Lots more tour reports from our good friend Geoff, out on the road with Chimaira as tech on the Slayer tour.. thanks for the gossip Geoff!! Hey..how youz doin’ ova hea?? Hola UK..Geoff (4AM) once again to update the goings on of the CHIMAIRA run with SLAYER…(hell yea !!) Sorry for the gaping chasm of time in between…things got real busy for awhile and I just couldn’t get it together….so enuff of this rhetoric…on with the biz… Wed 11/07/01 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club This day started out with us rolling by the Pentagon on our way into town…its right next to the freeway…and seeing the gaping hole left by the airliner that was parked illegally a cuppla months back…you may have heard something about that…little blurb just before you hit page 3. If you aren’t familiar with the 9:30 club, its a semi-legendary punk-rock club from the early 80’s having been the stomping grounds for Bad Brains, Minor Threat and Black Flag …to name a few of the bands to come from this area..but they do likes their metal. As has been the norm lately, pulling up to the venue with die-hards waiting, for god knows how long to meet the bands…this day was no different…and it is not uncommon for them to start chanting, “SLAYER….SLAYER…SLAYER” outside @ 2 in the afternoon while we are loading in. Cam from American Headcharge has been starting the SLAYER chant during their set sometimes, becuz it is just inevitable that it will happen…so why not beat ’em to the punch. The show…sold-out…found CHIMAIRA becoming new favourites to alot of the DC crowd…I don’t think alot of these people have ANY idea what is about to happen when CHIMAIRA get on stage….and then BAM!!…they are in your face and all over the place. I love to watch peoples faces when they are instantly blown away by the instant fury of the set. Seriously…for lack of a better word. Fri 11/09/01 Toronto, ON @ Warehouse and Sat 11/10/01 Montreal, QC @ Metropolis This would the bands first dip to the outside of the US and Montreal would be their first glimpse into what touring overseas would be like. They are more than ready to get it on. CHIMAIRA was well received by Canada and will find themselves welcome anytime after their performances there. Montreal is a metal town….and they likes them CHIMAIRA. This has the flavour of world domination, me thinks. > ) Sun 11/11/01 Portland, ME @ State Theatre Ah…nothing like loading in and out in the freezing cold..surprised it didn’t snow!!! This night was the night that myself and the guitar tech, Ryan, were both bit by out drum riser as we were packing it away….bit him in the ankle and it just about broke my foot. We have recovered at this time, but you know what they say…”once bitten, twice shy”…we get the stage hands to deal with that beast. Wed 11/14/01 Boston, MA @ Avalon We pull up to find that there are try-outs for the latest “Real World” on MTV next door. HA !! Hilarious….as Dave from AHC finds this an opportunity to show the crowd his birthday suit..(which, incidentally, got him arrested on the PLEDGE tour in New Jersey), while shouting..”Welcome to the REAL WORLD!!” Mixed reaction…for about 2 seconds and then the crowd went back to its cell phones and MTV starlet psycho-babble, that we so rudely interrupted with a sense of humour. what were we thinking? Boston is a hardcore town…and they are brutally frank and damn picky. CHIMAIRA has proven themselves time and again and tonite was no different. Thu 11/15/01 Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory The show that almost wasn’t. As we are leaving Boston, we find ourselves in some of the most horrendous traffic this side of LA. We reach the George Washington Bridge in NEw York and there is an estimated 3 and a half hour wait to even get on the bridge. Once over the bridge ..its still another 2 and half hours to get to the club. We are being patient…but the uncertainty of making the gig is messing with our day. No one is wanting to take the day off..so we re-route ourselves as surgically as possible though some backstreets and haul ass on another freeway…only to find that this traffic thing is EVERYWHERE!! All squeezed into ONE FREEKIN LANE !! TIME IS TICKING. By the time it would have been our usual load-in..we were still 5 hours away from the club. Needless to say…we just barely made by doors. Doors were at 7pm, we show up at 6:50…unloaded as fast as possible , set-up and even did a minor sound check….as doors have been held back a bit..7:30. Ok…time to breathe and pat ourselves on the back…? Hell no…I have to go move our vehicle …mind you..at this time…the band is about to go on in 15 minutes or so…and I’m doing circles around the block trying to park an Rv with a trailer as fast and safely as possible before I am late to un-mute the monitors and be in position. I was a bit freaked as I was trying to squeeze this monstrousity thru all the people trying to park and get to the show as I’m thinking to myself..”YEA..I gotta get in there too, ya know?!?!?” But , of course, during all this madness William Orbit’s Strange Cargo 3 is playing and I am dealing with the situation..like it ain’t no thang. yea… As I’m leaving the Rv…running inside…3 minutes to spare…I can’t help but laugh at how SPINAL TAP the days events are. C’est la vie…. A very appreciative crowd in Philly….great place, lousy PA…crowd was as loony as they get. Fri 11/16/01 New York, NY @ Roseland Hmmm…is this a running theme? We find ourselves not far from Ground Zero, where the World Trade Center once stood. It is rather bizarre to stand in the midst of these tall buildings in Manhattan and picture them in flames with 737’s sticking out of them, collapsing on top of you. It is a surreal, Felliniesque moment and I have to go inside and not think about it. Somewhere along the 3 song of SLAYERS set..some dingleberry thinks its a damn good idea to throw a perfectly good, FULL, beer in to the front of house console…which causes the delicate electronics to freak a bit and go into auto-mute. This is bad. Unaware that the FOH console is temporarily shut down, SLAYER doesn’t miss a beat, until they are informed of whats going on. The board is till freekin out, shutting on and off at will…while their Sound guy, Leonard, Chimaira’s FOH and myself are doing all we can to fix the board, all the while we are in the middle of a New York metal crowd and they aren’t taking it too well. Chants of “BULLSHIT… BULLLSHIT…. BULLSHIT” were swelling around us as we are doing our best to avoid a riot. A sold out room, surprised, of about 3500 people. That could hurt. BUT!!!….A little ingenuity from all parties and the show is up and running in less than 15 minutes. * PHEW!!* Not quite ready to leave this Earth having been dismembered and eaten by a pissed off SLAYER crowd. 11/17/01 Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theatre T his is CHIMAIRA’s home town…and the boys are a little nervous. A pounding show, nonetheless and all systems go…literally, with an aftershow party played by Matt’s former band, Ringworm. We have a day off after an 11 show run…and what better place to have a day off that in your hometown. Heres hoping to get back to you a little sooner next time. Peace… ~ g ~