PAX is such a strange phenomenon, an unlikely gathering of people from many places and walks of life. From its humble beginning, PAX has always been about people: The speakers and presenters, the bands, the attendees, and the all-important Enforcers. To those of us who go every year, it feels more like a place than an event. As soon as you walk through the doors of the convention center, you know you’re in a place where it’s safe to be yourself.
This was my first PAX East, and I have to say, it’s quite a bit different from PAX Prime. It hits many of the same notes, but overall it just has its own general feel. It felt like joining a new band. Maybe you set out to have a particular sound, but any time a new group of musicians combine their creative forces, something unique is concocted. PAX East is like that, except instead of 4 or 5 band members it’s 70,000.
Speaking of bands…
Supercommuter (from left to right): Tron Juan, Jen Wood, Wheelie Cyberman, Stenobot, and the Kevin aka Bearded Bot.
Supercommuter was honored to play at PAX Prime last year, and even more so to be asked to come out to Boston for PAX East. We were part of an amazing Friday night lineup including Minibosses, Metroid Metal, and Protomen. Leading up to the concert, I think I was more excited to see the other bands than I was to actually play myself. That whole first day just felt like a blur, and then there we were, taking the stage and opening up an evening of music to a packed crowd of thousands, most of whom had never heard us. I can’t tell you how nervous I was walking up those steps. But all that quickly melted away. As soon as I pressed Start on my Game Boy, it was obvious that we were among friends. It was a great show and an unforgettable experience.
The concert was great, but meeting people was the true highlight of my weekend. Sitting in our booth, sandwiched between Metroid Metal and Minibosses, I met some amazingly strange people and had some of the most interesting conversations I’ve ever had. PAX to me is like a big, complicated way station where passions and hobbies intersect. It was so awesome to meet so many people as anxious to engage in conversation as I am. Music, games, religion, technology—we discussed anything and everything, from hacking Game Boys to favorite videogames to coding projects to whatever seemed interesting at the time. I left PAX emotionally exhausted, but profoundly impacted by the three long, solid days of connecting with so many different people.
The low light of my week was missing my show at the Jamspace. I was supposed to go on at 11AM the morning following the Supercommuter show. A perfect storm of exhaustion, jet lag, 3AM fire alarm, hotel evacuation, and forgetting to set my alarm led to me oversleeping and missing my set. I was so bummed to miss out on the opportunity to play with some rad east coast chiptune artists. But it turned out okay in the end. I apologized for my massive fail, and everyone was really cool and gracious about it. In the end, I got to meet a bunch of awesome people from the Boston chiptune scene. If you were expecting to see me play, and I didn’t get a chance to tell you in person, I sincerely apologize. One of these days I swear I’ll play a Stenobot show outside Washington state.
As I write this, I’m sitting on an plane, chasing the sunset back to Seattle, brain full of memories of an incredible weekend. I can’t help but feel sentimental. Hopefully, we’ll be back next year with new music and more life experiences to discuss with our 70,000 new friends. For now, I’ll leave you with my favorite photo from the weekend.
