My journey began at 5pm when I made my way out of my hotel and onto Spencer Street. I knew the Lorimer Street meeting place wasn't too far away, but I'd made the journey the day before and it had taken me about half-an-hour by foot. Knowing that a long night lay ahead of me, I decided to order a taxi instead. Standing on Spencer Street waiting for my ride, I watched as dozens of Goths walked along the footpath on the opposite side of the road. They were obviously headed towards the Docklands. In the midst of Melbourne's peak hour traffic, I amused myself by watching the reactions of people in cars and trams... I don't think the people of Melbourne had ever seen a parade of Goths quite like this before! :)

I arrived at the Lorimer Street meeting place about 5.45pm. It was one big car park with a whole bunch of people, cars and buses that had been hired for the event. As I surveyed the area, I was surprised to see only around 100 Goths gathered there at the time. However, I didn't mind as this meant I was on a bus in no time! First of all, we had to stand in line to get our names ticked off the 'door list'. (This door list consisted of all those who had successfully applied through the Goth Night Out website.) As I waited in line, I heard something about how unregistered people could wait to one side and might get a ride later once more registered people had arrived. What a relief for those not on the list! (The e-mail registration process had been a little confusing and, besides, I heard later that less people had turned up than expected) In the end, I'm pretty sure that every Goth who gathered at the car park made it to the set...

After getting our names crossed off the 'door list', we had to sign one of those declaration forms allowing our images to be used onscreen. We then headed over towards the buses to get our bags and coats checked. All cameras and mobile phones were confiscated. We had been warned about cameras in advance, but the no-mobile-phone rule caught many people off-guard. As I watched people begrudgingly handed over their property, my curiosity grew. Just what were we going to see tonight? I couldn't wait to find out! After making it through the 'check point' we boarded one of several buses and we were on our way! Organisation of busses was good - there were probably about a dozen of them of varying degrees of comfort. Some were double deckers, some were old and some were new. I remember one was bright red with a 'Mask of Zorro' advertisement on the side from last year! My bus was just fine, and the ride was a relatively smooth one...

As the bus pulled onto the West Gate Freeway, I immediately knew the rumours were true. We were going to the quarry in Werribee! The concert location had been kept 'secret' in order to lessen media publicity, hence everyone meeting at a car park and having to board busses to get to the 'unknown destination'. There was a large amount of secrecy surrounding the entire production of 'Queen of the Damned', but through this site, I had been informed that the concert venue was a disused quarry in the suburb of Werribee. Since I'd been in Melbourne for a couple of days beforehand (after flying over from Adelaide), I'd done my research and knew exactly how to get there. I also knew it was about 30 kilometres from the city and we were in for a lengthy ride, but it was an enjoyable one. I had the advantage of knowing our destination, but no one else had any idea. I was up the back in amongst some talkative Goths who were obviously excited about what laid ahead. They waved at people in cars beside us and pondered what the concert might be like. I remember that passers-by kept looking up at us with weird looks on their faces - even the bus driver seemed a little weirded-out. I have no idea what they thought of us and all I could do was smile... I just sat there in silent anticipation studying the landscape and waited for the Werribee exit.

After a while, we reached the town of Werribee and kept on driving. We entered a vast landscape of fields and cow paddocks. Yup, we were definitely headed out into the middle of no-where! A perfect isolated area for a 'secret' location surely laid ahead. Finally, I spotted something on the horizon. I couldn't really make it out at first, but it seemed to be some kind of construction with cranes towering high into the sky. Nearby was a brightly coloured circus tent (!) I stared in awe as everyone in the bus strained to see. Suddenly, the bus turned and headed towards it... We passed a sign with the name of the quarry and I knew this was it. We'd made it to the set of the Death Valley Concert!

The bus came to a stop a few metres from the circus tent and we were ushered inside. Entering the tent was surreal. The tent was already full of a large variety of Goths. Everyone was hovering around, not really sure what to do. At first, I was a little confused about the purpose of the tent, as it seemed a little out of place... But then I noticed the tea and coffee making facilities and realised this was the 'chill out' tent that had been promised, a place to take a break from the night's events. I moved through the crowd and into the outside food area behind the tent. The range of food was fantastic - hot dogs, toasted sandwiches, hot chips, baked potatoes and delicious looking pancakes. And it was all absolutely free! Yep, everything was free all night long! There was also a drink stand where we could exchange our purple drink vouchers for soft drinks and bottled water. I grabbed a sandwich and some water and stood around taking in the surroundings...

