{"id":1553,"date":"2015-05-10T08:28:20","date_gmt":"2015-05-10T15:28:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/articles\/?p=1553"},"modified":"2015-06-18T09:28:46","modified_gmt":"2015-06-18T16:28:46","slug":"tour-blog-return-of-the-demon-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/articles\/2015\/05\/10\/tour-blog-return-of-the-demon-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Tour Blog: Return Of The Demon – Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Andrew Bansal
\n<\/strong>[Live photos by Chad Alexander]<\/em><\/p>\n

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After two extremely adventurous and grueling North American tours supporting other bands, the time had arrived for Night Demon to capitalize on the strong foundation built through these shows, by embarking on their own tour in this territory and playing to their own fans, while still continuing the ever-ongoing process of spreading the word in unchartered lands and conquering first-timers. A vast majority of Raven and Skull Fist fans on the past two tours were turned into Night Demon fanatics, and this was their chance to enjoy the band in its element, with an elongated set list, revamped stage production and all new merchandise.<\/p>\n

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Day 1 (05\/02): And So It Begins .. Again<\/b><\/p>\n

Night Demon began this monumental journey on the morning of Saturday May 2nd, packing even more gear and merch in the back of the van than ever before, a true testament to the dudes’ tetris skills. Everything has to go exactly in its own spot when we load the van after a show, but for this band, it’s totally worth the effort as traveling without a trailer is the way to go. Besides, the task of packing only gets easier as the tour progresses, because the merch stock shrinks at a phenomenally rapid rate.<\/p>\n

The first destination of this tour was Phoenix, Arizona, and following a smooth drive, we arrived at Joe’s Grotto in the early evening. Los Angeles-based old-school metal band Resistance were billed as headliners of this show, so we went on before them and got alloted a shorter set. As we reached the latter part of the set, we were told to cut it short and ‘The Chalice’ had to be skipped as there was time for only one more song, the traditional set-closing eponymous track. As instructed, I still went on stage in my costume during ‘Night Demon’ but it felt weird and I did not know what to do. I left the stage much earlier than usual. But other than that, it was a solid start to the tour, performance-wise, and the guys definitely ripped the stage to shreds.<\/p>\n

Resistance also played a really impressive set, and it felt refreshing to do this first show with a genuinely good band. The vocals, guitar harmonies and rhythms Resistance bring to the table are old-school metal to the core. This band should be headlining festivals in Europe and reaching for the stars. They all came across as great guys as well, buying Night Demon merchandise, repeatedly saying that we should have headlined the show instead of them, and inviting Jarvis to sing vocals for their cover of Iron Maiden’s ‘The Trooper’. Jarvis was completely taken by surprise but did a great job on it. Resistance’ drummer told us a story that had us all in splits, about how the sound guy left the talkback microphone on by mistake and was heard talking all kinds of shit to his buddy at the sound board about Resistance, and metal in general, for the entirety of their set. It aptly capped off a fun-filled evening for us.<\/p>\n

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Day 2 (05\/03): Land Of Enchantment<\/b><\/p>\n

The night was spent in Phoenix, and the drive to Albuquerque began in the early morning. This town did not give us a memorable show the last time we were here with Skull Fist, but we came in with a positive attitude and a pre-show serving of green chile stew at Frontier restaurant lifted our spirits further. For the most part, this tour has been booked D.I.Y., with heavy emphasis on playing with the right bands in every city and doing shows with the right promoters at the right venues. Albuquerque’s all-female technical death metal trio Suspended strongly impressed us at the Skull Fist show, and we ensured their participation as main support for this gig at Burt’s Tiki Lounge. The turnout for this free, 21+ show on a Sunday night was heartening and we got a fantastic response from the crowd. ‘The Chalice’ was included in the set this time, and will be for every single show on the tour. The success of this event proved that skipping or giving up on any town or market is never a good idea because every place is capable of delivering a show worth a touring band’s time and effort. In addition to putting on a great gig, the promoter let us stay at his house. With an off-day coming up, the after-party went into the early hours of the morning.<\/p>\n

