Sickness

So many times the question has come down to Eating vs. Sleep.  Showering vs. Sleep.  Doing Laundry vs. Sleep.  Updating my Blog vs. Sleep.  Updating the Merch Inventory vs. Sleep.  Updating the e-mail List vs. Sleep.  Respond to e-mails and Facebook messages vs. Sleep.  Sadly, everything else seems to win over sleep.  It's been sooooo many days since I've updated (though I'm sure it feels like more than it actually has been) and a lot has happened, so I'm going to try to write as much as I can.

Our Springfield, VA VIPs, minus the one who took the photo

 I believe I left off with the NYC show!  We drove in on a gloomy, cloudy day, but we could still see the city and the Statue of Liberty in the distance coming in.  I think it rained just as we got unloaded too :(  The show was in the Studio at Webster Hall, which was like a crowded basement show.  Even though I was pretty close because the place was so small, it was too packed and dark to get any good pictures :(  But I tried

Picture Me Broken, it was Brooklyn's birthday!!!!

 

 Terrible quality video of Mike playing drums during the sound check

Otep passing out "Ghost flowers"

Kim did some EPIC crowd surfing during Committed.  The audience had her WAY up in the air.  All the while she was playing guitar, as usual.  When Otep started "Breed" the audience got crazy and knocked half my table over and 2 girls onto the floor next to it.  Side note, why do people think it's ok to set their drinks and things (ex: hats) not only on the merch table, but at times directly on the merch?  Display CDs are not coasters and if you don't want to hold your drink, don't buy one/sit at the bar.  I might just start picking them up and throwing them away when people do that.  Despite all that, it was a good night for sales, and I even made a random $9 in tips.  It's weird, I'm just doing my job, it's almost like cashiering at a retail store or something, but sometimes people give me an extra $2-5 and tell me to keep it.  I think this was also the show Junior had me do a free shot with him to kill the germs of whatever sickness we all had.

After the show we had a bunch of VIPs, including Tino again, Pat and Olga from the Committed Video shoot, and Becca, my friend from facebook I finally met in person!  Sadly we were both dumb and didn't get a picture together, but here's a picture of Kim and a group hug with her and Becca's friends :)

One of our VIPs had seen a promotional shot of Kimberly with a bunch of roses, so the first time he ever saw her in person, he bought her a bunch of roses.  On our way to the restaurant that night he happen to pass a 24 hour flower shop so he stopped and bought all of the girls in our VIP group a long stemmed red rose (as seen in the picture above).  Awwwwwww!  *swoon*

After the VIP session we stopped by the underground, 24 hour Apple Store at 5am.  I don't think I'd mentioned it yet because I was hoping it would turn up, but Mike lost his phone.  Junior and Kim talked him into getting a fancy iPhone.  They then surprised Mike by buying it for him.  I have the best employers ever, even if you don't take that into account.  :D

The above ground cube of the Apple store

Mike outside the Apple store with his snazzy new iPhone 5

The next show was supposed to be in Rochester, NY.  We've all been a bit cough-y and sick, and Kim woke up the next morning with no voice.  Jason made a few calls and they ended up cancelling the show.  They have never cancelled a show before, that's how serious it was.  Of course it had to be on April 1st so people thought it was an April Fool's joke at first.  Kim thought it was strep throat, so we went and got her some antibiotics and she spent the day resting.  They were supposed to have their weekly, from the road, radio show update in Pittsburgh that morning, but since Kim couldn't talk Junior handed the phone to Mike and I at one point.  So I think I was on the radio in Pittsburgh Monday morning.

We sadly had one pre-ordered VIP in Rochester that Junior refunded.  At the next show I heard from everyone about how she kept bitching to them about it.  I understand that she was probably really looking forward to it, and the more intimate interaction with the band afterwards is really awesome, but it's not like they cancelled the show because they just didn't feel like driving there or something.  Even if Kim had just played guitar and not sung because she had no voice, she said she thought she probably would have passed out on stage or something.  It's really selfish to put your wants over the physical health of someone you're supposedly a fan of.  If Kim had ended up in the hospital, you still wouldn't have gotten your VIP, and they would have to cancel more dates.  But again, I don't know her back story, and if she happens to read this, please don't comment or anything.  I don't want to know who you are because I don't want to already have a negative opinion of you if our paths ever cross in the future.  We're sorry you didn't get your VIP night, but Kim's doing a lot better because of canceling that show.

