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 2007 OFFICIAL XENA CONVENTION

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Xena 2007 Convention Report

by EZ Ryder

Part 1 of 2
 

Let me start by saying I had a excellent time at this con! I think part of it was because I was no longer a con virgin and knew what to expect, and I didnt have trouble talking to the celebs this time, lol. Okay, except for Jay..just a little. <g>

Where to begin..... Mr Ez Ryder and I flew out Wednesday for the con. Both flights were fine, no delay from snow storms this time, but they were long. I dont like planes much, and praise the motion sickness healing powers of ginger root. When we finally landed, It took awhile to get our luggage at LAX, and the ride to the hotel took a while due to the traffic back ups from a couple of accidents.

We finally get to the hotel, get our room, and get unpacked. After the lady at the desk informed me there was no king size beds left. Which did not make me happy as it was confirmed for us to have and I wasnt taking no for a answer. Plus, I had printed out the receipt I got just a week prior telling me my king size bed was guaranteed. We got our king size bed. Off to the bar then! There was a group of Txers waiting for us, and I was looking forward to seeing them. PMb, Andy, Bekah and her sister, ten37, horseredhead, Corxy, Adrummer and HB were there. Deni showed up later. It was great seeing them! We got a very nice welcome. The group started clapping, I got a bear hug from Hb and a few others, then I got a very cold beer. <g> It was very nice to be with family again.



We stayed for awhile and had some food and cocktails. It was a lot of fun and laughs. I took Andy aside at one point and gave him a little present to remember me by. I think he liked my whip. I know the rest of the table did. <eg>

Then it was off to bed as a group of us were going to Universal studios in the morning, and I needed my rest, lol. I wont go in to details about Universal as this is a Xena con report, and thats what your reading it for. <g> I will just say if you go, get the VIP tickets. We all had a excellent time!

Me & Mr EZ got back to the hotel after dark from Universal, cant remember the time, and I saw the Xenites lined up around the con hall for pre-registration. In 2005 I did that. It was a warm night and lots of fun. This time it was cold out and I was tired from Universal so I skipped the pre-registration. Its easy enough to do it the next day.

Friday morning.....time for the TX meetup in the lobby. These are a blast, and this one was just plain awesome as well. There were so many people there, old timers and newbies. HB had kindly made the TX nametags for the members and began passing them out, and I had TX magnets made up as a little gift for the members and began passing them out. There were lots of smiles and hugs all around, it was so cool seeing everybody. To name a few there, and please forgive me if I miss your name but I cant remember yesterday, lol. We had Andy, CorXy, Adrummer, Pmb, HB, Mr. EZ RYDER, Horseredhead, Pandora, ten37, XenaGabFanatic, CharmedFan P3, Minya, mmagala, Katcv, Oldchakram, Lucia, Blue Warrior, bonniemart, michelle, PointofnoReturn, oldskoolxwpfan , VenWarrior, XenaDarFan, and others. Again, my apologies if I missed your name. I remember all your faces and it was wonderful to meet you all.

After the TX meetup CorXy did her con virgin workshop which was fun too. Even though I wasnt a virgin anymore, I still got a name tag saying I was. <g>

Things get a bit blurry here. A FYI....I didnt jot down one note all weekend. Im just going by my horrible memory here. <g>

Adrienne didnt come on stage till around 2, so I didnt feel a great need to get to the con till then. I do remember I did go in just to get my gold ticket activated, and buy some photo ops with Jay, Michael, Claire and Robert. It was nice seeing the old con hall again, ahhhhh. I believe Andy was with me, as he was with me most of the time at the con, and we walked around some. I bought a con t-shirt and some 8x10's, and put some TX business cards around.

I remember a group of us went to the bar after that to get some lunch. We met Mr EZ there. It was me, Andy, Pmb, oldskoolxwpfan & HB I think. Anywho, we had a nice lunch and were late getting to the con hall. Adrienne was already on stage when we got there.

I dont know what Adrienne talked about before we got there, but I do know she was talking about Janice Dickinson when we walked in. She said when she met Janice, Janice looked her up and down, clucked her tounge and said, "Id do you." Lol! Adrienne did the Janice look perfectly too. Quite amusing. She was asked about which character she liked playing better, Livia or Eve. She said Livia hands down. Its much more interesting as a actress to play a bad girl, as you can get away with more. She also talked about how she was quite brave as a child, and once dislocated both hips when she jumped off of something., cant remember what. Her parents, both profesionals, got a visit from child protective services for that one. Thankfully, they got to keep her. <g>

When Adrienne was done I think I wandered around the convention hall till Steve came on. He is always such a pleasure to see, always moving and talking. He told us he kept moving so all the pictures taken of him were a blur. <g>

He then asked us to yell out some episodes and he would tell us something we didnt know about it. Im sorry but I dont remember what was asked or said. He then told us that Danielle had the choice to let Ephiny live or die in Endgame. He said he could have had Ephiny just wounded and live, but Danielle felt Ephiny had run her course and let her die.