Everyone looked fantastic. There were all kinds of Goths from elegant Goths to industrial Goths, and a whole lot of 'pretend' Goths. Most people had gone to a lot of trouble with their hair, make-up and outfits and looked truly amazing. Some people had adopted the vampiric look complete with expensive-looking contact lenses and vampire teeth. Guys were dressed in everything from t-shirts and black jeans to tailored suits and impressive full-length coats. Some were even decked with top-hats and rose-tinted glasses! Girls' outfits ranged from tiny black dresses and heels to floor-length gowns with elaborately styled hair and make-up. There were a lot of people in hooded capes (like me!) which were also effective. Despite earlier instructions, not everyone was dressed fully in black. I spotted quite a bit of purple and green, and one girl was dressed in a little white angel outfit. However, it didn't seem to matter. Everyone had come along with the promise of best dressed, best placed. But it didn't end up working like that! When the time came to approach the stage, it was a race for best position...

Around 8pm, I was hovering around the outskirts of the food area when I happened to hear a message on a nearby security guy's radio - "We're ready for them - Start moving them in." Suddenly, a man told us to move towards the stage, and we were off! My excitement started to build as I made my way towards the front of the crowd. The 'chill-out' tent was a fair distance from the stage area itself, and we hadn't really been able to see much of it until now. As we rushed forward, we were suddenly stopped in an area some distance from the front of the stage. We were told that, since it was dusk, they would be filming us arriving early for the concert. So off we went, making our way across the dusty terrain towards the stage... I moved forward and managed to position myself nicely. I was right in the centre of the crowd, about 8 metres back from the centre of the stage. Right in front of me was the main central microphone...

The set was magnificent. The stage was pretty big, around 20 metres long (?) Positioned around the back of the platform in a semi-circle pattern were a number of silver metallic 'spike' props that jutted out towards the middle of the stage. There were 8 larger spikes, and behind them were 11 smaller ones. They served as a kind of stage backdrop, and the spikes were lit up and coloured using various lighting effects throughout the night... On either side of the platform were large speakers that boomed out all the music. Beside these were arguably the most notable props of the night! Two large Egyptian statues stood staring out at us. On the left was the head of Anubis (dog-like), and on the right was the head of Horus (bird-like). Each Egyptian God was positioned on a large pole covered in colourful, free-flowing flags. The statues themselves were golden, and were really quite effective... Horus was the Egyptian God of the Sun and Anubis was the Egyptian God of the Dead... appropriate choices for a night such as this!

              
Images from Ancient Egypt: The Mythology

Spanning back from either side of the stage were two rows of large pillars decorated with Egyptian patterns. These pillars were like giant torches - yes, they spurted fire! These provided much awe and excitement throughout the night as small flames erupted into large explosions during key moments in the music. There were four pillars in each row, and these seemed to serve as a kind of boundary for the crowd. We were gathered between the rows, although the crowd only ever spanned back to around the second or third pillar. My guess is that about 2000 Goths attended that night. This was less than expected, and we were often moved from side to side to fill in the 'gaps' in the crowd. We were told that there actually wasn't enough of us and many thousands of 'digital' Goths will have to be used to fill up the back of the crowd. Hmmm, look out for them in the film! ;) However, there were certainly enough of us to make a considerable crowd up near the stage, and that's what really mattered.

As we waited for the Sun to go down, I began to look around for anyone associated with the film that I might recognise... I studied the crew onstage - nope, didn't recognise anyone there. Then I started looking around to the sidelines... it was then that I saw Michael Rymer! I said his name outloud and everyone looked at me. I pointed and said 'That's the director!' and people strained to see. I also recognised another crew member who I just couldn't seem to name at the time. I think it might have been Ian Baker, the cinematographer, but I'm still not entirely sure.

