>>COSMO'S NORTH AMERICAN DIARY - WEEK 3



DAY 15- Saturday, February 8, 2003

SHOW IN SAN ANTONIO

I awoke at 9:30 AM. Still tired, I lay in my bunk for a few more minutes waiting for the cobwebs to clear. I crawled out and headed to the back lounge to get dressed.

I grabbed my dirty laundry and headed into the gig. We are at the "Alamodome," and boy, it is huge. I have been here several times in the past few years, and still get a kick out of this Texas-sized "Enormo-Dome."

The air was very cold as I stepped off the bus; a few clouds were in the sky, but thankfully, no snow or rain. Ingo came in with me.

It is probably half a mile from the buses to the stage, so I didn't plan to make too many trips back and forth today. Even walking from catering to Production is a long journey. While there are many golf carts around, I and the majority of the crew won't have the luxury of being chauffeured around. Feets, don't fail me now.

I stopped by the stage to see how load in was progressing, and, no surprise, it was slow going. This buildings roof is so high, it takes a long time to get all the rigging done. I said hi to my lighting crew and headed off.

I dropped off my laundry in Production and headed for catering to eat breakfast. I had the usual, bacon and eggs and downed a couple of cups of coffee. After breakfast, I decided that I had time to take a shower before commencing work.

I headed to the stage and proceeded to focus my ACL's, and set up the lighting console.

Tonight, we have another band on the bill- Ronnie Montrose. It is an earlier show than normal, so the fact that we are behind doesn't help matters any. The usual day ensued, and finally everything was up, I focused and managed to program a little bit. I set the LD for Montrose up with some lights and headed off for dinner.

The show started at 6:30, I went out to watch Ronnie Montrose, who I have been a fan of for many years. The show was quite good, actually. He finished his set, Dokken hit the stage and rocked the house. The arena was quite full at this time, I mean, there were a lot of crazy Texas fans in there. By the time Whitesnake hit the stage, every seat was taken. This turned out to be an incredible night. The Scorpions went on to a primed and ready crowd, this was one of those shows that you remember. Just something about the show, the bands, the crowd- all came together and created the greatest vibe- it was really incredible. It turned out that there were nearly 14,000 fans there- an enormous amount of people. No wonder the vibe was so great!

We got our new dimmer man tonight- Mike Finn. He just flew in after finishing another tour and arrived during the show. Mike was on my crew when I was on tour with Motley Crue/Scorpions back in '99. It was good to see him back, he was real ball-buster and a lot of fun to be around. At the same time, it was sad to see Lowell go, but it was all for the best.

There was a big party for the bands after the show, I think put on by a local radio station. The bands went; I was going to go check it out, but it was on the other side of the gig and I didn't want to walk that far, especially after walking all day long. I think only a couple of the crew went. Most of us went to the bus and had a few beers. We had a short drive to Austin tonight.




DAY 16 - Sunday, February 9, 2003

SHOW IN AUSTIN


I crawled off the bus and looked for the gig. The bus was sitting in a parking lot in downtown Austin. I could see the capitol building not too far away. Behind the bus was what looked like a construction site. I finally realized that is was the gig. The Frank Erwin Center. They were renovating it, and we were doing a show there. Unbelievable. Well, actually, very believable.

I finally found the way to get in, a stairway that led down to the loading dock. I mean, it was a veritable construction site! I entered the building- I had been here many years ago, I think with AC/DC in 1990. It was still a small, dark and old arena. I couldn't fathom why they were renovating it- this place should be condemned, demolished and then build a new arena. Oh well, it would be over soon enough.

Everything seemed to be going well inside, Mike Finn was learning the system rather quickly it seemed, so I headed off to catering for some wake-up juice and eggs.

The Production Office and dressing rooms left a lot to be desired, old, musty and small. I headed out to the stage and helped get the rig up. Afterwards, I took a shower, then had lunch.

The Scorpions were getting a new effect. Since we couldn't really afford pyro, we were going with a cheap imitation- you have probably seen these before- albeit on a much smaller scale- Silk Flame units. Essentially, a silk flame is a box with a fan and lights, illuminating a "silk" flame. You have probably sent them in clubs and discos before, but these are large. The silk "flame" is about 5 feet high. The box has an air conditioning-type fan in it, and several "MR-16" projector bulbs pointed upward, in front of and behind the "flame." The way this works is that the fan makes the silk "flicker" and the lights illuminate the silk from both sides, giving a 3-dimensional "flame" effect. Done right, it looks quite real.

I had found a company through Otis, which sold these units in Washington state. They had a distributor in Austin, so I had them bring one down to show the band. It arrived, so we set up the flame unit in the dressing room.

