Los Angeles was the antithesis of San Marcos. We do not like it there to begin with; most everyone there are self-serving, pretentious shitheads who work hard at acting like they are unimpressed by everything they see. This show was no exception. We played the House of Blues, which is an over-large, sterile, and Disneyified venue that has no business hosting a metal show. The day started off badly when one of the locks on the trailer was jammed and we could not open the hatch to load in. We tried the key over and over but it would not budge. We then acquired a hammer and Carcass and Ross whaled on it until Steve from Immolation marched up and announced we were using the wrong key and quickly opened the lock to a chorus of our groans.As for the show, the tickets were overpriced so the turnout was thin (I heard 350 but it did not look like it), and once again we were disarmed by technical problems at the start of our set just like last time we were here. Sanguine has some kind of short with his guitar or cables that we have not been able to isolate, and he had to pull out his wireless pack and plug in with a cable right as we got on stage. The intro music already ended so it was an awkward way to start, and then we were unable to hear each other so we mangled the opening song pretty severely. I do not think it would have made any difference, since with the exception of two kids wearing Averse Sefira shirts the rest of the crowd just stood there impassively like we were wasting their time. The confusing part was that they were all doing this right in front of the stage, so I do not know what that is supposed to signify. We did not waste any time blitzing through the set and getting off the stage, and as we passed Ras of Belphegor he shook his head and muttered, “Unbelievable, these people.” The Immolation guys went on to tell us that the show they played here with Suffocation a few months ago was even worse in terms of turnout and response. I do not know what the fuck is wrong with people here and I do not really want to know. Later we heard that someone threw a soda can at Ross when Immolation started their set. Whoever did that is very lucky we had not come downstairs to watch or he would have been one badly beaten L.A. idiot. Do not read this missive as sour grapes; even if the show had been another San Marcos it would not change our utter contempt for this city. Die.