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Day 3 (05\/04): Space Invaders<\/b><\/p>\n

The next show was in Midland, Texas, but with a whole day off, we decided to halt overnight at the mid-way point, in Roswell of all places. This band is second to none when it comes to networking and we invariably get a place to stay with friends, fans or family wherever we go, but when we’re in the middle of nowhere, sometimes there’s just no option but to get a hotel room. The town of Roswell is associated with the infamous UFO incident of 1947, and as soon as we entered it, alien signs were seen everywhere and it was clear that people here fully embrace this piece of their history. We pulled into a Super 8 that had alien welcome signs and employees-only areas marked as ‘Area 51’. We can always count on Jarvis to find the rarest, most unique things for us to watch or listen to in our down time, and he came up trumps once again as most of the evening was spent watching a two-hour YouTube clip of outtakes from Ozzy Osbourne’s ‘Bark At The Moon’ recording sessions, accompanied by sights and sounds of thunder, rain and lightning outside. I wish we had a gig instead of spending an off-day just two days into the tour, but the vibe inside that hotel room was full of positive energy, and it gave me a really good feeling about the outcome of this tour.<\/p>\n

Day 4 (05\/05): Lone Star State Of Mind<\/b><\/p>\n

As Roswell was getting hit by a tornado, we successfully beat it and gently rolled into Texas for the first of five consecutive shows, at Blue Max in Midland. This is the place to play for bands going through Midland, and the endless array of show flyers and autographed guitars on the venue’s walls left me in no doubt about it. The owner cooked an amazing meal for us. The gig went well as opening act Weedgrinder put on a good show to start proceedings and Night Demon ended up doing the entire 16-song set. Midland’s metal fan-base is a very small community but they come out to support all the shows and that makes it great to visit. It was great to see Jay Gorania from the band Kanye East who played with Raven and Night Demon in Midland last year. An ex marine was also in attendance, and loved Night Demon so much that he invited us to stay at his place after the show, which we did. This was the first time we stayed with someone that has pet pigs. He seemed to be particularly impressed by Brent’s performance and so badly wanted Brent to jam on his guitar, but had the look of utmost disappointment on his face when he discovered that Brent is a lefty and hence could not play his guitar. He had to settle for Jarvis playing it instead, but was still stoked and took all kinds of photos and videos of him jamming some old-school Metallica on that sweet Gibson Les Paul.<\/p>\n

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Day 5 (05\/06): Dallas 10PM<\/b><\/p>\n

Just like Albuquerque, Dallas TX had not been a fruitful visit the last time we were there. But, a good promoter and venue makes all the difference, and this time it was local radio personality Greg Spicoli of Q102, a Night Demon superfan himself, setting up the show for us at the Boiler Room in Deep Ellum. His support singlehandedly inspired Night Demon to give attendees the show of a lifetime. One person was quoted saying this was the best thing he’d ever seen and that he doesn’t need to see any other shows any time soon. The in-house promoter also thoroughly enjoyed the set and bought a ton of merch himself. I think it’s important that the band puts on a show that turns promoters and venue owners into real fans, so that they genuinely want us back at their club and wholeheartedly run a strong promotional campaign the next time we book a show with them. It must be mentioned that Spicoli was one of the few in attendance the last time we did a Dallas gig, which once again goes to show that every single market is worth tapping into. The successful shows in Albuquerque and Dallas, both tremendous improvements from past visits, already made this first week of tour the best we could have possibly hoped for. And it was about to get a lot better.<\/p>\n

