ORC: 50th Anniversary Celebration & WWS Concert
Xoanon @ 12:46 pm EST

After writing my report last night Kathy and I recharged our batteries a bit then headed back for the 50th Anniversary toast and the WORLD WITHOUT SUNDAYS concert.

I had the fortune to meet a few of the WWS guys before the Dominic Monaghan signing event and I got the chance to tell them that thier remake of 'Where There's a Whip, There's a Way' was AWESOME! So it was really neat to hear it live last night.

But before the concert ORC attendees were treated to an amazing assortment of desserts while enjoying some fan-entertainment on the main stage. When we arrived 'Singing Gandalf' was...well...singing! We found Tehanu, Corvar and Calisuri chatting it up with the folks from CREATION ENTERTAINMENT and EMERAL ROSE. As the night progressed we saw some amazing (and amazingly odd) acts, likes the BLUES HOBBITS, a dramatic dance interpretation featuring Beren and Luthien, Hip Hobbits, and a group of orcs singing thier love to Sauron..it was an odd evening indeed.

Quickbeam took the stage to make the 50th Anniversary toast, and everyone raised a glass to the good professor. It was really amazing to see a few hundred people drink to his name.

A little later on into the night, after a few more drinks (and desserts) were passed around Quickbeam took the stage again. The crowd was idly mingling by the dessert bar or sitting around waiting for the next act...when suddenly Quickbeam shouts 'Ladies and Gentlemen....BILLY BOYD!!!!!'

Needless to say the whole room exploded into cheers and flashes of cameras as Billy took to the mic and said a few words to the crowd. A few seconds later Dominic Monaghan slips out from behind the curtain and there are more cheers and camera flashes. Dom and Billy hug like they haven't seen eachother in years. And they both take mics to announce WORLD WITHOUT SUNDAYS!

The band comes out rocking with a few of their more known tracks...the entire room is full of dancing fanboys and girls, some in costume...a surreal site to behold.

By this time of the night Kathy and I are complete zombies...we needed some sleep. We head back to our hotel and shut the lights.

But reading some emails, and checking out some photos posted on our message boards I can see Bruce Hopkins arrived for Karaoke and general sillyness after the WWS concert. Take a look at this link for some photos of last night. More coming soon!

ORC in LA