And what a day it has been! Though not a lot of IW-related events took place today, a lot of preparation was done for tomorrow, which will be the big day for me…

Day 1 started with my drive to Baltimore, which took about 45 minutes. Once I arrived and parked, it wasn’t hard to tell where the convention was–the line for registration and convention entrance was incredibly long! Luckily, the press pass I was carrying allowed my guest photographer and I to bypass the line and head to Press Ops for our information. We got our badges, and I signed up for the MELL press conference that is taking place tomorrow morning. Then it was out to the convention floor!

Cosplayers were everywhere, and since we had a few hours to burn before the VAMPS press conference at 2:45, I spent my time organizing my schedule while watching my photographer race around taking pictures. I ran into an adorable Hatsune Miku cosplayer and saw a fantastic Shugo Chara costume from a distance, but didn’t see much of anything in the way of jpop or jrock cosplays going on. There was an excellent Hard Gay cosplayer, however, perfectly in character, and that was nearly the highlight of my day.

The actual highlight was the VAMPS press conference at 2:45. By 2:30 small group of press had gathered outside of the assigned conference room in the BCC Hilton (a brand new hotel connected directly to the Baltimore Convention Center). We were admitted to the room, but were warned that HYDE and KAZ had begun their open Q&A panel late, and would thus be late to our conference as well. I was willing to wait–I had been seated in the front row, no more than six feet away from the table with mics and glasses of water. Around 3:00, Alyce (head of Press Relations) announced “they’re here!” and in walked HYDE and KAZ.

First impression: they are tiny. I am 5′3″, but I’m pretty sure HYDE was no taller than me. Second impression: they have really cool hair. Haha. Anyway… KAZ seated himself directly in front of me, with HYDE to his left, and as they greeted us and offered a “yoroshiku onegaishimasu,” I got a direct look from HYDE. It is a really startling moment to realize you are sitting six feet away from a Japanese rock star. Both HYDE and KAZ were wearing sunglasses, so it was hard to tell where they were looking, but HYDE definitely did look directly at the press members several times. KAZ seemed much more reserved, maybe even… shy? The two of them were probably tired, having just played a show in Baltimore the evening before, and were about to rush away to their next gig… so I wasn’t about to hold any reserved behavior against them.

The press conference went very well, with about ten to twelve questions being asked. It was recorded, and my recording seems to have come out very clearly, so I should be able to transcribe everything on Monday sometime. HYDE did most of the talking, seeing as several of the questions were for him, but KAZ was asked some direct questions as well. Even so, KAZ just seemed to follow HYDE’s lead, and when he did speak, it was in a low tone.

About four questions in was when I raised my hand. IW’s question was why HYDE prefers to write most of his lyrics in English, and he gave a really great answer! Unfortunately, because the conference started late and there was a set time that the band had to leave by, there was no time for any other questions from me or really many of the other press representatives in attendance. (But we still do have our e-mail interview questions pending, so don’t worry!) The translator announced the end of the panel, HYDE and KAZ gave slight bows, we applauded (and some bowed back, something that caused KAZ to actually look at some of us!), and the band exited as quickly as they had entered.

The rest of the day was spent walking around and figuring out what I wanted to do during the evening. We visited the dealer’s room briefly, and found a booth that had some Hello! Project merchandise… I’m debating going back for a Junjun picture on Sunday, if nobody has bought them yet. And a BECCA shirt. And a Wakeshima Kanon CD. (Maybe I can grab one of those pre-interview to get signed…) I had been planning on attending the History of Japanese Pop/Rock Music panel, as well as the MELL concert, but was unfortunately too tired and too hungry to make the effort for either. I regret missing MELL a little, even if I am not personally a large fan of hers, but the timing on her concert was just not good. I couldn’t see myself staying at the BCC until after 10, and then walking around Baltimore in the dark…

Tomorrow will be insane, but I am really pleased, because I have something to add to the schedule: I have reserved a one-on-one interview with BECCA tomorrow at 5:15, just after the end of the Wakeshima Kanon concert. So that makes two interviews I will be able to bring to IW!

Stay tuned for my continued coverage of Otakon 2009, and… let’s just hope that I don’t pass out before my interviews tomorrow. XD