I'm sure most of you have by now heard about our May 22nd. For those who do not know, I'll give you the briefest of stories. We were about an hour out of Las Vegas when our van somehow caught fire. Luckily we had stopped to see what the smell and smoke were coming from and we got the hell out of the van. The entire van caught fire and the gas tanks each exploded, insinerating all our clothing, CDs, merchandise, band equipment, and money. After waiting in the 105 degree desert for two hours, some CHP officers gave us a ride to Barstow where we waited another two and a half hours until Alex's dad picked us up. Not too much fun all around.
The next morning, after washing our only existing clothing, we set out to see if one of the bands would lend us their gear to play with at the show. The Che Cafe is a great All Ages venue in San Diego with a long history of great shows. When we got to the Che, we explained to the singer of An Arrow in Flight what had happened to us twenty four hours before and asked if we could possibly use their equipment to play the show. Luckily for us, they accepted and we awaited the show with some of Alex's friends that had come out to watch us play.
The Plague kicked off the show first with some rocking San Diego, female-fronted hardcore. The crowd swayed to the beat as the singer hollered at the crowd. Mav Komai were next up and totally blew us away. Metalcore from Tacoma, Washington, these guys brought the thunder. With insane time signatures and two screaming vocalists, bands like Shai Hulud come to mind. They also happened to be amazing guys who bought our last two remaining CDs after we played. We were up next and tried to live up to the hardcore bands we were surrounded with. Knowing that it was our last show of the tour encouraged us to play as hard as we could and I don't think we disappointed. Finishing up the night was An Arrow in Flight who flat out rocked the place. Their brand of political hardcore was great to hear in this day and age where songs about girlfriends and rainy days are much too commonplace. One of the members is also in a band called Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower, another amazing San Diego band. Although the tour had come up a bit short, we all felt that we ended on a positive note by playing that final show with another band's gear. Don't worry, we'll be back in Michigan in the fall to get back to writing new songs and playing tons of shows.
-Once a Hero