Thursday 12th April 2007
Perth, Western Australia
Watch out for those fucking drop bears...(The first
bit.)
Well here we go again. I live such a fortunate life
and I have to keep pinching myself every now and
again. Why I fall into these situations is beyond
me, however I know what goes around comes around so
I shall leave it at that.
Welcome to the Mastodon Australian Tour report 2007.
I received an email in December 2006 informing me
that Mastodon were “possibly” heading to Australia
with Slayer in April 2007, well low and behold it
came to fruition. It was through Troy keeping in
touch with regular emails that kept my blood pumping
towards those magical dates.
In preparation for the tour, flights had to be
booked, trying to skive off work for a week or so
and ask the old gods for a little help. Well fortune
favors the brave my friends and everything went off
without a hitch.
After all the flights and accommodation were sorted
out it was time to boogie…well tour anyway!
Thursday 12th April 2007
Perth, Western Australia.
Beer, beach and boobs…The second bit.
I flew into Perth at about midday on the Thursday
and was being met by Jay who was kindly driving,
accommodating and putting up with me for a few days.
I arrived at the airport and low and behold there
was Jay (who I had never met in person before)
holding a huge sign in Mastodon font proclaiming
“THEART” (my username on the Mastodon forum). It was
with a big smile and a small amount of embarrassment
that I saw this and felt immediately at ease.
We headed to his place and dumped my stuff then
drove into Perth city to the hotel to try and meet
up with band. Well after a few calls to Darren and
Andy, Troy and Brent arrived in a car outside the
hotel. Well fuck me..that was a bit of luck. I
called out to Troy and with fingers crossed hoped he
would recognise me and was greeted with open arms
and bear hug by both Troy and Brent. What a feeling.
We exchanged hellos’ and what have you been up to’s…and
after they freshened up and then took them shopping
around Perth for a few bit’s and pieces. After
purchasing a few goodies it was time to move on.
Brent really wanted to see the beach so they was
just enough time before soundcheck to head to
Cottesloe Beach.
It was a superb day, about 30 degree’s Celsius and
the sand and water looked so inviting (as did the
girls). We took a few pics and headed towards to pub
on the corner and ordered 4 pints of Heineken. I was
sitting there with Troy, Brent and Jay, thinking
that life couldn't get any better right now. Sitting
in the sun having a cold cold beer and talking with
amazing friendly, inspiring people on so many
levels. I am so proud to count Troy and Brent as my
friends. Time flew so fast as we sipped on the beer
and before long it was time for soundcheck.
Jay drove us back in his “Mastodon” car and Brent
and I discussed/showed off tattoo’s, chatted about
our musical hero’s and deep and meaningful stuff
that ordinarily we probably wouldn’t share.
We dropped the guys back off at the hotel and went
and picked up a few things and prepared to head down
to the venue. Perth’s Robinson Pavilion is a barn.
Just a huge cavernous room with a stage and PA at
one end. We met up with Troy and organized a
laminate for myself and as we were walking through
backstage there was Slayer. I have seen these guys
play quite a few shows around the world, however to
see them close up was a bit of a shock. Having grown
up listening to them from 1985 onwards to actually
be in the same room with so much “history” was
pretty intense. It was Dave Lombardo who was a huge
influence on me when I was a drummer, so all in all
it was a pretty big spin out.
Mastodon was soundchecking and we stayed in a caught
a little. Slayer's lighting team were also checking
so it was quite bizarre to see Mastodon onstage with
inverted crosses as their backdrop. It was a quick
check and afterwards met with Brann and Bill who
shared some of his recent pics of his kids. Both
being fathers it is always a bonding moment we you
can share tales about your children. It’s just
little things like this that blow me away. These
guys are seriously the most down to earth people and
I feel really privileged to call them my friends.
As the gates opened for the show I quickly realised
how many tickets had been sold. It was chocked solid
of rabid Slayer fans! I didn’t catch the support
band as I was catching up with Darren Sanders.
