Sonic Boom 2013 "Helllooooooooo St. Louis!"

[RobotOmega]

Yaaaaay picture time! Here's just a few from the night I snapped that are worth sharing.

 

My signatures from the night!

 

 

A PS3, Sapphire? I'm disappointed. 

 

Eh, guess I've always been more of an xbox guy...

Edited August 14, 2013 by Robotgamma

[Tani Coyote]

When I talked to him after my picture, he seemed to be hinting heavily at the east coast. He kept saying they keep looking at it as a good possibility.

 

 

I'm hoping for NYC or D.C., personally. NYC is kind of THE east coast city, and D.C. is, well, D.C.

 

East Coast does make a lot of sense... only major regions I can think of would be Houston, Chicago, Miami, or the various eastern metros. The northeast is an excellent choice because tens of millions of people are concentrated there... ergo ticket sales will probably do as well as any venue in California.

It sucks I know, but sadly from a business perspective the Midwest, being more sparsely populated, isn't as good a choice. However, that doesn't smaller events aren't doable there... it would be nice if we could get the actual financial numbers for these events like we can for Summer of Sonic. How expensive was the Pageant versus the House of Blues or Club Nokia, etc.?

There's also the issue of marketing. There is no way only a few hundred Sonic fans reside in each of these cities. There are so many fans who are completely unaware there was a con in their city until afterward. SEGA really needs to build up knowledge of Boom so that they can get more people every year.

 

A PS3, Sapphire? I'm disappointed. 

Go figure I brought an actual PS3 to the hotel and had Transformed and such on it... it's a royal shame my Mom would kill me if I invited anyone over, or I'd have been happy to have a little after party with everyone.

Maybe next year when I'm 21 and so have more options on where I can be late at night!

[bmn]

I mean, what do Sonic fans go by anyway? Boomers?

 

Personally, I'm a fan of Broniks, which came from the Sonic 4 Episode 1 site leaks back in '10 or so.

[Tani Coyote]

Personally, I'm a fan of Broniks, which came from the Sonic 4 Episode 1 site leaks back in '10 or so.

The obvious solution would be for them to call everyone something at the official event... to date we just have "Sonicheads" from Crush 40 last year, if memory serves.

Boomers, Broniks, Nerdalos... so many choices!

[TCB]

When the day comes that Sonic Boom is held in NYC...it'll probably be at the Javis Convention Center.

 

I will be there.

[RobotOmega]

I personally don't like Broniks. Reminds too much of Brony...

[Tani Coyote]

With regards to New York City... I'd suspect it'll be in North New Jersey to accommodate that because good lord NYC is expensive to host in I'm positive.

I personally don't like Broniks. Reminds too much of Brony...

This is actually a really neat topic so I decided to to avoid derailing this one.

Should be interesting to see what all the various ideas by members are on what'd be a good affectionate title for members of the fanbase.

[Strong Bad]

Yaaaaay picture time! Here's just a few from the night I snapped that are worth sharing.

 

 

Me and Strong Bad with the badass Metal Sonic. Though I guess I thought something was funny? 

That Metal Sonic was seriously epic.

[Tani Coyote]

That Metal Sonic was seriously epic.

I'm curious what will become of it, myself.

The Mecha Sonic from last year's event was turned into toys for children...

Let's just hope no kids decide a jet engine makes a good toy!

[Mick Mundy]

I'm curious what will become of it, myself.

The Mecha Sonic from last year's event was turned into toys for children...

Let's just hope no kids decide a jet engine makes a good toy!

 

It will probably be repaired to be used in the SB West Chapter as a fun appearance thing.

 

 

The size of the venue was perfect. When it came to Sonic Boom 2012, I felt that the body room was so bad. I was shoulder to shoulder with people. It was very hot. I had entered my son in the costume contest as well and he too became very hot to the point where we had to remove his costume a couple times in the stair-way to avoid heat exhaustion. So even if about 500-600 people had shown up to a venue with the capacity of 2500...Good. Even in the current Metal Sonic get up, I suffered from heat exhaustion. Examples of that include walking away from the stage even though I was asked to stay. My body was on auto-pilot. My point is that it could have been worse. Much worse. Sonic Boom 2012 worse.

 

Concert needs to be the end of the event. It died down so fast and the venue ran out of food. Sad forever! I did get to meet some of you awesome people, though.

 

Like Strong Bad. All I saw was the shirt. But now I know who you are.

 

He didn't even give me a hug. D:< I'm offended that none of you want to hug a Metal Sonic.

[Tani Coyote]

It will probably be repaired to be used in the SB West Chapter as a fun appearance thing.

...For real?

Holy crap if you do show up in that thing... it'll really top stuff off.

Wait a tic. Did you have to fly that out to St. Louis? ...how much of a pain was it getting that through security? And packing it into bags no less...

 

Concert needs to be the end of the event. It died down so fast and the venue ran out of food.

I dunno! I like the concert at the beginning approach... it really sets the atmosphere for the event. Only thing that could be better music-wise was a DJ who plays actual Sonic music and not that pop culture garbage.

