Expanding Universe: Onward to St. Louis

Saturday, June 25 2011
We departed from Fort Worth at about 3am and began a long sleepy journey through Oklahoma and Missouri. The trip was largely free of difficulties, as the formerly overheating Macho Van was now ice cold and problem-free.

The fuel gauge, however, is still quite broken.

 There were only two problems to speak of. The first is that we somehow acquired a metal shard of some sort that is slowly draining one of our trailer tires of precious life. The other problem was the return of...

My name is Inigo Montoya.

 Our old nemesis, the wasp, had stowed away somewhere within the workings of our ventilation system, and decided to make a surprise appearance on Matt's leg while I was driving. Despite some panic and the destruction of a Kleenex box while attempting to slay the beast, the incident passed without tragedy, and we will wait to meet our enemy on another day.

Many hours and many Immortal drum-alongs later, we finally arrived at 2720 Cherokee in St. Louis.

The venue was totally awesome. Very clean, very spacious, big stage, friendly staff... everything a visiting band could ask for! There were two art galleries as well, one upstairs:

And one downstairs, which featured the greatest masterpiece of all:

US v. Mexico revisited

 The lineup was an eclectic blend of metal, surf rock, hip-hop, dirty dub, improv... you name it. Very diverse and very fun. With some drink tickets and a green room full of comfy couches, we were happy to hang out all night... and we did. Somewhat involuntarily. 

Dramatization

 As Casey and I were bidding farewell to one of the night's other musical acts, we were puzzled by his "gotta get out of here before the storm" statement. Our bewilderment didn't last long, as moments later, an epic downpour of rainy goodness was bearing down upon us. The flooding got so intense that the foosball game was interrupted by an impromptu fountain of water gushing out of a drain in the basement.

Eventually the storms calmed slightly and we rushed our gear back to the trailer. After bidding the staff and other musicians farewell, we were on our way back to the hotel. Sort of. 

Turns out, Missouri floods pretty easily. So at some point, the interstate became an underwater affair. Several traffic jams and side roads later, we were back on track and ready to rest our weary heads for a good night of dry sleep at the hotel. 

But, you know... that didn't really end up happening either.

Our return to the hotel room was commemorated by flooding across 70% of the usable floorspace (aka our beds), and wouldn't you know it, no other rooms were available! But you know that's not going to stop our sleepy asses from passing out after 48 hours of sleeplessness. We piled on top of each other, cowered in dry corners of the room, and crashed mightily. 


Thanks for the fun and adventure, St. Louis! The road to North Carolina awaits!