Mastodon was due onstage very soon so I made my
excuses and got holed in my position for some
photo’s. The guys even though a little tired from
the huge flight played as if it was there last show
ever.
The strains of This Mortal Soil came over the PA and
the backdrop was unleashed. Bang…”The Wolf Is Loose”
just smacked into life and the crowd lapped it up.
It was a pretty faultless gig from where I was
standing and the guys all gave their nod of approval
throughout. Actually do they ever have a bad gig?
The set list was as follows
They came off exhausted and seemed to be really
happy with the show. I chilled side of stage while
they came down from the gig as I wanted a prime spot
to watch Dave Lombardo play. All my life I have
wanted to sit behind him when he does the bass drum
section in Angel Of Death and I was determined to do
so.
I watched the Slayer show like I was 17 year old
again, headbanging all the way throughout the show
and watching the theatrics of not only the band but
also the crowd.
Seeing as Angel Of Death was the last song it was a
great trip watching Slayer so close up. Brought back
a lot of memories. And yes I did get to see Lombardo
perform his legendary double kick part. What’s more
he extended it…he kept going and going and going. It
was fucking awesome!
Met up with Mastodon after the show and they seemed
really happy about it all,
we hugged and said our goodbyes. It was off to
Adelaide….my home away from home.
Friday 13th April 2007
Adelaide, South Australia
Shades of gray...
Adelaide is a beautiful place, it has that air of a
small town within a large town…if that makes sense.
It is often referred to as the city of churches. It
is an open plan city with lush parks and with it’s
carefree feel makes this a very special place to
visit.
I decided to make it into Adelaide a day before the
show as to recharge the batteries and to relax, I
also had arranged to get a very special tattoo with
my good friend Amy Duncan. Amy is also a huge
Mastodon fan and I knew that she would very like to
have the chance to tattoo the guys from the
band….more of that later.
I was fortunate to have quite a little plush hotel
looking over a park on one side and cemetery (?) on
the other. I headed into town and met up with Jay
from Perth and ventured towards the tattoo studio.
Amy was tattooing when we got there and we just
chilled until she was ready. We had spoken a little
before hand about getting the boys some ink and
Darren was really keen to make it work. So after a
few phone calls, a plan was put into place to tattoo
them after the show the next night. This was all
finalized at the Enigma Bar later that night.
We arrived to find Bill and Brent downstairs at the
bar and obviously had been there for a little while.
Bane where playing upstairs but in all honesty the
fun was downstairs. It was a night of finalizing
plans of tattoo’s, drinking, laughing at emo’s guys
(or where they girls?), more drinking, me and Brann
playing air drums to Hallowed Be Thy Name by Iron
Maiden ( that was a fucking treat), more drinking
and even more laughing. It was an amazing night. It
was really nice to gel with Roger and Davo the bands
crew. Two of the nicest guys I have met. It was just
one of those nights that was perfect.
I decided to leave at about 2am and walk back to my
hotel. Needless to say I got very lost, but sang
along with mp3’s on my phone all the way to keep me
company. I got lost, followed some tram tracks not
knowing the danger I was in and took me a aborted
cab ride and a bout of hitchhiking to get back to
the hotel. Normally a 20 min walk….I arrived there 2
hours later.
Saturday 14th April 2007
Adelaide, South Australia
Jesus can help you...
Woke up the next morning to a rager of a hangover
and decided the best way was to walk it off in the
streets of Adelaide. Met up with Jay again and
decided to walk down to the Thebarton Theater. Bad
mistake!…as it was miles away, grabbed a taxi
instead.
Oh the fucking irony. This was a Slayer show and
next door was a church with a huge sign proclaimg
“Jesus can help you...ask him” and on the other side
" Trust God, He Loves You". I have no idea if any of
the waiting crowd got it…but I doubled up in
laughter.
