Boston Tattoo Convention

September 8-10, 2006

They say the third time is the charm but returning to the Boston Tattoo Convention for the third year running (2004 , 2005) I wasn't looking for the proverbial charm because the event has been nothing but good to me every time. This year would be no exception and might have been the best yet. Dr Grift and I flew up on September 7th a day before the start of the convention. We were met by our friends Kirk and Jeremy who took us from the airport to the BCA where we dropped off our gear for the convention. From there it was off to the Westin to check in for the weekend. Previous years we had stayed in smaller almost B&B style hotels which were nice but this year Natan (the organizer) put us in the Westin much to our appreciation. There was nothing wrong with the other hotels but if you have spent time in a Westin, you know the difference. I might have enjoyed just staying in the hotel for the night and getting some rest before my morning radio interview but we were in Boston and we were with Kirk, food and drink were unavoidable.

We drove out to Generations - a fabulous place that hosted us on nearly every visit we have made to Boston in the last three years. Their food is great and comes in portions that could feed armies. Stomachs were stuffed and more than a few pints of Guinness were drained along with the obligatory Jager bombs. I had to work at it a bit to get us out of there in time for me to get any rest before the first day of the convention.

Day 1

The first day began for me with an interview for Kiss 108. Press and promoting the event are good, getting up that damn early is not. Still I managed to drag myself out of bed and make it to the lobby where I found the car they sent was already waiting for me. It went well but what really sticks in memory is that moments after getting in the car the driver told me about his recent cataract surgery and how he had nearly gone blind. I'm happy it all worked out for him but that is not what you want to hear from someone driving your car.

After the radio spot I returned to the hotel and Dr Grift and I walked up to the BCA. Jagermeister provided us with a promotions package to help decorate our booth and plenty of swag for the crowd. They also provided the event with lanyards for the staff and artists.

This year our booth was beside the stage (stage right) which was an even better spot than our previous years at the entrance. On the other side of the stage were the Suicide Girls. Throughout the event the girls assisted Poobah (the emcee) with giving out the awards and conducting contests for swag.

Before our performance there were shows by Black Cat Burlesque and La Gata Negra. The Black Cat routine consisted of what appeared to be a standard tease dance but culminated with the dancer slitting her patron throat with a fantastic blood squirting razor. La Gata Negra was masked women's wrestling. Both put on original and entertaining sets and are definitely worth checking out.

Our show went well and soon after we found ourselves celebrating in the beer garden.

Day 2

Saturday, as with most conventions, is the big day. Pre-sales for tickets had already exceeded the BCA capacity and very early on there was a line to get inside.

Black Cat Burlesque put on an inspired Jason v Freddy routine and La Gata Negra followed it up with an impressive and often hilarious tag team match.

We had another great performance for the very packed in crowd. As a special finale for the show we performed the triple smash - something I haven't done since early 2004 when I suffered a bruised rib performing the stunt. The triple smash is a rapid-fire succession of concrete block breaking on my chest, stomach, and groin. When it goes well (as it did in Boston) I get smacked around a bit and often scratched up from the blocks but I am fully recovered after a few moments to catch my breath. One of the difficulties that can arise is the balancing of the blocks and when one slipped out of place in Orlando in 2004 it resulted in me taking too much of the sledgehammer impact on my ribs. The industry term for this is 'not good'.

Fortunately, all went well and the crowd really dug it. Of course, I did bribe them with a bunch of Jager swag during the show.

Day 3

I will never forget Sunday. Not because of the Darth Vader & fanboy burlesque routine or the zombie wrestler, which were both fantastic, but because of Sherry. Sherry was my volunteer for the straightjacket escape during my show on Sunday. She also happened to be deaf. This meant that I worked via a sign language interpreter - hilarity ensued. Sherry and her interpreter (I cannot remember her name - sorry) were fantastic and people were literally in tears laughing. I, myself, had to stop and catch my breath once or twice. A couple people have promised to get me footage of this impromptu but fabulous turn of events and once i get it, I will post it online. Thanks again Sherry.

Obviously, we had a great time once again and are looking forward to coming back next year. However, I cannot end without first also thanking the event sponsors for their generosity with free booze (or hooch as Poobah would say): Carlo Rossi