Feeling hopeful, I kept looking, trying to see if anyone else was hovering about. It was then that I suddenly saw a girl with long red hair hop up next to Michael. It was Marguerite Moreau (Jesse)! I stared at her trying to come to a conclusion... Was that really Marguerite? I couldn't believe my eyes - my first sighting of a cast member! Her stay was brief, and she quickly disappeared - at the time I was 90% sure it was her... A few days later I discovered it definitely was Marguerite. A few shots were taken of her character, Jesse, moving through the crowd, but I didn't know this at the time. These shots apparently occurred on the right hand side of the crowd, and as I was standing in the very centre, I never saw them happen. I know now that, when I spotted her, Marguerite must have been taking directions from Michael concerning the filming.

After a while, I began to study the concert audience... At the very front of the crowd were dozens of what I called the 'real' Goth extras who'd been working on the film for some time. They were all majorly enthusiastic and knew the procedure really well. As we continued to wait for the Sun to go down, a chant began... 'Michael, Michael, Michael!' I assumed they were calling for Michael Rymer! *grins* I loudly proclaimed this to those around me, only to discover I was very wrong! A young man walked on stage to the centre microphone and the 'real' extras cheered wildly... I quickly realised that *this* was Michael! He was Lestat's stand-in, and he quickly became a crowd favourite. He entertained us with games of charades and later took part in some much appreciated "lolly-throwing"! For some reason, Michael King actually reminded me a lot of Stuart Townsend. I thought he looked like a younger version, and for a second I actually thought he *was* Stuart! Of course, I was on a bit of a cheerful high at the time and I wasn't thinking straight... But I could still see the resemblance! ;)

The first shots of the night required the use of a helicopter flying overhead to get an aerial view of the crowd. We were required to dance and cheer for the cameras as the helicopter circled above us. Richard Watts, a renown Melbournian DJ, was the MC (Master of Ceremonies). He was in constant contact with Colin Fletcher (the First Assistant Director) via a small radio in his left ear and relayed his instructions to the crowd. Richard did a great job instructing and entertaining everyone throughout the night (especially later on when people began to get tired and restless!) DJs Helen and Wendy from the Melbourne nightclub 'Abyss' played some great music between takes, but songs were always cut short when shooting was ready to begin. For the first few hours, people were pretty excited, and everyone was pretty happy. However, over the course of the night, I realised that many people began to retire permanently to the 'chill-out' tent. Perhaps they were tired or the event wasn't exactly what they'd expected? I think it was a bit of both. Still, this didn't bother me in the least as I figured the less people there were, the more chance I'd have to get on camera! *grins* And besides, it allowed me to hold onto my great central position in the audience...

The first real scenes of the night involved the crowd singing and dancing to a song sung by Lestat (voiced by Jonathan Davis) called 'Slept So Long'. It was played a couple of times through the speakers so that we could become familiar with it. As I listened, I didn't really know what to think... It was very different to what I pictured Lestat would sing, and I actually found myself laughing outloud at the chorus lyrics! I mean, what on earth was that? However, I soon changed my mind completely. The song definitely grew on me throughout the night. Actually, it grew on everyone! Before long, it seemed the entire crowd really DID know and love this song like we were supposed too. The song really is great, and I believe it will be a big hit for Jonathan Davis and composer Richard Gibbs when it's released... The songs were pre-recorded using Jon's vocals and played to us over the speakers. Michael mimed along to the lyrics in front of the microphone as we all got into the swing of things. I had assumed Michael would be 'Lestat' all night... and then suddenly...

STUART WALKED OUT ON STAGE!

There he was in full costume and looking absolutely stunning. I swear I stood there for a full 5 minutes in total shock! At first I kept thinking, 'Is that him? Is that really him? No, it can't be!' I just couldn't believe it! He looked so completely different... This guy was amazing! All around me I heard people talking to each other in confusion - "is that Lestat? no, it can't be! who is that?!" No one recognised him. No one knew who he was. Some people thought he was another stand-in. Some people thought he was Michael (!) They had no idea! And then someone said it - 'Hey, he looks like that guy from 'The Crow' - Brandon Lee!' It was then that it hit me - they were exactly right! The similarity was so obvious! I think this is why I was in such shock... 'The Crow' is my equal-favourite film of all time (along with 'Interview With The Vampire'), and there was Lestat standing right in front of me looking like Eric Draven!!!