(Click the thumbnails below for a giggle)
Met up with the guys and watched soundcheck. This is
a beautiful old theater complete with balcony’s and
tiers. Soundcheck was cool and we went off to dinner
and a chance to chat. Brent and I chatted again at
length about meditation that I practice and we
really bonded over this. Without sounding all mushy,
it was amazing to connect of this level. While we
chatting Bill came over and gave me a silk screen
poster that was made up for the Australian Tour but
never put on sale. I was blown away and very
appreciative of this gesture, and being such a tool
I asked them to sign it for me. It is now framed and
on my wall.
The show was one of the highlights and sounded
killer. Andy pulled out an awesome mix of the show.
The crowd was so into this. With the same set as the
night before, The Wolf Is Loose kicked it big time
and finishing it with Blood And Thunder. Watching
the crowd signing “White Whale, Holy Grail” was just
intense. I was perched on one the balcony’s and just
watched the whole gig from above. Troy invented a
few new stage moves, one that I dubbed the zombie,
cause of the nature of the walk, and Brent had this
little dance thing going on during Crystal Skull. It
is so hard to describe Mastodon shows mainly because
they are all so (seemingly) flawless. The guys again
seemed really happy with the show.
Anyway…it was tattoo time.
Pics kindly submitted by Amy Duncan
Backstage was a quiet haven in the noisy theater.
With 2 tattooists inking the soon to be legendary
“Crikey” tattoo on band and crew, it was time to
relax and have a few beers. Bill, Darren and Teresa
all got the Crikey tatt during the next 2 hours or
so. During that time I discussed further stage moves
with Troy and making the zombie a permanent feature,
“cause it fucking ruled” was my argument, surfed the
net with Brann while he checked out the latest
Mastodon YouTube entries including a guy playing The
Wolf Is Loose on drums…Mastodon in Dubai with Iron
Maiden and got to see a sneak preview of some
Mastodon shirts and hoodies…yum yum. Oh yeah…Bill
met Darth Maul as well. Apparently he wasn’t allowed
in the venue or something….don’t know why but it
made for a good photo op. It had been a big day so
it was time to head back to the hotel and sleep. I
feel asleep after eating yesterday’s pizza and
watched Police Academy…it had been a wonderful day.
Sunday 15th April 2007
Melbourne, Victora
Bad cops...watcha gonna do...
Melbourne…me and Melbourne have never quite got on.
I don’t know why. It has some of the best venues’
best coffee, best shopping, best people, but I just
don’t get it. I suck.
Anywho…. The venue for tonight shows was Vodafone
Arena. This place is friggin huge and holds like
9,000 people. I met up with dear friend Shell in
St.Kilda who was kindly looking after me for my
stay, by giving me a place to sleep, a place to
eat
and basically spoil me. I had arranged to grab a
pass for her for the show so she could meet up with
Mastodon . We headed down to venue and got there
while Blood Duster were playing to a smallish crowd.
The sound was shite as this was a HUGE place and it
just bounced off the walls. We said our hello’s to
the boys and introduced Shell to them and just
chatted about why they were having no soundcheck!?!
We left them to discuss matters, as it is there
business. We wandered out front and waited for them
to come on stage. Once again the intro kicked in and
the rather largish crowd erupted when “Wolf” blasted
out of the speakers. I spent most of the time taking
photo’s of the band. To be that close and feel the
sheer power of the band still gives me goosebumbs….I
was getting band sweat on me I was that close. Once
again the show seemed pretty flawless to me and even
without soundcheck the band slayed!
Tuesday 17th April 2007
Sydney, NSW
The sound of white noise...
Sydney…well I didn’t go to Sydney (boo hiss on my
part!) as I had other
plans for the night which were arranged before the
tour was announced. All reports they played a
blinder of a set (damn!) but they didn’t play
Siberian Divide. I would like to thank Tash and Jay
for the pics below.
