Super awesome Abney Park concert!

I have this fangirlism trait that I'll probably never grow out of. I'm always getting obsessed with things like Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, and various bands. My favorite band for the last couple of years (and probably forever) is the Seattle-based steampunk group Abney Park. We got to see them in concert for the first time last February in San Francisco. I took Lia, Emily, and Eva. The girls dressed in little steampunk costumes and made quite an impression on the band members and a couple of the other acts. Guitarist Nathaniel Johnstone (in addition to the guitar, he plays violin, mandolin, and banjo) gave Eva his own dogtag that had his name engraved in it. Then before I knew it, she was backstage. A friend of the band grabbed the other girls and me, and led us backstage too. Suddenly I was in the same room as my favorite band, and a bundle of nerves! Too freaked out to get pictures, except a couple of Eva holding a puppet from the act Shadow Circus. I met the band's female singer Jody Ellen and chatted with her for a minute before grabbing the kids and getting out of the way. I didn't want to make a nuisance of us. :)

So fast forward to last Friday. The lineup also included another of my favorite bands, Vernian Process, cellist and singer Erica Mulkey (Unwoman), puppeteers Shadow Circus, and a band I just discovered, The Unextraordinary Gentlemen. I took the same kids in addition to Anya, who always saw Jody as a sort of princess and wanted to meet her. We walked into the venue and Anya spotted Nathaniel standing by the merchandise booth. She pointed and started jumping up and down. His face lit up when he saw us, and he ran over and said, "I'm so glad you guys could make it!" We all got hugs. Squee. HUGE fangirl moment for me. The girls made new friends, danced the whole night with various steampunks until they were exhausted, and members of the other acts kept coming up and giving them guitar picks and stickers.

The steampunk community is just an awesome group as a whole. The artists are so supportive of each other, and as I've discovered by the group of friends on Facebook, everyone seems to know one another. I made several new friends myself, and reconnected with a few I'd met last time.

So now, a few pictures of a very fun night!

A few months ago I found a tiny toy mandolin at a thrift store, and we presented it to Nathan. He has a plushie model of himself that another fan made for him, and he was thrilled to have a mandolin for Nathan-Plushie.

Eva is wearing Nathan's dogtag that he gave her.

The extremely talented Erica Mulkey (Unwoman), who performed with the bands. Anya loved her.

Captain Robert Brown--Abney Park's lead singer, also plays handheld drums, harmonica, accordian, and other exotic instruments. He liked Eva's hair, which was based on keyboardist Kristina Erickson (also his wife), and said Eva was his dance partner.

 

Anya knew who Captain Robert was, but he's a large dude and she was a little nervous when he picked her up!

 

And I'm like, durr hurr...

Anya dancing away with her new friend Alyssa.

Erica with Vernian Process.

Eva got to be Nathan's violin girl! During their song Airship Pirates, Nathan plays both the guitar and violin, so they always pick someone to come onstage and hold the violin.

This was probably Anya's favorite part of the night. After the show, Jody came offstage and hugged the girls.

Anya and Kristina.

Are they the coolest band or what?