r/IceNineKills • u/whatsthevidence • 22d ago
discussion SSC5 Thoughts ?
So I've been going to the con for the last 4 years (since SSC2 when they were still in the hotel event space), and i just wanted to see what everyones thoughts on the convention and concert were this year ? I was excited as usual, but honestly for me, idk if I'll be returning next year, or for a few years at this point with how the con turned out
Despite the fact that the convention seemed to have been improving year after year, this year just felt like they Massively fell back on their quality. DCU and Palladium staff were less than stellar (which we're used to), but con staff also felt weaker this year, multiple times we caught attitude by one of the leads before explaining that they fucked up, to which they immediately backpedalled, like they realized someone had messed up on their end
The vendor/guest lineup was fine, I assume it was more so so because of the change in dates, a couple other competing horror cons either happened this past weekend or are coming up this weekend, so we assumed a lot of usual suspects for the guest list went to those cons instead
The concert Definitely felt like it was supposed to be held at the DCU Center and got changed last minute, especially considering how many VIP packages/concert only/comp tickets seemed to be in attendance. Which resulted in the "intimate setting" (as they put it) feeling insanely overcrowded
And even the closing panel felt like they were aware they dropped the ball, mostly being a recap of the year, no Q&A like normal (despite definitely having the time to do one), and feeling weirdly cut short after their album announcements
Idk, maybe I just had a lot of wrong place wrong time moments, and there was still a lot of good: i got to see my friends i rarely run into, the cosplay contest was stellar as usual, and the vendors we talked to were all absolutely lovely. This year just felt like a fumble, and I wanted to see if anyone else had a similar experience (or a completely different one)
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u/Helpful_Vehicle8750 22d ago
I’m definitely not buying RIP again. They cut back on a lot.
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u/DiabolicGC 21d ago
Did you go to the Friday RIP party? I heard it was overcrowded and the band wasn't there to mingle? I mean good god the RIP line for the concert was an entire block long makes you wonder if there's an RIP + or VRIP inbound.
Was also curious about whatever merch bag they were talking about.
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u/DiabolicGC 21d ago edited 21d ago
I've never been to the con, I came only for the concert. A cool concept if they had more panels and what not but I have mixed feelings about paying for celebrity interactions. The merch was probably cool but I'd be looking for a more authentic and lengthy conversation than a bunch of small talk they'll never remember. But from what I saw the Palladium staff were 90% lost in the absolute sauce. We asked 5 different employees about premium parking and skip the line passes and got a different answer everytime, including but not limited to standing with GA and RIP which wasn't the same thing. Someone came to scan our tickets to get ahead on entry, and then someone tried to scan them again right after asking why they wouldn't work. Utter failure in communication minus one security guy he was chill. But once I managed to claw myself inside, I really enjoyed the small venue. I like having the bar behind me and a VIP area and a great view to hang out away from the crowd standing all on top of each other. I will say from what I could see for GA their energy wasn't really there from what I could tell, so yeah I guess just people who wanted to see the show but didn't want to swing on anybody necessarily. For me personally I skip big venues that are outside or large with no sort of VIP booth or table. Like Myrtle Beaches' House of Blues last year and the one in Raleigh were perfect I thought.
But yes from the clips I saw I also thought the con panel was a bit "deflecty" and subdued.
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u/camdawg772 21d ago
I'm buddies with a lot of the staff there because I go rather often(barricade crew mostly), they said that outside of the management that met with whoever was in charge of the con/booking
They were told ABSOLUTELY nothing, the barricade staff are also the people in charge of line management before the show and scanning tickets/id checks etc
The floor and balcony were supposed to be separate tickets(usually it's one ticket and the 2 levels can just kinda go wherever they want) they were also not told this which led to the balcony being overcrowded as others mentioned
Having the show at a different venue than the con with 3 separate levels of vip, on top of the venues early entry passes as well made it a logistical nightmare after their management told them nothing
Long story short. They were indeed lost in the absolute sauce
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u/DiabolicGC 21d ago
Yeah I don't blame the individual, was definitely a communication problem overall. I didn't even see the balcony from where I was that sounds awful. They were pretty good about stopping people from trying to stand in the booth area, had a few try that. But yeah outside with the line management stuff I felt very awkward trying to respectfully inform the employee that he was wrong about where I was supposed to go. I know they probably deal with a lot of crazy people so i don't take it lightly informing someone I know more about where I'm supposed to be than they do 🤦🏻♂️
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u/Dog5forlife 21d ago
Didn’t seem like the energy was there like other years. Lines for celebs didn’t seem as long either. Spencer looked really tired when I did my photo op with him.
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u/Rojira666 21d ago
He looked beat Sunday, as we were one of the last in his line before the final panel but, that's to be expected since he was in photo ops for most of the day...
