Batillus - East Coast tour diary, pt. 3

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Batillus’ tour alongside Kowloon Walled City has been over for a few weeks now. But strangers to timeliness that we are, we’re still collecting memories from it. Photographer Karen Mann has a good photo set of the Raleigh show here. (Ironically, the show conflicted that night with Wormrot, who also kept a tour diary for us.) Drummer Geoff Summers sent us the recollections below (see also part 1 and part 2). Read on for a chance to (a) do touring musicians some good, and (b) win a copy of the Batillus/Hallowed Butchery split 12″. – C.L.

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BATILLUS – US EAST COAST DIARY
PART 3

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Monday 9/27

Lots to report. So, the day after we picked up that house show in Knoxville, Evans texts me to casually inform me of KWC’s plan to “dryer [their] sleeping shit to try and stave off fucking bedbugs”. Pardon me? Bedbugs?

Yeah, turns out the dude at the “Poison Lawn” where we played and slept the night prior had mentioned off-the-cuff to the KWC dudes as they were leaving that the house had bedbugs. Thanks for telling us after we already brought our sleeping gear and luggage into the house and slept all night, guy.

We panicked for a minute, but no one had been bitten, and our sleeping gear seemed clean, so we just let it go.

The fest in Atlanta that we totally rerouted our tour to play was a total bust. We’ve played house shows with more people in attendance, not to mention that the promoter didn’t honor the guarantees. But we got to eat some delicious BBQ and meet the Thou dudes and see them play, so Friday wasn’t a total wash.

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Saturday, we drove to New Orleans, stopping in Montgomery for some replacement parts. We went to Guitar Center first since they’re easy to locate on a GPS, but naturally they didn’t have anything we needed so we ended up hitting up two local joints – Capitol Music and Bailey Brothers – both of which were more than helpful and accommodating. Someone really ought to put together a national database of quality musical instrument shops for touring bands so we can all avoid the wretched Guitar Center experience now and forever more. Perhaps someone already has…

In New Orleans, we played a packed house show after noshing upon delicious vegan tacos and quesadillas that Bryan from Thou had graciously prepared for us.

Sunday morning the KWC dudes cooked pancakes and eggs and bacon for everyone and then we bummed around the French Quarter for a few hours, Evans and Pace and I blasting the soothing sounds of Dan Fogelberg from our smart phones. Fun fact: I’m actually named after Fogelberg (my middle name is Daniel) and Willi has taken to calling me ‘Vogelboyg’ of late.

That night we hit up Baton Rouge for another killer house show that Andy from Thou set up and once again the hospitality was outstanding. Andy cooked up a delicious vegan rice dish for the bands, and the roommates of the host house were very welcoming. KWC delivered another solid set, and Thou brought the house down. Before the show, Ian met with a mobile notary to refinance his house. It doesn’t get much more metal than that, folks.

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We’ve officially reached that point of the tour where things that wouldn’t ordinarily be humorous become the funniest shit you’ve ever heard. People start repeating the same jokes over and over (e.g., anytime anyone utters a suitably random phrase, such as “Jewish pigeon chest”, Evans says “I like their first seven inch”. It’s funny, trust me.) and silly shenanigans are enough to send most of us into riotous laughter.

Now we’re on our way to Birmingham for a show with Black Hole Kids. Six days left, then we all go back to the real world.

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Sunday 10/3

Well, that’s a wrap. Since the last update, we blew up yet another PA, drank our weight in crappy beer, drove another thousand miles, and played another half a dozen shows. Yesterday, we recorded a live set for WFMU along with KWC. We played an old one, a new one, and a borrowed one. KWC’s set included a Godflesh cover with Fade on vocals. After that, we played the final show of the tour in Brooklyn at Acheron along with Liturgy. It was a great homecoming – thanks to everyone who came out.

We’re really honored to have had the opportunity to tour with a band as good as Kowloon Walled City, even if they did fuck up our Tolex. Those guys kept an entertaining record of events themselves, I’d recommend checking it out.

thanks!!!

g

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ANTI-GUITAR CENTER SPLIT 12″ GIVEAWAY

Guitar Center: what a drag, right? Shopping there is bad enough. (I can’t imagine what it would be like to work there. Bad blues rock solos all day and kids in Avenged Sevenfold shirts buying axes you can’t afford.) Geoff’s idea is a great one. Suggest a good non-Guitar Center musical instrument store in the comments box below, and you’re automatically entered to win a Batillus/Hallowed Butchery split 12″ (stream the Batillus tracks and buy the 12″ here, hear a Hallowed Butchery track below, and read a good Hallowed Butchery interview here.) Random drawing will decide the winner. US contestants only, though foreign commentators can weigh in, of course. Contest closes midnight PST this Sunday, October 24th.

Hallowed Butchery – “An Introduction” (from split 12″ w/Batillus)
[audio: HALLOWEDBUTCHERY_ANINTRO.mp3]

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