Bad Chopper South America Tour Journal Part 2

Got into Buenos Aires, checked back into the beautiful, non-creepy Hotel Napoleón, then went to get a replacement bass case for CJ after his got busted up in Uruguay. After sound check Brian and I took a cab back to the hotel while CJ hung back at the venue to sign autographs and shit. Our cab driver took the long way in an attempt to avoid non-existent traffic so, ironically, CJ & company actually ended up getting back to the hotel before us.

Pulling into dock	La Cueva!	Some dudes cooking meat near a big pile of dirt in some workshop in the middle of the city		In the belly of the beast
The lovely Hotel Napoleón	Greeting fans outside the venue before soundcheck	Soundcheck at El Teatro Flores	Backstage	La Cueva broken down right outside the club

By this time, around 17:00, I hadn't eaten anything all day except a bag of Cheetos. I was fucking starving and I was becoming extremely agitated with how long and protracted every move we were making took. We eventually went out to eat but by the time we did that and had a shower we only had maybe a half hour before we had to be on our way back to the venue for our early set time of 21:30. We were all running on fumes at that point, having hardly gotten any rest for days. Not a good way to enter in to the biggest, most important show of the tour and the only one that's going to be fully documented.

The turnout was really fucking good. Like 2-3 times more than the last time we played here and at a much, much nicer venue. Needless to say, I was pretty fucking nervous. Much to my relief, aside from a few minor flubs, and an extremely narrowly-avoided total fuckup of Main Man, I played fine. Thank god. We even added 1965 & Neat Neat Neat back into the set, which I was happy about (they were cut from the set earlier in the tour).

After our set, CJ went onstage with some people from the opening bands and did a handful of Ramones songs (he also did this in Montevideo). After the last song, he surprised everyone by diving over the barrier and into the crowd. He was quickly pulled down and swallowed by the writhing mass of people. As I was standing on the edge of the stage watching all this, a few people in the crowd noticed me and pleaded with me for my drumsticks, twisting their arms out to me with fanatical urgency. I couldn't imagine what it was like in that mob for CJ. I don't think he remembers it himself that clearly, but he said he was pulled to the floor and that people were actually standing on him at one point. He saw spots and was probably close to blacking out. Amazingly, the security staff didn't fucking do shit. Gene had to jump in there and extract him himself! Brian noticed security's inaction and also assisted. Unbelievable. Luckily he got out OK. I was imagining people getting trampled, injured, possibly killed. Again, if they were so ravenous for my sticks, I couldn't imagine what they were doing to him. He was a bit banged up but came out relatively unscathed. Incredibly, his shirt wasn't even fully ripped off.

Backstage was the usual crowded mass of fans getting autographs and pictures with Brian and I trying not to get in the way. At the in-store in Montevideo, as Brian and I were sitting on either side of CJ as he received his usual parade of fans, Brian observed that we were like his elves and should be handing out candy canes to the fans after they got their autographs. Too fucking funny, but so true. After the chaos backstage they whisked us straight into "La Cueva" and took us back to the hotel. What a fucking night.

Pics from the show

CJ playing with the opening band after our set

Videos from Buenos Aires

Group shot backstage with Mariano Perez and a fan

Much jubilation on the ride back to the hotel after the gig

We're driving around in this guy Adrian's chopped-up, tricked-out boogie van (which we took to calling La Cueva due to its windshield decals). As we were driving to sound check, we heard this weird noise and smelled something burning. The thing broke down just as we were turning onto the street of the club and literally coasted up to within a few feet of where we were to load in. Today we're driving to Rosario, which is like a 4-5 hour drive. The thing just broke down again. Alternator belt or something. There are 9 of us in here, plus all our luggage and gear and shit. All I can think of is us blowing a tire and crashing. That would be almost certain death in this beast. For some reason I'm uneasy in here now. We're also supposed to take this on another long drive tomorrow to Córdoba. At this point I'm hoping it breaks down for good and we can ride in a proper van, or hell, even cars. Anyway, I'm relieved the Buenos Aires show is out of the way and I played well. That's a big load off my mind. From here on it's low pressure.

Hitting the road for Rosario, oblivious to the forthcoming string of breakdowns

Breakdown #2

Me, getting some writing in waiting for the van to be fixed

Last night's show in Rosario was really good. Smallish club, but the place was packed and into it. After Buenos Aires this was our biggest show. We did 3 encores, one more than usual, which required us to pull out the heretofore unplayed "I Just Want To Have Something To Do". After the usual parade of fans backstage we went back to the hotel. CJ & Brian went straight to bed. I went out with some of the guys, determined to get some fucking action. At the moment we're driving to Córdoba. I got to sit up front and actually use my PDA, which is nothing short of a miracle.

