Autolatry is embarking on a 44 date tour across the US, and this is where we will share every part of the experience with our friends and fans!

Thursday, August 2, 2012

8/1 - Gettin' dirty in Austin


Tuesday night was spent sleeping soundly in Peggy's house. We were on a very soft oriental rug that really made for excellent rest. In the morning, Peggy's dog was in a state of emergency, and she unfortunately had to run out to the vet's office to take care of that. So we made quick work of breakfast at her place and then piled back into the tourmobile: Austin bound!

can't wink for shit

It was only a couple hours to Austin, but the car ride was nothing short of blistering. The August heat in Texas is an interesting experience. You've got to be shoving fluids into your body constantly in order not to become dehydrated. Also, when riding in a big SUV with leather seats, there isn't much you can do in regards to keeping your back dry. After stepping out of the car in Austin, the amount of moisture in my clothes was akin to that of running a goddamn half marathon.

Before landing in downtown Austin, we stopped in South Austin to pick up a spare drum head. The custom bass drum head that I've been sporting for the first part of the tour was going sour: a couple large cracks in the head developed after a poor mic placement in North Carolina. Duct tape was a temporary fix, but was simply not doing the job anymore. So I just bit the bullet and bought a new head. Then, we descended on the downtown.

this is how they poop in China.


We were certainly having a fuck of a time trying to park our car. All the parking in downtown Austin is by permit only, OR pay lots. We were willing to pay to park, but in all of the lots, trucks with trailers attached are prohibited (fuck that!). So we ended up having to park about 9 blocks away from the venue and still pay. A bit of a bummer, but fuck it! We were in Austin and that's all that mattered. We quickly loaded in our gear to the venue, the Dirty Dog bar. The place was absolutely sick. Located on 6th street, it was right next to the legendary Hoek's Death Metal Pizza (which unfortunately was closed the entire night). We took our time to mull around the city despite the heat. We kept well hydrated and walked the main boulevards of Austin, Texas. 6th street is famous for a reason! We will all assuredly return for South by Southwest at some point.

At around 7 o'clock, people started showing up at the venue. The place was huge and ended up filling nicely. Everyone we met was super cool. There seems to be an attitude of laid-backness that's contagious in Austin. Everybody from the bands, the bartenders, the promoters, and the fans were all happy to come out, hang, and hear some great metal.

nice crotch shadow
inside of the Dirty Dog. 


The bands we played with were Feral Rex, a sick technical death/thrash quartet with bass slapping madness. They tore my face off, check 'em out! Next up was the tight melodic thrash/death metal jams from Entropist. They shredded it up and were great dudes too! We took the stage 3rd and had a great set. Crowd response was awesome, and it was simply an honor to play at that place because of the excellent sound and sweet sized stage. Finally, Vex closed out the night with their black crushing awesomeness. Truly blew all of us away with their set. They, coincidentally, are also leaving on a tour which they booked through Evan Madden of Rifflifter Touring (he is the fucking man x1000). Best of luck to the Vex guys on their upcoming journey. They also just dropped a new record, so if you haven't already scoped it out, do it. It's awesome.


After the gig we drove that bro Mr. Vex Joe back to his home and and quickly made friends with his dog.  She was hella awesome.  Joby (our Joe) and Dave set up a tent while the rest of us crashed in Mr. Vex Joe's lovely abode.  It was really a swell night.  We really can't thank Austin, it's people and it's bands enough.  We all eagerly await our return to the great city of Austin!  Currently writing this from San Antonio, where we are set to play in just a few hours! Until tomorrow, goodbye.

it ain't hoek's but it's still awesome
why, why, why are you closed?

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