The other thing that really shocked me was that Stuart's hair was actually medium brown with blonde streaks - not entirely blonde as I had expected. Fans know that Lestat's hair is supposed to be blonde. Tom dyed it in 'Interview' and I so just assumed... but not this time! Lestat's hair is brown and shoulder-length. From the audience perspective, his hair actually seemed to be much darker and at first I thought it was black. Black like Eric Draven. What a shock that was for me! However, it is definitely brown... He wears an outfit very similar to Eric in 'The Crow'. Black shoes, black leather pants, and a golden see-through, body-hugging mesh shirt. He also periodically wears a full-length black leather coat very similar to Eric's. His face is very white and his expression is intense. Once I'd gotten over the shock of it all, I found myself totally mesmerized by this brand new Lestat. Stuart was truly amazing in every way. His performance was brilliant and the crowd loved him. They didn't need to know who this guy was to become enthralled by his presence! Very soon, everyone was cheering for him in a deafening tone - it was love at first sight! :)

After getting over the initial shock of seeing Lestat, I realised that the band members must also be the real 'Satan's Night Out'. I immediately recognised Megan Dorman (Maudy). She was on keyboards to the far left of the stage. And yes, in accordance with earlier rumours, her hair really is pink! Well, most of it, anyways! ;) Megan looks the part, and she seems to have the right kind of 'attitude' to portray the character of Maudy (formerly know as Tough Cookie). I look forward to seeing her performance... Across the stage on guitar was Robert Farnham, the son of popular Australian performer, John Farnham. He seemed to have quite a few fans in the audience and was well recepted. Robert has grown his hair shoulder length but it's still blonde. He looks the part too. Like many of the cast and crew, he seemed a little amazed by the sight of all us Goths and, near the end of the night, I remember he came out and took photos of the crowd!

After recognising Megan and Rob, I suddenly realised that there were a few too many band members on stage... In the book there were three, in my copy of the script there are four, but at the concert there were six! I suppose that, in addition to the main band members, more players have been added for the concert scenes? The additional band members were: Becky Thomas (keyboards) and Nick Gill (guitar) [to the far right of the stage], another guitarist called Conrad (I think?) [central] and a drummer [also central]. I immediately recognised Becky and Nick from the band The Mavis's, but I was unfamiliar with the two remaining musicians/actors.

The band repeatedly 'performed' two songs throughout the night. 'Slept So Long' is the main song we heard during the evening and, like I said before, it's very much addictive! The song lyrics are easily remembered, and I couldn't get the tune out of my head for weeks afterwards! I remember at one stage we had to do a crowd voice-over where we shouted undisputedly the most popular line of the song -- "You think it's cool to walk right up and take my life and fuck it up!!!" Yup, we sure had fun with that one!  ;)

The second song was called 'Not Meant For Me'. I have been told that 'Slept So Long' will be the first song performed at the concert in the actual film. 'Not Meant For Me' will be second, and it will be during this song that the 'assassin' vampires attack (see the script for more details!) I remember that, before shooting one take of this song, we all had a small speaking role (one word, actually!) Lestat would ask, "Do you want more?" and we had to scream "YES!" Lestat then grinned and said "This is for those who've come for me." This line obviously addresses the vampires in the crowd that will appear in the movie [there weren't actually any vampires in the crowd that night - these shots were filmed separately inside the St Albans warehouse] You just have to read through the song lyrics of 'Not Meant For Me' to realise who Lestat's speaking too. 'Not Meant For Me' will be interrupted after the first chorus by vampires attacking the stage, and presumably this will be followed by some impressive fight sequences between Lestat, Marius and the rogue vampires onstage.

Once we'd all become familiar with the songs, the 'stunties' emerged... These were about half a dozen trained and accredited stunt actors whose role it was to be crowd surfers! (after all, what Goth concert would be complete without them?) They were placed in various positions throughout the audience. One female 'stuntie' was placed just a few metres to my right. The 'stunties' all looked great, but they got beaten around a bit. Unfortunately, the crowd was often so engrossed in the music that they forgot about the surfers and I saw a couple of them take some pretty bad falls... It's amazing how quickly people can jump out of the way in a tightly packed crowd when someone loses their balance! However, the 'stunties' quickly got back up and, fortunately, the crowd became more attentive in keeping them in place! At the time, we were working with stage cameras as well as a camera on a large boom that drifted down across the right-hand side of the audience. [I was pleased to discover that I was extremely close to this camera! It swung down beside me just a couple of metres to my right as it moved across the centre of the crowd!] It took a while to get the 'stunties' into the right positions for the cameras, but eventually we got the hang of it and were told the surfing looked quite effective.

