Everything was perfect.

Perfect setting, beautiful outdoor venue, soundcheck was done and it went great which was somewhat challenging with the language barrier.

Waiting for our ride back we feel a few sprinkles. There’s nothing in the forecast so no worries, right? It starts to rain…hard. I break down my gear and we find shelter.

The rain is POURING down and the event and sound companies are rushing to collect things and put them away. We think the gig is likely not happening but no one is telling us anything. We’re just stuck in a sheltered area in mystery, our ride arriving an hour or so later having been impeded by the weather. Eventually, we’re taken back to our rooms and told that the client will find a new venue and to expect to play, only later than initially planned. This seems dubious but… ok.

We were quite exhausted BTW. Having flown directly from a gig the night before and napped for only a couple hours in our rooms. We eat dinner and shortly after get word that the gig is back on and we’re getting picked up in 20 minutes. Ok, I guess this is happening.

On the way to the new venue we get a flat tire! Now we’re REALLY gonna be pressed for time. A new car arrives, along with a NEW PERSON. We have to fit a 5 person band, our guitars, our gear, the previous driver, and the NEW DRIVER, into a Lincoln Navigator. Right as we’re loading up the car it starts pouring AGAIN. We’re all standing around waiting to get our stuff, and our bodies, into the new car, in the rain, all while trying to figure out HOW! In the new car we take off FAST… on wet streets , in a foreign land, with a driver who barely speaks English.

I’m worried, for all of us. All we need is someone shooting at us and this becomes an action movie like Indiana Jones or something.

We’re not being told much by our drivers. We still don’t know when we play, how far the venue is, what we’re doing about a NEW sound check, or how likely we will arrive alive having sped though the flooded Guadalajara streets.

The new venue is also outdoors but it’s covered. A Banda band is playing and we’re to go next which I think this was always the plan… maybe?! Turns out there was no rush whatsoever and we have hours before we go on.

THIS time our sound check has to be VERY limited. The audience is calling out for us to “just play” as we rush through a very rudimentary soundcheck in front of them. Within 15 minutes, terrible sound notwithstanding, WE GO.

It’s 2:30 AM, we’re all beyond exhausted, performing several songs together for the first time right in that moment, and we’re KILLING IT! Complete with costume change, we put on a crushing, high energy show, in the wee hours of a remote area somewhere near Guadalajara! The somewhat thinned crowd was thoroughly impressed. We finish up at 4:30AM, by far the latest I’ve ever played, much less on two hours sleep.

I guess the moral of the story is to maintain your professional composure no matter what and you’ll keep getting good gigs. This one paid VERY well and the next day we were all taken out to one of the finest meals I’ve ever had in my life which is almost a story unto itself.