While we waited in line to get into Sonic Boom, there came a point between the talks of Rainbow Gems, Vanilla the Rabbit, and talking with Ruby Eclipse about the future of Sonic where a fiendish idea was conceived.
“If a small group of people belted out the first few lines of ‘Live and Learn‘, how many people would join in the song?”
This is the result.
In the heart of San Diego as the blood from the San Diego ComicCon pumps through the city, the House of Blues was bumping last night with the ’80s Hair Guitar stylings of Crush 40 belting out fan favourites and all new tracks, and a grand outpouring of love for the spiky Blue Blur from all 800 or so in attendance.
And Sonic Retro was there in force to experience it.
After a little meetup at a nearby Yard House with some of our older members and a few other fans, we made our way to House of Blues to discover that the line was already stretching around three corners of a block with people eager to attend Sega of America’s Second Annual celebration of all things Sonic. And while those of us in line joked about the stranger sides of the fandom, we ran into a familiar face frantically scurrying around the block to make sure the line was moving: Sega of America’s Sonic Generations Brand Manager Aaron “Ruby Eclipse” Webber. After some small talk, we left him on his way to continue making sure the line was moving at a steady pace.
As a little bit of a game after letting him go, a few of us wagered on a social experiment: if the six of us belted out loudly the first four lines of Live and Learn, how many people would join in? The result was far greater than expected and can only be truly enjoyed by the video captured of it. Keep an eye out here as we’ll post it once I’m able to get on an Internet service that can handle video uploading.
With that, we went inside the club.
Odds are you’ve been following Summer of Sonic‘s festivities through the magic of Internet streams today–and major kudos to the SoS team on pulling off a smooth convention given every obstacle that came up this year! However, if you’re located in America, you’ve probably been wishing you could attend Summer of Sonic without going overseas. Or at least something vaguely like it. If that’s the case, Friday your lucky day–it’s time for the second annual Sonic Boom during San Diego ComiCon!
We’ll be holding a Sonic Retro meetup from 3 to 5 p.m. Friday, July 13 at Yard House, located at 1023 4th Avenue in San Diego. That’s about a block from House of Blues. I’m also happy to announce that unlike last year, this is an all-ages venue, so anyone is free to show up and grab a bite, something to drink or just chat and goof off with us.
It’s also a great venue because we like beer, and hey, LOOK AT ALL THAT BEER.
Please keep in mind that parking in downtown San Diego is tricky and often accompanied by a fee in a garage, and that you’ll be battling ComiCon attendees for spots, so showing up early may be necessary. As someone who’s now a veteran of these sorts of meetups, I just want to say that we are minimum creepy and maximum fun, so come out and join us!
eta: For some reason the permalink on Facebook says “2 to 5”; this is incorrect and the time is 3 to 5. Thanks.
Eighteen years ago, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was released to the masses. No one bothered to ask Sonic if he saw his shadow (and if he did, if it was just a generic circle or in his actual silhouette), but because of how important that release was all those many years ago, Sega has been using the date to psyche up whatever hedgehog-related items they’ve been working on. Last year, they teased the 20th Anniversary. The year before was right around the time Sonic 4: Episode 1 was announced. This year, we have not one but three Sonic-related prizes on the ol’ Sega blog. Yes, it wasn’t too hard to guess something Sonic 4 related was going to be there, but the other two may come as a bit of a surprise, as some people questioned if they were ever going to happen again. Yes, Sega has confirmed that the fan-favorite-fan-gatherings Sonic Boom and Summer of Sonic are indeed returning for 2012.
