Something 'Supernatural' this way comes

The Supernatural convention at the Meadowlands Exposition Center the last weekend of September seemed a lot like being back in public school. The main hall was akin to being in a school assembly, sitting on folding chairs with the guests holding microphones on an elevated stage. The professional photo ops reminded me of lining up for class photos in front of a backdrop. And the food was served in a makeshift cafeteria, only missing the tables where we could sit down to eat.

The main draw were the panels for the popular kids -- Most Likely to Succeed (Jensen Ackles), Best Athlete (Jared Padalecki), Class Clown (I was gonna say Misha Collins, but then there's Mark Sheppard. Either way, we were very much looking forward to seeing both of them.) Jensen and Jared, who play Sam and Dean Winchester, were scheduled to be there on our second day; Misha and Mark, the show's angel and the demon respectively, took the stage on the first (and actually Mark did again on Day 2).

A little back story on the Schector sisters when it comes to Castiel and Crowley. We maintain that the show is about the angel and the demon, not the Winchester boys. They just happen to be there, get into various scrapes -- sometimes caused by demon/angel, sometimes resolved by them. We had shirts made about a year ago, mine says "Team Crowley" on front and "Team Castiel" on the back in the Supernatural typeface. Lor's says "Team Castiel" on front and "Team Crowley" on back.

Most of the panels had two or three members of the cast playing off of each other. The first one of the day was Ruth Connell (Rowena), Osric Chau (Kevin Chan) and Gil McKinney (Henry Winchester). Although Season 10 of the show got to be kind of a drag with predictable dialogue uttered by Crowley's mother, Rowena, we found Ruth to be the exact opposite. She was charming and sweet, offering shortbread to fans who asked questions during the Q&A. When asked what they'd write for their characters if given the chance, Ruth came up with a delightfully raunchy answer of having them chained in her basement to give her massages and other services. And then they kind of acted it out a little with Osric cosplaying Sam, it got weird. In a fun way.

The second panel was Tahmoh Penikett, who played Gadreel. We also recall him fondly from Joss Whedon's Dollhouse. He was such a gamer too, particularly since he had just arrived. He hadn't even gotten to change his clothes after taking a red-eye flight in from another working gig for the event. Sis went off to do a photo op with him when it ended, and had an unexpected (but fun) encounter with Misha Collins. Wish everyone could have seen her face when she tried to find me afterward to share the tale.

So Misha had came into the room while she was waiting to take her picture with Tahmoh. By the time she finished, Misha was just a few feet away, so she went over to him and actually flashed her "Team Castiel" shirt at him! He chuckled approvingly, then she showed the back and he laughed. She told him her sister had the reverse and we would see them at the duo's photo op. Flashing Castiel, priceless.

What we learned throughout the day, no matter whose session was underway, that everyone loves the character of Castiel, but if they got to play a part on the show, they'd want to be Crowley. Worked for us.

Mark's first panel was a lot of fun. I had heard about how he kind of gets into character and comes down off the stage to wander up around the audience while doing Q&A. He does not suffer fools lightly either. Any question he doesn't like was, at best, dismissed, and at worst, well, there was a lot of at worst. But he was very sweet with the kids and one overwhelmed fan who started crying when it was her turn to speak to him.

He dissed fans dressed as Castiel, saying their costumes looked more like Constantine, and paused before gently knocking over a life-sized standup of Castiel that one fan had brought to the event. He also made side comments to people he passed by during his walkabouts.

That was followed by our photo op with Mark and Misha. We had planned this one out for a while, what we'd say, what we'd do. We decided to go with hugs, a wise choice. Mark said, "I like your shirt." Then I showed him the "Team Castiel" back and he added, "I don't like that one." But at least Lor got a thumbs-up from him when she showed him the "Team Crowley" back of hers. Misha, ever sensible, admired them both.

And in the afternoon, we had a Misha panel. That got funny very quickly. He asked the first fan, "How are you?" and she responded with her age. That led to a running "how old are you" joke for the rest of the session. Another fan told Misha she had written a song for him. He looked a little wary, but she belted out an amazing tune that he loved and the audience whole-heartedly approved of."