The door to our hotel room fell off the hinges as we first entered. A good sign!	Dinner in Rosario	L-R: Mariano Asch, Gonzalo Facio, Mariano Perez	Videos from Rosario
Horseplay on the ride back to the hotel after the gig	Brian bathed in the boogie lights	Hanging out in the lobby after the gig	Death of a ladies man

Well, the ol' Cueva didn't make it to Córdoba. First the water pump went, but they were able to jerry rig that. Then the alternator cooling fan blades sheared in half as we were cruising down the highway. Half of it we heard bounce off something and go flying down the road. The other half was shot straight into the floor of the front seat between Gene's feet. It made it about a third of the way through the floor. If it had some more velocity it very well could've shot up through there and killed him!

We had a good couple hours before another ride could be arranged. Fortunately the weather was beautiful and we killed time by playing target practice with rocks and trash, sharpened-stick-throwing, and just general foolishness. We amused ourselves and had a good time on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, but unfortunately this killed any chance we had of going to the nearby Che Guevara museum and/or getting any rest. By the time we got to Córdoba I was feeling the affects of the previous night's excursion, plus the hours standing around in the hot roadside sun. I was fucking exhausted. We weren't to go on until around 1:00, but as usual, by the time we soundchecked, checked into the hotel, got some dinner, and had a shower, I ended up having only like 30 minutes to lay down and relax. It's incredible how every free moment seems to somehow get eaten up. Seems our only time to relax is when we're flying or driving somewhere, which is the only time I can find to write, so I get virtually no rest. CJ, Brian, and Gene all got massages at the hotel before the show.

On the way to Córdoba

Had the worst meal ever at this roadside shithole in the middle of nowhere

Breakdown #3

Back the van, CJ with grease-stained hands

Breakdown #4: Endgame

After getting a precious few moments to lie down and close my eyes, we're picked up by a couple taxis and whisked to the venue where we pretty much go right on. Between equipment problems, a bad sound, and, according to CJ, a lousy audience reaction, he decides to skip all but four Bad Chopper songs to try to, as he said, get the agony over with as soon as possible. We do one encore before sequestering ourselves downstairs. The rest of the night is relatively uneventful. Definitely the worst show of the tour so far.

Mariano Perez does a pirouette for the camera at soundcheck

Dinner at the hotel

Videos from Córdoba

Today there's no show, just travel. We flew back to Buenos Aires this morning, went out for a really great lunch during the layover, now we're flying to Neuquén. When we land there at around 18:00 we have a 5-hour drive to Bariloche, our southernmost show, deep in the heart of Patagonia. We'll be lucky to arrive before midnight. Heck of a day off, eh? Well, at least we'll have all day before the show tomorrow to see something of Bariloche, which everyone says is really beautiful. Now to get a little rest before touching down in Neuquén.

Sunrise in Córdoba

At the Buenos Aires airport

Layover lunch

Boats in the harbor outside the restaurant

We got into Neuquén to find not only our ride late, but the van that was supposed to take us to Bariloche was mysteriously absent (still don't know why). So, three vehicles were arranged to cart us and our luggage down here. We got here around midnight. The third vehicle (with the remainder of our luggage) arrived at some ungodly hour in the morning. The ride down here was a white knuckle death ride. We're all in a rush, sure, and we certainly appreciated getting here as early as possible, but it wouldn't do us much good if we arrived dead. Guy was driving way too fast down these narrow, winding, dark, sometimes wet mountain roads, often taking turns in the oncoming lane. Needless to say, I couldn't relax and it was a long ass drive. 5 hours. I got a sense, though, that we were entering a very interesting region, concealed at the moment in a cloak of darkness. Out of that 5 hour drive, about 95% of it seemed completely wild with not a hint of human habitation. At one point on such a stretch, Mariano Perez drew my attention to the stars above. I've never seen the like before, both in quantity and clarity. Even from within the car it was amazing. I can't imagine what it must look like if you were laying down out there in complete darkness, eyes fully adjusted to the night. I of course had heard that the stars are much more profuse in the southern hemisphere due to it's orientation towards the galactic center, but I was still shocked.

Touching down in Neuquén. The extremely linear alignment of trees is immediately striking.

The barren airport

Waiting to be picked up

Some sights around Neuquén

Anyway, we get here around midnight. As with every time we stay at a really nice hotel (Porto Alegre, Santiago, Córdoba) the following night's hotel is on the opposite end of the spectrum (Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Bariloche). Rooms are tiny here, the bathroom door doesn't close, and the room is uncomfortably hot even with the heat turned off and the window open, almost exactly like the hotel in Buenos Aires, except this is a little worse. I didn't make the same mistake I made that first night in Buenos Aires. I got a double shot of whisky at the bar to insure sleep. Worked like a charm. Got up early, albeit with difficulty, this morning, got breakfast, and even got my writing done before anyone else is even up.