Day 6 (05\/07): Unlocked And Loaded<\/b><\/p>\n

We somehow missed out on San Antonio in the past, but we were not going to let that happen on this run, as we made the drive to the Korova and arrived well in time for load-in. Dustin has been exclusively handling driving duties so far, except for Brent’s drive from Albuquerque to Roswell. The guys have rightly decided that sufficient rest is of prime importance when it comes to being in top shape to deliver the best possible show every night, so we’ll be avoiding driving overnight and sleeping in the van as much as possible, because those two scenarios burn us out more than anything. On our way to San Antonio, we ate at a Cracker Barrel, a name the guys have been hyping up for the past two tours. Our show was in the basement of the Korova, so load-in was a bigger challenge than usual. The show itself was excellent, the band sounded supreme and the lights looked great on that stage, although our new hazer was perhaps a little too much for this place to handle as the entire room got fogged out. Plus, an amateur mosher bumped into the mic stand during ‘Ritual’, which in turn hit Jarvis hard on his face twice, but thankfully he was fine and there was no blood or damage. This guy was a source of annoyance for attendees that just wanted to watch the band, and Jarvis had to stop playing to step off the stage in an attempt to diffuse the situation. Some people were seen throwing beers at him. After loading out, we discovered that our master lock was missing, which had never happened to us before. It was bizarre, and our suspicion is that someone stole it and threw it in the adjoining river. Regardless, the after-hours hang at Bond’s 007 rock bar next door was fun, and yet another Night Demon superfan let us stay with him overnight. This dude’s place looked like a metalhead’s den in the truest sense of the term.<\/p>\n

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Day 7 (05\/08): Venomous Texas<\/b><\/p>\n

Houston-based stoner rock band Venomous Maximus were doing two CD release shows for their stellar new album ‘Firewalker’ in their hometown and in Austin, and it was absolutely essential for Night Demon to get on both shows. The 7 PM load-in gave us plenty of time to make the drive from San Antonio, where we once again beat some torrid rainstorms. Fitzgerald’s in Houston turned out to be the most professionally run venue of the tour so far. Small D.I.Y. shows have their own charm but it feels nice to have the convenience of a green room, a huge stage, catering, and a well-lit, distinctly\u00a0marked merch area, among other things. Night Demon was the second out of four bands in the lineup, so the show started at 9 and our set time was 10 to 10:35. The side of the stage was so dark that I couldn’t see my lighting board, and similar problems were faced on stage with the sampler. As a result there were quite a few mistakes in the lights and intro samples, but the crowd completely fell in love with the band, as was evident from the long line at my merch table straight after the set. This was the best Night Demon has ever done in merch at a US show. I’m thrilled to observe that the percentage of people attending shows that are buying the band’s merch is sky-high on this tour. The merch figures for this Houston show were off the chains, and even people whose credit cards got declined were either making a smaller purchase equal to their bank balance or borrowing money from friends and coming back to buy merch. It’s an entirely new merch table with new tour shirts, red logo shirts, triangular patches, COTD CDs, orange and black COTD vinyl versions, hats, and my favorite item, the tour programs. People have been expressing surprise about us carrying 3XL shirts, and I’ve been telling them that Night Demon takes care of its biggest fans. My favorite show of the tour, without a doubt.<\/p>\n

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Day 8 (05\/09): If It Wasn’t For Texas …<\/b><\/p>\n

From Houston we went to Austin, which was an interesting experience in a completely different environment. The Lost Well, much smaller and divier than Fitzgerald’s, carried an easily distinguishable hipster vibe, perhaps not best suited for traditional heavy metal, but ironically enough, the band’s performance as well as my own on lights and in costume were the strongest of the seven shows on the tour. That said, the die-hards still came out to support Night Demon, specially those that saw the band on the Raven tour last year. That show at Red 7 was certainly more enjoyable than this one, but the musically inclined town of Austin will always be a fixture in Night Demon’s US tour routing nonetheless. As before, we stayed with Sean Weingartner of Eternal Champion and watched some old-school DVDs to wind down after a very late show that ended at 2 AM.<\/p>\n

