After the days of running around the convention floor and the Gaslamp District during San Diego Comic-Con 2019, I was invited to head over to the amazing events being put on by XLEVELENT (with support from Crunchy Roll and Nerdist on alternating nights) on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights. The parties were themed and titled ‘Ready Party One’ (Wednesday night), ‘The Upside Down: A Stranger Party’ (Thursday night), and ‘The Awesome Mixer: Vol. 2’ (Friday night).
After speaking to the folks behind these parties prior to SDCC (check out my previous article here), the hype was definitely pretty high going in to these events, and let me tell you, Bernie Bergman and company did not disappoint! They managed to deck out the Fluxx Nightclub with amazing themed decorations which changed every night to match the new party theme, with Oasis and 80s decorations (including a giant Voltron) for ‘Ready Party One,’ rebuilt locations from ‘Stranger Things’ like Castle Byers and the Hawkin’s Lifeguard tower, as well as some pretty cool Upside Down theme pieces adorning various tables and walls for ‘The Upside Down: A Stranger Party,’ and decorations from the MCU’s galactic stories strewn about the Fluxx Nightclub for the ‘Awesome Mixer: Vol. 2,’ not to mention all of the crew who was putting on the events in full themed costumes throughout the night.
Of course, a party is not complete without some amazing music, the highlights of which was The Flux Capacitors band (who ended up playing all three nights, much to my and many audience members’ delight) and a performance by DMC on Friday night. DMC in particular really got the crowd excited and moving, and really helped make the whole night very special for those in attendance. Which is not to downplay the Flux Capacitors, whose 80s themed music carried the parties on the other two nights, with most of the crowd crooning along with them as they played the hits and really brought home the nostalgia of it all.
Here’s hoping Bernie and company are up to putting on these events again next year, as you could tell the parties were put on with a lot of love and passion for the fans, and they truly were one of the highlights of the extracurricular scene of Comic-Con this year. Feel free to check out some of our photos from the various parties below!
