MetalSucks

We loved the last tour blog that Bison B.C.’s Dan And did for us so much, we’re only all-too-happy to present another! Below, please enjoy part 2; you can read part 1 here.

Sep 28 ‘09 (Albuquerque NM @ Launch Pad)

The first thing that struck me about this venue was the framed posters that line the walls… Melvins, High on Fire, Fu Manchu… some killer bands have been through here over the years. I was also struck by how nice and clean Albuquerque seemed. I would later find out that the town is ranked in the top five for violent crimes in the US. Okay then, never mind.

Played with a rad band called Roñoso. Weirdest guitar tone ever but it totally worked in their crust-saw sound. Kylesa sounds fucking huge tonight. Their (hilarious) sound guy Dave is working the system like it owes him money… and it probably does.

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After the antics of the first day of the festival, I felt more than ready to get into day two with a healthy dose of music from the beginning. Unfortunately, that was not to be so for me, as at the time I thought I would be continuing on after SXSW into further ridonkulousness, all the way to a family vacation during Spring Break in Mexico….and today was the day that my renewed passport was meant to be FedExed to the flophouse where Vince and I were crashing.

When I had returned to said flophouse the night prior and to my surprise found an open couch in the living room right by the front door (where I was told FedEx homeboy would appear bright and early), I figured it prolly made the most sense to sleep right there on the ground floor as opposed to the stank upstairs sweat lodge where I would be sure to miss any sounds of door knocking.

Sadly, no FedEx arrived in the morning as promised — I was actually awoken by a phone call from Vince around noon wondering where the hell I had ended up last night. After a couple more hours my passport finally arrived, at which point I had to wait at least another hour for a cab to take me down to the action.

HOLY SHIT.

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Hello from the road, Metalsuckers! We’re one week into our tour with Portland rockers Red Fang. I am coming to you from a coffee shop called ‘Coffee Works’ in a strip mall in Charlotte, North Carolina. I gotta be quick because we’re about to take off for our load-in and sound check at The Milestone, one of my favorite venues in America. After starting the tour in New Jersey under about a foot of snow last week, we headed to Philly and partied like it was Tuesday night (because it was). I got to hit my favorite spot, Jim’s on South Street!

If you can’t get into one of these you are no friend of mine. I also drink the peppers like a shot. No joke:

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Not to pat ourselves on the hairy back, but MetalSucks couldn’t have picked a better parting gift as our last post of 2008 than the video for Red Fang’s “Prehistoric Dog.” This insta-classic clip found the hard-drinking Portlanders fashioning armor and weapons from thousands of discarded beer cans, then waging war against a gaggle of LARP enthusiasts, with some hilarious/unexpected results. And while this probably wasn’t the intent behind the video, it’s a pretty handy metaphor for what Red Fang do on their eponymous debut fell-length: meld good old-fashioned hard rock and vintage metal, as familiar as a room temperature can of Pabst, and reconstitute them for battle.

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This is a band called Red Fang. The director’s name is Whitey McConnaughy. Everyone involved in this video deserves a big pat on the back.

Thanks to longtime MetalSucks Maniac Pick-Axe Bobby for the tip.

It’s 3:30 pm here in NYC. Time to start pre-gaming.

See ya next year.

-AR