It looked okay, but I wasn't happy with the color- it was too white. So, I got some red and orange lighting gel and recolored the lamps- much better. I decide to leave it running so the band could see it and make a decision on if they wanted to use them. I thought it was a little small, but maybe if we put them on boxes behind the speaker cabinet they'll look better. We'll see.

Austin is the hometown of a company called "High End Lighting." They manufacturer many different types of intelligent lighting: moving lights, strobes, etc, not too mention smoke machines as well. I have used many of their products over the years and have been friends with many of the company staff. I generally go out to dinner with Debi, a longtime friend, but I just don't have the time on this tour. I spoke to her, she and a few of the staff are coming to the show tonight. They also take some photographs of the show to put in their archives and articles as I use a few different types of their gear.

Finally, the band arrived and loved the flame units- Rudolf wanted to use the single unit TONIGHT, but I talked him out of it by explaining how tiny it would look by itself. We need at least 8 units to have a good-looking effect. I spoke to the representative and we ordered 9, as the band wanted one for their Dressing Room for a little "ambience." They're buying them so whatever they want. I ordered 9 to be delivered to Albuquerque. They promised they would be there. The one unit we had would "cook" all night in the Dressing Room.

This gig is perfectly round, and our stage is nearly in the middle of the hall, so the audience is right up to the stage, and the band is literally in your face. We weren't completely sold out, but still it was pretty full. I met with Debi and all the guys from High End.

The show went well, another loud Texas crowd. I have 31 Molephay on this show. A Molephay is also known as an audience light, or "blinders." If you've seen one, you understand why they call them blinders. In this small hall, they were really blinding!

The bands seemed happy after the shows. Load out progressed well, Finn seemed to be getting the system down rather quickly.

I went out to the bus and made hand-shaken Margaritas. This was enjoyed by all who like Margaritas, and even a few who didn't.

We headed out to the highway putting another three-in-a-row behind us. It was going to be a long ride to Albuquerque, but at least we had a day off. Well, I was thinking that we would be into Albuquerque by noon, so at least we would have a partial day off. I slithered off into my bunk and into dreamland.




DAY 17- Monday, February 10, 2003

DAY OFF IN ALBUQUERQUE


I awoke in my bunk. We were still driving. I looked at my clock, it was 9:37. I had slept really great. I laid in my bunk for a little while longer and finally got up a little after 10. Achim was in the front seat taking photographs. I looked out the window, we were going through El Paso. El Paso? Hell, we still had over 250 miles to go! So much for my estimate of a noon arrival. 4 more hours on the bus. Dreadful!

Back to sleep, or stay up? I turned on my phone- "No Service." I eventually needed to call the manufacturer of the Flame units to make sure they were shipping today. On the other hand, it was nice to be "out of touch" if you know what I mean.

It was actually a nice drive through the desert. Only Andreas, Achim and myself were up. The only food we had was three pieces of pepperoni pizza from the night before. Yum! There was no point in stopping for lunch as we were only a couple of hours away and we just wanted to get there.

We finally got to Albuquerque. I prefer coming from the west, as the view is killer as you come in. As you come over the last crest, suddenly, there is Albuquerque spread out in front of you, in this big valley. Coming from the east, however, you are already in the valley, so it is not as impressive. Oh well, I was just happy to finally be here!

We pulled into our hotel- damn, it wasn't anywhere near downtown- I was very disappointed. I love going to "Old Town" here; it is a great place to visit, sightsee, eat and drink. We were in a hotel near the interstate, but at least there were 2 large malls nearby. It was 2:30. The day was shot.

We checked in, I unpacked, set up the laptop, checked emails and called about the flames- they would be there tomorrow. I had a high floor and a great view of the mountains here. Very relaxing. Great. Shower, get dressed and off to the mall.

I have been in this business for nearly 24 years and have been to my share of malls. I generally go only when I need something. Most of the crew go for both buying stuff and something to do. I mean, for me, every mall is the same, some just bigger, but they all have essentially the same stuff.

Valentine's Day was coming up; I always but all the girls on the crew a card and some candy to make them feel a little more loved, especially when their loved ones are at home. I found a card shop, bought a card each for Jessica and Lisa; I also bought them each a box of candy.

After my shopping excursion, I headed back to the hotel. The day was already gone and it was dinner time already. I went down to Steak & Ale to eat, as it was right across the street. Didn't I just eat at a Steak & Ale recently?

I stopped by the bar on the way in, it was dead. It seems the crew decided to make it an early night. That was a good thing. I did the same.




