Reply To: JCCC4: Post Mortem (Feedback Thread)
I loved JCCC4, and I think it and 3 had a pretty similar vibe to them, which I am putting as a positive thing.
In the awesome column:
Grand Cayman was great. Nathan Sawaya was super, and having the ongoing contributing to Lego sculptures in one of the rooms was really cool. This American Life was great fun, and I love that sort of show setup. I hope quiz show type things are included in the official performances in subsequent years, too!
Also, as I’ve thought previously, the co-operative concerts are pretty much the best parts of these cruises, and this year was no exception. I love that folks take the time to work out how to add other folks into their sets like that, and the end result is invariably awesome.
I heard some comments about sound setup and late show starts, but wanted to say – actually, I really appreciated how well sound setup was done, and that things always sounded great from the first song to the last. Also, that was true even when who is on stage switched around a bunch with having guest performers (which I know can up the difficulty levels there quite a bit). So: big thank you to the folks who ran sound. You were awesome. 🙂
Also big ups for extra karaoke and open mic night. I love that the money-generated content is a part of the cruise and that it’s officially condoned, and that the vast population of monkeys are so supportive of each other.
Less awesome column:
The acoustics and talking in Studio B, as many folks have mentioned. In particular, I have a hard time hearing when background noise is an issue, and was sad to have had such a hard time hearing Pomplamoose, who were obviously awesome, but I had no idea what they were saying or singing most of the time.
Also, the Hodgman/Rees dance party had its moments, but frequently was virtually undanceable. I mean, they’re cool guys and whatnot, but man, I could really go for some dance music that consistently has a sensible beat. I’d love to have club-type music in an accepting atmosphere of excellent sea monkeys. Here it was cool that dancing was not intimidating, but it’d be neat if I could get that *and* music that actually supported amateurs being able to dance without immense confusion, as opposed to “who beat what huh?” which I experienced a bunch this year. 🙂
I will probably be in the minority here, but I’m going to say it anyhow. I hate that the opening and closing events revolve around drinking. It’s intimidating going into a room with hundreds of people, but hundreds of drinking people are even louder. I think maybe in future years I’ll just skip both things and go to the game room, as I’m guessing that was probably rather quiet during both times.
Anyhow. Awesome cruise despite minor flaws, and so thrilled to have gone again and excited to go again next year. 🙂