoy as many events as you want go get rest when you want, and not be more than a quick elevator ride from all the action. Commuting from home or a friend’s home, that luxury does not exist. Being on-site worked out really well for me this year, given once again I managed to injure my leg again (seriously, I am way too accident prone) and the hotel room was a great resource.
When you ask a typical convention goer what their favorite aspect of their MechaCon convention experience was, you’re used to receiving an answer along the lines of ‘amazing cosplay contests’, ‘the chance to cosplay as x’, ‘meeting voice actor y’, ‘the panels on z’, ‘the people’, etc. My own response to this question is a bit different - my favorite aspect of MechaCon has and always will be the phenomenal staff and organizers behind the convention. I’ve been to numerous conventions over the years and worked with dozens more through email correspondence for AS, and I have got to say, MechaCon is not only one of the most professionally run, most organized and efficient conventions I’ve ever had the pleasure of attending and working with for years, but their staff across the board is full of energy and a passion to serve their attendees. I can’t even begin to count the number of times that I had to go to con staff for things over the course of the weekend, or saw other people approach staff for help, and each and every time, the staff member would bend over backwards to ensure the request or question was answered to satisfaction, with a smile.
With that being said, let’s discuss the actual convention experience. First of all, the Hilton Riverside was breathtaking, and extremely spacious . I don’t believe there was even one instance in which I felt suffocated on convention grounds, even in the dealer’s room. I can see us staying at this hotel for the next few years, unless attendance skyrockets significantly. The convention was divided between two floors, the first floor containing the main event rooms, artist alley, the viewing rooms, the gaming room, and a larping room; the second floor housed the tabletop games and dealer’s room.
My experience on Friday night was pretty limited to the late evening events of the opening ceremony, the meet and greet and the ball that followed, due to arriving a little later then expected to the convention. I just about had enough time to check into our hotel room, change into a fancy suit and tie and book it down to meet my fellow comrades from AnimeSecrets, who managed to arrive earlier then me, and get to the dinner. But man, was that chaotic entry worth it. The dinner was amazing once again, with a very yummy salad, and pecan encrusted chicken with garlic mashed potatoes with dinner rolls. Also we can’t forget the godly Chocolate Turtle Pecan Pie. Ah! Heaven in my mouth!
The opening ceremonies were capped off with a great concert by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (vocals) with Steve Blum(Congas), Lisa Furukawa (piano), and Leon Monroe (guitar). They performed songs such as Call Me Call Me from Cowboy Bebop, Hell Frozen Rain, Room of Angel from Silent Hill, just to name a few. I have got to say it was great hearing some of the Silent Hill music performed live by the singer of the songs.
However the opening ceremony concert was just the beginning of an amazing concert line up for the weekend. The following morning we were treated to a wonderful concert by the ever amazing Lisa Furukawa. If you have ever read my previous reviews or interview with Lisa Furukawa, you will know I am in love with her music and concerts. So you better believe, I was up at the crack of dawn Saturday showered and garbed in my Hogwarts robes ready to go to her concert, and once again, Lisa does not disappoint. She played a lot of her original works such as Winter and Pearl Diver, along with her own cover of the popular Ghost in the Shell opening song Inner Universewhich still sends chills down my spine. That lady has a breathtaking voice.
Now to top off the music part of this convention experience, I attended the Eyeshine Concert Saturday evening. Mostly because its lead vocalist and guitarist is none other than Johnny Young Bosch, best known for his role as Adam Park in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as the second Black Ranger and Vash from Trigun. The concert was all sorts of insane fun. The crowd was going ecstatic and the music was really good. I’m seriously considering ordering a CD or two from their website in the near future when funding allows.
Unfortunately, amongst all the greatness of the convention, I did have two complaints. The first took place at the formal ball. While there was tremendous improvement in policing appropriate attire for the ball, I was a bit disappointed in the music . Instead of classical music to dance to, we were given introduced to a fusion of classical and techno music…which, don’t get me wrong , was great, it just felt a bit out of place given the event description. Sadly I did not stay very long, as there was not very much formal dancing, and much more rave style dancing.
Secondly, the cosplay contest; Agent Kaishi hits on this in more detail in his review (to be published soon), but I felt it important to at least touch on here. The actual cosplay contest was really great. The opening act to the contest, with Darth Vader and his minions storming the contest, was especially fun, and the walk-ons and skits were fun to watch. However, I really wish the judges provided a justification for their awarding process when giving awards. It might help shed light on why certain entrants received an award over other more qualified entrants, even if it’s a small explanation of what drew them to one entrant. I won’t go into the specifics of which awards I contest the winners of, but there were a few I did.
In the grand scheme of things, these two issues were very minor in my opinion; in the scale of things, far worse could have happened. MechaCon’s ability to smoothly run an anime convention is still very efficient. Events started at their designated times and ended when they were slated to, and their security was pretty effective at preventing problems and solving problems as they came up. Plus, I had a great chance to interview two great voice actors, Scott McNeil and Johnny Young Bosch.
Overall the convention was a great deal of fun. I actually might go as far as to say that this MechaCon was the best one so far. The atmosphere, the attendees, the convention staff and guests of honor really came together to create an incredible con. I recommend that everyone makes an effort to attend this convention if opportunity arises. With that said, Commander Drake out until next time!
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