By Andrew Bansal
Following a successful closure of the Texas chapter in the first week of this tour, the Night Demon crew ventured deep into the South-Eastern regions of the country, and this part of the blog captures our wild variety of experiences in Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia and more. But before delving into that, check out Part 1 first if you haven’t yet.
Day 9 (05/10): Down To NOLA
We left Sean Weingartner’s house in Austin in the early morning, having consumed his delicious home-made tacos which I inexplicably failed to mention in the previous part of the blog. The drive from Austin to New Orleans was long and uneventful, although we’ve been turned on to some great obscure NWOBHM bands via mix tapes presented to us by fan Rob McNees on the Houston stop, and it’s been fun discovering this music. We reached Siberia in New Orleans at 8 PM and loaded in straightaway. This place gets all the good club-level shows that come through NOLA and I love its atmosphere, staff and food, but this was a strange show, and ran much too late for a Sunday night. The first opener didn’t even go on until well past 10:30, and Night Demon’s set started at 00:55. It was a long evening, but on a positive note, a professional camera crew that covers a lot of the Housecore bands filmed the whole set, and some of Night Demon’s biggest fans came out to support the band, including Kit and Jen Ekman from Mobile, Alabama, with whom we spent Thanksgiving on the Raven tour, and would spend the next two days as well.
Day 10, 11 (05/11, 05/12): Monster Therapy
Immediately after the NOLA gig we drove to the Ekmans’ residence in Mobile, where our two off-days would bring us much relaxation and a welcome break from traveling in the van. Large portions of this period were spent catching up on sleep, and other activities included consuming home-made food and venturing out to downtown Mobile for cheap brews, free crawfish and traditional ‘Bama style BBQ. Eating crawfish is an activity I would describe as too much effort for very little result. Out of the blue, it was somehow decided that we would watch both discs of Metallica’s ‘Some Kind Of Monster’ movie on DVD. I had never seen it before and I wish it had remained that way because after watching it I felt like I needed a therapist to recover from the experience. On the whole, we couldn’t have imagined a more ideal way of utilizing this little break from the shows. The generosity of Night Demon’s fans across the country continues to floor us, and the Ekmans are as humble and friendly as they come.
Day 12 (05/13): Backbooth Massacre
We got an oil change done on the van, and funnily enough, the guy at the shop remembered us from last November and even bought a Night Demon CD. Performing in front of and meeting fans at shows is always enjoyable for everyone in this band but making new fans and acquaintances in random, unexpected scenarios such as this is entertaining in a very rock ‘n roll way. Kit Ekman, who’s been following and supporting the band religiously ever since he saw them at a festival in Europe in 2014, wanted to accompany us in the van for the next two shows, and we gladly granted him his wish. So the five of us set out to the Backbooth in Orlando for the band’s first ever gig in the state of Florida. It was a nice room with a high stage, and the show attracted a younger crowd which Night Demon always enjoys, as it adds so much to the energy level. It was yet another surprisingly late show on a Wednesday night, but a group of youngsters raged hard during Night Demon’s set, moshing and stage-diving, and made it a worthwhile trip for us. Plus, the new stage backdrop, made up of a portion of the Curse Of The Damned album cover with the central character outlined with UV paint, had finally been delivered to us after an initial shipment delay which prevented us from using it for the first 8 gigs. Lit by a horizontal strip, this backdrop looks absolutely killer and further enhances the live show.
Day 13 (05/14): Satanic Turds & Stage-Skaters
The van, with the air-conditioner switched off all night, was a sweatbox when we woke up in a McDonalds parking lot in the morning. This would (hopefully) rate as the most uncomfortable sleeping experience of the entire tour, but we did what we had to do, and moved on to drive towards Miami. The city exudes an unexplainable ‘off-the-chains’ vibe, as the air seems tinged with a sense of craziness to it. The streets look like they belong in the land of real-life GTA and Road Rash, and we felt as if we were getting ourselves into an episode of Cops. Amidst the heat, humidity and mosquitoes, we arrived at Churchill’s, the venue for the show. The event carried a strong punk vibe as all the other four bands on the bill portrayed that genre, and so did the crowd. During Night Demon’s set, one dude jumped on the stage and skated off it on his board, only succeeding in making a crash landing. I had never seen that at a show before. The openers Satanic Turd Worship, Kunt Knuckles, Nekromaniac and Drül can collectively boast of the best lineup we’ve ever had in terms of the band names. Satanic Turd Worship also win hands down for the most hilarious demo I’ve ever seen. All that aside, the show was great for Night Demon, and the punk element in their music genuinely won the audience over. By the time loadout was complete, it was quite late in the night but life in Miami was still full of activity with cops everywhere. Night Demon will certainly return to Vice City sooner than later.