 

He didn't even give me a hug. D:< I'm offended that none of you want to hug a Metal Sonic.

Everyone loves their life data is all!

...I'll also add that I had assumed the person in the suit was female given last year's results. My apologies!

[Mick Mundy]

I drove 1,800 miles as the costume is too big to ship/fly with. I didn't want to have to deal with TSA when it came to the soldered workmanship and battery-operated fans strewn in the suit. I didn't want to be taken as a terrorist, lol. If any of you Westerners need a lift if Sonic Boom is on the East as of 2014, we shall go on another road trip! Costume is still too big for 2014, if not bigger. So on the road I stay.

 

Another thing I ABSOLUTELY adored with STL Sonic Boom is that the hotel was right next door. RIGHT NEXT DOOR! Yessssss! The staff at the venue were NICE it was crazy scary. I felt like the manager totally had my back through this whole event. c:

[MykonosFan]

I dunno! I like the concert at the beginning approach... it really sets the atmosphere for the event. Only thing that could be better music-wise was a DJ who plays actual Sonic music and not that pop culture garbage.

I think this was the biggest missed opportunity at the whole event to be honest. People were noticing the foul language of the music during the stream, and that same problem was going on before the event itself started when people were first getting in. I didn't notice it at first because I'm used to the language, then I took a step back and remembered there were kids running around this place, with parents probably wondering what on earth was going on and why that language was casually being dropped in the music.

Sonic music would definitely have made the atmosphere even better and probably left all of us feeling a bit less awkward about it. Hell, a lot of us could probably have ran to our cars and brought in some OSTs if needed lol. Maybe it was just easier to use what the Pageant had lying around, but it seems like something that wasn't thought through all the way haha.

As for the concert placement...I really liked it at the beginning, but maybe they could have saved a few songs for the end to kinda end with a...

....

Boom.

Edited August 16, 2013 by Mykonos

[Tani Coyote]

I drove 1,800 miles as the costume is too big to ship/fly with. I didn't want to have to deal with TSA when it came to the soldered workmanship and battery-operated fans strewn in the suit. I didn't want to be taken as a terrorist, lol. If any of you Westerners need a lift if Sonic Boom is on the East as of 2014, we shall go on another road trip! Costume is still too big for 2014, if not bigger. So on the road I stay.

This, driving cross-country?

That takes some real freaking devotion, man. My plane trip has nothing on this.

 

Another thing I ABSOLUTELY adored with STL Sonic Boom is that the hotel was right next door

 

Thaaaat's why I assumed the cosplayer was female. I saw a girl holding the headpiece in the hotel so my mind went, "Oh, there's the cosplayer!" Shoulda stopped for photos.

 

Sonic music would definitely have made the atmosphere even better and probably left all of us feeling a bit less awkward about it. Hell, a lot of us could probably have ran to our cars and brought in some OSTs if needed lol. Maybe it was just easier to use what the Pageant had lying around, but it seems like something that wasn't thought through all the way haha.

I personally just find it incredible SEGA, freaking SEGA, can't acquire a few of the most memorable OSTs, give them to venue DJs, and tell them, "Go nuts." Heck, if they really wanna cut costs they could always hire a fan DJ like SOS does for the task... given that such fans are more than eager to DJ for free.

[Mick Mundy]

I think this was the biggest missed opportunity at the whole event to be honest. People were noticing the foul language of the music during the stream, and that same problem was going on before the event itself started when people were first getting in. I didn't notice it at first because I'm used to the language, then I took a step back and remembered there were kids running around this place, with parents probably wondering what on earth was going on and why that language was casually being dropped in the music.

 

What they should do is ask for fan submissions for music. That way they can review it and be selective as to what plays throughout the event. And toss in the original mixes as well. Fan submissions are just a way to allow the public to do more than just dress up and answer questions. I know there are many talented musicians who have made awesome remixes and such of Sonic Music. 

 

They also need to make a guideline for cosplay contest rules. I'm so disgusted with the 2nd place garbage. Many of the younger kids put more effort in their store-bought costume that they then modified than what 2nd place had done. Amy's dad did more for her shoes than he did.

[Tani Coyote]

Aaron Webber being the great guy he is as community manager, I really wish he was able to pitch some of these ideas up the ladder. Where's the harm in having fan mixes if they've been screened for quality beforehand? With the likes of Lee Brotherton, after all, it's been established fan music can be very high quality indeed... and it'd really help the event feel more and more like something for the fans and not an event by a corporation to strengthen its brand.

[RobotOmega]

Even in the current Metal Sonic get up, I suffered from heat exhaustion. Examples of that include walking away from the stage even though I was asked to stay. My body was on auto-pilot. My point is that it could have been worse. Much worse. Sonic Boom 2012 worse.

 

... and that is why I choose not to cosplay. 

 

But seriously, dressing up in that suit took devotion. Nice work!

[Turbo the Punk]

I'm probably not as justified to comment as I didn't go out of my way to actually attend the event, but I do have one comment.

 

Crush 40 really put on an awesome preformance and as a great fan I have to comend both Johnny Gioeli and Jun Senoue for doing a great job, especially for essentially being on their own. Now about that comment, they really shouldn't be on their own. The two really put on a great show, but I'm sure it would be radical if they could get some extra people to fill the role of bassist, drummer, backup guitarist/vocals.