Pics
above kindly submitted by Tash
Pics above kindly submitted by
Jay
19th April 2007
Brisbane, Queensland
Beautiful one day...perfect the next
Brisbane. Oh Brisbane. What a night this will be.
Troy invited me to crash in his room when I saw him
last in Melbourne and I graciously accepted his
invitation. I arrived in Brisbane at 2pm and went
straight to the hotel. I headed up to Troy’s room.
We chatted about the Sydney show and family life etc
and again it was a real moment of bonding. Troy has
always has always been more than a gentleman towards
me as have all the band and again this was no
exception. Troy has always gone out of his way to
make sure that I was looked after at all times. His
generosity knows no bounds and to have his
friendship is an honour and a privilege. I will
never be able to repay him for his friendship. I
passed out a few pressie including a special
Australian Tour artwork that I made for each of the
band and off course Darren. It was just a little
something I could do to say thanks.
Lobby call was 4pm and as I sat downstairs with
Troy. Bill followed shortly by Brann and as we all
chatted on the couch, I just had to pinch myself and
remind myself where I was . With Brent arriving very
soon afterwards, here I was with all 4 of Mastodon,
a band who I admire and respect like no other just
shooting the shit like I was a member of the family
and those were the exact words that Troy used….which
just flawed me.
We headed down to the venue in the mini bus for the
last show of the tour and what a beautiful setting
for the gig. This was held at the Riverstage Venue
in Brisbane. Outdoor stage with the river nearby on
a Uni campus. The weather was a balmy 30 Celsius and
it just felt perfect. Soundcheck was a mere
formality as everyone was going to sound amazing on
this stage.
Mastodon just nailed this and was a highlight of the
whole tour. The crowd was so into it and the setting
just topped it off. People all the way up the hill
was a sight to behold. All the guys mentioned this
fact when they came offstage. I made a complete tit
of myself by accepting Troy’s invitation to belt out
a few words on Blood and Thunder and then I think we
both realised that there were no more words to sing
so as I was onstage I danced like Elaine from
Seinfeld for what felt like hours, humped Bill’s
guitar for a bit and then fucked off. I’ve been
scouring YouTube and thankfully the footage has not
emerged and hopefully never will. What a dick…hargh
hargh hargh.
We proceeded to have a few drinks and watch Slayer
from side of stage and throw a few invisible
oranges. Grabbed some pizza and Brent and I decided
to hed back to the hotel instead of the after party.
We hopped in the minibus and low and behold Tom
Araya from Slayer joined us. Now I was probably a
bit out of it at this stage, however sharing a bus
ride with Tom would definitely be one of the most
bizarre things to happen. We chatted about when
Slayer played with Maiden in 2000 which was an
amazing show and the possibility of Slayer coming
back to Australia soon. He was a perfect gentleman
and a seriously cool dude. We said our farewells and
headed to Brent’s room grabbed some stuff and went
out for the last drink. I was so beat that I headed
back to the hotel and crashed even before Troy and
Darren made it back. I crashed big time and woke up
to Troy & Darren getting ready for their 7am lobby
call. I tried to say by goodbyes, but my old body
could not function…so it probably came out like
gibberish. I slept until 10am grabbed some grease to
ease the feeling in my stomach and checked out.
Walked around the city for a while to feel alive
again and reflected on the last week or so. There
are many other stories that I could share however
there isn’t room or some I would like to keep tucked
up inside.
It was a very special week and one that I will never
forget. Just to say thanks to Troy, Brent, Bill,
Brann, Darren, Andy, Teresa, Roger and Davo is not
enough, but this is all I can do here. I would also
like to thank my good friend Pat Egan, Nick John,
Rick Sales, who I had the privilege of meeting in
Adelaide, all of Slayer and crew. Jay from Perth,
Amy, Shaun & Shep from Adelaide & Shell from
Melbourne. A big fuck you to Adelaide Taxi drivers
for driving within the law…what’s a red light
between friends…
Take care
my friends...
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