Convention host Rob Benedict (Carver Edlund) and Matt Cohen (Young John Winchester) did the late afternoon session, and Mark showed up asking "Where's Rich?" in his patented American accent. In fact, it's such a good variation that many of the fans didn't seem to know it was the Englishman at all. By the way, his question was about Richard Speight Jr. (Gabriel/The Trickster), who was supposed to be the third man in the session, but had to cancel because he was directing the show's next episode and preparing production for it.

Our last event the first day was getting Misha's autograph. But since we didn't have Gold or Silver Seats (entitling us to autographs from everyone), our group was never called. When I saw people randomly getting on the line, and making it longer and longer, I went up to the stage to inquire about it with the person running the show. She said, "It's really long, but if you want to stand there, go right ahead." And then a lot of other people who seemed to have the same issue followed us, so it probably was a good idea to get on it before it doubled in size. I asked Misha how he was holding up and something about how he just keeps going and going with smiles and hellos for everyone. Lor added that he doesn't even get a break. And he sighed, "You're right," but probably was still giving smiles long after we departed.

Sunday's event was shorter for us, because the Gold Seaters got an exclusive panel with co-stars Jensen and Jared. Then there was a panel with Erica Carroll (Hannah), which was most notable for another sneak appearance by Misha. He really can work the crowd into a frenzy and get people milling about outside to run in quickly.

Then it was time for the so-called main attraction -- Jared and Jensen's panel for everyone. We all had glow sticks that have become a show of support for Jared, he really seemed touch to see them seemingly being waved by everyone in attendance at the same time.

They showed the camaraderie that is such a big part of the show has extended off the screen as well, making jokes at each others' expense and laughing about different things that have befallen the Winchesters. Every time Jensen had what he deemed to be a good response to a question, he would utter "I got this," while Jared seems to have taken his character's penchant for saying "So here's the thing" when delivering exposition on the show to heart.

Mark's second panel of the event was shorter, but still a lot of fun. And although I already would have been considered a fan of his for life, he endeared himself to me even further by mentioning my favorite television director, the late Kim Manners, during the session. Over the weekend, he also shared some big news with us -- he and his fiancee are expecting a baby and he had just become an American citizen.

If something at the convention could be considered a downer, it's probably the fact that EVERYONE is there to see the same people, so there's no time for personalizing autographs or making connections. The next day when I met Mark again, there were four things I wanted to get in during the brief conversation -- a thank-you for mentioning Kim, that I first became a big fan of his when he was on Medium, and congratulations on the baby and his naturalization. While we awaited my turn, Lor kept quizzing me so I wouldn't forget when I got up there, all nervous and excited. It became known as "KimMediumBabyCitizen."

And I did it too, while adding a clutch autograph to The X-Files yearbook collection -- he was in the first season episode, "Fire." By Sis' tally, I got "two big smiles and a chuckle" out of it. Here's the way I remember it: Me: "Thanks for mentioning Kim Manners, he was my favorite TV director." Mark: "Mine too." Me: "I've been a big fan since Medium." Mark: "Thanks." Me: "Congrats on the baby and becoming an American ... citizen." That's when the chuckle came into play, I kind of stumbled over that last part. But not bad for 10 seconds.

As the drawback is more a statement of fact than a complaint, it's easy to grade the convention on a curve and give it an easy "A," natch. Or Supernatch.

Seventeen years in the making...

I've been a diehard fan of The X-Files since the show's original run. And I've told the story quite a few times of how I got to the X-Files Expo late in 1998. Missed most of the day's action, but I did get to meet Nicholas Lea, who played Krycek, and he basically saved the whole day for me by being the nicest person and the complete antithesis of his cold-blooded character.

But there wasn't a chance to get photographs with the actors, so for years I've pondered the guest lists of conventions hoping that my path would cross with Nick's again. And then the early list for Dragon Con in Atlanta came out. My sister had wanted me to go to that con to experience the incredible event that is massively spread out over four hotels. With Nick scheduled to be there (and more recent favorite John Barrowman of Torchwood also announced), the die was pretty much cast.

