Wolvserpent U.S. "Brutalizer" Tour Diary part 1

Wolvserpent U.S. Tour 2010
Brutalizer Tour Diary

October 1, 2010

Sept. 25: Boise gave us a fantastic send-off. Thanks for being badass, Boise! We appreciate the warm regard we received from you all as we begin this epic undertaking of TOUR. Tour kick-off at VAC went off splendidly. Samuel and Annalisa were ultra hospitable and there was an intimate and sincere gathering of folks who kindly showed to support us in this endeavor. Linda, Beautician and Uzala played magnificently and we revelled in getting to play... actually do what all the endless preparations have been for... create music.

Currently, we are bumping, Soli "Negar" from a persian folk, pop, funk comp while ploughing through the fields of Nebraska.

Thanks to our friend Alice and her Costco card for saving us from the monstrosities of "road food." (see below)

Sept. 30: We had a great show at The Further Shoppe, Denver CO. We rolled in nine minutes prior to load-in, due to some leisurely brunch after sleeping in the van on the side of the road. So, we were a bit haggard on arrival. A reunion with our friends of Velnias revived our spirits. A good group of people, all very into the show, made for a great feeling show and hospitable first show. It was a small space, which we like- it makes for wild frequencies to play with and a general face-melting experience. Velnias and Flight of Sleipnir both ruled with an iron fist. During our set, all the equipment proceeded to break which is typical for any given show of a tour. Well, perhaps not all the equipment, but three of the four amp heads went crackly. So, the show sounded crazy and Brittany nearly dislocated her thumb trying to beat her drums over the frequency-packed space of the room. Pretty epic, out-of-control and brutal beginnings to the month-long dirge.

October 10, 2010

We are in the van headed to Far Rockaway, NY. So, I thought I'd take some time to jot down the highlights so far. Up to this point the tour has been packed full of little sleep, no time and lots of driving. Drive, load-in, play, load-out, drive, sleep, drive. Like that.

Oct. 1: After a good rest at the Velnias manor in Boulder CO, we headed out to traverse several states and roll into Milwaukee. The first leg of our two day drive to Milwaukee took us to the phenomenon of a "Bosselman Travel Center" in Grand Island, NE. This is a miniature disneyland for truckers complete with a full spectrum of amenities from an auto parts store to a life-size predator statue to a massage parlor. This was a thoroughly hilarious oasis on the drive. A good rest in the parking lot and we were set for drive part two.

Massage huh?

Oct. 2: A faulty air pump, brought us to a hault on this morning. We were just West of Lincoln, NE... not a lot to say about that. The Chevy Dealership took us ,and our money, into their comforting arms. They saw fit to replace the U-Joints in ol' "Vanna" as well, so we spent the afternoon lounging and emailing from the semi-comfort of the dealership lobby. This put us about five hours behind schedule so we busted our way through the desolation of Nebraska and tried to manipulate the time-space continuum in order to make it to the show at Borg Ward in Milwaukee.... regardless of our valiant effort- no Milwaukee show! Damn! I swear Iowa was getting wider and wider as we were driving! We stopped the madness of the drive at about 2:00 am, still about two hours outside of Chicago, and found a spot to pitch camp. Wearied and disappointed by missing show No. 2 of the tour, we dragged ourselves into Prophetstown Campground for a nights slumber. The place was amazing, right on the river and showers!... always a miracle mood enhancer on tour.

Yeah, "Free" coffee. I didn't get it at first... then the bill for the van came! More like, "suck you dry" coffee! Aaaargh!

Prophetstown rocks

Oct. 3: We rolled into Chicago later than expected. The time change and haze of the long-haul drive of the previous night had clouded our logistical skills. Just as is expected from any tour of Band-Olympics quality, we were met with limited-to-no parking and three flights of stairs. We took on the challenge with the generous help of Andre of Locrian and had the three stacks and miscellaneous gear and merch up the stairs before too long. The club, Enemy, was a sweet noise-esque warehouse space. Despite the frigid temperature, a good crowd meandered in for the show. Under the guidance of Andre and Terrence of Locrian, we got some nourishment from the best falafel sandwich ever- check out Sultans in Chicago, do it! Then, the onslaught of Locrian's set- phenomenal! The space sounded good, and it felt great to get to play. We met some awesome people, true to the bone, and also some old acquaintances. Thanks for coming out dudes. A good time was had, all around. The people of Enemy showed us much patience in our lengthy load-out, back down the three flights to the van. Andre kindly put us up for the night in the comfort of his apartment. We had a chance to hang with Andre, chat and share tour stories, plus chill with his gorgeous cat and ridiculously cute puppy, Penelope... He's lucky she didn't come with us in the van as tour mascot. Killed by cute!

Flight 1 of 3...yah

Oct. 4: We had to forgo Chicago style pizza to jet over to Columbus Ohio. With the van's make-over, it was a breeze of a drive through beautiful countryside. Carabar was packed with a rowdy crowd of PBR-guzzling punks and metal heads. Not bad for a Monday night. We were shown some great hospitality. Bringer of Disease, who set up the show, played well. We had a massive drive to Brooklyn ahead of us, so we loaded out quickly and got on the road. We drove through winding woods and heavy sleet until we could take it no longer. Somehow we found our way to some civilization in the form of a Walmart parking lot in some town in the middle of somewhere. Slept from 5 am until about 11 am, got up, brushed the teeth and back to the road.

