By Andrew Bansal
After a series of adventures in the southern, eastern and mid-western parts of the United States, it was time for Night Demon to finally start heading west, which took us to Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, Missoula and Portland. This part of the tour blog brings you stories from these visits, but before that, read Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 first.
Day 59 (06/29): Smooth Sailing
From Des Moines, Iowa, we departed for Omaha, Nebraska for a gig at the Lookout Lounge (formerly The Hideout). We got pulled over and detained unnecessarily by cops the last time we traversed this exact same route on the Skull Fist tour, but on this occasion there was no such drama and it was an uneventful and short drive. The Lookout Lounge was the only venue of the tour so far with a traditional marquee having the band’s name on it. The show here was livelier and far more interesting than the one in Lincoln on the last tour, with opening act Super Moon laying down some sweet stoner jams, while black metal band Vickers certainly garnered most people’s attention with their live show, as they burned hair on stage throughout the entirety of their set, and used some kind of custom-made instrument to make extreme levels of ‘raw black noise’. Following the gig, Dustin drove us overnight straight to our next destination, Denver.
Day 60 (06/30): Garage Day
We arrived in Denver in the morning, and after a good amount of rest, set out for the show at Seventh Circle Music Collective, a D.I.Y. garage venue. The Night Demon live show never stays stagnant and there are always enhancements being made to it, visually and sonically, and this particular gig marked the debut of the band’s usage of scrims with the cross that is featured in the artwork for the Night Demon self-titled debut EP (as can be seen in photos of Jarvis and Brent above), on either side of the stage. The merch table was in a different room so I could not hear any of the opening acts at all, but there was a band practicing in the basement that sounded awesome. Upon inquiring further, I found out that this band was Denver-based ‘cosmic heavy rock’ trio Cloud Catcher. Their Zeppelin-esque sound really piqued my interest and I’d recommend everyone reading this to check them out. As for our show, the garage was extremely hot but the die-hards stayed till the end to watch Night Demon and looked like they were blown away. The setup at this venue, aside from the absence of a Wi-Fi network, is surprisingly professional and the people involved are clearly putting their best efforts to maintain it.
Day 62 (07/02): Salt City Livin’
Another overnight drive ensued after the Denver gig to get to Salt Lake City, and we stayed with Visigoth guitarist Jamison Palmer for the entire duration of our visit in this town. A great hang session filled with hipster gourmet coffee, local brews and classic heavy metal record-spinning took up most of the off-day on July 1st. There was also a viewing session of the movie ‘Maniac Cop’ at some point during our stay. Fresh from the good times, both bands were beyond ready to rock the next day. The show was at Club X, the same venue we did on the Raven tour but with a different name, and in terms of the quality of the music and every other aspect, this was hands down the most enjoyable show of the tour, as Visigoth brought their absolute A-game to the stage and put on the finest show I’ve ever seen from them. But opening act Befouler, a black thrash band featuring members of Visigoth, were the highlight for me, as they delivered a crushing onslaught of quintessential Venom worship. They do not have any recorded music out at this point, and don’t even have any social media pages, but I will be certainly keeping my eyes and ears peeled for more updates from them and I’d suggest you to do the same.
As for the Night Demon set, I had trouble getting on stage for my Rocky act and it was very Spinal Tap-ish because my entrance from the side was completely blocked by the scrim, but I somehow managed to make it through, albeit late by one chorus measure. The turnout was excellent, and all in all, Salt Lake City does know how to rock. Besides, it was also great hanging with Patrick Kendall, the man who designed the art for the current tour shirt. Patrick and his partner-in-crime Jeb Branin presented us individually personalized copies of their music quiz book ‘Question Authority: Abrasive Music Trivia‘, which makes for great reading material on long drives, and came to me as a much-needed companion because I have totally given up on gas station coffee and find it hard to stay awake on the road.
Day 64 (07/04): Star Spangled Hammer
Dustin pulled off yet another nine-hour drive from Salt Lake City to Missoula, Montana, as our show in Boise, Idaho scheduled for July 3rd was inexplicably canceled. We arrived in Missoula in the early hours of July 4th. This was a show I had been looking forward to since the beginning. Being part of a metal show at a VFW Hall on the Fourth Of July promised to be special, and it definitely turned out that way. The dudes in local thrash metal band Judgement Hammer played a great set and so did Loin Hammer. Because of the layout of the stage, we had to do our set without the backdrop or the scrims, so it was more of an old-school Night Demon set, and a shorter one, as Judgement Hammer rightly played last.
The show was free and drinks were cheap, so the attendees were naturally having a good time and the atmosphere was festive. No fireworks were allowed in Montana, which actually worked well for us as people didn’t have much else to do other than come to this show. I felt grateful to be in a place like Missoula, Montana to experience this holiday rather than being home and witnessing people doing the same old things. I particularly enjoyed the local beer Cold Smoke, a Scotch Ale with 6.5% alcohol, and I recommend it to any beer enthusiasts that visit this town. By far the best Fourth Of July celebration I’ve ever had.
Day 66 (07/06): Spellcasting
Another off-day followed the Missoula gig but was once again taken up by a 10-hour drive to Portland, Oregon. The scenic beauty of this drive is unparalleled, with ultra-green mountain forests throughout, and the John Day river outlining the highway for a stretch of several miles. Re-entering the Pacific Time Zone was also a rewarding feeling, as it signalled the onset of the home stretch for us. The next gig is in Seattle, but with Portland only a short drive away, we decided to come here first to spend July 6th for a hang session with Night Demon’s best buds in Spellcaster, who were most definitely down to party, as it was their drummer Colin’s birthday. We stayed with bassist Gabe Franco, and the Colonel Summers City Park gave us some entertaining sights and sounds of this peaceful yet vibrant city. Afterwards, the dudes took us to the dock front of the Wilamette river, where the view of the city and the bridges on either side was simply breathtaking. We also went to the Lovecraft, a goth-themed bar that Night Demon played on their short West Coast tour with Iron Kingdom last year. They did a special drink named after Night Demon, played some great tunes on the PA and ‘The Lost Boys’ on the screen. This was, in all honesty, as good of an off-day as we’ve had on this tour, and there is no doubt that Spellcaster knows how to party. I can’t wait to be back in Portland for two more days following the Seattle show.
The next and final part of the tour blog will bring you more stories from Portland, and some from Seattle, Eugene, San Francisco and San Luis Obispo, but in the meantime, follow Metal Assault for all things metal, and say NO to gas station coffee.
Update: Read Part 8
Remaining Tour Dates:
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 (w/ Spellcaster)
07/30 – Los Angeles CA @ The Viper Room (w/ Art Of Shock, Ascendancy & Others)