Now early September isn't really the best time of the year for me to be out and about on weekends, in fact, it's kind of diametrically opposed to that since it's the toughest time of my work season. But I figured if I'm walking around like a human zombie, I'll just look like a lot of other people who paid money to dress in costumes and do the same.

It was wild using walkways to get from hotel to hotel, with throngs of people needing to be somewhere that they were not. (I believe the projected total for the entire event was 70,000 peeps.) But everyone seemed to handle themselves respectfully and as a really huge mutual admiration society, even my T-shirts got pointed out on occasion. We all just got along, whether it was during the convention hours or later on, when everyone was imbibing and enjoy the weekend.

Both Sis and I had to decided to do pro-shot photo ops with John Barrowman. This man is the perfect person to do the convention circuit. And he's perfect because he GETS it, because he's an "ultimate fanboy" himself. Before his photo op, he stopped to work his crowd into a frenzy (not really necessary, we were kind of there already).

"You're all HERE!" he yelled as he perused aisle upon aisle of attendees -- some dressed up, like Lor as Gwen Cooper from Torchwood, and others like me, not. Apparently there weren't a lot of people at his autograph signing, maybe because we were queueing up for the photo. (To be fair, it was a little misleading about the circumstances of that signing and more of us would have been there had we known it would have been such a breeze.)

John gave us a brief rundown of the "rules," basically there wasn't a lot he wouldn't do in the shoot, just nothing that would harm him physically. I was kind of concerned about that myself, for although I wanted one of his trademark bear hugs, I had fallen down the stairs a couple weeks before and was still pretty banged up and achy. So I resolved to ask for a "soft hug." And damn if he didn't do it perfectly, you can't tell it from the finished product, but I'm very gently cradled in his big ol' arms. I could feel my heart pounding against his chest.

Even after the lines has been through, John hung around to keep Sis and the others laughing, but I had gone across the street to wait on the X-Files panel line. Although Nick and Jerry basically told stories I had read before, it was just fun to hear them talk about their experiences in person. I'd heard Nick's fan letter story about a child asking show heroes Mulder and Scully to help with evil in Ireland, but not the Jerry tale linked above.

Nick was asked whether he got called by Chris Carter to be in the XF revival that will start airing on Fox in January. He said the executive producer hadn't called him about being on the show. Ever the intrepid reporter, I followed with "Did anyone else from the show call you?"

I was definitely not a zombie when it came to meeting Nick in the autograph room. I even did most of the talking. First I told him about how he salvaged my day, then it was the story of the XF episode SR 819, in which my friend and I were calling each other during commercial breaks because we figured out the episode plot twist involving him. He listened most attentively and even seemed interested in the ravings of the loony fan (me).

Now at conventions, traditionally you get one autograph and one photo with each person. I got more of both. I picked out a photo, and off the cuff, Nick wrote "We'll always have Miami!" (referring to that almost ill-fated Expo) with a heart before signing his name. Then he signed the XF yearbook on the "SR 819" page, adding that he almost brought his 8x10s of Krycek in the episode's trademark Jesus wig, but he wasn't sure people would be into it. I told him I definitely would have picked that one if he had. Anyway, he signed the book and then started blowing on the signature to make sure it dried quickly.

And finally it was time for the picture I had been waiting for. And although if you wait for something for that long, there's always that chance you're going to be disappointed with the result, it couldn't have been further from the truth. He wrapped me up in a big hug, I even forgot that I was supposed to be worried about my bruised bones.

Then I went to meet Jerry, who played Deep Throat on the show and returned several times after, despite the fact that his character died at the climax of the first season. I also know him really well from the WKRP in Cincinnati episode "Fish Story," in which he plays an officer administering a drunk driving test to Johnny Fever and Venus Flytrap. The character actor didn't really remember the ep (after all it WAS from 1979 and he has done a considerable amount of work since then.)

