Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Tour Day 13--Indianapolis, Indiana

Yeah, that's right...I can't think of anything catchy for this one...Maybe some kind of John Cougar Mellencamp thing, but I'm drawing a blank...

So we left New York probably around 3am to make the 12 hour haul to Indy...Mike started out the drive in getting out of the city. Not bad. My foot was now killing me so the best thing for me was sleep...I slept through the night, through a lot of storms, and a change in driver. Yes, David stepped up to the plate and got us through the storms...I am told he did damn good too, so he is now on the driver approved list for upcoming shows...

We gassed up around 8am and I took us the rest of the way...My foot was feeling a bit better now and I just wanted to get there...The ride wasn't too bad, just long and really nothing to look at. We were making excellent time though...

We were about an hour and a half ahead of the Gravehill-mobile as they had stopped at a truckstop for a classic truckstop shower...We chose to marinate for the day...

We got into Indy about right on schedule...we found the club and decided to get something to eat. We were in a very ghetto area by the looks of things and I think we were all wondering how this show would go. Cardiac has played Indy 3 times prior and turnouts have always been on the low side.

He grabbed something to eat down the road and I was deciding whether or not to stay the night...In the meantime, Gravehill rolled into town and was getting kind of lost...Their war machine needed an oil change as well. Luckily, there was quick lube place within spitting distance from where we were currently at...Problem is, my sense of direction is worth a shit and they went the opposite way...They finally met up with us about a half hour later...They pull into the oil change place, and the shitty thing was we had to detach the trailer...Dammit...It wasn't as bad as one would think though...So, oil change is done, and now they want to eat. It was around 5:30 at this point, so we would skip the hotel and head to the club. We also had to out our plan into action, which I will explain in detail in the next entry...I stopped at a store and picked up a 12er while I waited for everyone to finish eating...

We played The Melody in...Our friend Dano is the one that booked and promoted the show. He has never done us wrong, hence is why we will always work with him. The line-up was sweet...Our buddies Maax were the openers...We have played with them quite a few times now and they are a great band and cool dudes. Christ Beheaded would play after. Awesome black metal band consisting of Iron Bob of The Gates of Slumber fame...Then it would be us and Gravehill...

We hung around for outside for awhile and started staging the gear outside...the place was pretty small, so there was not a lot of room for gear. I drank beers in the van for awhile and checked in. The door guy looked really familiar to me, but I couldn't place him...Oh well...

People were really starting to show up...Our friends from Leproso came out to support and see the show. I also remember some other people from past Indy shows...But the place was filling up and I was pretty impressed.

Maax and Christ Beheaded set the pace...both bands were killer...In between the two bands, it finally dawned on me who the door guy (and sound guy) was...It was Karl from Gates of Slumber...It had been a couple of years since we hung out (they play Chicago all the time, and I have missed their last bunch of shows here) and my appearance has changed considerably sine then, so that's why we were both stumped...So we played catch up for a bit, and I started getting ready for load in...

We went up and did our thing...I was floored by the crowd...I think it is safe to say that Indy was one of the best shows of the tour.

Gravehill was up next and finished the assault...I believe they even got to encore...not sure if that happened throughout the tour because I never pay attention since I was usually three sheets to the wind and running merch...but for some reason, I remember it happening here...

We hung out after the show for a bit and took over the juke box again...we were in good company though since Karl and Bob were loading it up and playing good songs...

We said our goodbyes to everyone once the place closed and loaded out...We got an offer from Iron Bob to stay at his place, but we were heading back to Chicago...Yup, that was what was irking me since Hod dropped off the tour...We would not be able to complete the last four dates...Hence, the tour was now over...As promised, I will go into detail in the next entry...

3 comments:

Matt Harvey said...

That was by far the most fun Indy show I've ever played. Not a ton of people, but everyone there was totally into it: All killer - no filler.

Cardiac Tom said...

Like I was saying, that was the fourth time in about a year that we played there...the past three times were fun, but no turnout at all...

I was worried about this show and once again, I'm glad I was wrong...

Was a great show to go out on...

Grindhead Jim Deabenderfer said...

I remember the wave of melancholy that washed over me as Gravehill played - bittersweet, to be sure. The vibe of very, very different that night. We were giving it more than everything we had - it was, for a lack of a better term, a totally grind night.

As we did the merch trades at the end of the night, I remember thinking that I would gladly give all the Gravehill stuff back to play just one more show...