Review By Ryan Chavez

hi kids. just got back from Austin. Tired as FUCK. Spent 2 hours between Austin and Houston driving so I have the worst soreness in my back... but anyways... this begins my potentially epic review of this weekend. I know Merrye wrote a 4 page review of the Friday show in Houston after the show... hehe, which I wish I had read in the hotel room while watching wrestling or something (sorry again for putting you through that Merrye and peter ;^). I wish I had written the review for Houston after the show too, mainly because the Austin show was such a let down... so now the magic of the Houston show has faded a little, but it's definitely not forgotten.

On Friday, right after I got out of school I called my dad to make sure he wasn't coming home at like 5:20 like he always does. off at 3:30, out the door around 4.
Left, went to Soundwaves to see about getting the promo posters off the store since there was nothing to promote anymore. First guy at Soundwaves I talked to said no, but I went to see my friend Bucky who works there to see if he could score it for me, said he would try.
Listened to a few records, the new Earth Crisis live CD was fucking AWESOME. I'll have to get that soon... out of Rev's TexasITR 7". bummer. Went to sound exchange to see if I could get a poster there, asked "Would it be cool to get this poster down?" and the guy behind the desk said in the most gay voice I've ever heard "Oh goodness, what would you say if I said yes". haha, being caught off guard I said "uhh, thank you?" so he happily (almost TOO happily) got the poster down for me. Way cool.

Showed up at the show around 6. Of course the only people I could see there was Ward and Jeff passing by. No one in line but me. Coolidge. I told Ward "hello" from Gordon, heard Swervedriver's soundcheck which sounded pretty cool, they played "Subterranean Homesick Alien" which sounded almost identical to Radiohead's version. Vocals not as good as Thom Yorke though.
It turns out, I showed up to the show only 10 minutes after HUM did. They were running late from the Baton Rouge show... Sixteen Deluxe's soundcheck sounded cool, didn't hear from HUM.
Around 7, people started coming in line. One of the first to show up was Suzy sanders (who didn't make herself known until before HUM's set ;^). I stood around alone probably looking like a complete dumbass for a while... about 15 minutes before the doors opened I spotted Merrye and peter walking in front of the club and yelled for them, came up. said hi. bout 5 minutes later they announced there would be two lines, one for ticketless drinkers and one for ticketed non-drinkers. guess which one I chose LOL 10 minutes after that they started letting us in... the ticket taker looked at my ticket funny, asked for a lighter and burnt my ticket... I guess to make sure it wasn't counterfeit since the ink printed like shit when I got my ticket. Ticket got taken up, didn't give me the stub back which pissed me off.

I took my position at front and center. Fitzgeralds had changed since I was last there in September 97. It looked a little bigger but not much and they also put up a barricade.
Sixteen Deluxe was up first who I had not seen since September 1st, 1996 (Buzz labor day block party) and didn't remember what I thought of them then. After the first song I was amazed at how mesmerizing and thick their music was and the sounds their guitarist was making with a row of pedals and a jazzmaster with a whammy bar. They were regal cool.
Their best song of the night IMO was one called "Honey" or something of the sort according to their setlist which was a trippy spacey ballad type of song. God, I actually didn't want them to finish as soon as they did... I was really having a good time watching them which says alot considering I've never really been blown away by an opening band like that. They're definitely a band I'll be trying to find music from. A must see Texas band.

Next up was Swervedriver who I saw open up for Pearl Jam and Soundgarden on April 30th 1992 (I love naming dates LOL). I do remember them being whiny and boring back then. Their opening song was pretty good and had some energy to it, but by the second song I was dead bored. I felt really bad because halfway through the set I wanted to rest my head on the barricade but didn't want to hurt their feelings or anything like that. Call me a wuss or whatever but I know how it feels to have no one paying attention to you on stage or anywhere else. Their 2nd to last song was way cool and had good energy but I had already grown too bored with them to care. I really didn't enjoy their set at all.
I saw Jeff watching from the side of the stage, he sorta looked bored too LOL Swervedriver left the stage and I got my tape ready to record, around that time a girl behind me said "You're Ryan right?"... confused I looked back said "uhm, yeah" and she replied with "I'm Suzy, from the list" or something to that extent... we talked a bit. She came off as way cool. Before HUM came on Merrye and I managed to squeeze her between us on the barricade to give her a good spot.

Bryan, now Mr. DIY in my book, set up everything himself. I was disappointed to not see his beloved China Trash cymbal. His set was just the kick, tom, floor, and snare with two crashes and two rides. Missing a splash, a crash, the china trash, and a floor tom. Bummer. Couldn't tell he was missing a piece anyway. Cept the beginning of the Pod. So he did the monitor check and all that technical junk... all the lights were set up and looked somewhat cheap and cheesy. Just two strobes and a white revolving light atop Jeff's Trace Elliot along with the house lights.

