When I heard that independent film critic and geek culture
royalty Kevin Smith was bringing his long-time friend and actor Jason Mews to
Utah to record his podcast “Jay and Silent Bob Get Old” in front of a live
audience I was at first excited and then quickly confused. Most people will
assume my confusion was over his choice of venue because he was going to be
recording the show live in Logan Utah at Deathray Comics. Those people would be
wrong. My confusion was all of the madness and upset comments from people who
were confused as to why Kevin Smith wouldn't have chosen Kingsbury Hall or the
Capitol Theatre for such an event. I wondered why those fans thought Deathray
was the wrong place for the event when I thought it was perfect.
Deathray Comics is first and foremost a comic book shop with
a built in stage, lighting and a sound mixer. It is also the hub of geekdom for
the mountain town and home of Utah State University. In addition to those
qualifiers, it’s run by Trent Hunsaker who is co-host of the Smodco podcast
network show “Netheads” and occasional co-host of the “Smorning Show” on the
same Smodco network.
That network is Kevin Smith’s network co-named after Kevin
and his long-time producer Scot Mosier. With those credits being public
knowledge the one last thing going for Deathray comics was that it was an
intimate setting. Kevin Smith hadn’t recorded such a small live podcast since
the Smodco networks burgeoning live podcasts shows began in a small theatre
dubbed the Smodcastle. The Smocastle setting only had about fifty seats. Trent,
his partner of “Rattle Can Heroes” Jonathan Ribera, and Trent’s older brother
along with a pack of loyal and enthusiastic staff managed to pack in nearly 100
seats into Deathray comics.
The seating was comfortable but it was a bit tight. No one
complained though because everyone there was more than happy and appreciative
for the visit from Smith, Muse, and even Trents Netheads co-host and the
Smodcast Networks tech guru Will Wilkins. Although the shop had to be mostly emptied,
comic books lined the walls along with many other signs that this wasn't just
an event in some theatre, this was an event in a theatre crammed into a comic
book shop. The setting for a Kevin Smith event couldn't have been better. The
intimacy and excitement from the crowd confirmed my opinion was shared by
everyone at the event.
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| Windows were blocked for a "special" surprise |
The stage was at most 11 rows of tightly packed chairs from
the furthest back corner. Kevin Smith and Jason Mews are also two of the
kindest and warmest celebrities anyone could hope to meet. They’re film-makers
and even to some, heroes, but they come off as real people. Jason Mews wandered
around the front of the building and mingled with the crowd in line to see the
show. He posed for some selfies, took a few pictures for himself, drank a Red
Bull and asked, “Why is this town so quiet? It feels like a ghost town.”
Kevin Smith was patient with audience questions. Some people
rambled and fell over their words but everyone was polite to Kevin and he was
extremely polite and courteous back. He answered every question in a direct
manner and the crowd got the intimate experience the setting of Deathray Comics
promised. The event honestly felt like a conversation with Kevin, Jason, Will
and Trent. It felt that way so much so that people approached the stage, shook
the hands of the podcasters and most even wished Kevin et al a good day to
which Kevin was taken aback. To one audience member he replied, “Wow Man, thank
you. I've never had a Q&A person wish me a good day and thank me after I’d
answered his question. You people in Utah and Logan are really nice.”
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