Several props had been distributed throughout the audience including plastic pitch-forks, axes and skulls on polls. People had fun raising them up in the air in time to the music. The only problem was that we'd already grown used to these props by the time the stunties came out, and let's face it, pitch-forks and stunties don't mix! As a result, we were appropriately warned to, ah, be careful with them whenever a surfer came near... People around me sensibly kept them lowered for the duration of that part of the shoot!

As the night went on, the crowd began to grow tired and thirsty... Since it was an alcohol and drug-free event, the audience obviously required a much-needed 'lift'! I remember Richard coming onstage with a can of Red Bull (an energising soft drink) and expressing how refreshing it was. Of course, everyone immediately wanted one, and suddenly several guys began to come into the audience with trays and trays of cans. People practically dived on them straight away. There was a mini-frenzy every time the drink trays came near, and triumphant Goths would immediately drink lest some not-so-speedy companion try to take it away! I missed out the first time around (the last can was in reach, but my arms just weren't long enough!) I was as thirsty as everyone else so, when the second tray came around, I watched it like a hawk and pounced on it before anyone else had a chance! *grins* Our thirsts satisfied, we were ready to party on into the early hours of Saturday morning...

During a short hiatus in filming with entertainment from 'The Baroness and Love Lies Bleeding', I took a trip to the food stalls for some sustenance. When I returned to my position near the stage (they wanted continuity!), I saw that Stuart was being attached to some kind of harness... It was then that I realised what that large crane behind the stage was for! All night I had wondered what it's purpose was. It had no cameras attached (not that I could see, anyways!) and so I just assumed it had been used to set up the stage... It turns out that it was a device that could be used to give the illusion of flight. Stuart was attached to a kind of T-section, with a horizontal metal bar over his head and wires supporting him from above. He was then raised up a main wire to a considerable distance above the stage. They did a few practice runs, and he would fly down diagonally from the left and land gracefully behind the microphone. It was obvious he'd done this before! His landings were great. I only saw one minor fall, and Stuart just laughed and hopped back up onto his feet. It appeared he was in good spirits all evening. He was always co-operative and patient throughout the night, and seemed to have a great sense of humour!

In the film, it seems that Lestat will be 'flying' onstage to sing 'Slept So Long'. During the filming of these flight scenes, the instrumental song introduction would begin, and the band would come onstage and take their positions. Stuart would then fly down from above, grab the microphone and 'sing' the first couple of lines... The crowd was instructed to cheer as the band came onstage and then 'go absolutely mental' when Lestat arrived. This wasn't hard at all! *grins* We really got into it, and always moaned in protest when the song was cut off just as we were all getting started! When the music cut out, Stuart would stop and smile as if to say 'I know', and it wasn't long before we did the sequence again... and again... and again! :)

In the early hours of Saturday morning, Michael Rymer approached the microphone and had a little chat to us all. He thanked us for coming and said we were doing a great job... He then went onto explain the purpose of the next two scenes that were to be shot. Yes, some actual plot information was revealed! He asked if we were fans of Anne Rice (surprisingly few seemed to respond - there didn't seem to be many of us at all!) Michael then proceeded to explain for those who hadn't read the book(s). First, he outlined how Lestat had angered the vampires with his 'forbidden' music and how they had come to the concert to seek him out and destroy him. He then explained how Akasha, the queen of all vampires, had come to make him her companion. In this film, Akasha appears to Lestat at the concert by rising through the stage itself... Michael then went on to describe the second scene which involves an on-stage fight between Lestat and his 'maker', Marius. When the vampires attack the stage during 'Not Meant For Me', Lestat kills a few of them, and then an enraged Marius appears...