The Alter Bar in Pittsburgh used to be a church

The next show was in Pittsburgh.  Kim slowly warmed her voice up by talking more and more throughout the day and it was back by showtime.  Merch was facing away from the stage, but from what I could hear, Kim sounded fine and I couldn't even tell she had no voice the day before.  The DJ from the radio show we talked to was there and he brought a 10lb lasagna and some bread for us.  Junior made Mike and I do nasty shots of Jager before the show to kill germs again.  Either Jager doesn't taste as bad as it smells, or else my nose was really stuffed.  I don't have a lot to say about the show itself since I couldn't see it, but I did see the audience crowd surf Kim back to the merch table after her set.  It was pretty awesome!  And, just before Otep's encore, they called a guy up on stage and he proposed to his girlfriend.  That was pretty awesome as well!

Something I've noticed on this tour is no matter how nice, and big, and clean the bathrooms at a venue are when we get there, they WILL be trashed by the end of the night.  Stalls won't have toilet paper, except all over the floor.  The soap will be out.  They'll be crap everywhere.  Toilets unflushed.  I don't understand the phenomenon.  The one exception was The Alter Bar.  There was a bathroom attendant in there selling candy, making sure stalls were clean, keeping things stocked, and even turning on the faucet for you as you were coming out of the stall.  It's the only time the bathroom wasn't trashed at the end of the night.  It's sad that we have to rely on someone working for tips and can't just clean up after ourselves.  But I guess alcohol makes people do all sorts of crazy, stupid things.

At one point, I think it was on the way to Pittsburgh, I got to drive the limo for the first time!  It was only for like an hour though.  Junior switched me when we stopped for gas.  I don't think he liked that I kept going 80 in a 65 zone and occasionally tailgated people what weren't going as fast as I wanted to *innocent look*  I took turns slow though and was careful when traffic was slowing down!  We'll see if he lets me drive again...

The next show was at McGuffy's in Dayton, OH.  We ended up getting there about 15 minutes before doors because something was left at a gas station and we had to back track a half hour to get it.  We got everything set up quickly though.  I didn't have a good feeling from the audience and it seemed like a slow night. There were people there so drunk they literally fell flat on their faces, and usually that's a sign they spent all of their money on alcohol.  But we just barely made our bonus goal somehow.  We also had VIPs there that were VIPs in Atlanta and Norfolk.  One of which was Cory who brought us brownies and a bunch of pizza from the pizza place he works at :)

The show after that was Cleveland.  I was around a corner from the stage, and near a door to a room where other bands were playing, so I can't tell you much about the show.  There was food for us upstairs in the green room though, including a really cool Hydra (Otep's newest album) cake.  I think Mike said he got a picture of it that I'm going to steal.  He also got a few pics of thee 2 of us since we haven't taken any pictures together that I'm going to have to steal as well.

Our VIPs Steve and Chantel from a few shows got a a room in a really nice hotel in Columbus for the night we had a show there.  Well, one of Kim's good friends booked that room for us the night before too!  So we had this crazy awesome suit with 2 beds, a pull out couch, TWO bathrooms!!!!! for 2 nights.  Thank you all SOOOO much! We also stopped at a random gas station that had the nicest restrooms ever!  There were sinks in the individual stalls as well as in the main bathroom area, as well as a cushy bench seat.  The "family restrooms" also had cute tiles in them, but they're hard to see in the pic I took.

Oooooh!  Fancy!

Friday night's show was in Columbus at the club where Dimebag Darrell was shot.  Kim and Junior played Scorpion Death for the first time ever this tour!  I also made $10 in tips and a stalker.

And now we're in my home state of Michigan!!!!  I think we're getting close to the venue, so I'd better get ready.  Whew!  I think I'm pretty much caught up!