 

If they did that I'm sure that they would achive such a stronger sound and ultimately improve to a great degree. I'm sure the role could be filled by fans easily, if given the opportunity.

[Tani Coyote]

I agree with the above. I don't think the other two members are that important, cruel as it sounds. The other two positions have been regularly replaced as memory serves; only Johnny and Jun have remained consistent members of the band. They are the ones who breathe life into it... heck, I see Crush 40 being said as being Johnny and Jun together, not whoever else they have in tow.

 

So it would probably be very easy to fill the background instrument roles. While fans would be eager to fill the position and I'm sure there's no shortage of quality musicians, the main problem would likely come from rehearsals. Unless they're chosen months in advance I can see issues arising there.

[Turbo the Punk]

I agree with the above. I don't think the other two members are that important, cruel as it sounds. The other two positions have been regularly replaced as memory serves; only Johnny and Jun have remained consistent members of the band. They are the ones who breathe life into it... heck, I see Crush 40 being said as being Johnny and Jun together, not whoever else they have in tow.

 

So it would probably be very easy to fill the background instrument roles. While fans would be eager to fill the position and I'm sure there's no shortage of quality musicians, the main problem would likely come from rehearsals. Unless they're chosen months in advance I can see issues arising there.

I wouldn't say the recurring official drummer and bassist aren't important, but from what I've gathered they prfer to stay out of the scene. I'm sure those roles could be filled easily, to the point where maybe there'd be consistant members available for touring and such.

[Tani Coyote]

I wouldn't say the recurring official drummer and bassist aren't important, but from what I've gathered they prfer to stay out of the scene. I'm sure those roles could be filled easily, to the point where maybe there'd be consistant members available for touring and such.

 

It is definitely something that should be looked into. A concert just doesn't feel as real when the music's right in the background behind you... they just clip a few parts from it and they're filling it in. How many other musical performances do this?

 

What'd be really impressive is all four components of a band playing at once... while I understand there's a huge cost for the other two given their location in Japan... to me that just sounds like there should be some backup musicians in the States. At the end of the day, anyone with some skill in an instrument can read and study the music sheet and replicate it. It might not be exactly the same, but neither do Jun's strings match the original songs exactly either.

[Turbo the Punk]

It is definitely something that should be looked into. A concert just doesn't feel as real when the music's right in the background behind you... they just clip a few parts from it and they're filling it in. How many other musical performances do this?

 

What'd be really impressive is all four components of a band playing at once... while I understand there's a huge cost for the other two given their location in Japan... to me that just sounds like there should be some backup musicians in the States. At the end of the day, anyone with some skill in an instrument can read and study the music sheet and replicate it. It might not be exactly the same, but neither do Jun's strings match the original songs exactly either.

True, I must admit the actual tracks throw people and even the band off to a major extent.

 

And ROFL at to comment regarding Jun. The poor dude is under pressure as it is. I could name worse bands live, but I won't go into detail on that.

[Tani Coyote]

And ROFL at to comment regarding Jun. The poor dude is under pressure as it is. I could name worse bands live, but I won't go into detail on that.

 

Actually I meant it in a positive way. Jun never matches the studio version exactly... and that makes the live performance more special, I think. It's sort of like hearing a remix that will never be published.

 

Hence, I can only imagine if every band member was playing, each putting their own spin on the original beat...

[MykonosFan]

I'm probably not as justified to comment as I didn't go out of my way to actually attend the event, but I do have one comment.

 

Crush 40 really put on an awesome preformance and as a great fan I have to comend both Johnny Gioeli and Jun Senoue for doing a great job, especially for essentially being on their own. Now about that comment, they really shouldn't be on their own. The two really put on a great show, but I'm sure it would be radical if they could get some extra people to fill the role of bassist, drummer, backup guitarist/vocals.

 

If they did that I'm sure that they would achive such a stronger sound and ultimately improve to a great degree. I'm sure the role could be filled by fans easily, if given the opportunity.

Johnny was lamenting this back stage, actually. He mentioned that they've had to reschedule the recording date for their new album about eight times because they use top studio musicians in Japan and schedules just keep getting in the way. As much as he and Jun wished they could have a full band on stage it just sounds like something that'd be too much effort to get going unfortunately.

[Tani Coyote]

Johnny was lamenting this back stage, actually. He mentioned that they've had to reschedule the recording date for their new album about eight times because they use top studio musicians in Japan and schedules just keep getting in the way. As much as he and Jun wished they could have a full band on stage it just sounds like something that'd be too much effort to get going unfortunately.

 

It's always nice to get input from the folks themselves!

 

It really does make sense that Crush 40 gets screwed over... SEGA's a Japanese company with an English-speaking market being its largest audience. Ergo, they have a Japanese band with an American vocalist. It goes without saying this presents massive logistical issues in the event of a live show...

 

The folks who get to hear Crush 40 in Japan must get a real treat.

Edited August 17, 2013 by Ogilvie Maurice