It took me a few moments to realise that, in order to shoot these scenes, Aaliyah and Vincent Perez must also be there! People were full of anticipation and, when Aaliyah walked onstage, the crowd cheered wildly. It seems there were quite a few fans in the audience! ;) Due to the freezing temperatures (it got very, very cold that night), Aaliyah wore a large coat and was surrounded by about a dozen people attending to her... When they were eventually ready for filming, she shed the coat to reveal her costume...

This official photo resembles the general 'look' of Aaliyah in this film [click for larger image]. Her hair is long, straight and dark and her make-up is rather heavy, with lots of dark eyeshadow to increase the intensity of her eyes. Akasha wears a large Egyptian-styled jeweled head-piece with 9 golden points reaching out and a large round jewel resting on her forehead. She also wears a golden neck piece... Her clothes are most impressive. She wears a very small top made of fine golden material and covered with jewels. Below this is a full-length skirt made of black material, with an Egyptian-styled jeweled front-piece attached vertically down the centre of the skirt. On her arms are golden bangles, and from her upper arms drape pieces of flowing material - black on the outside and purple on the inside. Altogether, it really did look quite amazing.

For her scene, Aaliyah stood atop a platform near the centre of the stage that would raise her up into the air about 5 (?) metres from the ground. As the platform began to move, she would stand with her head lowered and arms outstretched on either side... Slowly, she'd raise her head and move her arms as if she was rising up from underneath the stage itself (which is what we'll see in the film). She looked menacingly beautiful as she reached her full height and then turned to her right to look down on who I assume will be Lestat. She hovered there for a moment, and then lowered her head and the scene finished. During the takes, they recorded several 'reaction shots' from the crowd. We were all required to stare at her in awe and take two steps backwards... After every take, Aaliyah would smile and the audience would clap and cheer. They were obviously impressed! Once she'd been lowered back onto the stage, the hefty coat was immediately replaced as she tried to keep warm... Aaliyah tolerated the weather very well and seemed to be in a cheerful mood. She'd smile and thank the crowd for their support. However, her stay was rather short, and it was soon time to move onto the next scene...

When Vincent Perez came out onstage, he was dressed in a long grey coat and, from a distance, I didn't even recognise him. He looked different to how I remembered him... and then it hit me! His hair was very different. It was dark and very short. Yes, like Lestat, Marius's blonde hair has been replaced by a darker look! From a distance, I thought his hair-style very much resembled that of Hugo Weaving in 'The Matrix'! The best picture I can find of Vincent is featured on the left... just add Hugo's (right) hairstyle and you've got Marius! He also had a pale face and heavy eye make-up... it wasn't quite the 'look' I was expecting but hey, he still looked great. We never got to see his costume though - he stayed in the coat the whole time...

The extent of Vincent's scene was as follows... Marius was standing on the far left of the stage and Lestat was near the centre. The vampires had just finished a fight [filmed separately at St Alban's] and Lestat had been victorious... What we saw was Marius glaring across the stage at Lestat, and Lestat glaring triumphantly back. Lestat would then turn to the audience and raise both arms in the air. We, as the concert audience, all thought it was part of Lestat's show, and so we'd cheer loudly and go wild as Lestat pranced around while Marius looked on... This was done several times, and I reckon it became more and more convincing with each take! :)

Some time after another hiatus in filming with entertainment from 'Immaculata', we heard the surprising revelation that Jonathan Davis was apparently on the phone! Yes, Richard Gibbs was up onstage and told us that Jon was on the mobile phone and he wanted to hear from us! We cheered for his music, and shouted out some lines from 'Slept So Long' including the ever-popular "take my life" phrase that we'd all grown to love... Finally we shouted another line from the song, "I hate you" and we were told he said "I hate you" back! People around me were skeptical that it was really him but hey, I believed it! [I later found out that we were actually shouting to Jon's answering machine. Apparently, when Jon played it back, he loved it!!!]

