7.05.2012

Berlin

We survived Poland. Four days, I think, is enough for all of us. The previous nine days we did were quite possibly some of the worst days of tour.

Don't get me wrong, some of those shows we're the best of tour, with the greatest response from the fans, but the interaction with most of our polish fans is, for lack of a better phrase, completely bonkers.

Although we did have the occasional crazy person approach us, for the most part, it was fun.




Berlin was a blast. We felt weird at first about the extra security the club had (we needed either an escort, or special fob keys to get to the backstage area), but we got used to it.

The sound guy was THE best solid guy I think we've had, ever. He knew exactly what we needed, was excited about his job, and made our jobs infinitely easier, and I think he liked us on top of all that.

I'll never understand the Germans. The same guys that stand there with blank expressions on their faces all night, making me think we're doing a horrible job, come up to us after the show, really excited, and tell us very positive things, and how much they liked it. I don't know if they don't know how to express themselves in the moment, or if they're afraid of some head banging or singing along. Either way, 'twas a fun show.




We're now sitting in the backstage of the venue, all packed up, and we're letting the drivers get some rest before our long trek to Sweden.

Here's a picture of Mike:


...and Stef:


Sweden tomorrow...it's gonna be beautiful.




On a more personal note, and girls, I'm talking directly to you. When a dude pours himself into a note, even if it is via text or Facebook, don't just reply with '(:' and expect them to be satisfied. I'll just assume it's an immediate rejection of whatever i wrote, or you just don't care enough to even read it. That is all...

7.04.2012

Last days in Poland

I forgot to post the picture we took with meniscus in Warsaw, so here it is.





Before we took off from Warsaw, we got to have some fun at the mall. I personally hate malls, but, it was hot, and they're air conditioned, so I wasn't about to complain.

I didn't purchase anything. Partially because I didn't need anything, and I want hungry, but also, I was out of zloty.

Matt got some socks, Armine got some pants...


And I also got a picture of all of us to send to my mom.






All was well on the drive from Warsaw to Poznan, but our first stop at a truck stop, despite the usual happiness that comes from polish hot doggies, the kings destroy van got a flat and we had to deal with that madness. Even between both vans, we didn't have the full toolset to complete the tire change. We enlisted the aid of some dude that was sitting next to us in the parking lot.

The poor guy was nice enough to help us out, and had the right tools for the job, except he had I deal with a group of stupid Americans that had barely any idea what they were doing. It also didn't help that more than half the dudes that were drinking last night were still partially drunk.




When we finally rolled into Poznan, I instantly recognized the venue. We had played here last year. I didn't recognize it and remember entirely fond memories. I immediately though of the 3 story load-in we were about to be tortured with.

We got good food though, before the load-in. Last year we had pizza. It wasn't bad pizza, but we had pizza almost every night last year. This year we specifically put in our rider, "no pizza" so we have been treated to some really nice dishes, some home cooked, some store bought.

Load-in was quick, and we had only enough time to get a fast sound check with the drums, then kings destroy got up and started playing.

I don't know where we're sleeping tonight, but I hope it's somewhere with air ventilation, or, I at least remember to bring in my fan. It's been pretty hot. Not like home in Philadelphia, but, pretty brutal compared to last year.

7.03.2012

Into the land of madness...

...and the land of amazingly attractive women.

Chris from kings destroy said to me, "everyone I turn around, I have a new favorite." Poland is madness. The fans are crazy, and the women are crazy beautiful.

ToruĊ„ is apparently the oldest city in Poland. There's lots of history here. The show was a bit weird, in that there were only two bands (us and kings destroy), and we had to wait to start till after the football (soccer) game was over. Italy vs. Spain. Spain ended up winning, and kings destroy ended up starting before the game was completely over.

The pol's seemed to be really into kings destroy. There was lots of simultaneous head banging.



Afterwards, everyone was really drunk, and some hangers on were with Persil and the kings destroy guys. We went back to the hostel, but some stayed out to drink.




Had some coffee, now we're off to Gdynia. Polish hotdogs to be eaten along the way.




Ucho is just as big as I remember it when we played with Sepultura in '09. This time we're minus the stupidly large drum riser. The sound is big, and the stage is still a bit intimidating, but, I'm ready to hit things just the same.




The show was crazy. People going nuts for kings destroy again too. Many photos, many signature requests, and two dudes at the front of crowd being really weird, even as far to jump on stage and start imitating Matt air guitar style. I think they should have left the barricade up.




I slept in the van for the first time thus tour (for security reasons), and it was okay. The van was parked at an angle, so it was sometimes hard to keep from falling out of the loft, but eventually I for the hang of it. It stormed pretty badly, one thunder crack sounding like a strike on a synth guitar combined with an explosion.

Off to Warsaw today.




This band from Australia called Meniscus opened the show and they were absolutely incredible. They were instrumental rock, and they rocked hard. Kind of wish they would be home to play or attend a show when we're in Australia in a few weeks. Oh well.

The whole show was broadcast on the Internet, and the same dude did a recording of the set as well. That'll be fun to watch.

People went crazy. We called for more stage dives, and I think they thought we were kidding, but once one person did it, they just went crazy.

Poznan tomorrow.

7.01.2012

Into Poland

Germany was awesome. Fed well, played well. We're in the groove now, and it's fun. The show last night didn't seem like it was super well attended, but it had a good energy anyway.

Today is a nice 9hr drive entering Poland. We rawk it for 3 days. The 'land of madness' Mike [our driver] calls it.