11/24/01: Denver, Colorado. Tonight is the last show of the tour. Thanksgiving turned out great. There was some incident with Michelle taking the turkey into the shower. Hey, how would YOU thaw a 20 pound turkey in just a few hours? Regardless of where the turkey had been, it tasted great. Mark and Eric stayed with us again, and we watched Spaceballs on my 13” TV afterwards. We were all too tired to really hang out, so that was it for the night.
The show in Fort Collins was great. We played the Back Alley, which is a really cool place. There were a lot of people there, and it was way hot, smoky and sweaty. We were all at our sickest, I think. At least I was. By the end of the show, I literally had no voice!
When we hit stage, I looked out in the audience, and there was Bill Stevenson (ALL, Descendents, Black Flag), front and center. I was like, “It’s just any other show!” Bill’s one of my biggest influences, so it was really cool, and somewhat unnerving, to see him there. Anyway, he dug us and said he wants us to record at his studio, the Blasting Room. Okay! There were a lot of ALL types there, including Karl Alvarez and Stephen Egerton’s wife, Nat. There was a slight incident involving beer being spilled all over the audience (sorry Nat!), but other than that, it was a totally rockin’ set and the place seemed to dig us. The owner even asked for our CD for the jukebox.
Next, the Pavers took the stage and blew the place up. Bill was heckling them (in good fun, of course) and they played a few songs that I don’t think were on the set list as they were getting a lot of requests.
After the show, we all headed home. The Pavers stayed at Bill’s house that, so I finally got my first night alone with Michelle in 3 weeks.
Today, I woke up, still with no voice, and feeling feverish. I don’t even give a fuck, though, ‘cause tonight’s the last show of the tour and all bets are off. It’s gonna’ be a great night, and a sad night all at once.
(click here for pictures from Fort Collins)
11/25/01: Denver, Colorado. Last night was the last show of the tour. The line-up was Wesley Willis headlining, Pavers in the middle, and we played 1st. It was a great fucking night, and a nice cap to the whole tour.
We were all sick as dogs, but by the time we showed up to the Tavern, we were ready to rock. There was a pretty decent turn-out, which just amped us up more.
Unfortunately, our set was marred by technical difficulties. Seth kept cutting in and out, Brent came unplugged a couple of times, and once it seemed we got all that stuff worked out, I literally broke the beater on my kick pedal in half. I’ve only done that one other time in my entire life! After all that bullshit, a fever, and nerves, I just fuckin’ threw my kick pedal across the stage. It still works. Luckily, there was a spare that Josh and I had been sharing. All this shit just made us play harder, and I think that despite all that, we tore it up.
The Pavers were out for blood, too. They played the Goodbye Harry song “That Noise” for me, and Brent got up and sang “Scary Eyes” with them. Josh was having some problems with his hi-hat stand, so I played roadie again. Got it fixed well enough for him to finish the set.
Wesley Willis got onstage and did his thing. We hung out w/the Pavers and talked for a long time, saying all the kind of stuff you say when you know you’re not going to see someone for a while. It was like the end of summer camp, or a really good party. Well, more like a really good party.
It took hours to say our goodbyes, and no one wanted it to end. Finally, though, at about 2 or 3 am, the Pavers and their van, the mighty Cockwood, rolled off into the distance and the four members of Reno Divorce all took one last look at eachother for the night. It was a knowing look: we just did the coolest thing any of us had ever done in our lives. I think it made us a better band, and I know I speak for all of us when I say we can’t wait to do it again.
Now, as I lay here with my fever and no voice, I can’t even contemplate the fact that I have to go back to work tomorrow. How the fuck can I go back to my bullshit office job after what I just did?
Well, before I get all Wonder Years on you (I think I just did), I’m going to end this with the Best Quotes of the Tour. Some of these may not make any sense to you, and I may just be typing up a bunch of silly-ass in-jokes, but hey, you don’t have to read it!
“I’ve been fuckin’ nasty bitches all my life- I ain’t gonna’ stop now!”- Name withheld
“Doesn’t feel like a hundred miles an hour, does it boys?”- Brent
“We just paid a fucking toll!”- Brent
“Tony the vampire comes up with the cock block!”- Seth
(In Romanian accent) “What are you doing, Seth?”- Tony
“Andrew, don’t freak out, ok?”- Seth
“I’m tired of being everyone’s fucking Mom!”- Andrew
“This time, it’s personal.”- Anonymous
“No Double Stacks? Does Dave know about this?”- Tony
(click here for pictures from the final show of the tour in Denver)
The End (?) |