He also told us how the Price was about him and his father. His dad being Xena, him being Gabrielle. His father worked for the special forces. His dad loved and took care of him, but killed people. It was very interesting hearing that story.

He mentioned how he thought Gabrielle was the more heroic of the two, because she left the light to go in to the dark with Xena. Its harder going in to the dark like Gabrielle did, than going in to the light like Xena did. I agree.

He said Hudson said hi, and wasnt there because she was busy working. I really missed Hudson there, but am glad she is busy with her craft.

I had to leave at one point to get to my photo op with Robert Trebor so I missed some of what Steve said. Robert was a absolute sweetheart. He shook everyones hand that stepped up to get their picture taken, and said 'Hi, Im Bob.' He was very nice and polite. I got a Salmoneous smile from him in my pic, which Im quite happy about. I love Sal. <g>
Being a big Hercules fan as well, I was thrilled that both him and Michael Hurst was there.

Back to the con and Steve was still on the stage. Zoe Bell was supposed to appear, but didnt make it. She was working on the Grind, and got the dates mixed up. Ah well. Steve stayed on stage and entertained us, and did a great job. No one seemed to notice he went over time, he was that good. <g>

Then Robert came on. Im sorry to say I dont remember much of what he said. Im not happy about that, as I was looking forward to seeing him. Oh well, I'll find out when the dvd comes out. I did have a few words with him at the autograph line and the dessert party though.

Off to the autograph line with Robert and Adrienne. First, I want to say I think its really cool that they personalized their autographs with out being asked. That was very nice of them, considering the line. I wont ask the stars to do it because of those lines, so I appreciate it when its done. Anyway, I had Robert first. I have a weird first name that begins with a D. I told Robert my name and how to spell it, and that I thought it was weird. He quipped, 'Well at least it isnt Damien'. Good one Robert. <g>

On to Adrienne. She took my picture, which was of Livia on a horse with her sword in her hand, and told me that it was her favorite picture of her. She said that the picture said it all. I told her I liked the pic too. In the mean time she was signing it, and had written 'To' on it, then signed her name below that. As I walked away I noticed she didnt put my name down and I brought the picture back. She laughed and said she was sorry, that she got distracted talking about her favorite picture. I laughed with her and thanked her. She is really very sweet, and very nice. I then went off to the bar to meet Mr. EZ, and get a bite to eat as we had a bit of a break before the cabaret.


Here is the picture Adrienne said was her favorite. I covered my name with paper as its unusual and I dont want it known, but wouldnt have bothered if I knew the picture would be this small, lol.








The Cabaret was awesome! Jay came out first, and I must say the man is hot! He's also very talented too. He really can sing as well. He had his guitar with him and was talking about his children. His wife recently gave birth to child number 7. He then told us stories about his kids, and you could tell he was a very devoted father. He wrote a song for his four year old son, who wanted to sleep on the top bunk and his mother wouldnt let him. Jay thinks he should be allowed to, and hence the song I guess. It was called, "Why cant I sleep on the top bunk, mom?' It was very cute, good music, and well sung.

Jay talked about how Hercules & Xena made the Lord of the Rings possible, as there were many people from both shows who worked on the films. He said television had a big impact on him. He sang a couple of more songs, chatted a bit more, then left to a standing ovation. He was just wonderful.

On came Robert. He did a bit from his new show, 'The return of Brother Theodore.' This character was nothing like
Salmoneous.<g> He was a bit dark and much more serious. I believe this was based on a real person. In this character, Brother Theodore tried to convince us to give up eating and live instead on the sun's ray's. Interesting and well acted by Robert.


Out comes Michael Hurst, belting out Tom Jones' hit, 'My Delilah'. Michael sang it wonderfully, and really looked the part of a lounge lizard from the 70's. Most entertaining! I think Jennifer walked on stage when the song was over, and she looked absolutely stunning with this skin tight, black sequined, Marlene Dietrich type gown. Wow!

I dont remember the order of these songs, as they did a lot together through the show. One was called, 'The little things you do together'. It was a hoot! I believe they did one or 2 more songs then. One of which had them doing a Tango, lol.

