HC 1:
- Hearing so many rave reviews about the local brew pub, only to realize as a group that the best thing about it were the spicy waffle fries.
- "He's really quite yellow isn't he? I wonder if he eats babies?"
- Missing out on hanging out with Nemtheanga, who sat right outside my hotel room door for hours without either myself or roomate General Zod's knowledge. When we asked our traveling companions the next day why they didn't wake us up, the response was something akin to "yeah, I guess we should've". General Zod then responded, "That's it, I'm not speaking to you until 3:48 this afternoon!
- Perkins' surprisingly awesome breakfast more than making up for said brew pub disappointment.
- The courageous and inspired performance by November's Doom who just barely made it to the festival after driving up from a snowstorm in Chicago and basically having enough time to arrive, plug in and slay the audience.
- Cara's and Samatha's tongues!
- Thyrfing hitting the stage while we all had the perfect buzz going with the perfect set at the perfect time with the perfect amount of Heathenic Mayhem. Zod enjoyed the set so much that it prompted him to say "That's it, I'm buying every Thyrfing album ever!!" which was later misquoted (rather hilariously) by Markgugs as "That's it, I'm buying every album ever!!"
- Getting hit by Thryfing's prop blood in the absolute perfect spot on my HC 1 shirt (right where the dude's sword is coming down on the slain body below). The odds of such a perfect splash had to be astronomically low.
- The infamous Mike incident. You gotta love the spirit of someone who's head is buried on the table but still raising the horns high. RC'ers have had to overcome so much.
- The origin of the "Nemtheanga" post. But not before witnessing the single most emotional performance of my life by said Nemtheanga during "The Coffin Ships". Feeling drunk, energetic and on an emotional high could not prevent me from being moved to tears by that incredible performance. Let's keep this simple - Primordial rules.
- Having the honor of storing Mike and Jerry's festival merch (and others?)Having the honor of meeting so many cool folks that existed only in cyberspace prior to the event.
- Moonsorrow capping off the event in grand fashion - there are few bands that I could've kept the energy going for at the time. They were one of them.
- Being the designated driver and having to try to keep both the rowdiness in the car down and the windows closed while passing about 10 different state troopers on the way to Applebee's.
- The huge sigh of relief let out after getting everyone back to the hotel safe and being able to join the party again.
- Relaxing with Paul from November's Doom with a small group of friends which slowly built up to about 27 people complete with female pagan bed wrestling and asthma from not being able to stop laughing all night long.
- "It was the greatest time we can never remember".
HC2:
- Going from 90 degree to single digit temps within the span of a few hours. Perfect bleak Scandanavian atmosphere from the word go.
- Witnessing the promoters frantically scrambling to personally shuttle the late arriving bands from the airport to the hotel. That kind of dedication was appreciated even more than they knew.
- The intimate nature of the pre-show gathering. There's a time and place for all out partying, but sitting around with few friends sharing music, drinks and laughs can be every bit as engaging and really set the tone for another great weekend.
- The Manegarm violinist incident.
- Being incredibly surprised at not only the quality of Sloug Feg's set, but also by how well they fit in and were received by the HC crowd.
- Bell's Winter White Ale!!
- The ownage of Mael Mordha/Gwynbleidd/Slough Feg/Vried/Rudra/Dark Forest/Manetheren and discovering more bands than I thought possible at one festival.
- Jerry living up to the RC HC annual puking standard.
- Getting to meet Neil (skyrefuge) whose posting style (and content) I've admired for years. His sarcasm is so sharp it cuts right through the minds of the majority of mere mortals. "Neil has no friends, only tolerance of inferiority."
- Being informed I was lost, only to inform everyone that everyone *but* me was lost.
- "FRANK, FRANK, FRANK, FRANK!!!!" This primitive, yet so undeniably satisfying display was milked for all it was worth. It reminded me of the painting of Kramer in that episode of Seinfeld..... "A sexually-depraved miscrient, who is seeking to gratify only his basic and most immediate urges...he is a loathsome, offensive brute.....yet i can't look away "
- Jerry passing out in the running, locked car while Mike and I begged and pleaded with him to get out and take the shuttle with us in sub-zero temperatures. It was a frustrating, yet somehow exhilarating experience.
- "What's wrong??"
"My fucking drummer keeps pouring beer all over me and getting it in my eyes!!"
"Well look at it this way, at least it wasn't tabasco."
"I hate you."
- Having a near death experience on the way to the Viking museum while witnessing Jerry's definition of race relations with the Reverend Wright of the Minneapolis equivalent of South Central Los Angeles.
To name a few.
Jason
