A Grand Day Out
This weekend was a much deserved vacation. On Saturday J and I drove down to Niagara-on-the-Lake for the Great Canadian Steampunk Exposition.
We arrived around noon in intermittent rain. Costuming was Goretex, with goggles on hatband as a steampunk token. We spent much of our time in the very welcoming tea tent. It was truly hospitable. They would make you tea from whatever loose leaf you chose, and supplement with buttertarts and cookies, all for a very reasonable fee. Fine china added to the civility, as did the everpresent pleasantness of steampunk folks.
The merchant's alley was battened down for the storm. It was mostly smaller vendors, more focused on small assemblages of cogs than the costuming that really catches my eye. On the main stage we caught the Dragonfly Steampunk Bellydance act which combines traditional bellydance with automaton mime and the everpresent goggles. About 3 PM we took our cold soggy selves back to the hotel with its huge jacuzzi tub and gas fireplace for a rest and costume change.
At 7 PM we returned for the evening's concern. I wore a hakama, with a tight buttoned high-collar vest and my much travelled Tom Petty hat. I'm told I was the talk of the evening, which is certainly good for the ego. The first act was Professor Elemental, wonderful as ever. This was my fifth time seeing him live. He did the usual favourites, along with one or two from the new album. He also demonstrated his very real talent by freestyling about random objects held up by the audience.
Next up was Steam Powered Giraffe. This was my first exposure to them, but they evidently have a huge fandom. The event was full of supporters wearing their signature robotic makeup -- some exactly replicating Spine's face, and others portraying unique robots. I've not seen anything like it outside of a KISS concert. The SPG stage show is excellent, and shows off their classic mime training. They all have incredible vocal ranges -- no autotune, just talent. I just wish I liked their music a little more. Their covers (here, here) are great, but I need some more time to get into their originals.
Closing out the evening was Abney Park. This was my fourth time live. Their lineup continues to evolve, and by now only the core couple of Robert and Kristina remain from the band I first saw a few years ago in London. The songs remain familiar, and on Saturday they shot them off one after another with very little pause or banter. Only Robert had a vocal microphone, and Kristina started the sequencer for the next track the moment the applause from the previous one had faded. After two hours of non-stop jumping and fist-pumping they hit the noise curfew and the set was done.
On Sunday morning we were both feeling the effects of the aforementioned jumping, on account of being old (and in J's case, a cyborg animated with other people's blood). Costuming was stereotypical pith-helmeted explorer, featuring an Italian army officer's desert dress jacket I bought at Camden Lock Market and then lugged through the Antarctic some years ago. We returned for one last visit to the tea tent, and a crawl down the now dry merchant's alley. Sadly there was no sign of the tethered hot air balloon which we had been told might be available. We said our goodbyes to Prof Elemental, now preparing for his tea party, and drove home with a quick detour through scenic (i.e. tourist trap) main street Niagara-on-the-Lake.
The future remains very uncertain, but at least we've had this weekend. It was a good one.
We arrived around noon in intermittent rain. Costuming was Goretex, with goggles on hatband as a steampunk token. We spent much of our time in the very welcoming tea tent. It was truly hospitable. They would make you tea from whatever loose leaf you chose, and supplement with buttertarts and cookies, all for a very reasonable fee. Fine china added to the civility, as did the everpresent pleasantness of steampunk folks.
The merchant's alley was battened down for the storm. It was mostly smaller vendors, more focused on small assemblages of cogs than the costuming that really catches my eye. On the main stage we caught the Dragonfly Steampunk Bellydance act which combines traditional bellydance with automaton mime and the everpresent goggles. About 3 PM we took our cold soggy selves back to the hotel with its huge jacuzzi tub and gas fireplace for a rest and costume change.
At 7 PM we returned for the evening's concern. I wore a hakama, with a tight buttoned high-collar vest and my much travelled Tom Petty hat. I'm told I was the talk of the evening, which is certainly good for the ego. The first act was Professor Elemental, wonderful as ever. This was my fifth time seeing him live. He did the usual favourites, along with one or two from the new album. He also demonstrated his very real talent by freestyling about random objects held up by the audience.
Next up was Steam Powered Giraffe. This was my first exposure to them, but they evidently have a huge fandom. The event was full of supporters wearing their signature robotic makeup -- some exactly replicating Spine's face, and others portraying unique robots. I've not seen anything like it outside of a KISS concert. The SPG stage show is excellent, and shows off their classic mime training. They all have incredible vocal ranges -- no autotune, just talent. I just wish I liked their music a little more. Their covers (here, here) are great, but I need some more time to get into their originals.
Closing out the evening was Abney Park. This was my fourth time live. Their lineup continues to evolve, and by now only the core couple of Robert and Kristina remain from the band I first saw a few years ago in London. The songs remain familiar, and on Saturday they shot them off one after another with very little pause or banter. Only Robert had a vocal microphone, and Kristina started the sequencer for the next track the moment the applause from the previous one had faded. After two hours of non-stop jumping and fist-pumping they hit the noise curfew and the set was done.
On Sunday morning we were both feeling the effects of the aforementioned jumping, on account of being old (and in J's case, a cyborg animated with other people's blood). Costuming was stereotypical pith-helmeted explorer, featuring an Italian army officer's desert dress jacket I bought at Camden Lock Market and then lugged through the Antarctic some years ago. We returned for one last visit to the tea tent, and a crawl down the now dry merchant's alley. Sadly there was no sign of the tethered hot air balloon which we had been told might be available. We said our goodbyes to Prof Elemental, now preparing for his tea party, and drove home with a quick detour through scenic (i.e. tourist trap) main street Niagara-on-the-Lake.
The future remains very uncertain, but at least we've had this weekend. It was a good one.