He also gave me the "bonus" autograph, signing the XF yearbook and an 8x10, much to his handler's chagrin. In the handler's defense, he did know the WKRP episode I earlier referred to. Speaking of bonuses, in our great candid shot, you can see John Wesley Shipp AND Barry Bostwick behind us at their tables.

Later when Lor went to get her picture with Barry, he asked my name and shook my hand, even though I wasn't forking over any money for the privilege. We laughed about the jockey shorts he was autographing for fans of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Planning way ahead, I arranged my professional photo op with Nick to be on Saturday, hoping I would look a little less piqued on the second day of the event and with a long day of work in the rearview mirror. Although I treasure the picture I got, I think Lor did much better by both of us doing the candid shots a day earlier. But, I did get the added bonus of getting a "hi" wave of recognition when he came in and an extra hug before the picture, to the apparent disapproval of other fans around who didn't get that.

The convention scheduler wasn't on my side that day, because Jerry's solo panel was starting in another hotel when Nick's photo op began, but I got across to that fairly quickly. There was a great slide show of the character actor's work, everything from The Firm to Star Trek: The Next Generation. There was a lengthy XF segment, but no WKRP. One avid fan even mentioned an appearance on the TV version of Starman and I vowed to see that as soon as possible. On TNG, he portrayed Mark Twain and that set him off on a course in which he performed a program completely comprised of Twain material. He mesmerized the entire audience by recalling an entire passage by Twain off the cuff, in performance mode except for costume.

Although I watched only one episode of the show Continuum that Nick was on, I still went to the cast panel for the show and was duly entertained. Nick told us he got involved because show creator Simon Barry was a friend of his, but his character was killed off after eight episodes. He had a quick retort to the statement that no one ever really dies in sci-fi: "I keep hearing this stuff. I'm here to tell you it's not true. I'm starting to take it personally."

I was pretty wiped from just working my way through the crowds and from building to building -- remember I said at the start that I was at my lowest energy point of the year -- but all due props to Sis, who was completely in the spirit of things. She changed costumes two or three times a day. She did Stonecutters' singing duty, she was Gwen Cooper in the Barrowman photo shoot, she battled an unwieldly wig and was Magenta from Rocky Horror, there was some kind of Arrow thing going on, and impressed the hell out of her weary sister.

But as for me, like I said when I was winging my way back home to go back to work, "It's been fun Dragon Con, but I think we should see other people."

Minimal effort, maximum tuneage

I've flown to Las Vegas (with a side bus trip to Phoenix) to see Pearl Jam. Sojourns to Brooklyn and Flushing for shows often take longer than a flight to Florida. So when artists appear right down the block from me in New Brunswick, New Jersey, it's definitely cause for celebration.

It happened twice for me over an October fortnight. First there was Chris Cornell. When I first saw Cornell fronting the seminal "grunge" band back in their '90s heyday, it was an appropriately percussive and sweaty event in New York City's brick Armory. At the State Theater, it was a much more intimate event, but Cornell's voice was no less than resonant -- even two decades on down the timeline.

He endeared himself to the audience by saying that he always enjoys performing in New Jersey -- the "no bullshit state," as he called it -- because the fans make him earn every bit of applause that he gets before them. On this particular night, it was all well earned, 28 songs (including one that definitely wasn't planned.)

Chris covered a wide array of his material spanning his own solo work (latest single "Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart" and love song to his wife "Josephine" were simply gorgeous), Soundgarden ("Fell on Black Days," "Black Hole Sun," "Rusty Cage"), his other band Audioslave ("Doesn't Remind Me," "Like a Stone"), nods to his Seattle supergroup Temple of the Dog ("All Night Long," "Hunger Strike," "Wooden Jesus") and those people he was inspired by (Led Zeppelin's "Thank You" and Bob Dylan).

For the latter, he worked what might be thought of as an untouchable classic into the heartfelt "The Times They Are A-Changin' Back." Later, he credited Neil Young coming up with the idea of a harmonica holder that can double as a microphone. "Being the first guy who steals an idea is almost as good as being the guy who invented it," he quipped. He also gave a special shoutout to Pearl Jam lead guitarist Mike McCready, further endearing himself to me, calling him one of the best human beings he's ever met in his life.

