Captain Theo and The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing
The World Steam Expo 2012 in Dearborn, Michigan was four days of Steampunk goodness! For the third year in a row, it was a weekend filled with concerts, shopping, amazing costumes, parties that run into the sunrise with much free-flowing booze for all, and so much more.
The concerts at WSEx had local bands, larger acts, and even a band from London, with a line-up including Abney Park, The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing, Eli August, and Steam Powered Giraffe! There was a little something for everyone this year, as the Expo has only grown with each passing year, and camaraderie that crossed virtually all lines. Every performance I attended had the bands sticking around to meet fans, sign merchandise, and take pictures; none of them ran off and nobody bit. I managed to completely lose my voice by Sunday from all of the excitement and screaming, and possibly being a bit of a fanboy for a certain London punk act. There was infectious energy in the rooms during each performance, and it was intense. Steampunks can get just as loud as people at a metal show and party just as hard too!
Ace of Spades
Oh the shopping, the wonders, the horrors, the damage to my wallet! Everything was for sale: trinkets, candy, mundane clothing, accessories, weaponry, gadgets, fancy hats, and wonderful outfit pieces, too. With wonderful merchants such as The Cogbots, Raygun Robyn, The Blonde Swan, and more attending, you could easily sink a few hours (and a few hundred dollars…) into the merchant hall alone or, if you’re like me, you would spend all of the money on hats, precious hats.
The best parts of the Expo for me, though, were seeing all of the wonderful people again and the parties. What is better than a pool party? A pool party with free booze. Yes, you heard me right; for the second year in a row, the Ace of Spades and the crew of the HMRAS Valkyrie (what we refer to as “The Dastardly Alliance”) hosted their wonderful liquor-fueled pool party of fun, madness, and debauchery that ran far into the night.
Captain Robert of Abney Park
In the upcoming months, I will be reporting in more complete detail on every aspect I possibly can about the World Steam Expo. Keep your eyes peeled, because the best is yet to come. This is but a small taste of the future, so be prepared for full reports on everything and many fabulous pictures to record this event for the ages! If you didn’t make it this year, go join the World Steam Expo mailing list to be ready to place ticket orders for next year.
photo credit: All photographs by Lezlee Downing and Terri Gower