Oct. 5: Dragging ourselves across yet another time-zone, we finally made it after ten plus hours of driving, to the wild jungles of New York's streets. Blake wrangled the van masterfully through the darting and dashing cluster of cabs, bicycles and pedestrians to the quiet alley that Archeron calls home. We were met by new friendly faces, Bill who runs the joint, as well as old friends who were part of the exodus from Idaho. We threw the gear into the long dark halls of the club and settled in for the Pharaoh and Archon sets. They all played well and sufficiently brought the heavy. We got a chance to hang with Kim Kelly for the evening. The next morning we headed to a cafe for some actual breakfast- eggs, potatoes, veggies, swiss and gouda cheese, yes!

Thanks to (((unartig))) for the video.




Oct. 6: Providence, RI. A quick drive brought us to to the joint, AS220. We had a swift load-in and got to meet up with more good friends- ex-pats of Idaho. The evening brought wicked noise jams. Brittany broke a violin string before even beginning the set so we trudged on through a rather pissed-off, loud and exhausted set.... this all added rather nicely to the mood of the set....like climbing up hill through stone age sludge. There were a few metallers to be seen and a lot of noise weirdos. By the end of the evening, Tinsel Teeth had the place smeared in blood. We got a chance to stay with good friends Chris, Beth and Darby... well, they put us up a few nights while we were in New England.

Oct. 7: After some sleep and coffee.... lots and lots of coffee, we headed out to Boston. Well, Somerville actually. Apparently Boston is made up of a bunch of tiny towns, but it's all still Boston. The East, who knows what's going on with geography out here! We found our way through the maze of Boston avenues to the house show. Starlab is a basement, much like the house shows of Boise's past. We met up with Ehnahre, for the first of a few shows together. We shot the shit with Chris in the parking lot, blasted some Man O War out of the van and banged our heads. The basement doubled as a recording space for the residents, so it sounded pretty great. Our show was the same night as the Triptykon show, so we missed out on that. Not many kids made it out. That's the good thing about house shows, they get the kids out- ah well.


Oct. 8: On to Greenfield, Massachusetts. We had no idea what to expect. The drive was through amazing countryside full of creepy old farms and amazing burnt orange, green, bronze and gold forests. The town itself was really pretty awesome. Upon arriving, we busted out of the van to stretch our legs. Immediately we found an oasis for wearied travelers in need of some warm food and vegetables. In a matter of 30 minutes we took advantage of an organic Co Op, a beer store the length of a bowling alley and a taco joint serving up local grub. The show space was called John Doe Jr, an independent record and book store. It's a pretty baddass place owned by, and full of welcoming and fully committed music nerds (we are too, so it's a compliment). We squeezed all the gear down an ultra narrow staircase to the basement... ah, basements. Dank, grim and wreaking of heaviness we set up and took over the joint. It was a fully satisfying set... really haggard. The Body, destroyed. It was excellent to get some bass-heavy jams to rattle the bones. The owner of this fine establishment kindly sent us away with parting gifts. He hooked Blake up with some Sci-Fi about, quote: "a man trapped in an alternate reality," pretty appropriate. Brittany got some epic, grim Russian poetry by Pushkin. We camped in the completely creepy eeriness of Erving State Park. An enormous owl crooned to us as we snored away by a tiny lake in the forest.

Coffee and Cigarettes.... sort of a breakfast.

Odin!!!!!!!!

October 9: A day off with no insane drive- whoa! What else is a band of grimness to do on a day in October in New England? Creep through the streets of Salem, MA of course. The place was completely overrun with tourists, carnival food and overpriced everything. But, we had some great pizza, Blake picked up a few comics at the most amazing comic store, and we saw some witch houses, graveyards and a lot of awesome, rundown architecture from over a hundred years ago.

October 10: Which brings us to Far Rockaway, NY. Our directions brought us, unexpectedly to a neighborhood of abandoned mansions... and yet another basement with more narrow stairs. The show was chill and also had a Boise house show vibe. I think we've thrown shows that went very much like this one. The house even had the same knotty pine panelling as an old house we used as a venue once upon a time in the west. Diaphragm played early and quick, Ehnarhe was in top form. The short ceiling made the beginning of the set interesting for Brittany's violin playing.... can we say hunchback and sore necks? But, the PA was surprisingly powerful and the space was small and loud.... just as we like 'em. We plowed through the set and cleared the way for a wacked dance party / karaoke set... which took place after some furniture massacres in the backyard. We got to chill with cool folks, talk to some music nerds and humor both belligerent and entertaining drunks. And the best for last: load-out at 5:00 AM before crashing.

We are trying to stay healthy in body, mind and spirit so we can provide people with the best representation possible of our music. Trying is the key word. Vintage equipment and vehicles, little to no rest and brutal conditions of "the road," make this a big undertaking. The rambling of tour frees our minds temporarily from our bills and responsibilities of home. However, maintaining a good attitude in the midst of the trials of the road can be challenging, at times. Sleep, food and time for brooding is usually scarce. Sometimes the shows are great and it is very rewarding. Other times we are met with desolate attendance and no money. So far, when the shows are bleak, we have had some like-minded folks in attendance. Some have even traveled from other states to share this experience, so we are boosted and carry on. Thanks to all the heads who have come out to support us. We love meeting new like-minded people. We'll have updates in a week. Until then, Doom on.