Those songs not just played by Chris on acoustic guitar featured Bryan Gibson, who was to up the sometimes daunting task of keeping pace on the cello (and for a bit on the mandolin).

I started wondering whether Chris might be some kind of alien being. I didn't see him sip anything during the two-plus hours. I get parched just listening to him reach the upper stratosphere with his notes.

Then again, he might just be a sponge. Because he can cover the likes of the Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody," Sinead O'Connor's Prince song "Nothing Compares 2 U," while finding a way to rework his own classics at well. Kind of gave me flashbacks to the era when I was also a sponge, musically speaking, and just open to every variable. On songs such as "Seasons," featured in buddy Cameron Crowe's film Singles, it really was a sensory experience, bringing me back to times and places I haven't thought about in at least a decade.

He told great stories too, like how happy he was to be included on the same list as Paul McCartney -- besides for bad '70s hair -- when he did the James Bond theme "You Know My Name" from Casino Royale. And lest the show seem too structured, he did listen to the audience on occasion. "We don't have a song called 'All Day Long,'" he chided. But then promptly improvised a serviceable ditty to an appreciative audience.

Then the second show was Ringo Starr and His All-Star Band. It's a great concept, and a fun one. Ringo basically brings a whole bunch of talented people out on the road with him. They take turns playing their biggest hits, and seem to enjoy playing on each others' as well. This particular incarnation featured Todd Rundgren (always a blast and eye-catching in some kind of wacky bodysuit thing), Steve Lukather (Toto), Richard Page (Mr. Mister) and Gregg Rolie (Santana).

It was like a super-cool jukebox cranking out great and catchy hits. With Rundgren, it was "Bang the Drum All Day," "I Saw the Light" and "Love Is the Answer," the latter of which Ringo called one of his favorite love songs. Lukather tried to stoke the audience with "Rosanna," "Africa" and "Hold the Line" -- it worked with the people in the orchestra, not so much for the balcony (save me, of course).

Page sounded every bit the vocalist he did three decades ago on classics "Broken Wings" and "Kyrie" as well as the newer tune "You Are Mine." And Rolie kept things grooving with "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" and "Oye Como Va."

When Ringo stepped off for "Black Magic Woman," the rest of the band got downright silly. They were roughhousing in pairs of two, still being masterful on their respective instruments, but just having a good ol' time with it all. I've seen some video of other shows on this tour, and unless the camera missed it, they seemed to be funning more than normal at our show.

In fact, they've been enjoying each others' company so much that they even wrote the song "Island in the Sun" while touring. According to Ringo, our show was the first time they played it publicly. "I'm gonna keep on searchin' for that island in the sun" say the lyrics. It might be on the nose, but they've apparently found just that in their All-Star Band.

Throughout the night, the rest of the band kept referring to Ringo as "The Boss," pretty funny considering a photo from backstage later emerged with the OTHER "Boss," Jersey's own Springsteen. Ringo was trademark Ringo -- complete with peace signs and self-effacing jokes throughout the night. The funniest one was about how the former Beatle couldn't reach the notes that Richard Page does in his songs without being kicked in the privates.

With all the high-powered talent in front of him, there was still someone stealing everyone's thunder in the back row. No, it wasn't Ringo. He was a gamer, but the show MVP had to be Mark Rivera, who deftly handled everyone's percussion, saxophone (on the likes of Ringo's "Photograph" and Steve's "Rosanna"), keyboard, backup guitar and backing vocal needs.

But when it comes right down to it, and the members of the band said this repeatedly during the show, seeing a Beatle on the stage makes all the difference. In addition to others, I've mentioned, we got to enjoy "Matchbox," "You're Sixteen," "Yellow Submarine" and the song John Lennon wrote for him, "I Am the Greatest." And of course, the song that encapsulates the night and performers with pinpoint accuracy -- "With A Little Help from My Friends/Give Peace a Chance."

In the end, what more can I say? The Brit invaded!