Day 15 (05/16): Oddly Specatular
On our way from Miami to North Carolina, we dropped off Kit Ekman at a bus station and took our time to complete the long drive to Marshall NC, where we would stay with Jason Gardner from the band Temptation’s Wings, main support for our show in Asheville. His house in the hills provided a great recluse. Finding California-style Mexican food on our way to the gig was pleasantly surprising, and a fitting pre-show meal on Brent’s birthday. The metal nerd in me was fascinated upon discovering that Brent is exactly as old as Iron Maiden’s ‘Piece Of Mind’ album. The gig was at the aptly named Odditorium, which boasts of a freak show display in the bar/lounge area and an intimate live music room adjoining it. The event attracted some dedicated, hardcore metalheads from all kinds of places near and far. This crowd gave Night Demon a tremendous response, although the handful of karate kids looked out of place. Dustin, the most accident-prone member of the band, twisted his ankle when exiting the van earlier in the day, but it didn’t seem to affect him during the set. Temptation’s Wings put on a solid show as well, and filled the room. The world needs more bands named after Down songs. Asheville ruled. By far the second best show of the tour, behind Houston.
Day 16 (05/17): Full Throttle
After a shortish drive from Marshall, we reached Reggies 42nd St Tavern in Wilmington NC, for what would turn out to be a much better experience than the previous Sunday gig of this tour. Local classic metal band Salvacion, comprising members of the Twisted Tower Dire / Walpyrgus / Volture fraternity, opened the show and were easily the best band of the tour so far, at least in terms of fitting with Night Demon’s style of musicianship. We ended up doing the entire 16-song set for only the second time in the 12 gigs up to this point of the tour, and the die-hard supporters that drove from far and wide to attend, loved it. After the set we spotted Dixie Dave Collins of Weedeater inside the venue and hung out with him for a little bit. Even within a short amount of time, he told us some hilarious stories. I strongly desire for Night Demon to tour with Weedeater some day.
Day 17 (05/18): Beach Day
Our shows in Washington DC and Frederick MD were canceled due to circumstances beyond our control, which was a huge disappointment and gave us two unexpected and unnecessary off-days, the first of which was spent in Carolina Beach with Salvacion drummer Carlos. Personally I’m not a fan of beaches in the least bit and I don’t do them even in California. But in this down-time, it was the best-case scenario for us to be here. North Carolina indeed treated us with lovely weather throughout, and we couldn’t have picked a better time of year to visit the state.
Day 18 (05/19): Raging Demons
With nowhere else to go, we arrived in Richmond a day early. Liquor stores here sell only liquor and no beer, so the beer run took longer than expected. In the early evening, Jarvis called in to Bob Nalbandian’s live radio show ‘Inside Metal’, and was extremely stoked to talk to Bob and his guest, one of Jarvis’ favorite metal singers John Bush (listen to the podcast of the show here). A little while later, we decided to check out the famous GWAR bar, and not only made friends with the Uber driver who took us there but turned her into a Night Demon fan by blasting the new album on the car stereo. GWAR bar was a tremendous letdown, as it does not carry a metal vibe at all, and serves tasteless and steeply overpriced food. It was a far cry from what we had imagined. So we left that place very quickly and gave the same Uber driver a call. Running into Kallen Bliss of Ramming Speed on the sidewalk outside was yet another pleasant surprise. The Uber driver took such a liking to us that she drove us to a cool metal/rock/punk bar called Wonderland instead of taking us back to the hotel, and invited us to lunch at her house the next day. Wonderland was infinitely more fun than GWAR bar. Jarvis and I played a game of darts. This was my first time ever playing it, and after he taught me the scoring rules, I ended up defeating him (although he might tell you a different version of this story). The Demons raged hard on this off-night in Richmond.