DAY 18- Tuesday, February 11, 2003

SHOW IN ALBUQUERQUE


A beautiful day in New Mexico. We headed to the gig about 10:30. The gig is located inside the New Mexico State Fairgrounds. Tingley Coliseum is essentially an old rodeo arena, and has been around forever. It has been a decrepit old dump for as long as I can remember. I am sure Tingley had it's heyday, but not in my day. But as much as I put it down, there is a certain character, a vibe about this place that is indescribable. Maybe it's the fans. Maybe it's the fact that everybody who has ever played here knew that it was crap and just accepted it, and rocked the house in spite of it. Ask any band from the eighties and they will all have fond memories of this place. Even Francis, our drum tech, who grew up in Albuquerque, has great memories, and hopes to play on the stage that he has seen so many shows on. Well, he's not playing tonight, but it's close.

Also, the late great Randy Castillo was from here; he and James were great friends, and James always says something to the crowd about him. His family always comes to the Scorpions shows.

I stopped by the shoebox Production Office- it still hadn't changed since the 80's. Then I made my way through the dirt and mud onto the arena floor, which had layer after layer of residue left over from years of rodeos and the circus, not to mention many heavy metal concert debris. Load in was progressing smoothly, but slowly enough for me to grab breakfast before I started.

Catering is located in a building outside the backstage area, and is normally a cantina during the State Fair. It is much like an "Eats" type diner, and the food is really pretty good.

After breakfast, I headed for the stage and focused my lights. The rig was up in the air in good time. I set up my console and was called on the radio about a delivery for me. It seemed that the flame units had arrived.

I headed backstage and there on the loading dock were 8 boxes containing the fabulous flame units. I unpacked them and proceeded to put them together. I had to put all the bulbs in their sockets, unwrap the "silk" flames and attach them to this metal bar, which I then place into a cradle, which was over the fan outlet. Randall, Dokken's LD, helped me bring them all to the stage. I had to gather up a few empty speaker cabinet boxes to put the flame units on, in order to raise them high enough behind the speakers on stage.

I then went into the dressing room and experimented with that one to fine-tune the flame units so they would look "real." I changed around the colored lighting gel until I was happy with the color. Then, I took a pair of scissors and cut the top of the "silks" in order to have a "flicker" effect. After a bit of trial and error, I finally came up with a combination that made these units look like real flame. Well, "real" is relative here. I had a bite of lunch and then headed to the stage to do the same thing to the stage units.

Now, I would be unable to deal with these now that they were on the tour. I needed somebody to set them up and tear them down on a daily basis. Our production had spoken about getting a "Set Carpenter," now we had no choice. But in the meantime, I needed somebody NOW. I found the services of Randall, who seemed happy to do it, as he spent the better part of each morning annoying the other members of the crew looking for something to do.

Now, on behalf of Randall, he is just one of those guys who wants to help out wherever he can. His job on this tour was simply to run lights for Dokken. This he could do with just a few hours of work a day. However, being the able bodied and willing worker he is, he would come in early-ish and offer to help whoever would let him work. Unfortunately, he only succeeded in annoying the entire crew, doing things that seemed to hinder rather than help. So, it was with this in mind that I asked Randall to do the Flame units until we got a real Carpenter.

The Flames units didn't add any happiness to my lighting crew, as they had to deal with plugging them in and patching them into the system. Randall and I went to work putting gels onto the units. Well, we didn't have enough gel, so for the first night, they would just have to be "au natural."

We got them fired up and I went out front to look at them. Well, they looked kinda, well, gay was the word that came to mind. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I will be happy when they're gelled in the right colors.

The show was great, even with the "gay" flame units. Everybody seemed happy with them. The crowd was fantastic, it was like being back in the 80's again. They went nuts when James mentioned Randy Castillo. It was absolute mayhem. The place was a wreck after the show. Ah, another layer of heavy metal added to the crud. It felt good.

Load out is long and interminable in this place, but it got done. The dressing room was jam packed with people, many of them Randy Castillo's family.

Randall had packed up all the flame units. Robbie told me that we were getting a real carpenter sometime in California, maybe Las Vegas in 3 days. I was happy about that. It was to be John. Talk about a character- I'll have to reserve a whole chapter for him.

We tracked Tingley mud into our buses, clicked our heels and were off to El Paso- back the way we had just come! Ah, that's booking agents for you. We don't book it, we just Rock and roll. And, we would be coming back through Albuquerque again tomorrow night after the show. This time, however, we wouldn't be stopping.




DAY 19- Wednesday, February 12, 2003

SHOW IN EL PASO


This gig has what's known in the industry as "The Ramp From Hell." The UTEP Arena is about 2 stories below street level, and the only way into the facility is down this long and dangerous ramp, about 30 degrees and 150 feet long. If you lose a box, get the hell out of the way and hope that you don't kill anybody. Not to mention that the back of the stage is nearly right up to the bottom of the ramp, so there is absolutely no margin for error.