After setting up for about 20 minutes the smoke machines were in effect and the blue lights came on... time for the intro to Axolotls.
The band walked out slowly and took a little time to get situated and began the intro. Everything was PERFECT. The lighting, the sound, the volume... I could hear Matt's guitar (the orange's were pointed directly at me) just as well as Tim's. It didn't sound like it was live...
because everything sounded so flawless. The reverb made the club sound like a large hall which really played with my mind. But for a few moments during the intro I closed my eyes and took it all in. All was good.

The intro flowed into "Afternoon With the Axolotls" like water. The lighting scheme went perfectly with this song and the whole look of Downward is Heavenward which was the stage covered in blue haze. Each transition of the song, soft to heavy, could not have sounded better. As soon as the song went heavy, I went nuts... just ask Suzy and Merrye LOL... but no matter what they say... I never headbanged. I don't even know how, simple as that, hahaha.

After Axolotls was "The Pod". Tim played his intro which sounded awesome, Bryan came in with the drums and I was already somewhat into it. But then when everyone kicked in... ok, I don't know LOL, so maybe the motions I was inadvertently making might have resembled headbanging... but I couldn't help it. I had been waiting for this moment for almost two years and neither looking like a fool or risking my safety could hold me back. I was so into this, singing every word, taking in the sights and sounds and loving everything about everything.
I couldn't have been more emotionally involved in this. The bridge kicked in, the strobes flashed, hypnotizing. I kept basically smashing myself into the barricade with every snare hit... and it felt good. It just got me more into the song. My the end of the song I was screaming at the top of my lungs... "And all the world will sleep away until the nightmare ends..." and even louder and more passionately I brought myself above the barricade a quite a bit and SCREAMED as loud as I fucking could "hold me upright, LET ME BREATHE NOW". As I listen to the tape I recorded, at that part you can hear me screaming my lungs out PERFECTLY on key LOL.
I was damn proud of myself. But I can't think of another moment in my life where I was so emotionally overtaken by something than I did at that time. Nothing before.

After the Pod was "Dreamboat"... a somewhat rare addition to the usual tour setlist. I just continued to rock out to this one as well. Nothing went wrong, the outro was great... Jeff played a constant D on the bass while the band finished which ended up turning into...
"Winder". My god how I've wanted to hear this live. I feel sorry for the guy behind me (a cool ass big black 6'7" guy named Jonas) cause I was so into this one as well... pretty much just bashing myself into the barricade and jumping at near pogo status, bobbing my head somewhat aggressively but not headbanging still ;^) By the end of the song I had lost it and went nuts going crazy to the music. Smashing my hands into Matt's monitors with each snare hit at the end of the song... the band was going nuts, they were so totally into it, it was pretty encouraging to see.

"I Hate It Too" was next and I was surprised to see it was quite the sing-a-long. At this point it dawned on me how cool the crowd was tonight. I've never been with a crowd in Houston that I liked before Friday. People were looking out for eachother, minimal crowd surfing, just a general good feeling about the crowd (not to mention there we some pretty good singers in the crowd).
This one I get into heavily, ESPECIALLY when it all kicks in. Of course the whole place went nuts on that one. The end was a long jam/outro that was really astonishing. It went the perfect amount of time. Not too short but they didn't let it drag on (Like Swervedriver's set, haha)... perfect.

"Ms. Lazarus" came in on a 4 drumstick hit count instead of the album versions drum fill intro. A little odd but it sounded great. The entire intro played on clean but didn't sound sloppy AT ALL. When the hard part came in I and the rest of the crowd went nuts. Another song to just rock out to. This song strikes me as odd since there isn't really a climatic point in the song. It just sorta moves in waves and keeps a constant flow. It's definitely one of my very favorites on DiH.
Bryan began the counting for "Comin' Home" and I started freaking out. My favorite on the new CD being played now... I couldn't fucking WAIT for it to kick in so I could just go nuts. And when it did, I didn't hold back a bit... pogo time. The bridge started and I took a huge gasp of air for it, screamed as loud as I could, felt very good. The odd time sig on the song made everyone's motions get off time quite a bit but I wasn't thrown off guard, hehe. One intense song.

Jonas' most awaited moment was next, "Suicide Machine". Accompanied by the whale sounds and all... this was quite the sing-a-long too. So once again I got to hear the great voices of Houston shine, hehe... and yes, I pointed to the left ;^)
I heard about people being very disruptive during "Apollo" on the rest of the tour but the very well behaved Houston crowd listened to, sang along, and enjoyed the song... I was EXTREMELY happy to see this. I dont remember what the exact lights used for this song was but I do remember it being cool.
The opening chords of "Stars" began and the crowd of course went nuts. No surprise there, but it wasn't an overwhelming cheer like I thought it would be. And still no matter how many times I've heard it, it still rocks just as much, if not more than most of the other songs. For this one I spent a little more time watching the musicianship of this song which is absolutely mindboggling. I found out then that I was cheesing my way through the whole song on guitar. Thank god I know how to play it right now. And the band still looked very happy to play this song. All four of them were obviously way into it. WAY cool.

