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ON THE FRONT LINES with Freak |
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ON THE FRONT LINES WITH FREAK by Freak / Chicago Radio Personality
DEFAULT, HINDER & BLS Chicago, Illinois November 11 & 12, 2005
The sun had been up for less than an hour so it was still a bit chilly as I made my way out to the barn where Paul was getting a grim reaper tattooed on his shoulder.
Sure he was sitting in an old birthing stall for buffaloes with three dogs, two cats, and several chickens running around, but as long as the bloody paper towels made it into the burn can, if it was clean enough for them it was clean enough for me.
I fired up the grill, tapped a fresh half-barrel, and joined my friends out back who were shooting their guns on an improvised range they’d just thrown together.
A few hours passed before Paul had had enough, but by then the situation had evolved into a full-fledged bash. It was only noon and there were already thirty people hanging out and the place teetered on chaos.
Some chick wanted a wilting clover on her right breast so she hopped in the chair and the ink kept flowing and we kept drinking.
I was still foggy from the Default/Hinder show the night before. Being friends with both bands, it was an all-out drunk fest from the second I got there till the buses pulled out for Madison sometime around 2am, so I was happy to get my hands on a big ol glass of hair of the dog to help jump-start my day.
My goal for the evening had been to get a picture of the Default guys with a platinum record of theirs I “found” while cleaning out my things at The Zone.
Mission accomplished, I cracked open a bottle of Jose Cuervo Black Medallion and started slamming. The Hinder set was good as the boys from Oklahoma churned out the jams but five songs into Default’s show the shit hit the fan.
The guitar was the first to fizzle out followed by the bass and drums. All you could hear was Dallas singing to the sound of the snare drum.
I looked over towards the soundboard and saw smoke wafting up through the lights and knew it wasn’t good. I ducked backstage to find an angry band along with an even angrier tour manager trying to sort things out.
They handed me a mic and shoveled me on stage to calm things down and explain the situation, but it was a good thirty minutes before power was restored and the band returned to the stage.
Phil was recapping the story to our friends when we ran out of beer, so the decision was made to break camp and head downtown for the Black Label Society show.
The Congress is one of the old-school theaters located on Milwaukee just north of North Avenue. It’s a great place to see a show but there’s no parking, so the best plan of action is to get there early and hit El Cid’s for some awesome Mexican food and a few dozen cervesas before the show.
We rolled into the Congress and joined the rest of the ugly bastards that comprise a B.L.S. show, in time to catch the opening act Brand New Sin, my favorite new band for 2005.
Lead singer Joe Altier led his boys through a brutal assault on the near sold-out crowd handling the tough opening slot with ease.
I’ve known Zakk Wylde since the Pride & Glory days (1994) and watching him become the monster guitar player he is today has been pretty damn cool. He took the stage as air-raid sirens drowned out the soothing sounds of Patsy Cline’s “Crazy” and it was game on.
Word is his management team has been doing their best to cut down on his drinking and it showed as Zakk turned in one of his tightest performances I can remember, going so far as belt out two songs, including “In This River”, on the piano.
We split right after the show and headed out to Lockport to close out another day.
We arrived at Uncle Richie’s to find that chick proudly showing off her new tattoo along with her friend who had gotten a burning Celtic cross on the back of her neck.
Apparently the impromptu tattoo parlor was rolling in my barn long after we left , but like I said earlier...as long as the bloody paper towels made it into the burn can, it’s all good.
I’ll see you all for the Midwest BEAT Magazine’s 2006 Region Rumble on January 14th at Star Plaza Theatre!
I’ll be the one with a cold beer in each hand.
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