On MAGFest and Protomen

by Laura Robbins

It is essential for every geek to find their convention. You need it not because you need the gear, or the bragging rights of saying, “Hey! I peed in the stall next to this chick who was from this MMO!” It is not even because it is a chance to get some of the weirdest stories that only occur at o’dark thirty on a Mountain Dew high. It is the sheer unadulterated excitement that courses through your veins when you are in the right convention for you. It is that “first time at Disney World” feeling all six year olds get when they step through the gates of the Magic Kingdom.

Magfest Gaming Floor
(image via Elder Geek)

I found my right convention in Magfest. Six year old me squealed in delight as I played all my favorite classic video games at three o’clock in the morning. It was like sneaking downstairs with my brother all over again. I could not believe the pieces of art I was able to find. There were so many in varying levels of creativity and of such an esoteric nature. There was music EVERYWHERE. Simplified, orchestrated, electronically manipulated, any music from any video game you could ever think of was available to listen to and discuss. There was never a moment during the convention I did not have something to experience.

The most surreal night of all was Saturday night, when I saw the Protomen. Before Saturday, they had just been a band that I loved. Their music is perfect for long car rides and poetic summers. But Saturday, I got to experience them live.
It was awe inspiring. They riled the crowd like they were conducting their own symphony. People who cannot let themselves just be in the moment may consider it corny or overwrought... but the stories they tell are wild and grand, and heartbreaking. By the end of the show they were my favorite band. And that was before I had the chance to meet them.

I mentioned that coming to a good convention was like stepping foot into the Magic Kingdom. In true Disney form, my friends acted the part of fairy godparents. Just as we were heading up to our suite, a couple of us find out that the Protomen are doing a secret concert in a back room. We sprint through the hallways, and go through back corridors and burst into a room that could not have contained more than thirty people.

The Protomen
(image via Club Zone)

We were so close. They seemed even more lively and happy in the presence of a more intimately sized audience. I was perfectly content pressed against the stage, watching them play, jumping around like an idiot. Then they asked for ladies from the audience to help them sing.

My friends, my loving, doting, horrible friends, pushed me to the front despite all protestations. When K.I.L.R.O.Y. latched onto my arm and hauled me onto stage, I thought I was being hauled to my death. He looked about seven feet tall. But then, I was surrounded by laughing band members and excited girls and I began laughing myself. We began singing “Bohemian Rhapsody.” I was happily singing (probably off-key) along with the other ladies, waving at the crowd, when suddenly there was a guitar being passed over my head, settling at my waist. I must have been blushing like an idiot, but Ringo just grinned and handed me his pick. The best souvenirs in life are free. We finished the song that way, I stammered my thanks, and he just smiled and gave me a hug. Ringo proceeded to come down and talk with all of us while my friends teased me endlessly. I had never met people who are so larger than life yet so friendly and approachable. The Protomen are very serious about music. They love what they do, and they seem to genuinely love the fans that appreciate it. I will support people like that any day of the week, especially if they keep putting out albums that are better than a lot of books I’ve read.

The band in action.
(image via Jessica Rayborn)

Magfest is all about letting yourself be excited. It is about getting wrapped up in the “silly.” The last thing Magfest does for you, is ensure that you have thousands of people there just as exuberant as you to experience. There is no better way to do Magfest than with your friends. Sneaking downstairs in the middle of the night to play video games is infinitely better if you are doing so with someone else. I can rock out to the Protomen any day of the week by myself; but when all of your friends are standing around you, wearing the goofy gear they’ve been simply unable to avoid buying, shouting all the lyrics and jumping in time, how can you not let yourself get swept up? We may not be able to all get together all the time. Work, family, responsibilities, there are always good reasons to stay focused elsewhere. But we’ll always have Magfest to bring us together and remind us why we love each other.