"Iron Clad Lou" began and VERY surprisingly, A WHOLE LOT of people knew this song. I'm surprised at how many people have Electra2000 or have it copied of a friend or something. Big cheer for that one, including a big one from me. The crowd had sort of a swaying motion for the intro, which complimented the song well... and when verse part started, everyone went apeshit.
Of course the one song... last song of the first set... I realize something... MY NECK IS KILLING ME! God, I swear I must have had whiplash or something from being so into it tonight. The song went on beautifully all the way up until the last D note before the last part. Everyone cheered, Jeff began his part and the "climax" began. Everyone was so full of energy at this point, including the band members. Matt doing his little body bobbing motion, Tim with that look on his face of COMPLETE concentration, Jeff moving back to front fiercely, and Bryan playing his hardest. Matt played his solo type part and the strobes flashed quickly which added WONDERFUL effect. After his solo part, he did the unthinkable... jumped into the crowd WITH HIS GUITAR STILL STRAPPED TO HIM. I was ASTONISHED. At first I didn't think it was possible that he was doing this but of course, who else could it be?
After about 30 seconds or so of riding the crowd he was brought back on stage just in time for the end of the song and my god he looked totally overwhelmed. I don't know if it was at seeing how many people there were that were paying attention to this beautiful music he makes or at how wrapped up into this performance he was. Either way, it was one awesome fucking sight. One I'll never forget. Matt said thank you and they all left the stage.

At this point I took a rest and actually took in everything I had just witnessed. I had never seen anything this cool before in my life, hands down the best show I had ever seen. Hands down the most awesome experience I've ever endured. I switched tapes in the recorder for the encore, I wasn't sure how much tape I had left but I wasn't going to risk it. I stopped keeping track of the time after the first tape flip which was after "Comin' Home".
Jeff was the first to come back out, followed by Tim, Matt, and Bryan coming out last. The harmonics counting intro to "Green To Me" started and I slowly started rocking out again. I donno if you can picture what rocking out is, I guess everyone has to have their own little way to it. Mine is not headbanging LOL. The monotonous almost hypnotizing chorus remained in my head the rest of the night. Way cool.

"Green To Me" finished and it was time for what I assumed to be the last song of the night. I was SCREAMING at the top of my lungs for "PINCH AND ROLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!" while Merrye beside me screamed "SCRAPERRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" each time I paused for a breath LOL. No avail for either of us ;^)
"I'd Like Your Hair Long" was the last song of the night. A usual but fitting closer. The first time I saw them in Austin 95 this was their opening song which was cool, but I sort of prefer a slower type of song to start off to build the crowd up with energy like they did tonight with Axolotls. I really didn't want this to end but I knew it was inevitable that this would be it unless some higher power was to intervene and make them play another song, not gonna happen. So I took this one in.
Listened to every part played by every person on the stage... the sound in Fitzgeralds tonight was GREAT which I thought I would never hear myself say (or think LOL) so all the instruments were balanced out nicely which you can hear on the recording quite nicely. The 2nd part of the song, which I guess really isn't a part of a song, just like another little thingy that just sticks out there for good measure... I have no idea. Well anyways, that really got the crowds last bits of energy out of their system. This was definitely a highlight of the show.

And there it was. It was over. Merrye and I nearly passed out on the barricade and I was sitting there thinking about seeing them tomorrow night and wondering "What in the fuck could EVER top this?!". Merrye didn't have an answer and I didn't either. Best not to worry about it. I just hope I don't end up comparing every show I go to from now on to this. I have so many ahead of me its scary to think that I will. But oh well... not everyone can be HUM.
The big guy guarding us for most of the night, Jonas, came up to us afterwards and offered some friendly words which was WAY cool. We exchanged e-mail addresses and promised him a tape of the show for being so cool tonight. Sure enough, as soon as he got home he e-mailed Merrye and I. Ended with "your new friend" which was so awesome. See, that was the mentality of almost everyone there tonight which made for an even more enjoyable experience.
Merrye and Peter left and I went to the bar for water. Damn, I was thirsty. Saw the drummer from Sixteen Deluxe having a drinking contest with some other people at the bar which was pretty funny. I just hoped he wasn't hung over for the show in Austin cause they were goooooooooooooooooood :^)

Got in the car around 12:45 which was the latest I've ever gotten out of a show. Listened to the tape of the show on the way home, came home, crashed.
A new favorite band. A perfect night. I was happy.

Ok, sorry for how long this was. I certainly didn't expect it to be nearly this long but I couldn't just let this slide with a few quick notes about the show, it was much more to me than that. I hope you enjoyed.

Ryan
(WHO HOO! SIX PAGES!)