The christmas lineup

Late in 2015 I heard that the launch date for my company's new system was March 1st and that all vacation the week before, during and after won't be allowed which would affect my Marscon plans it usually happens the first weekend of March.

To be honest, I was bummed but then realized I need to go to Marscon no matter what and was figuring out how when I heard a rumor that the start of the new system was delayed and last Friday the vacation time was finally allowed so I can fully attend with my daughter like I have done for the previous 12 years.

So, as I often have done, my assessment on who will be there is from my perspective taking account that my daughter will be there as well.

Steve Goodie: A- : The artist who is only a couple of days older than me has probably released more albums and songs than anyone else in the genre and I will be getting his 27th album there. I first knew of him from his Harry Potter material and now he delves into political music as well as other things. My daughter missed his FuMPFeST set last year and his act is one of the ones she most wants to see.

Carla Ulbrich: B+ : I believe this is her first appearance at Marscon since 2006 when a snow storm trapped her in Iowa causing her to get there early Sunday morning. She will be performing three of her songs during the Logan Awards being a finalist. Once again, my daughter will be wanting to see her as she missed her FuMPFeST 2015 performance.

TV's Kyle featuring Lindzilla B : The creator of the Cartoon Network series Mighty Magicswords will be there with his music. Though he does fine on stage, I am more interested in hearing how production on the show is going.

Devo Spice: A- : The surprising Logan Awards winner for best parody last year will be rapping again at Marscon. Last March two weeks after seeing him at Marscon , I called to place a food order, drove home, picked up the food, walked to the train station, ate while taking the train downtown, and hurried five blocks through Downtown Chicago to see his show with five other people.

Insane Ian A- : No doubt the person who had Dr. demento's #1 song of 2015 is my daughter's favorite FuMP act as he parodies songs she knows about subjects she knows.

Raymond and Scum : B- : I needed to take care of things during the start of their 2014 FuMPFeST set returning just in time to see their last song as they only prepared a twenty plus minute show. not knowing they had an hour time slot. Other than a remake of their Lando song, I don't know of anything else they have done in the past ten years but it will be nice to hear them again.

Power Salad: B : Marscon will always be better when he is there off and on the stage.

Dino-Mike A : Had someone told me on Jan 1st last year that one artist will make an original song as well as a parody song that would make my top five end of year show like Luke Ski, Insane Ian, and Weird Al have done, Dino-Mike would have not even crossed my mind. I will be picking up his new CD ANALBUM there.

Schaefer the Darklord: B+ : When it was recently announced that the Logan Awards finalist will be at Marscon doing a Friday evening show, there were multiple nerdgasms and his appearance makes the music lineup better. I might be purchasing his most recent CD.

So why only a B+? Both my daughter and I are outside the best age to fully enjoy his act. I have aged to the point where highly intense acts can become overwhelming (unless I get hyper drunk) and NC-17 material is still too much for my daughter who was OK with Deadpool because of her friends.

Music guest of honor the great Luke Ski: A : As stated on the sites, the con chair insisted Luke gets the 2016 GOH spot. Considering all the hard work he has done for the con over the past 12 years, he deserves it. It used to be that I would see his show 10 or more times a year often from his merch booth and that his Marscon show would be a footnote to me seeing him perform but with the changes in his world Marscon looks like it will be only one of two times I see him perform on stage in 2016.

Along with other artists, Luke often premiers a new song at Marscon which is one of the unique things that happen there and one of Luke's new tracks might be awesome and awkward at the same time.