So, get up in the morning, head over to the tower for a shower. At this time of day, probably no one will walk in on me…. Don’t want to traumatize anyone. But I forgot a damn towel. I had to use my tshirt (which band, I won’t tell you.)

The tower is cool. It’s completely covered by ivy. During the shows, there’s a video camera in the top covering the stage. Damn, my photos of it are missing.

Bob starts worrying about food almost immediately – if it’s not available in his vicinity, he gets hungry. If there’s a dozen stores available, he doesn’t want anything. Jack just needs beer to survive, so he’s set. Myself, I always pack enough food for about 3 days when I travel, so I lounge about the trailer eating in front of them. I tell them there’s plenty of wild raspberries, show them where they are – Jack eyes them, but holds off. They eventually get someone from Thomas’s camp to cook him up some noodles (of course, we’re out exploring the countryside then, but they’re waiting when he comes back.) Jack has some noodles, too. And a beer. The following day, the food services are in place; no more problem – there’s hot dogs, bratwurst, and nacken (basically a steak on a bun, for you Americans).

We’ve ordered some picks for the show, so we can toss them out – but no word. I’ve finally found someone who can do thumbpicks for me, so I’m happy, but we don’t have them. Life sucks. Guess we were lucky to rush the cd through and have it done.

Damn, my masking tape isn’t in the suitcase. I need this to tape the picks to my thumb, because when I sweat they’re prone to fly off – especially during fast songs, like Persian Gulf, and Skullfucker. Gotta get some in town – so I slip off from Hellion, go to a department store – man, this stuff is expensive here. Almost 4 dollars for a roll of masking tape.

But I need it. And I need the chocolate by the register, too. Must have soda and chocolate to live. Maybe a little meat. Anything else is extra, and vegetables are poison.

I am a vegetable sympathizer. Veg is murder. The vegetarians have it all wrong. Eat meat, save the vegetables. They purify our air, while cows shit, and you usually step in it.

Man, and I thought I might pick up a flashlight at the store too, but the prices are outrageous - $20 for a decent flashlight, 40 for a nice one. Too damn much. I’ll stumble around in the dark.

Which isn’t bad, because we soon realize that it doesn’t get dark until about 10:30 or 11, and it gets light around 5 in the morning. So it doesn’t matter that much.

Every day, I walk the entire area, backstage, campground, roadways, and watch the gradual filling of the HOA. You can see some of this in the photos, as it fills up, turns to mud, empties out. Sometimes Suzy the dog will follow me around a bit, but usually only long enough to find I have no food on me.

On the first day of the show, I notice a new sign on the toilet wagon – 50 cents a shot to use it. This, naturally, leads to the photos below. A lot of it. Later in town, we eat (well, Bob and Jack) in a Pizza Hut, of all things – and they have a tray for the bathroom also. Bob goes in, but doesn’t use the toilet (can’t remember why); so he doesn’t put any money in the dish. This gets him dirty looks from the proprietor, but too bad. It’s not like it’s a museum in there.

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