Supernatural VegasCon 2015 - Day 1 Report

Hi everyone!

Well here I am as day 2 of Vegascon kicks off, I thought I'd give you a quick report on the shenanigans so far!

Hazel and I drove in to Vegas on Wednesday - we'd spent the previous day at the other happiest place on earth, Disneyland! The schedule was very late to go up, but we did know that registration for Gold commenced at 9pm. OMG...SO LATE! Last year it was about 7pm! Anyhoooo...we checked into the hotel, running into a few pals on the way to our room. The thing about doing a bunch of these things is that you get to know so many people, it really is like this big family reunion atmosphere!

We headed down to registration about 7.30, we'd seen via the wonders of the Vegascon hashtag on twitter that people were queueing from about 6! We didn't need a low reupping number (for next year), as we wanted to keep our seats. (They're good seats, C33, 32. Pretty central and nice and close.) I gotta tell you though, I was so happy that we got down there early! Because the line became like Crowley's Hell before too long. 

We sat in the queue chatting to friends, meeting new friends and hugging friends passing by. I got to meet Viv, who I've been talking to on twitter for 5 years at least! She was one of the first Supernatural fans that I connected with and we finally met! Awesome.

About 9.30 rego finally kicked off and we got through it all pretty quickly, hit the vendors room and then hit the sack! It had been a long day!

Day 1 of the convention kicked off Thursday at 1230, with the wonderful sounds of Louden Swain, followed on stage by the host with the most, Mr Richard Speight Jr.! 

I suggest if you're coming to a con, you do not miss the opening. Rob and Rich are such good mates. They riff off each other and are damn funny. They could take that show on the road! Rich is an amazing ad libber - his sassy comebacks are the best. They tease each other, they tease us. They really are a great opening act! The Rules and Regulations song has become a highlight. Every time Richard tells us the rules they're a little different (but the same), all to the musical back up of Louden Swain. And of course being Thursday people (as opposed to Friday people), we also got our very own song! I will say that the turn out for Thursday was one of the best I've ever seen. It was a big crowd for the first day!

Our first guest out was Tyler Johnston. Tyler of course played 2 characters in Supernatural, Matt Pike in season one's "Bugs" and then the ill fated Weiner Hut angel Alfie/Samandriel.

Tyler was a lovely story teller and had a great sense of  humour, very dry. He talked about some of his other projects that he's done over the years, how he looks 10 years old (he looks about 18 and he's 28), and how he can't grow a beard! He told a very funny story about having to wear a "cock sock" for a nude scene on the second day of shooting a series he was working on. They gave him something resembling a baby sock and he had to ask the wardrobe person for assistance to squeeze everything into it! Then everything kind of fell out of it during the scene - yes these are the things we talk about at conventions! He told us that the head gear Samandriel had to wear during the Crowley torture scene was super painful and was like actual torture! It pressed into his head and what with all the screaming he had to do, he was extremely uncomfortable. He told us that when he did the first episode of Supernatural, he asked the boys for an autograph for "his sister", but it was actually for him, and he had that signed photo on his bedroom wall for what sounds like an awkward amount of years (he said until he was 24, but I think he was joking...I think)! He finally took it down, but he still has it.

Next on stage was Travis Aaron Wade - AKA Cole. This was Travis' first convention, but you'd never know it. He was like a pro. Super charming, super funny, brilliant stories. I think everyone left the room totally enamoured (as you could tell by the instant queue to go buy tickets for a photo op with him!)

Travis talked a lot about his animal charity, Arm The Animals, how that came about and the work they do. He also told us how he ended up with three chihuahuas, known as the tan mafia! He was encouraged to rescue one (by his then girlfriend who turned out to be engaged to someone in Chicago...a story for another convention, he said!), and then when he picked up the one he decided to take home, that chihuahua was holding on to another tiny chihuahua, who was the runt of the litter. So he took both, because the little one wouldn't survive without the care of its sibling. It turned out the little one had a form of doggy Downs Syndrome and needed some expensive vet treatment...which being an animal lover, he just had to do. His third chihuahua came to him as a stray. He tried to find the owner, but to no avail, so he ended up keeping him. He calls that one the runner, because no matter what, if you leave a door or a gate open, he'll run! He obviously adores his pooches and all animals.

Travis also talked about those brilliant fight scenes and how big a role the stuntmen played in them, and Jensen - who he says is an amazing camera fighter. (I've got to say, I believe that every man or woman who comes in contact with Jensen seems to walk away with hearts in their eyes!) He also talked about how he originally auditioned for the role of Dean and that ten years later he found himself getting beat up by the actor who got the part! Then he spoke a little bit about the Js extraordinary friendship, about how someone once told him about how the boys don't like each other and he laughed because it's so far from the truth. And like so many others before him, he discussed how the boys lead the way on set, how they have no egos at all, and that the Supernatural set has a family atmosphere and that all comes down from the way the boys are with each other and everyone who comes in contact with them. Bless. We love hearing stories like that.

I had to take a little break while Lauren was on, so I missed her panel, only catching the very end, but I caught up with her in the autographs and she was lovely as usual.

The last panel of the day was Osric. He'd come on dressed as Lauren's Futurama character, Amy during Lauren's panel, but for his panel he was just Osric.

Osric talked about cosplaying about how he could pretty much do that full time and how he has to remind himself that he is an actor not a professional cosplayer! He answered a fans questions about convention and how best to enjoy them, and talked about how at his first Supernatural convention he made a point to stay for the whole con and watch it as a fan and audience member so he could understand what we got to experience. He sneak peeked us a trailer for a movie he's done called "Killing Poe". He talked about what inspires him and keeps him going - the SPNFamily keeps him going when he's having a rough time - and about how he reaches out to fandom because he knows that just a little message from him can totally change someones day and if he can do that, he will.

Pretty much, Osric spent 45 minutes being totally adorable. He's such a sweetie. I'm so glad he's part of our crazy family!

And that was the end of the day. I got autographs with Lauren and Travis and then headed to a lovely dinner with Fangasm's Lynn. We always threaten to have dinner together but never seem to squeeze it in. This time we decided we'd do it hell or high water on the Thursday night. So we sat for a couple of hours talking all things Supernatural. How we came to the show, the fandom. How it's changed both our lives. We talked a lot about a certain boy we both adore and that character he plays. We talked fandom and fan fiction and everything in between. We always call ourselves "Brain Twins" because of a certain train of thought we both have that so often ends up revolving around Jensen or Dean! It was a really great way to finish up the first day, talking our passion for our show and our love for our cast and our dedication to our fandom.

Then I scurried off to bed...I skipped the Gold cocktail party - even though I'm pretty sure it will be the last one ever - to get some much needed rest. Gotta grab your sleep when you can at a con!

So today is day 2 and we have Tim Omundson, Curtis Armstrong, Gil and Osric and Samantha Smith. I'll try my hardest to keep you updated on proceedings and keep an eye on my twitter for photos!

-sweetondean