Day 15 (9/23): In-N-Out
I’ve come through Albuquerque, New Mexico on just about every tour I’ve done, but this visit was like no other. Knowing that we had a 12-hour drive to San Bernardino and had to reach there by 10 AM the next morning as Huntress’ set time at Ozzfest was 12:30 PM, we had to leave the show at Sunshine Theater in Albuquerque at 9 PM, and I had to pack up the merch straight after the set. Trivium and Sabaton were going to play Knottiest on Sunday and had a gig in Tempe AZ on Saturday, so they were on normal schedule, unlike us. It was a bit unfortunate to not be able to stay for the whole show, not only from the merch sales point of view and the fact that Huntress played to a completely new audience and won them over, but also because this was a completely different crowd in comparison to any of the shows on this tour so far, certainly a very pro-Trivium audience, a complete turnaround from the predominantly Sabaton-loving crowds that have attended these shows. The line for the Trivium merch was absolutely insane and never-ending, and from the moment the doors opened at 6:30 till I left the venue, their merch dude did not stop selling even for a second. For a change, Sabaton were having to make an extra effort to get the audience on their side, while this would turn out to be the best crowd Trivium have had on this tour, by far. For us, it was all about the 9 PM bus call, and right on schedule, we departed Albuquerque towards the next destination, in anticipation of our biggest show of the tour.
Day 16 (9/24): Dust ‘Em All
Even with such a long drive and only about 13 hours to do it in, we arrived on time at the San Manuel Amphitheater and parked in the backstage area of the festival ground, right behind Festival Stage 1 on which Huntress were slated to perform at 12:30. The authorities of Ozzfest were originally not going to allow bands to sell their own merch at the festival, but changed their policy at the last minute, which worked out perfectly for us as I was able to handle merch duties all day long and stayed busy throughout. My tent happened to be next to Goatwhore which was definitely the best-case scenario, and it was great exchanging small talk with Ben and Trans Am. Despite the policy change, all bands still had the option of letting the festival staff sell their merch, but it’s without doubt far better for any band to have their own members or crew do it instead. The San Manuel festival ground was nothing less than a dust bowl, and combining that with the cacophony of the monster trucks prancing about in the background, it wasn’t exactly a pleasant day out in the desert, but a hugely profitable one, and seeing many familiar faces plus knowing all along that I was carrying out an important function for the betterment of the band I was working for kept me going, and I never took a break, not even for food or water. A lot of people were expressing their sympathies and almost felt bad for me when I told them I’d be doing merch here all day and wouldn’t get to see any of the side-stage bands, but in all honesty I had zero interest in attending this and wouldn’t have done so if I wasn’t working for Huntress, so I was perfectly fine in my merch tent.
The festival gates opened at 11 AM, and there was already a large number of people at that early stage of the morning. I couldn’t see the stage Huntress played on from where I was, but from pictures it looked like they played in front of a packed house, and the success of their performance was reflected in the merch sales as well as the endless line for the meet-n-greet, which started at 3 PM and didn’t stop till 4:30. The most entertaining aspect of my time in the tent was the fact that I made a killing on the Huntress lighters. As it turned out, the festival security had confiscated everyone’s lighters at the gates, and our lighters sold like hot cakes. The festival ground was closed at 5 PM, as were all the tents, and after packing up and loading the merch back in our trailer, I freshened up and washed all the layers of dust off. It was quite the luxury to be able to retreat to the bus for a shower, change of clothing, food and beverages. By the time I recovered, only three bands were still to play on the main stage, and I was interested in two of them, Megadeth and Black Sabbath. I headed out into the jungle of metalheads and used my all-access pass to get into the general admission floor area. Megadeth’s set was predictable but flawless, after which I returned to the bus for a nap during Disturbed’s set, and then went back in to get up to the front row for Black Sabbath. It was my first (and possibly last) time seeing the Ozzy-fronted Black Sabbath, and was nothing short of a religious experience. Once my work for the day was done, for me it was all about seeing Sabbath, and I didn’t bother getting into any of the backstage parties, as I’m certainly not the kind to care about that type of stuff. Ozzfest 2016 is in the books, and I’ll remember it as my first ever large-scale merch gig and for the truly splendid, life-changing set by the godfathers of heavy metal.
Day 19 (9/27): D&D Party
After a day off in the LA area and a long drive, we arrived in Salt Lake City for a gig at the Complex. No matter what band I’ve come through with, I’ve honestly never had a positive experience in SLC in terms of the turnout and success of the show itself, even though it’s always good to see friends. Thankfully, this was an exception to the trend, as the room was completely packed and more importantly, Huntress got a great response. After the set, Eric left the venue for a game of Dungeons & Dragons with local friends and took Blake and Luis with him, so it was just Jill doing the meet-n-greet but had quite the crowd flocking to meet her. The band’s performance keeps getting better as this tour is progressing, and ticket holders of the upcoming shows that aren’t familiar with Huntress are in for a pleasant surprise. A whole month of the tour still remains, and now we’re on the longest drive of the tour so far, a 900+ mile trek to Omaha, Nebraska. Stay tuned for many more stories from the lair of the Huntress!
Dates Completed:
09/09/2016 – Flagstaff, AZ @ Orpheum Theater ^
09/10/2016 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Dive Bar ^
09/11/2016 – Grand Junction, CO @ Mesa Theater ^
09/13/2016 – Springfield, MO @ Front Of House Lounge ^
09/14/2016 – St. Louis, MO @ Fubar ^
09/15/2016 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall $
09/16/2016 – Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage $
09/17/2016 – Spartanburg, SC @ Ground Zero ^
09/19/2016 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade $
09/20/2016 – Little Rock, AR @ Metroplex Live $
09/22/2016 – Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall $
09/23/2016 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater $
09/24/2016 – San Bernardino, CA @ San Manuel Amphitheater (Ozzfest) #
09/27/2016 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex $
Remaining Tour Dates:
09/29/2016 – Omaha, NE @ Sokol Auditorium $
09/30/2016 – Minneapolis, MN @ Mill City Nights $
10/01/2016 – Braidwood, IL @ Top Fuel Saloon ^
10/04/2016 – Peoria, IL @ Limelight Eventplex $
10/06/2016 – Dallas, TX @ Gas Monkey Live $
10/07/2016 – Houston, TX @ Scout Bar $
10/08/2016 – Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom $
10/10/2016 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE $
10/11/2016 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza $
10/12/2016 – Clifton, NJ @ Dingbats ^
10/14/2016 – Worcester, MA @ The Palladium & DCU Center (Rock & Shock Festival) %
10/15/2016 – Binghamton, NY @ Magic City Music Hall $
10/17/2016 – Charleston, SC @ The Music Farm $
10/18/2016 – Tampa, FL @ State Theater $
10/19/2016 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution Live $
10/20/2016 – Greenacres, FL @ Piper’s Sports Bar ^
10/21/2016 – Orlando, FL @ House of Blues $
10/24/2016 – Crest Hill, IL @ Bada Brew ^
10/27/2016 – Scottsdale, AZ @ Pub Rock Live ^
^ = Huntress headlining dates
$ = Trivium, Sabaton & Huntress
% = Trivium + Huntress festival appearance
# = Huntress festival appearance