Note: Since video wasn't plentiful in remotely good quality from either show, I topped the reviews with the best available and then used other shows for songs I wanted to spotlight.

This IS my idea of a good time

In Back to the Future, Marty McFly journeyed from the '80s to 2015. But on Oct. 24, I went back to the past -- the '90s to be specific.

The first event was the inaugural Entertainment Weekly Fest, which I had just found out about a couple days earlier, thanks to a tweet sent by a friend I had met just a couple weeks earlier at the New York Comic Con X-Files Meetup. And this was a doozy too.

She said X-Files creator/executive producer/director Chris Carter would be doing a panel at EW Fest. But what she didn't know was that Darin Morgan, my favorite writer from the show, also would be on hand. And that news about sent me to another planet, because he was someone I've always wanted to see/meet very badly.

So I trekked in to the Industria Superstudio in Manhattan to enjoy the event with a growing circle of friends I've made in recent weeks on The X-Files front. I saw a screening of the Halloween episode of You're the Worst first, and that was entertaining enough, but all I could really think about was the XF panel.

After standing crookedly and rather uncomfortably on a slanted ramp for the better part of an hour, we were allowed in to the panel room. I sat with my friends, Rachel, who bemoans the fact that the show didn't use a show bible to keep proper track of its facts and history, and Ana, who never did get a satisfactory answer to her question about why Mulder and Scully couldn't weather a few bumps in the road after all they had been through. Their reactions to particular moments in the panel made it even more fun.

When moderator Jeff Jensen introduced Chris and Darin, there was a third person in tow -- Glen Morgan, Darin's brother and another exceptional writer for the show. Frankly, I wouldn't have been happier with the actors from the show, because the writing aspect always has and continues to fascinate me. (And maybe because I just sat in on the acting panel a couple weeks before.)

Now for a couple days, I had prepared what I would say and how I would ask my question. And then Jeff Jensen stole my thunder, almost with my same exact wonders. He proclaimed Darin's episode "Jose Chung's From Outer Space" to not only be his favorite of the show's run, but also of television in general and then asked how he came up with such an intricate plot.

Anyway, Darin said all he initially had for the opening of his fourth and final episode from the series' initial run was the opening sequence in which two teenagers are abducted by two "aliens," who in turn are then menaced by a different species of alien. And when he pitched that idea, he was told never to bring it up again. Sure glad he did, though!

The title character of the episode, author Jose Chung (played so memorably by Charles Nelson Reilly) was fleshed out after Morgan saw actors auditioning for a previous episode of his, "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose." As Darin explained, the actor reminded him of Truman Capote, and although he wasn't ultimately hired for the role, it did provide the impetus for turning Jose Chung into a quirky writer investing an alien abduction story.

For every story I had already heard at the panel, such as how the controversial episode "Home" stemmed from a story in a biography Glen read on Charlie Chaplin, there was one I didn't know, like how Glen and writing partner James Wong came up with their initial baddie Tooms while locked away in a "little box of an office" trying to find something to hang an episode on. They looked up at a small vent and wondered what would happen if someone came through it. Chris had been to France and was going on and on about "foie gras," and thus the idea that the man who could fit through small vents was searching for livers to harvest.

Speaking of "Home," Glen cracked up the room by admitting he called the episode he wrote for the revival "Home Again" merely to stir up fans on the internet. That scheme has definitely worked, by the way, as social media has gone wild expecting a sequel to the incestuous baddies' story.

Darin said playing the Fluke Man in an early episode gave him special insight into actors having to wear costumes when he later became a director and also said that The X-Files was the only show that was never besieged by network interference. He got to write scripts the way he wanted to, and that was the reason he was interested in coming back for the revival. He also revealed that his episode will be called "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster."

Glen added that, of all the shows he's ever worked on, XF is the only one he's come up with ideas after the run ended. And Chris said that once again, the time seems to be right with people very interested in the concept of conspiracies within the government.

