Day 27 (10/05): “A Dollar Is What I Need”
We had another long drive all the way to Dallas, Texas, and passed through Tulsa, Oklahoma with a lot of time on our hands. So we hit the Hard Rock Casino and sat on the slot machines for a while. Eric was highly excited upon seeing a Dungeons & Dragons machine, but was disappointed when it ate up his money very quickly and moved to a different machine which got stuck after he inserted a dollar. He called the staff and waited till they fixed it, and eventually got his dollar back after about 30 minutes. In short, Eric had a very difficult time at this casino but still walked away with 50 bucks of loot. We were told stores can’t sell alcohol legally past 9 PM in this area, but Eli and I went to the Walmart we were parked outside of in a seemingly hopeless quest to buy beer at 1:48 AM, and surprisingly returned successful. Tulsa rules, and you’ll read me saying this again before the end of this installment.
Day 28 (10/06): Downsizing In Dallas
We arrived in Dallas, at the Gas Monkey Bar & Grill, not the much bigger Gas Monkey Live as I’d initially thought. Halestorm and Lita Ford were playing that venue on the same night instead. I guess that duo is bigger than Trivium, Sabaton and Huntress combined, at least in Dallas, but it has to be said that the outdoor GMBG stage seemed far too small for our show. It was packed like sardines. Trivium’s drumkit and stage props are always set up first and are not allowed to be moved off stage at any point, understandably so, as they are the actual headliners of this tour after all. But even on a tiny stage like this, Sabaton’s crew insisted on leaving their drum kit on stage too, leaving Huntress very little room to even stand on that stage, leave alone move around. But having learnt to maintain her balance on monitors in 3-inch heels from her childhood days, Jill makes the most of any and every stage, as does the rest of the band, and everyone rocks out hard even when they can’t move around. Blake the gentle giant is blessed with natural stage presence, Eli is always ultra-energetic, and Eric in particular adds a lot to the band’s energy level and persona. I can’t really imagine there being a better bassist for this band. Meanwhile Tyler had to deal with placing his kit to the very corner of the stage, far from ideal for him or the band, but they all came up trumps and from where I was, sounded the loudest of the three bands. I approach my job at merch with the seriousness and professionalism it deserves and would work for almost any band, but it makes me like what I do and motivates me to constantly strive to do better when said band is impressing me more and more every night. I’ve been fortunate to work for highly impressive bands before, and Huntress is definitely an emphatic addition to the list. After this show, Trivium drummer Paul Wandtke came to our bus and smoked a doobie with us while he revealed that he not only looks like Kurt Cobain but in fact plays guitar and sings in a Nirvana tribute band.
Day 29 (10/07): Nothing Is Free
Next was Houston, a gig at Scout Bar, another surprisingly small-sized venue for the magnitude of this lineup, but logistically better to deal with than the one in Dallas. This is the show where I started implanting my new rule, introducing a $10 minimum purchase at the merch table to be able to meet Huntress. People were definitely responding to it, the sales numbers reflected it, and the line for the meet-n-greet was also longer than usual. With Trivium charging $30 for their after-show meet-n-greets every night on this tour (except festival appearances), this was an easy step for me to get approved by their merch guy. We’ve had to match their shirt price of $25 but we’d have probably sold for that price anyway, and the whole Trivium crew including their merch department has been extremely nice to us. They haven’t imposed any restrictions on me in terms of number of shirt designs or other items, which has made life easier. The $10 minimum is just a new angle to push merch sales from my behalf, and to lessen some of the burden of competing with bands like Sabaton and Trivium when it comes to selling merch. Aside from the new meet-n-greet rule, I also added other deals and bundles through the next few shows, including handing out a free cookie with any purchase in Poughkeepsie, New York. In reality, nothing is free (including items the band was giving out for free on previous tours). And even though I accept requests for change of size or design, there are absolutely no refunds. “Why and how has everything at your merch table become a heartless, soulless, capitalistic endeavor?” asked Eric, perhaps rightly so, having not seen this side of me on the Gygax tour. My guess is that the true Indian in me is finally taking over my soul while the laid-back California metalhead hippie still resides in the body.
Day 30 (10/08): “You Killed It On Guitar!”
From Texas, back we went to Tulsa, Oklahoma, this time for a gig at Cain’s Ballroom. This place was massive, but so was the crowd. Trust me, Tulsa rules, and your entire perception of this town would change once you experience a metal show and the night life here. It’s extremely friendly and lively, and this is the kind of place I tend to remember more than others. Before the gig, while I was walking back from my dinner, I crossed paths with the entire Sabaton band, and the drummer asked me, “Caribbean or Italian?” I answered Italian. This is the longest conversation I’ve had with any member of Sabaton on this tour till date, and it remains unclear whether or not they followed my advice on their dinner plans that evening in Tulsa. The show itself was awesome, and I thought this was one of the best Huntress sets so far. Did I ever mention that some people mistake me for Eli and congratulate me on how amazeballs awesome I was on the guitar? It happened a couple of times at this show. One person even asked me to autograph a Huntress CD, thinking I was him. I don’t see any resemblance between us aside from the obvious one, but I guess if you’re not very familiar with the band and are drunk/high enough, we look like twins. This could lead to some interesting adventures and I hope it happens more. Eli said he’s cool with me pretending to be him. All I have to do is perfect his Arnold Schwarzenegger voice imitations, and I’d like to think I’m getting there.
Day 32 (10/10): Monday Madness
Tulsa was truly a rager, and 1000 miles later, we were in Pittsburgh. I’ve always loved visiting Pittsburgh on tour, and the show at Stage AE was no different. Seeing people (mainly Sabaton fans) already lined up when we pulled into the back of the venue at around 1 PM made me realize how dedicated the fans have been to the two main bands throughout this tour, and how it has in turn benefitted Huntress, because reaching new audiences is the ultimate aim for any opening act on a tour this big, and it would be pointless if everyone was turning up after the opening act was already done playing. Thankfully, the venues are packed to near capacity every night, even as early as Huntress’ usual set start time of 7:30 PM. This show was amazing in every sense for all involved, and once again Huntress was the loudest and clearest band, and this was not just my opinion but also that of some of my friends who came in to the show mainly as Sabaton fans. It just goes to show that some things are best done old-school, such as live guitar and bass amplification. I had my pre-show meal at a place called Purgatory. The burger was good, but disappointingly enough, this joint isn’t in fact an Iron Maiden themed restaurant. I was recognized by a at the show as someone who “looked familiar”. As it turned out, I had stayed at her house on a previous tour. You know you’ve toured a lot when a person recognizes you as a previous one-time guest at their house and it takes you a minute to remember them.
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