Michael came staggering out as a drunken priest then, complete with a unlit half smoked cigarette, and a bottle of booze. He was absolutely hilarious! He reminded me of when he played Paul Robert Coyle in 'Yes Virginia, there is a Hercules.' Everything he quoted from the bible was botched, and very amusingly so. One time he was making a point and flung his arms, sending his cigarette flying in to the audience. I wonder who got it and if it survived. Perhaps we'll see it on ebay. <g>

After that, Jennifer came out in a skin tight, sequined white gown, and looked stunning in that also. They sang a couple of more songs then and were very entertaining. They did a 'Masculine/Feminine' song that had us rolling. Jennifer sang a couple of songs from her Marlene Dietrich show, and she was excellent. She also sang 'Has anybody seen my guy'. Michael came out at the end wearing a womans fur and lots of chains. To funny. They sang a song or two after that, and then they were done. I have to say these are two extremely talented people, and it was a pleasure watching them.

After they were finished, Jay and Robert came on stage and they all took a bow to a standing ovation. What a great show!

After that, the Dessert party. It was scheduled Friday instead of Saturday due to Lucy singing at the Roxy. We had some time to kill before the dessert party started, so off to the bar again to see Mr Ez. Andy was with me I think, and I know I saw CorXy, Adrummer and assorted TXers there at some point. Either at this break or the last one, lol.

Off to the Dessert Party. First, I was surprised at how small the room was. It was half the size of the room we used for the 2005 con. Andy told me it was bigger than what they used for last years con. Oh my.

A group of us Txers sat together. Me, Pmb, HB, Andy, CorXy, Adrummer, and a few others I believe. As in 2005, the dessert table looked good but the bar looked better, so thats where I went. <g> I sat and chatted with everybody for awhile and was enjoying myself, when they announced the guests. They were Robert, Jay and Adrienne, who stood where we could all get pictures of them. We were then told to take our pictures now, then put the camara's away. Excuse me? That didnt happen at the 2005 con, and I didnt like it happening here. I wasnt the only one.

Anyway, the guests made the rounds. Im not sure which order they arrived at our table, but I remember what happened. I think Robert was first. He sat down and said hello to everyone, then asked how we were all doing, etc..etc. I asked him what he thought of Salmoneous' ending on Hercules, being put in jail for tax evasion. Robert said it wasnt supposed to end that way, that he was supposed to come back for three more shows. He couldnt make it so they had to wing it, and thats what they came up with. I told him Sal was the man, and he smiled and rapped his knuckles on the table. He was only able to stay a few more moments after that, as guests were allowed two minutes per table. When it was time to go, Robert stood up and shook hands with everybody at the table before he left. I found that very endearing. He's a sweetie.

After he left I noticed people taking pictures, so I asked one of the staff if it was allowed now. She said we could take pictures, just could not ask to pose with the actors in them due to the time it took. I expressed disappointment about not taking a picture of Robert, and the girl took my camara and took a picture of him for me at the next table. That was nice and I thanked her.

I think maybe Jay was next. And he sat right next to me! Ive discovered I cant breath well or speak well in the presence of someone I think is super hot, lol. I didnt say a darn thing, and dont remember a word he said. I just stared. <g>


Adrienne was there next. She stood next to me and I noticed how good she smelled. I asked her what she was wearing, and she said it was a fragrance she loved, but couldnt quite remember the name. She got it at Fredericks of Hollywood, and it was a Vanilla sugar scent she believed. I told her she smelled wonderful, and she smiled and thanked me. After she chatted for a few more moments she asked if we wanted to take pictures. Way to go Adrienne! She posed and I took a couple. I havent got my pictures back yet, but I hope they came out good. Anyway, Adrienne is a real class act. Very sweet and friendly to the fans.

After she left we all sat around talking, getting in to the music. Me, Andy, Pmb & HB got on the dance floor, and danced to a few numbers. It was a blast. Pmb is quite a dancer, you go girl! Steven Sears was on the floor too, and he could keep up with the best of 'em. You could tell he was having a great time also.

We sat back down after awhile, had another drink and enjoyed everyone's company. Bonni and Michelle came over and I talked to them for awhile. Very cool people. This whole dessert party was a lot of fun, and I was sorry to see it end. After midnight, me, Andy, Pmb & HB decided to call it night, and go back to our rooms. Im glad Andy was with me as I forgot my room number, and he got me there, lol. Thanks again Andy. <g>

Mr Ez Ryder was sleeping, and I figured that would be a good idea for me too. <g>. So I got in bed, and looked forward to the next day at the convention. Lights out..

Read Part 2

 

 

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