Day 19 (05/20): Uber Richmond
We woke up in a frenzied state of mind as we noticed some of the tiles in our hotel room’s ceiling out of place or completely missing, and thought may be someone broke in to the room overnight, but as it turned out, the tiles were as light as foam and were simply displaced by the wind. After lunch and a relaxing afternoon by the pool at our new Uber friend’s house, we embarked upon the familiar territory of Strange Matter in downtown RVA. This area undoubtedly carries a hipster vibe and is in many ways reminiscent of Silverlake in Los Angeles. But it served as a great setting for our gig with Raven last fall, and was an even better fit this time given the nature of Icelandic headliner Solstafir’s music. With only two bands on the bill and plenty of time at our disposal, we got to do a soundcheck for the very first time on this tour. It felt really great to set up and test everything out beforehand, and we would love to get more soundchecks moving forward on this journey. Even with such disparity between the two bands’ music, I was confident of Night Demon’s success at this show because I knew that Richmond locals are open-minded enough to appreciate a good live band regardless of genre, and this is why I will always enjoy visiting this town. The Night Demon die-hards were in attendance too. I ran into a friend from the LA music circles who was touring with Solstafir as their lighting technician. The look on his face upon unexpectedly seeing me there was absolutely priceless, and coming from someone experienced at his craft, it felt great to hear his words of praise for my performance on the lighting board during Night Demon’s set.
Day 20 (05/21): Run To The Hills
With the next show scheduled for Friday the 22nd in Montreal, an 11-hour drive from Richmond, it was wisely decided to break it up in two parts and spend some time in Dustin’s hometown of Bangor PA on the way, atop the Upper Mount Bethel township. Dustin drove all night to get there, and aside from those toxic energy drinks he consumed, the anticipation of seeing family undoubtedly powered him through a difficult after-show drive. Temperatures here were in the 40s and 50s, the view of the valley was spectacular, and overall it was a welcome relief from the hot and humid weather elsewhere in the country.
Day 21 (05/22): Rock Bottom
To give ourselves more than sufficient time to deal with the US-Canada border crossing, we left at 3 AM. Right from the outset, this drive was cursed. We had to search for over an hour for an open gas station in New Jersey, to no avail as all of them were closed. So we had no option but to halt the van at one of them and wait till 6 AM for it to open. After finally filling up the tank we set out to the Saint Bernard crossing and reached there by 1 PM, only to be denied entry and turned back around. The immigration officer was clearly having none of it and was not satisfied with the paperwork. To make things worse, when we turned back to the other side, the US officers profiled us as drug smugglers and thoroughly searched the van, only to return empty-handed. Montreal and Toronto are excellent markets for Night Demon and this is a massive setback for us. But the worst part of the tour is already behind us and it will only get better from here. We will be on fire and raring to go for the nine consecutive shows we have coming up starting next week. Nothing can stop us now. I urge all you metalheads in these cities to show us your support and spread the gospel of the Demon.
Update: Read Part 3
Remaining Dates:
05/27 – Brooklyn NY @ The Acheron
05/28 – Portland ME @ Geno’s
05/29 – Providence RI @ Firehouse 13
05/30 – Peterborough NH @ The Wreck Room
05/31 – Saratoga Springs NY @ Putnam Den
06/01 – Buffalo NY @ Broadway Joe’s
06/02 – Pittsburgh PA @ Gooskies
06/03 – Hilliard OH @ Satan’s Den
06/04 – Covington KY @ Backstage Cafe
06/06 – Cleveland OH @ Agora Ballroom
06/07 – Detroit MI @ Corktown Tavern
06/09 – Chicago IL @ Livewire Lounge
06/10 – Fort Wayne IN @ Skeletunes Lounge
06/11 – Louisville KY @ The New Vintage (w/ Savage Master)
06/15 – Nashville TN @ Springtime Supper Club
06/18 – Kansas City MO @ The Riot Room (w/ Starkill)
06/19 – Wichita KS @ Lizard Lounge
06/21 – St. Louis MO @ Fubar
06/23 – Madison WI @ The Wisco (w/ Cognitive)
06/24 – Minnealpolis MN @ Palmer’s Bar
06/25 – Appleton WI @ The Poison Estate
06/26 – LaCrosse WI @ Warehouse
06/27 – Des Moines IA @ Vaudeville Mews
06/29 – Omaha NE @ Hideout
06/30 – Denver CO @ Seventh Circle Music Collective
07/02 – Salt Lake City UT @ Club X (w/ Visigoth)
07/03 – Boise ID @ The Shredder
07/04 – Missoula MT @ VFW Post 209
07/07 – Seattle WA @ High Line
07/09 – Portland OR @ Rotture (w/ Spellcaster)
07/10 – Eugene OR @ Wandering Goat
07/11 – San Francisco CA @ Thee Parkside (w/ Brocas Helm & HellFire)
07/12 – Los Osos CA @ Sweet Springs Saloon
07/17 – Ventura CA @ Bombay