That concludes the initial phase and Texas chapter of the tour. It’s been hot, sticky, sweaty and soggy, but completely worth the effort. Great people, good times. In the next installment of the tour blog will bring you more stories from the road as well stay south and head east.<\/p>\n

Update: Read Part 2<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

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Remaining Dates: <\/strong>
\n05\/10 \u2013 New Orleans LA @ Siberia
\n05\/13 \u2013 Orlando FL @ Backbooth
\n05\/14 \u2013 Miami FL @ Churchills
\n05\/16 \u2013 Ashville NC @ The Odditorium
\n05\/17 \u2013 Wilmington NC @ Reggies 42nd St Tavern
\n05\/18 \u2013 Washington DC @ The Pinch
\n05\/19 \u2013 Frederick MD @ Cafe 611
\n05\/20 \u2013 Richmond VA @ Strange Matter (w\/ Solstafir & Ancient VVisdom)
\n05\/22 \u2013 Montreal QC @ Piranha Bar
\n05\/23 \u2013 Toronto ON @ Hard Luck Bar
\n05\/27 – Brooklyn NY @ The Acheron
\n05\/28 \u2013 Portland ME @ Geno\u2019s
\n05\/29 \u2013 Providence RI @ Firehouse 13
\n05\/30 \u2013 Peterborough NH @ The Wreck Room
\n05\/31 – Saratoga Springs NY @ Putnam Den
\n06\/01 \u2013 Buffalo NY @ Broadway Joe\u2019s
\n06\/02 \u2013 Pittsburgh PA @ Gooskies
\n06\/03 \u2013 Hilliard OH @ Satan\u2019s Den
\n06\/04 \u2013 Covington KY @ Backstage Cafe
\n06\/06 \u2013 Cleveland OH @ Agora Ballroom
\n06\/07 \u2013 Detroit MI @ Corktown Tavern
\n06\/09 \u2013 Chicago IL @ Livewire Lounge
\n06\/10 \u2013 Fort Wayne IN @ Skeletunes Lounge
\n06\/11 \u2013 Louisville KY @ The New Vintage (w\/ Savage Master)
\n06\/18 \u2013 Kansas City MO @ The Riot Room (w\/ Starkill)
\n06\/19 \u2013 Wichita KS @ Lizard Lounge
\n06\/21 \u2013 St. Louis MO @ Fubar
\n06\/23 \u2013 Madison WI @ The Wisco (w\/ Cognitive)
\n06\/24 \u2013 Minnealpolis MN @ Palmer\u2019s Bar
\n06\/25 – Appleton WI @ The Poison Estate
\n06\/26 \u2013 LaCrosse WI @ Warehouse
\n06\/27 \u2013 Des Moines IA @ Vaudeville Mews
\n06\/29 \u2013 Omaha NE @ Hideout
\n06\/30 – Denver CO @ Seventh Circle Music Collective
\n07\/02 \u2013 Salt Lake City UT @ Club X (w\/ Visigoth)
\n07\/03 \u2013 Boise ID @ The Shredder
\n07\/04 \u2013 Missoula MT @ VFW Post 209
\n07\/07 \u2013 Seattle WA @ High Line
\n07\/09 \u2013 Portland OR @ Rotture (w\/ Spellcaster)
\n07\/10 \u2013 Eugene OR @ Wandering Goat
\n07\/11 \u2013 San Francisco CA @ Thee Parkside (w\/ Brocas Helm & HellFire)
\n07\/12 \u2013 Los Osos CA @ Sweet Springs Saloon
\n07\/17 \u2013 Ventura CA @ Bombay<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Andrew Bansal [Live photos by Chad Alexander] After two extremely adventurous and grueling North American tours supporting other bands, the time had arrived for Night Demon to capitalize on the strong foundation built through these shows, by embarking on their own tour in this territory and playing to their own fans, while still continuing … <\/p>\n

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