Made the most of our free time yesterday. I got up early and walked around the city for a couple hours before the other guys got up. Walked down by the lake and down the main shopping street. This is a very, very cool city. Very touristy, but cool nonetheless. When I went back to the hotel I was given the message that we've moved to the next hotel over: the much, much nicer Panamericano. So, I gladly hoofed my shit over there.

The main square in Bariloche	Rescue dogs on display	Down by the shore of Lago Nahuel Huapi
The main shopping street	Getting my picture taken with some rescue dogs near the church	The far superior Hotel Panamericano

We then went to the club for a radio/TV interview. We sat on the stage of the club with a translator and people in the audience asked questions. We then walked around town as a group, then headed back to the venue for a fantastic lunch of lamb. Some of us then went on a trip up to a mountain top called Cerro Otto. We rode gondolas up to this rotating café at the top of the mountain. The views up there were spectacular and the slowly-rotating café was sublime.

The interview	Hanging out at the bar	Group shot in the main square	CJ with Cuchicuchi, the tour mascot
Group shot back down by the lake	Fantastic lunch at the club	Cerro Otto	Sunset in Bariloche

Came back to the hotel, made a quick call home, went to soundcheck, came back here, took a shower, back to the club, had dinner, then played. Brian and I were both expecting the show to suck. We got a sense that the crowd was thin and unexcited. We couldn't have been more wrong. The place was packed and they went fucking nuts. Still not quite as good as Curitiba, but damn close. I was totally and pleasantly shocked. We played well and got a really good response.

Brian enjoying the ambiance in the hotel lobby before the gig

Hanging out at the club

Videos from Bariloche

Good times backstage

Partied pretty late into the night back at the hotel. This morning CJ rented a dirtbike and drove around some nearby trails. He just got back and we have to leave soon. Got a long drive back to Neuquén and hopefully we can stop at a place or two on the way for some sightseeing. I don't think anyone's expecting much out of Neuquén. It's our last show, though, so we should just tear it up no matter what.

The ride back to Neuquén was interminable, made not only tolerable, but a highlight of the entire tour due to the unbelievable scenery and a detour to Traful, an enormous lake nestled in some incredibly beautiful surroundings with a nice little village to serve travelers and campers. We had lunch there, and even though the wait was ridiculous, it was worth it to linger there for a while longer. I had suspected the landscape we traversed the other night in darkness was something special, but I did not expect it to be as mind-blowing as it was. I felt like I was in Iceland because every corner we turned, every angle you looked at any given scene from, was picture worthy. Unlike on the ride down where we were crammed into cars, for the ride back Mariano arranged a minibus and it was incredibly spacious. I had the front seat all to myself and the large windows provided the perfect vantage point from which to take pictures. And I did. Lots of them. I must've looked like a lunatic up there snapping pictures every 5 seconds, but I couldn't help it. Everything was just incredible-looking.

Neuquén 420!	Riding in style	Our driver, Fuad Ramses	Views on the road out of Bariloche
Heading toward Traful	Views of the lake	A church down by the lake?	Down by lake
The restaurant	Heading out of Traful	Back on the main road to Neuquén	Sunset

So, we got into Neuquén really late, around 22:30. We didn't even have time to take showers or anything. Just checked into the hotel and went straight to the gig which wasn't at a club, but rather some type of building I couldn't classify. They had a big room with a stage, and a kitchen backstage with a huge brick oven, but also other rooms that reminded me of a school or something. I don't know. It may have been some kind of public hall or something. Anyway, we get there and pretty much get to business setting up. No soundcheck as the place was already packed. We had to just get up and play.

As with Bariloche, I wasn't expecting much from this town that I knew absolutely nothing about and that seemed obscure at best, but when I heard them going wild before the show, I knew it was gonna be another good one. We played well and the crowd was great. Maybe not quite as good as Bariloche, but almost. Certainly a satisfactory ending to the tour. Backstage, CJ held court with his usual throng of fans. There was no end-of-tour celebration. No big party or anything. Just went back and went to bed. Kinda disappointing.

Inner garden at the hotel

Backstage in Neuquén before the show

Shot of the crowd before the show

Videos from Neuquén

Backstage after the show

We flew back to Buenos Aires this morning where CJ & Brian are flying home from tonight. I'm staying an extra 5 days and taking a trip down south to do some sightseeing in El Calafate and Ushuaia (the southernmost city in the world). There were no long, lingering goodbyes. Just a pat on the back, good luck & bon voyages. Mariano took my two checked bags and I took my carry-ons and now I'm on my own. My flight to El Calafate leaves in about an hour. I have nothing arranged down there. Going totally blind and without reservations anywhere. I was planning on staying at the cheapest place possible, but now I think I might spring for at least something above a hostel. Couldn't shower since Bariloche, and I got totally fucked out of getting my laundry done. Hopefully everything works out down south.