Metal In America 2006

I had the time of my life in Cedar Rapids last night for the Metal In America 2006 tour. I returned at 8AM this morning! It was so good!

I picked up J-Dub at 5:30pm to hit the road. We arrived at Muddy Waters about 8PM or so. Muddy Waters is an unusually shaped bar and is above their restaurant. We only went through the restaurant on the way in. The stage didn't have a lot of room in front of it, but there was room for the hardcore. The sound board wasn't far from the stage. We hung out in front of the stage and left about 3 feet of room for the bands to tear down after opener All But Screaming.

ABS has a frontman who plays rhythm guitar without the use of his right hand. He straps on a pick and uses it to play. They are a good band that had one song that really stood out for me called Build It Up. I talked to a guy from Muddy's who really liked this band and he told me that they are a Christian rock band that plays there frequently. Not a bad band, but I was there for the main three bands, Pretty Boy Floyd, Bang Tango, and Stephen Pearcy.

Bang Tango and Pretty Boy Floyd shared the same backing band. Only the singers were different. The band is the current lineup of Bang Tango and two of the guys also are in Beautiful Creatures. Steve Summers was on first as Pretty Boy Floyd and he rocked the house! Everyone was singing along and we were louder than he thought so the parts where he'd get a sing-along going didn't go as long as he'd planned since we were totally into the show. It surprised him and the band as to how many were singing along. He opened with Rock N Roll Outlaws and Leather Boys With Electric Toyz and then proceeded to play Good Girls Gone Bad from their 5 song EP. I'd been singing along with that song earlier in the day while listening to their music. He did the first Motley Crue cover of the night, Toast Of The Town next. On his set list he has Your Momma as the next tune, but skipped that to do I Wanna Be With You. He asked for and received some Jager shots and asked for and received a couple pairs of breasts so this felt like a rock n roll show. He did another Motley cover of Live Wire and then had us singing Shut Up. He closed with 48 Hours and Rock N Roll Is Gonna Set The Night On Fire and then told us he'd be back at the merch table.

This is where the night took an interesting twist. I was one of the first back to the merch table and I'd been anxious to see how much the PBF DVD was going for as I'd love to have it. While chatting with Steve at the table, I volunteered to help him out with things to keep his line moving so he could chat with the fans more. He actually took me up on it!! I was stunned, but went behind the table and learned where everything was and what it was going for. He took in some good cash for the night and sold quite a few shirts, CD's, DVD's, and photos. I helped make sure he knew what needed to be signed and who it was going to. I also had to keep track of my sharpies! He met a lot of the people there and then asked who I had come with to the show. I introduced him to J-Dub and they briefly talked about the last time we saw PBF on the Sludge tour. J-Dub had a picture of him and Steve and got it signed.

When the line had dwindled and it was getting time for Bang Tango to go on, Steve invited me and J-Dub out to the bus. We made sure the merch table was fine and then headed out. The bus was locked! Steve was feeling pretty good and asked what we wanted to do. I told him it would be hilarious to go to the front of the stage during Bang Tango and rock out for a bit. I was sure the guys in the band would get a kick out of seeing Steve down front like a fan. We made our way through the crowd with me leading the way and holding Steve's beer. He jumped up over the front of the stage to the side area and the security guy had me follow. Steve let the crew know I was with him and was ok. We stood back there and rocked out for a few tunes. Steve even jumped up on stage while Joe Leste (Bang Tango/Beautiful Creatures singer) was talking. Joe got a laugh from that and then Steve came back over to the side. Unbeknownst to me, Steve had procured the key to the bus while we were back there. He had me help keep an eye on his jacket since the merch cash had been taped inside it. We hopped the bar, instead of going back through the crowd, and headed out to the bus while BT played the rest of their set. J-Dub joined us and we sat in the back of the bus chatting and J-Dub and Steve had large shots of Jack Daniels. Steve called them Hollywood Shots.

Steve was very gracious to us and shared some stories, some laughs, and made sure we "were all on the same page" for the evening. This meant that we needed to make more cash and pick up girls for after the show. Steve had me take care of the bus key and the change needed for the next round at the merch table. When we got back in the club, BT had finished and was back at the merch table, too. There were jokes about which band was selling which merch and they were teasing about giving away free PBF shirts. I think Steve did very well merch-wise since he had more baby doll shirts and CD's. Bang Tango wasn't selling any BT CD's, but did have the import version of Beautiful Creatures' Deuce. I had to pick one up myself and get them to sign it. I introduced myself to the band and Joe even leaned over later asking who I was since I was asking him to sign some of their stuff. I told him I was just glad to help out both bands with what I could, but of course, I was really trying to help Steve out the most since he seemed to be doing quite well with a couple of ladies as the night wore on.

Stephen Pearcy and the Rat Bastards took the stage while we were at the merch table. I got to see most of their set on the big screens that Muddy's had around the bar. I could only see heads from the back of the bar. I heard some great Ratt tunes, a new song, and Nothing To Lose, an Arcade tune. I could see Chuck Wright having a great time and I think he has become my favorite bass player. That guy has so much class and I got to say hello to him twice. He has played with so many people and when I told him that I'd miss hearing him with Quiet Riot on the new CD as they had planned last summer, he said to "tell them that".

We were behind the merch table throughout the entire Pearcy set and the guys from BT and Steve wandered around at the back of the club meeting people. Pearcy's band had no merch to sell and didn't stick around to meet people. Chuck Wright was the only one I noticed that came back in and visited with people.

After the club started clearing out, I packed up the merch bin for PBF and then carried it out to the bus. The crew guys were great and invited me onto the bus. (HUGE THANK YOU TO MARK ROJAS FOR GRABBING MY DVD'S THAT I'D LEFT BY THE STAGE!! Mark, you are the man!) We hung out for a while and heard that there were a lot of people heading out to The Lumberyard II. I grabbed the car, found J-Dub sleeping in it since the JD had gotten to him early in Pearcy's set, and followed the band out to this club. I fully was prepared to pay to get in and be responsible for myself, but the crew made sure that me and a few other fans were brought in with the band and taken to the VIP section. It was a blast hanging out with the band and crew there. We were telling jokes, talking to and about the girls, and stayed until the place closed. We went back to the bus and Joe disappeared into Steve's back of the bus area with a married couple. We have NO IDEA what they were up to, but had plenty of laughs speculating. I hung out with those guys until 4:45AM and then said my thanks and goodbyes.

I wish I could remember everyone's name, but huge thanks to Mark again for grabbing my things, the other crew guy (geez, I wish I could remember his name because he was a real bro) for including me, Tim and Mark and their bass player (this guy was just cool and had a straight face when trying to get me in trouble by suggesting I go knock on the back door to say bye to Joe...which I did...) for the laughs and stories and for treating me like one of the guys, Joe Leste for being cool and letting me help hawk a few of their things for them, and most of all, the awesome, laid-back, most cool front man I've ever met, Steve Summers! Steve, you are a true brother and I hope you guys have a blast on the rest of the tour. Thanks for trusting and I hope I came through good for you at the merch table. It was an honor, a treat, and a real blast getting to meet a true rock star in the best sense of all that implies. You guys deserve the best!

Please go support these bands. It was only $10 for the concert at this venue and you'll have a great time checking out a very tight band and some great rock n roll! AND BUY THEIR STUFF!!