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!

Friday, August 3, 2012

8/2 - Birthday Joe at the Alamo!

We woke up at Joe from Vex's house refreshed and full of glee. He was already up and about because he was set to leave for Vex's first tour date in Little Rock, AR. He was kind enough to run out to the HEB grocery store (which is damn awesome, by the way) and pick up some donuts. They were glorious! Because it was Joe's birthday, we stuck a couple of birthday candles that had been stuck to our trailer's fender in a doughnut, and told that happy little bastard to make a wish for his 18th birthday.

outside Joe's (Vex) house

cakes are for rich bastards

browsing for essentials
After we finished off that sexy box of sweet doughnut goodness, we piled into the tourmobile and ditched South Austin, heading on our way to San Antonio. It was a short drive, San Antonio is only an hour and a half from Austin, so we decided that we'd spend the afternoon there instead of mulling around Austin because some friends had told us to check out the River Walk of downtown San Antonio. Per usual, we rolled into town to check out the venue for the night, then leave to go do other things around town. However, when we got to the address that the GPS gave us, there was certainly no venue to be found. We drove around the block getting frustrated for about 20 minutes, trying to call the venue to see where the fuck it actually was. (It turns out that the venue was doing renovations and the sign that's usually on the outside of the building was taken down temporarily). We got excessively frustrated with the lack of venue, not to mention parking for trailers (it seems like the state of Texas has some serious discrimination against trailer parking in their cities.) So, we decided to take a leaf from our history teachers, and just say, "Fuck it, let's go to The Alamo!!!!"
field trip!!
Karl, the American Badass
We found a place to park the car for awhile so we could pay our tributes to Davy Crockett. We had an awesome time checking out a historical landmark. But before too long, us Northboys were turning into human waterfalls of sweat. The noonday heat was relentless! We took our time back to the car and headed over to the River Walk. It's truly worth it to check this out if you're ever in San Antonio. I have no idea which river it is, but there are sidewalks with mosaics lining both sides of the river. It's a peaceful walk with plenty of shade, benches, and generally nice things to see. It's also a damn good way to get around the downtown area. We probably walked up and down the river 5 times!


really beautiful walk


good laughs at the main plaza 


After taking a short break, we ended up finding out where the venue is, and heading over there (finally). The venue was The Korova Basement. The place was really cool; good lighting, hella comfy couches, good sound, a nice stage, and a good metal aesthetic. We shared the stage with some awesome bands. Beyond Death's Reach was up first. They captivated the crowd with catchy thrash riffs. Also, props to their drummer, Gabriel. He is a fully disabled man who has a specially rigged drumkit so he can rock out! Next up was Plutonian Shore, a black metal band with some serious kickassery going on. There aren't many bands who can put on full corpse paint and carry the torch of traditional second wave black metal without losing their listener's interest, but these guys were an exception! Fast guitars, pounding drums, and tasteful keys made their set absolutely captivating. Check them out if you haven't already! Third was Sturmgewehr, a band who played an interesting blend of black metal and crust. Really interesting songwriting, so check  them out! Then we took the stage to close out the night. The crowd was pretty good, and at that point people had a good chance to get liquored up. We did our thing and people received us well. 

After the gig, we were offered a place to stay with a friendly San Antonian fellow named Dirt (as in Dead in the Dirt...don't ask, that's just what he told us!) He let us crash at his house for the night. It certainly was cozy! Karl, Joe, and I stayed in the apartment while Dave and Seamus took post in the car for the night. We planned to be up and early the next day because the drive to Amarillo is about 10 hours! It certainly wasn't a normal birthday for Joby, but he enjoyed it! All in all, a great day! San Antonio is a really nice town, but per usual, being the black metal nomadic fartknockers that we are we're off to the next - Amarillo! 


holy shit cacti!
derrrrrr
don't turn your back on the wolfpack



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