We hung out on Saturday night in Taos for a while at Randy’s
house, having some brews and popcorn. At about 2AM, we were all pretty tired,
but really didn’t want to get hung up in Taos, although it was very, very
beautiful. We made the decision to drive to Tempe, AZ that night and enjoy
driving there in the cool mountain air. This actually turned out to be a great
decision, since driving there through the heat of the day would be torturous.
We drove all 9 hours in the night and early morning, only taking a 2 hour break
to sleep at a rest stop. Once again, big props to Karl for being an American
badass and hauling some serious ass in the middle of the night.
Arrival in Tempe earlier than necessary. By 2 PM it was 110
degrees outside and we were absolutely miserable (‘cept Dave, he is a goddamn
weirdo). We wilted damn near instantly, and are certainly are not used to this
heat. We were told that load in at the venue was at 4 o’clock, and being the
always-early New Englanders we are, we ended up with two hours to kill before
anyone else might even show up. We
elected to go to McDonald’s and just sit in their air conditioning until 4 o’clock
eating $1 ice cream cones and pretending to be happy with our lives.
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| Blogging and becoming bitter at DickDonald's |
After blogging and indulging in some tasty cold treats, we
went back to the venue, expecting to load our gear in. We waited in the
oppressive heat for a little while because no one showed up for about a half
hour, much to our chagrin. When the owner of the venue finally arrived, we
learned that the headlining band, Unleash the Archers, was going to be 2 and a
half hours late to the venue, so load in was moved to 6:30, and we had another 2
hours to wait around doing nothing. It ended up being alright though because
the venue had great accommodations for us.
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| Guess whose taint is chafing |
The venue was called 910 Live. It was a serious venue. They
had indoor and outdoor setups and were capable of housing a concert of about
1100 people. Included was a very classy looking inside, a great stage, an
amazing live sound setup, and a backstage/green room area for bands. We relaxed
in the air conditioned green room until the locals began arriving at the venue
and loading in. It was an absolutely great place to play a show.
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| In the green room: "My buddy got his dick sucked right there last night. Last night." |
Unleash the Archers finally arrived at the venue after being
stuck in traffic. We hung out and conversed with them while the locals rocked
out. Every Canadian band we have played with thus far has kicked monstrous
amounts of ass, and UTA was no exception! Aside from being a great damn band,
they are amazing people and their accents are incredibly enjoyable to listen
to. Autolatry had a great time on stage,
burning through our set at one of the most legit concert venues we have played
to date. Despite that asshole Dave
breaking another string (although props to him on a quick as hell recovery) we
had a totally killer time. But the real
credit goes to Unleash The Archers who absolutely destroyed Tempe! UTA’s stage
performance was lively and entertaining, making it impossible at times NOT to
sing along, headbang a bit and throw the ‘ol horns into the air. Also, a giant fucking storm blew through the area while we were playing. According to the venue owner, heavy rain, lightning, high gusts, and flying sand are common with those intense but brief storms. How fitting it was that it all occurred during UTA's set! It always becomes immediately obvious to tell
which bands have great chemistry together and which bands are comprised of
nothing more than an odd amalgamation of misfit metalheads; Unleash The Archers
proved to be a shining example of the former.
It was an absolute honor to share the stage in Arizona with our new
Canadian compadres, and we hope to do so again in the future!
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| Headbanging too hard to get a good picture of Unleash The Archers! |
Post-show, we spent some time shooting the shit with the UTA
guys and Dave’s good friend Chasen (who lives in Phoenix). It was one of those
nights that felt so perfect in every way – play with a classy band of whom we
are all huge personal fans, see an old friend, and make some new ones. After things wound down a bit, we said our
farewells and headed back to Chasen’s apartment in Phoenix for the night.
Let me take this time to thank everybody involved with our
experience in Tempe, AZ! Huge thanks go to Chasen for hosting us for the night,
coming out to the show, buying a shirt and generally being an awesomely badass
dude. You fucking rock man! Thanks to Tony from MoshPitArmy, the promoter of
tonight’s show for allowing us the opportunity to play direct support for an
amazing band. And last but not least,
THANK YOU to our new friends in Unleash The Archers! You guys are the best and
we love you.
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| Setting up merch near the outside stage |
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| POWERFIST! |
Unleash The Archers are on tour all summer long and need your
support! Go see them live, buy their merch and tell them AUTOLATRY SENT YOU!!
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