My predictions of a good day ahead were well founded. We caught up with Ross, Bob, and Steve of Immolation and ended up going to see “There Will Be Blood” at a local theater. The whole story struck me as a Faustian parable in many ways, and I find it is now integrated into the fabric of the tour. We enjoyed it, though it was somewhat comical how we were all coughing in tandem throughout the film. I am not officially sick anymore but I am still coughing up wads of phlegm and producing copious mucous besides. Back to a more savory topic, our party finished out the night at a good local Mexican food restaurant where we swapped funny tour stories and discussed some of the more hilarious idiosyncrasies of some of our other tour mates.
Around midnight we reluctantly bid everyone goodbye and set out towards Texas. I always do the night driving, and this time it was more interesting than usual because we were on a secondary highway that did not feature another car or dwelling once we left Roswell. The road itself was completely unlit save for our headlights, so the effect was that of traveling down a long dark tunnel. There was an abundance of wildlife as well; I ran over a skunk and then successfully avoided hitting two more of them along with a fox and dozens of jackrabbits who scurried across the road in endless numbers like some sort of “Watership Down” revival. Once we got close to the border a large and baleful half moon peered down past a veil of clouds and the atmosphere became ominous. This is Richard Ramirez country, or at least the area that helped shape him into the fiend he became.
Later: We have arrived in San Antonio without incident. Sanguine and I grew up here and Averse Sefira's first show ever in 1997 was here as well. We haven't played here since, and looking at the puny so-called club we're playing tonight this show could be either a total barn-burner or a reason to never play here again.