The Production Office is right at the top of the ramp, so it is a pain in the ass to back and forth up and down the long ramp. Catering is located halfway, making it a little easier to grab a bite to eat. The Dressing Rooms are also located at the halfway point.

Load in always takes longer because of the ramp, so it was an uneventful day. I did manage to find some time to hit the drugstore across the street; I also bought a bottle of vodka and Bloody Mary mix at the nearby liquor store as well. I was set for the bus ride to San Diego.

I came back and spent the rest of the day working on the flame units. We got some more gels and managed to make them look quite good. However, during the show, somebody had kicked out the power on half the units, so it looked rather "Spinal Tap" until they got going again. Hell, they look "Spinal Tap" even then.

Another show was down and now came the arduous task of getting all that gear back up the unforgiving ramp. It would be a long load out tonight, followed by a long drive to California. At least we gained an hour going west.

I made Bloody Mary's' tonight, and while they weren't as popular as the Margarita's, they were still enjoyed. We settled in for a long ride to San Diego.




DAY 20- Thursday, February 13, 2003

DAY OFF IN SAN DIEGO


There were some dark clouds off toward the horizon in front of us. Mean looking weather. We were in the desert southwest now, and I have seldom seen weather like this. As we got closer, it got darker. Then it started to rain. It was very surreal, the hills, the clouds so low, the rain. I took these photographs. It looked like Mars to me.

We arrived into San Diego around 3 PM. So much for the day off. I showered and went for a walk. There is a big outdoor mall nearby, I ran into several of the crew there, of course. I went to a little Mexican grill and had some taco's with Jessica. I bought some postcards and headed back to the hotel. I decided I wanted sushi for dinner and walked down 5th Street, as that is restaurant row here. Restaurant after restaurant beckons you in, I wish I had a month here to sample them all.

I walked to the waters edge and then turned back, found a suitable sushi place and went in. The sushi was sensational. I enjoyed it immensely and strolled back to the hotel. I ran into Bill, our Tour Manager on the way back. We visited for a minute, he was going to eat with a friend and I headed to the hotel. My cellphone rang after that, it was Jessica. She was looking for a dinner buddy, but since I had already eaten, she decided to eat at the hotel bar, I told her I would meet her there for a drink.

I walked into the bar, Jessica was there, as was Monkey Boy. I had a couple of beers and headed back to the room. We had a 3-in-a-row coming up and I was tired.




DAY 21- Friday, February 14, 2003

SHOW IN SAN DIEGO


Ah, Valentine's Day. I had a great sleep last night, ready for another 3-in-a-row. Showered, packed and off to the gig.

The gig you generally play here is the San Diego Sports Arena, and, oddly enough, is very similar to Tingley Coliseum without the mud. Vibe-wise I mean. However, there is a new arena in town- . We drove onto the San Diego State University campus and made our way to the gig- now this is cool- the arena is actually built on the grounds of the old football stadium! They kept the bleachers on both sides, poured concrete over the grass and built the arena on the 50-yard line. Really nice.

I went in and checked on the load in, fast today. I dropped off my Valentine cards and candy to the girls, had a quick bit and went to work.

It is always nice to play a brand new arena, especially one that is done right. Load in was fast, catering was good- all in all, a great day.

I am a big drag racing fan, and have been since I was a little kid- I have been going to the GatorNationals in Gainesville, Florida for many years, since the days of Shirley Muldowney and "Big Daddy" Don Garlits. Over recent years, I have become good friends with Ron Capps. This is his neck of the woods, and he decided to come down to the show. I set him up with passes, as usual, and told him I would meet him at the backstage parking area.

Also, PGA was in town and I know a couple of the caddies, they called and a few golfers and caddies were coming to the show tonight.

The show here was selling well, it was our first show in California. Also, the only other Southern California show was at the Universal Amphitheater, and tickets for that show were at a minimum. Actually, the first night sold out in a matter of hours, so we added another show, which was nearing a sell-out as well. The Scorpions always seem to do well in California, and tonight was no different.

Ron Capps showed up shortly before the show, he parked backstage and I gave him his passes. The Scorpions went to the drag races in Denver last year and Ron and the band became fast friends, especially since the Scorps are a fan of racing in general. Ron stopped by the Dressing Room before the show and visited with the guys.

Tonight's show rocked! The crowd was great, the bands were stunning. What a great way to start California.

After the show, I brought Ron, his wife and guests back to the Dressing Room, they all had a blast. Klaus said he wanted one of Ron's shirts to add to his collection. Ron promised to literally give him the shirt off his back at the next race, which happened to be in Phoenix the day we had a show there.

Load out screamed by, and before we knew it, we were on our way to Las Vegas, Elvis -style.




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