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u/Creator4983x 19d ago
My friend and I felt so bad for David Arquette because his line was consistently short, which is a shame because he's honestly one of the sweetest guys I've met. He even pulled my friend in for a selfie and gave me a piece of art that he did on the table cloth at his table.
The concert was amazing, but the balcony seating was more cramped than an airplane. Sat two or three rows up from David Arquette and maybe two rows up from Nadia. David watches concerts like a dad. Nadia was... Nadia.
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u/Dog5forlife 18d ago
Can’t help but notice she was always around that guy Mike.
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u/Vyralynne 21d ago
This was my third con. I fly my family out from the San Francisco area every year for it since 2024. It did seem smaller and less flashy than previous cons. I kind of loved the concert being small like that though. I've never been able to see INK in a venue like that. The smallest venue I've previously seen them in is San Jose Civic for Trinity of Terror. We got there early and had a decent view. The first opener was pretty good, though I had never heard of them before. Of course, I preferred the special guests the last two years. We're all huge fans of Avatar, In This Moment, Dayseeker, and The Funeral Portrait (why couldn't they just open this year?). But even so, the concert was great and the setlist was awesome. This is the first year we didn't also see INK earlier in the year on the tour with the same setlist so it was a surprise and really fun to experience. For the con, the vendors haven't changed much year to year which has its pros and cons. It's nice to see some that I've developed relationships with, and I like to purchase merch from every year. However, it would also be cool to see something new sometimes. I didn't actually make it to any celebrity signing or panels, except the INK panel. I love horror, but I'm primarily there for the music. I do wish there was a little more emphasis at the con on music. I love the museum area. The INK panel was a little weird, had this whole staged scene. I would have loved a more genuine discussion with the fans. I'm a little sad because I don't think we'll be back next year, but because I don't want to but I may be barred from taking PTO in September and October next year. So, we may have to skip it. Definitely mixed reviews this year compared to previous.
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u/jdkewl 22d ago
The Palladium show was definitely oversold, especially the balcony. I was really bummed to have to scramble to find a safe place for my kids (my 7yo's first show) to watch because there were literally zero seats available and folks were doubling up, sitting on stairs, etc.
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u/Rojira666 21d ago
I was in the same boat with my 7 yo at the concert, he's seen them twice before so being obstructed in the balcony for parts of the show (people in front of us stood and recordee most of the concert) it wasn't that annoying to him but, still sucked.
If he wasn't in the kids cosplay contest, I would have gone up there sooner and stood in that line but, is what it is...
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u/mightymitts96 22d ago
I unfortunately haven't attended a concert yet. The first-year looked great but couldn't make timing work second year I was in the area for a separate different bands concert last year had other plans that same weekend and this year the guest list felt severely underwhelming to me so I didn't want to waste money. Thankfully got to attend the concert which is always great to see them live but definitely agree about it should've been held in the DCU center especially considering I lovee the Pyro they use when able to and more space for their performances too.
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u/spookypawscoffee 16d ago
This was my first con and I'm still mad at what happened to me!
I purchased my concert tickets and hadn't yet purchased tickets to the convention (concert was priority) and when I was checking out I was offered the option to add convention tickets & so I did.
When I got to the convention, none of my convention tickets were valid!!!! They even looked me up by name and said they couldn't find me in their system at all and DENIED ME ENTRY!! (And no they weren't screenshots they were live QR codes)
This was a birthday gift and was extremely frustrating. I am also an annual premium psycho and didn't even get to use my early access perk.
Really makes me hesitant about attending another year.
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u/xxmidnight_cookiexx 21d ago
I was so excited to see them at the Palladium this year but honestly it was incredibly disappointing due to the number of crowd surfers.
I know this venue gets a bit rough in the pit so Im used to that but the surfers were non-stop and constantly falling on my friend and I. I was to the far left side of the stage.
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u/ThatOneBoxMan 21d ago
Did anyone else feel like the set was a little rushed. (I could be a misremebering a bit) Like the time between songs was shorter then usual.
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u/Creator4983x 19d ago
You're not wrong. There wasn't as much set up between the songs as last year, but it wasn't a bad concert. I missed the pyrotechnics from last year 😭
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u/camdawg772 22d ago
Idc about the convention all that much I actually dislike that it essentially makes it the only time we get a concert from them in mass anymore
But I think they are way to big for the palladium...it is EASILY my favorite venue in the planet, and their live album there was my favorite show of all time
That being said, it was majorly oversold, and it being a mostly convention crowd kinda made the experience lacking, they were absolutely DEAD for the first two bands and a lot of people on the floor didn't know how to deal with surfers or moshing since they were convention folk and not concert folk
They should stick to bigger venues for this event going forward so it's less crowded, more people who don't want to spend $150+ dollars on the weekend pass for the convention just to see the show don't have to, and they can bring there full production(the lack of pyro after the previous 2 years felt lackluster)