Thank You Rachael :) (@rachaeleahcar)

So today I finally got to meet one of the 3 amazing people whose music has meant a lot to me over the last 4 months. I have had the pleasure of speaking to Rachael on Twitter for several months but I was unsure what I would be able to say. I will admit when I’m nervous my right hand shakes so bad I have to shove it in my pocket and it did get that bad today but I was impressed at how I managed to not make a fool out of myself. Today was worth the crappy bus ride and the standing in line and being pushed and knocked over just so I could have a few moments. They say music is a powerful healer and I firmly believe that, it saved my life 4 years ago and it’s helped keep my head above water now.

I must say I had my fingers crossed Rachael would sing La Vie en Rose, I have loved the song for a very long time and fell in love with the song even more after watching the 2007 film of the same name. I got plenty of looks from people when I was able to sing along while others just watched but that’s what happens when you have heard the song close to 150 + times. And I have to say I thought Rachael was an incredible singer on The Voice & from her YouTube videos but getting to hear her live is something else altogether. I have no words to describe how good she is other than she is a gift.

But I think what I loved was her appreciation for everyone, there are many who could have been out off in her situation but not Rachael. And that’s why I stand by the comments I made back after Rachael’s blind audition, she has the same love & appreciation of the fans as Delta. And I have the faith that her career will be just as long as her coach.
Thanks Rachael for making these holidays a memorable one, it certainly made up for my airport drama last week. You’re an angel and ill support your career for the rest of my days and that’s a guarantee

Oz Comic Con my thoughts

I went to Melbourne last week for their first ever Oz Comic Con, having been to Adelaide’s back in March and enjoying myself immensely I was looking forward to seeing if Melbourne would deliver. I guess in some ways I was lucky having decided to go VIP to the event rather than risk paying general admission. Looking back on it now it was the smartest decision I’ve ever made because there is no way I would have done half the things I did on a general pass,  that being said when you pay the extra money you expect to get a certain amount of preferential treatment. Arriving at the exhibition centre at 8am I did not expect to see lines already out the door, it was only later I discovered that people had been lining up since 4am, the scene was nuts! But even from that early stage I could see organisation was an issue, having collected my pass I was let in a mere 5mins before the general people giving me no time to be able to find anything.
I was lucky in a sense though; having a friend who had decided to go platinum they bought the majority of my tokens for me as the cocktail party on the previous night, meaning I didn’t have to brave what can only be called manic token line. Never have I seen a token line snake around the entire building before in my life and it made it almost impossible to walk around comfortably.  And that was the big issue I had on day 1, it was near impossible to see half the stalls because so many people were clogged up in the aisles either lining up for tokens or trying to get to Stan Lee.  In the end I only bought one thing on day 1 because my body had just about had enough of trying to force my way through the manic crowds.
One of the other things that disappointed me was I saw no panels on Day 1, 2 of the main ones I wanted were on when I was stuck in line to see Stan Lee and I wasn’t prepared to move in case they sent me to the back. And this is where organisation really fell apart, I was forced to stand behind general ticket holders & none would let me through despite the fact I had a VIP ticket. There were no volunteers minding or organising the lines and I watched as many jumped cues and cut in front of me. I was squashed, poked, hit and nearly knocked over so many times in that line it was a joke & it wasn’t until I let fly on Twitter that someone finally arrived.
Why Stan Lee was put in with the booths is beyond me, putting your biggest drawcard in a tiny stall away from the other celebs makes no sense. Yes he is a comic guest but the man has more star power than just about every other guest put together, he should have been with them and then lines may have been better managed. The celebrity area was also poorly done, especially in comparison to Adelaide Comic Con. All the guests should have been on one side, not having 2 lots directly facing each other. Jason Momoa had so many people line up at one point it snaked all the way into Ryan Robbins line, making it impossible to tell who was lining up for who. By also putting the celebs facing each other it made getting food from the cafeteria and using the toilets difficult, so much congestion meant many missed out & I overheard many went hungry for hours.
Day 2 was better, VIPs & Platinum’s were let in 30mins early and it was good to get left over tokens before the mad rush started, it felt easier to move around and I even got to see a panel & do some shopping. But it still wasn’t perfect I personally had 2 issues with Day 2 and they were the photos & panel noise. On day 1 the first photo I got for the day never arrived, I waited until the doors nearly shut until eventually they said they would get it reprinted. It wasn’t until later I discovered several printers went nuts and ate half the pics, I just wish they had said it earlier. Early the next day I did finally get my pic but I know many waited longer & have only just received theirs by mail at their own expense. As much as I enjoyed the VIP panel I went too, having such a tiny amount of people show up in a huge room trying to compete with the cosplay competition next door was a nightmare. I get the need to have the general panels in the big auditoriums but special VIP panels must in future be upstairs or somewhere else. This is one major thing Adelaide did right, there may not have been enough room in Adelaide but at least you could hear the guests properly.
I’m not going to go into the ticket issues that happened, I feel sorry for those who lined up for hours only to be told they wouldn’t get in. In some ways it’s why I’m worried that the venue change for 2013 may cause similar issues I found out that this year’s Comic Con had 10,000 pre sold tickets, which makes me think they should stay at the exhibition centre and just open up the whole place. The exhibition building in Carlton where they plan next year’s Comic Con I have been told is smaller. It’s also a hell of a lot more difficult to get to by public transport and car parking is a nightmare and if the rumours are true that they have bigger guests lined up history could repeat itself.
For Comic Con’s first ever time in Melbourne I enjoyed myself but I will never go again on anything less but VIP. And yeah there were issues but I just hope the guys learn from them so they can make 2013 even better because I will be back next year.