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This event is part of the Comics, Anime, Sci-Fi and Horror Convention. Nash has been invited by Rue Morgue magazine to perform Nosferatu at the convention on Saturday night. Nash has also been asked to the autograph sessions that are so popular at these events. There are many well-known celebrities at this convention and the audience attendance is estimated at 30,000 over the three days. Nash arrives Friday evening for his first autograph session. There are a few eager fans waiting in line, but Nash is too busy looking across the aisle. Like a star-struck groupie, Nash stares in awe at the presence of Horror maestros George Romero, Tom Savini and Bill Moseley. All these guys have their own booths and are eagerly talking to the fans. At Nash’s table, after the first autograph hunters are satiated, the line-up gets larger and Nash wonders why they aren’t coming forward. Sorry Nash, these fans are lining up for George Romero who will be signing at the same table in half an hour. When a young teenager from the lineup, decked out in his home-made zombie outfit calls out to Nash, ‘Hey, who are you supposed to be?’ Nash replies, ‘I’m the one with my entrails still intact!’ Nash decides to move on and let the Romero fans drool over George. The Horror crowd doesn’t mingle with the Sci-Fi crowd, nor do the Comic book or Anime devotees pay any attention to the Horror scene. It is a zoo of various exotic creatures, all from another planet and oblivious to each other. Young oriental girls and boys wander around in costumes representing their favorite Anime characters, while Nash and company look on with bewildered amusement. By the way, I’m dressed up as ‘Digger the Invisible Dog from the planet Purina’. Nash and his crew are waiting patiently on Saturday evening for the theatre to empty. The theatre has been used throughout the day for anime screenings as well as Star Trek gatherings. It is unusual to have a live performer at these events so the organizers are rather disorganized for Nash’s needs and the schedule for setting up gets very confusing. The load-in was at 10am but the show isn’t until 7:30pm and there is no time to get back into the theatre until 6pm. As much as Nash enjoys all the sights and sounds of the festival, he is here to do a gig, not wander around in a mass of teenage fantasy bling-bling. It’s not all kids, mind you, as the Horror/Sci-Fi crowd tend to be older and not as dressed-up. Nash should talk! At 6pm sharp Nash decides to start preparing for the performance even as the last stragglers from the previous event leave the theatre. As Nash looks up from his equipment he sees Michael Dorn walking past with a gaggle of trekkies in rapt attention. Nash thinks to himself, "I’m on the !!&*#@!! Enterprise and I can’t get off!" Nosferatu is for the Horror crowd and the audience is treated to an introduction by Bill Mosley himself. Bill plays Chop-Top in Texas Chainsaw #2 and also stars in Rob Zombie’s House of a Thousand Corpses. Nash is honoured to have him in attendance. Bill tells of the time he lived in New York City and first saw Nash live at a club. Wolf was his favorite Nash song because it was based on Prokofiev. Ironically, Wolf is also the favorite song of Steve Gregory, Nash’s fan club president in the UK. After Bill’s wonderful introduction, Nash treats the audience to his version of Nosferatu. This is a very knowledgeable and appreciative audience and Nash gets a standing ovation at the end. To this crowd, the performance was the highlight of the entire festival. Thanks go to James the festival organizer, Rod and the Rue Crew, Bill Mosley, plus all those who came to see Nosferatu. I’m sure we’ll never win over the Anime crowd, but it was a lot of fun being part of the whole event. ps: Nash was the only celebrity there with his own comic book. Thanks Matt. Digger |
