The Deggial 2000 Mexican Tour (well, 2 gigs) a.k.a. The Return Of The Revenge Of Montezuma
2000-08-23
Preparations started when some of us, including myself, decided it was a smart move to get a vaccination. You know, so you don´t get ill from bacteria, food poisoning and stuff like that. You don´t want to get sick on a trip like that; you just wanna lie in the sun, drink Coronas, play a little music, eat some tacos, get really shitfaced on Tequila.....basic concepts everyone can understand. We felt very optimistic. We had also heard that the two shows were going to be sold out, with 1400 people on each night. How could anything go wrong?
Now, the trip started like any other trip. Not much to tell. We arrived safely in Mexico City with a slimmed-down version of the Therion-team.
Tour Manager/F.O.H sound (for those of you not fluent in musicbiz lingo , this is Front Of House, or quite simply The Sound You Hear When You Are In Your Seat And The Show Begins) man/whip-cracker extraordinaire Richard, allround tech wiz Gus and the band, which for these gigs consisted of Sarah, Suvi and Anders on vocals, Sami, Johan, Chris and myself.
A super-nice guy named Adrian picked us up at the airport and he also turned out to be our "host/guide" for the whole trip.( Adrian BTW, is also the singer of the band Damn Shark, who supported Gamma Ray when they played Mexico about a month later.)
We got installed in our hotel and went out for a late dinner. The following day was not a show day, so we went to the Teotihuacan pyramids and had a great day out in the sun. We bought Sombreros of course, and lots of other stuff and then on our way back we stopped for some food and Coronas. Later in the evening Chris, Johan and myself did an interview for a college radio station. I don´t remember, but the night probably ended with us getting drunk.
Next day was show day and we were to play at the Teatro Ferrocarrilero, a really cool theater....duh! There had supposedly been some kind of beauty contest on the night before and during soundcheck, that manifested itself in the form of left-over confetti raining down onstage every time Sami hit the drums. I thought that was pretty funny. You had to be there, I guess..... Anyway, after some problems with the monitoring and PA during soundcheck, the show finally started and it turned out to be great. Not necessarily the playing, but the audience was really fantastic and very LOUD! We didn´t get a chance to say hello to people after the show , and I felt sorry for that but I thought Hey, were gonna play tomorrow too,so.....
Not quite.
We all went out to dinner again that night and the following morning, which also was a show day (in the same venue), everybody except Richard and Suvi started to feel really sick.
Things only got worse from there and by the time we got to soundcheck, all of us were running to the bathroom VERY often and basically shitting and puking our guts out. Anders and Chris was in considerably worse shape than us; they never even made it down to soundcheck. A few calls were made between the hotel and the venue and it was decided that tonight´s show had to be cancelled. From what I know, this was the only time EVER in Therion´s 13-year history that a gig had to be cancelled and it was not a decision that was taken lightly, let me tell you. Had there been even the smallest possibility of us being able to play, we would have.
Anyway, the show was postponed until the next day and with all of us still being really sick, we somehow managed to get through it. Not the best gig we´ve played but given the circumstances, it was alright. The crowd again was fuckin´ phenomenal. Totally crazy!!
Nobody felt like staying afterwards and partying; the only thing we wanted was sleep.
The flight back to Europe the next morning went without any major mishaps and we even started to feel a bit better.
Well, the only thing left to say is: I can´t wait to go there again!!!!
Now, the trip started like any other trip. Not much to tell. We arrived safely in Mexico City with a slimmed-down version of the Therion-team.
Tour Manager/F.O.H sound (for those of you not fluent in musicbiz lingo , this is Front Of House, or quite simply The Sound You Hear When You Are In Your Seat And The Show Begins) man/whip-cracker extraordinaire Richard, allround tech wiz Gus and the band, which for these gigs consisted of Sarah, Suvi and Anders on vocals, Sami, Johan, Chris and myself.
A super-nice guy named Adrian picked us up at the airport and he also turned out to be our "host/guide" for the whole trip.( Adrian BTW, is also the singer of the band Damn Shark, who supported Gamma Ray when they played Mexico about a month later.)
We got installed in our hotel and went out for a late dinner. The following day was not a show day, so we went to the Teotihuacan pyramids and had a great day out in the sun. We bought Sombreros of course, and lots of other stuff and then on our way back we stopped for some food and Coronas. Later in the evening Chris, Johan and myself did an interview for a college radio station. I don´t remember, but the night probably ended with us getting drunk.
Next day was show day and we were to play at the Teatro Ferrocarrilero, a really cool theater....duh! There had supposedly been some kind of beauty contest on the night before and during soundcheck, that manifested itself in the form of left-over confetti raining down onstage every time Sami hit the drums. I thought that was pretty funny. You had to be there, I guess..... Anyway, after some problems with the monitoring and PA during soundcheck, the show finally started and it turned out to be great. Not necessarily the playing, but the audience was really fantastic and very LOUD! We didn´t get a chance to say hello to people after the show , and I felt sorry for that but I thought Hey, were gonna play tomorrow too,so.....
Not quite.
We all went out to dinner again that night and the following morning, which also was a show day (in the same venue), everybody except Richard and Suvi started to feel really sick.
Things only got worse from there and by the time we got to soundcheck, all of us were running to the bathroom VERY often and basically shitting and puking our guts out. Anders and Chris was in considerably worse shape than us; they never even made it down to soundcheck. A few calls were made between the hotel and the venue and it was decided that tonight´s show had to be cancelled. From what I know, this was the only time EVER in Therion´s 13-year history that a gig had to be cancelled and it was not a decision that was taken lightly, let me tell you. Had there been even the smallest possibility of us being able to play, we would have.
Anyway, the show was postponed until the next day and with all of us still being really sick, we somehow managed to get through it. Not the best gig we´ve played but given the circumstances, it was alright. The crowd again was fuckin´ phenomenal. Totally crazy!!
Nobody felt like staying afterwards and partying; the only thing we wanted was sleep.
The flight back to Europe the next morning went without any major mishaps and we even started to feel a bit better.
Well, the only thing left to say is: I can´t wait to go there again!!!!