It was soon pushing 4:30am, and it was around this time that the band came back onstage for one final 'performance' - much to the delight of the crowd! I was especially thrilled as I had successfully managed to squeeze my way into the second row! Joyous in my new position, I looked around and knew we were all totally hyped and eager to do another round of 'Slept So Long'... The emphasis was on crowd shots this time, and so we really let loose! I tried not to watch as the camera moved from side to side right in front of us [primary rule of film-making - never look directly at the camera!] We knew the night would soon be coming to a close, so we really went for it and had a fantastic time... However, it was over all too quickly and, at around 5am, Stuart and the band left the stage for good and we were forced to say goodbye! There were still a few more crowd shots though, and so we danced along to a couple more random tunes . One of these happened to be one of my favourite songs - 'Dead Souls' by the Nine Inch Nails from 'The Crow' soundtrack! Yes, there was a definite 'Crow' theme throughout the night... Count the connections - Stuart's resemblance to Brandon, Vincent's role as Ashe Corven in the sequel, and our dancing to one of the best songs from the soundtrack! Coincidence maybe, but notable all the same...

It was over, but I was reluctant to tear myself away from the stage... I even ran into someone who recognised me from this site! *smiles* As we were talking, there was a sudden announcement. Showbags could be collected from over near the food area! Well, this definitely sparked my interest and, after a hasty goodbye, I made a run for it! By the time I got there, there was already a considerable queue. However, the amount of people soon literally tripled in number behind me, and I found myself thankful that I had moved so quickly... I watched with increasing curiosity as the people in front of us walked away with little white plastic bags... I soon realised they had 'Queen of the Damned' t-shirts in them! Finally, I reached the front of the queue and grabbed a bag. There were several shirt sizes ranging from extra small to extra large - I thought I'd be a medium but it turned out they were size 16! Apparently, there were separate shirts for guys and girls. Well, it seems I got given a guy's one by mistake! D'oh!  It's way too big, but I don't mind. After receiving my bag, I felt complete and was ready to leave. The buses were waiting and so, after taking one last look back at the stage, I climbed onboard in a blissful state of happiness that was to last all weekend! It was definitely a night I'll never forget!!!

The commemorative t-shirts were black with red gothic-style text on both sides. 'Damned' was written in capital letters on the front with 'The Vampire Lestat, Death Valley 2000' on the back.

The showbag also contained a 'Vampire Lestat' sticker (pictured), a leaflet advertising a QotD after-party at the Abyss nightclub the following night, a 2-for-1 movie voucher for Village cinemas, and a 'Lost Souls' fake tattoo from the movie of the same name.

I later discovered that some showbags had even more giveaways! Unfortunately, I didn't know about these at the time or else I would have ensured I grabbed the right bag. Special thanks to fellow extra Anne Paton for providing the following report:
"I was also an extra at the Death Valley Concert and I just wanted to write and say that some of the showbags contained different freebies. As well as some of the above items you mentioned, mine contained the following:
*a book of 20 white-headed matches with the word "V.OLATILE" on the front
*a grey sticker of the word "V.OODOO"
*a brown sticker of the word "V.AMPIRE"
*an orange sticker of the word "V.ICTIM"
[The 'V.' stickers weren't official merchandise. Instead, they were promotional stickers for Motorola's new mobile phone, the v2288]
There were also people giving out clear stickers (like the ones that you stick on car windows) with the word "V.AMPIRE" at the bottom and above it is the pattern that blood would make if it ran down a victim's throat if a vampire had bitten him or her. This creative design also resembles the number two in Roman numerals which is effective as "Queen of the Damned" is the second film of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles."

My absolute favourite giveaway of the night?

A double pass to the Melbourne preview screening of 'Queen of the Damned'!
And guess who was lucky enough to get one?!?!

Just before Immaculata's performance, it was announced that prizes were to be handed out during the break. Most people left in favour of food and warm coffee, but something told me to hang around...
I remember I was standing behind the crowd, when suddenly I turned around to see Richard moving towards me. He offered me a piece of white paper. Not knowing what it was, I snatched it from him, glanced at the text and couldn't believe my eyes! Yep, turns out it was the best move I made all night! ;)

Obviously, the preview date is still unknown, and we won't be notified of this until next year...
Until then, I will wait in anticipation for the big night!

Finally, a huge THANK YOU goes out to everyone involved with the concert! Well done guys!
And thanks for giving away such fantastic prizes! Can't wait 'til the preview! ;)

More Death Valley Concert Experiences:

Melbournia Gothica
- by Angel Sorion

Damned! the Vampyre Lestat
- by Dark Maiden