** Where do I start? Let's see... I got to First
Ave around 5:00.. 6 or so hours before KX were to take the stage. At
the time, I had no idea how long of a night I had ahead of me. Luckily,
it was sunny, breezy, and in the low 80s. For you non-Minnesotans, sunny,
breezy, and the low 80's equals heaven. I decided to wait by the side entrance
next to the bus, hoping to run into one of the guys. As luck would have
it, Green Day and Blink 182 had a concert across the street on the very
same night. I've never seen so many kids with green hair and braces in one
place my life. Although I couldn't help but feel sorry for them... wasting
their parent's hard-earned money on bands so inferior to KX.
Anyway, I spotted Ty strolling down the sidewalk. He graciously invited
me in for the soundcheck. I grabbed my cameras and headed in. I took a quick
look around.. no sign of Prince. Feeling just a little bit letdown, I settled
in for what turned out to be an entertaining soundcheck. dUg could't for
the life of him figure out how the bass line in Black The Sky went. I think
he was also struggling with Don't Care . For a second, I thought maybe they
were gonna perform the entire Dogman catalog for us. After the routine mic
placement / monitor-tweaking, they diddled around with a loose version of
Black Sabbath's Sweet Leaf , then kicked it in on Talk To You . I was able
to talk to Jerry a little... he said his solo release and his book should
be done shortly. He said all of the touring is eating up his time, but promises
to have both ready as soon as humanly possible. He also mentioned how happy
he was that Geek was able to open for them the night before in Chicago.
I also had a chance to ask Ty about the long-awaited 'Now'
video. He said that they are working on editing down and mixing the footage
that they currently have. Then he asked that if I had any footage... and
if so... to send it to him. Being the opportunist that I am, I volunteered
to record the show later that night. Ty and Jay set me up with a photo pass...
and I knew it would be a night to remember.
By now, the Green Day show had begun, so the coast was clear to head back
outside to wait for the doors to open. I had a chance to talk to Mark from
Tapping The Vein .. an incredibly nice guy. Very humble and genuinely appreciative
of the opportunity to tour with King's X. A little later, Dissman showed
up, followed by Barry G. Player
and the caravan from Canada. After catching up on things, the doors opened..
and the marathon began. A local band, Skywind opened up... nothing remarkable...
but not annoying, which is a plus. Tapping The Vein took the stage next...
very different from previous KX openers... but they were well received.
Judging by the various opening acts that KX selects.. Galactic Cowboys,
Protein, Podunk, Moke, and now TTV ... the boys
have proven to be great judges of talent. Finally, KX took the stage. The
setlist was basically the same from other
shows on this leg.. with my personal highlights being Big Picture, Talk
To You, Vegetable, and the seemingly endless encore. I think it's safe to
say that it was a night enjoyed by all.
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