When they "got the band back together," the panel participants and other show creative forces such as Frank Spotnitz, Vince Gilligan and Howard Gordon got together to discuss how they could make it work. The other three had current projects that precluded their involvement. "We're the only losers who didn't have anything else to do," Glen laughed.

I got my courage up to ask the second part of my original "Jose Chung" question (about the Detective Manners character and my favorite TV director Kim Manners), and Jeff Jensen actually signaled for me to ask the last question of the session, but new friend Roileigh (of X-Files News) got to and really stirred the crowd into another frenzy by asking about whether Mulder and Scully were married -- based on comments David Duchovny has been making in the media. Chris quickly put the kibosh on that idea.

EW Fest came up with the brilliant idea of "funneling" participants from the panel into a neighboring room for autographs, so we gleefully skipped off to wait on line. At that point, only Chris' name was listed for the session, but the brothers Morgan also joined in and I wasn't real sure I'd be able to stay vertical.

I got to Chris first and used part of my prepared speech, "Thank you for creating and nurturing my all-time favorite television show." And he genuinely thanked me, then called attention to the XF jacket I was wearing. It had indeed been popular that day, but acknowledgment from THE man almost stopped me in my tracks. Almost.

Instead of the series poster he was signing for everyone, I had him sign my "yearbook," which is a really nice keepsake after less than a year's worth of show-related autographs. And then I made way over to Glen Morgan, with my page for Darin already picked out. And then something really unexpected happened.

Glen just burst out laughing. I mean the kind of side-splitting laughter that probably would only emanate from one sibling making fun of another. He really was amused by the picture of Darin. That, of course, piqued the interest and attention of both Darin and Chris and they looked over at it as well. Darin probably hasn't frowned that much since he played Eddie Van Blundht in the XF episode "Small Potatoes." He was pretty unhappy with the picture, probably again because of the joy Glen was getting out of it.

I was definitely thrown off my game about that. After the laughter subsided and it was just me talking to Darin, I babbled something akin to "'Jose Chung' is my favorite episode of television ever. I want to be buried with a copy of it."

My spectacular friends combined to get pictures of me during all this, and it just goes to show what going to a sparsely attended meetup at a huge convention can ultimately do for you. I have people to talk XF with and they also look out for me.

We were at the very bottom of the ramp discussing our good fortune when Glen, Darin and Chris filed out before us. I said good-bye to them individually by name and got different reactions from each. Glen said "bye," Darin smiled brightly and Chris stopped for a second as though he was trying to place me from somewhere else.

Later, I was off to see Garbage, a band that I loved since the '90s but never actually got to see in person for the 20th anniversary of their first album, they've been doing a tour in which they only perform songs written in 1995-'96.

The thing that has always made the group special to me was the fact that a self-effacing woman with serious lungs -- Shirley Manson -- fronts some powerful musicians (including Nirvana producer Butch Vig). She takes the piss out of herself in her lyrics, but still comes off as empowering and inspiring. And the band tells the tale that they had heard many female singers who could scream out a tune, but no one even came near to doing what Shirley did.

With lyrics such as "This is not my idea of a good time" or "I'm only happy when it rains" or "When I grow up, I'll be stable," she always sang the truth while admitting that while situations might not be ideal, they could be handled and she'd come out stronger on the other side.

And actually still does. Sporting pink hair reminiscent of the color of that first release, Shirley's still a knockout singer who can hit all the notes and draw all the emotion out of every song. From start to finish, she still gallops around the stage and bends herself backward in ways that no one who has been doing this for 20 years should be able to do.

Whether it was hits such as "Stupid Girl," "Queer," "Milk," "I Think I'm Paranoid" or lesser-knowns such as "Butterfly Collector" or "Driving Lesson," the audience was enraptured. They didn't sit all night! (Well, OK, I admit I did. After walking around the city all day, I couldn't keep up. But I was still spellbound.

Shirley got emotional over being in the Brooklyn venue, the Kings Theater -- which reminded her of her first concert experience and how she dreamed of someday being up on the stage, the very place she was at that moment. How lucky were we to share that with her? Just like I'm able to share both these experiences with all of you now.