Austin - January 27th

The guys at the venue in San Antonio let us come in to charge our laptops and phones in the morning and get something to drink. At 12pm they spark up the BBQ and cook some chicken which is well received by all. But it’s soon time to leave for the next venue – Red’s Scoot Inn, Austin, Tx.

Can’t remember much about the journey – we slept, we passed some more desert, saw a bit more tumble weed and then we were driving into Austin. As someone who has been to Austin before I was looking forward to everyone seeing the musical hub of 5th & 6th streets and hoping our venue wasn’t too far away….. unfortunately it was, and infact it was pretty much in the ghetto - not only that, the venue is not much more than a shed on an industrial estate with a tin roof and a beer garden. Think it can’t get any worse? Wrong! The barmaid at the venue isn’t expecting us and had no idea there were any bands tonight but was “happy for you guys to play anyway if you want?” – well we didn’t travel all this way not to play. So it’s Sunday night which is always gonna be quiet anyway, and there has been zero promotion, so what can we do? I decide a beer (or 3) is the only reasonable solution and shortly after I am pretty merry. Next time I pay any attention, the rest of Riot:Noise are up playing a blues jam that lasts for 30 minutes or so. It was pretty cool to sit back and watch the band play something unusual and Johnny jumps up to give a bit of harmonica accompaniment.

Now one thing we have learned over here is that you can build hardcore fans if you take time to interact with them. This is proven when two people that were at the Dallas show turn up with a bunch of friends to see us – and buy t-shirts AND bring us a bag full of sweets, chocolates, bread and other essentials. Awesome!

There is a small crowd by the time we kick into our first song, and we are on fire (even if I do say so myself) from start to finish. I would even go as far as to say that we play better than we have played all tour – something that Johnny reinforces later when he says “going on after Riot:Noise is like clearing up after a house party that you didn’t know was going to happen”. Myself and Freddie both join Johnny for some backing vocals and I think Ash might have popped up to sing too for a minute. When TM’s finish we get some shots in and meet and greet with the fans etc.

Next thing you know, Scott, Freddie and the TM guys are ready for a jam and start knocking out some classic Thin Lizzy covers. This leads to an hours worth of cover songs with all of us swapping around and having a blast. For an avid GNR fan I can openly admit that we were shit at It’s So Easy – but we had fun giving it a go.

Not sure what time the night came to an end, but when most people were climbing into their bunks Ash was climbing into a comfy motel bed with a young lady called Misty who had driven 400 miles to come see him (and the amazing Riot:Noise show) – and if that wasn’t enough to make everyone on the bus jealous, the fact that it meant he got a hot shower in the morning definitely was!

We have a couple of days until the next show in El Paso, but in the tour bus it is two days of driving. We are told to expect an early start and a busy day as we have needed new tires since Ft Worth. I wonder what tomorrow will bring…..

Marty:Riot