Finally, a day of rest! After six shows in a row, at last, a day off. Actually, it was a short travel day that turned into a day off. The distance from Langen to Kaufbeuren is approximately 380 km, which is relatively close for those who have a 24-hour trip. On the way, we would pass through the famous city of Frankfurt and there we decided to stop to solve a very important problem: our drummer Fabio Buitvidas was playing with practically all his cymbals broken and needed to go to a good specialized shop to renew his kit.
After even selling our underwear to pay for his next collection of broken plates (laughs), we went for a walk and indulged in German cuisine. To those who follow our tour report, it might seem like we're a bunch of starving people, but the truth is we really enjoy appreciating the food in each place. Not just the food, but the drinks too. This is the best way for us to relax and put the tour aside for a bit, but in moderation, of course. We like exploring streets, monuments, shopping malls, and even supermarkets.
With our bellies full of sausage, we headed towards Kaufbeuren. On the way, we stopped at a gas station for a quick dinner, and it wasn't long before we pulled over to another station further ahead to sleep. Early the next morning we hit the road again, and since we had driven well the previous night, we quickly arrived at our destination: All Karthalle.
The venue for the Hellish Rock tour is a huge indoor go-kart track. This location has hosted numerous heavy metal concerts for many years. The neighborhood is full of warehouses; it almost seems far from the city due to its tranquility.
As soon as we arrived, the truck was unloading the equipment and we went straight to our dressing room. When we approached our space, we were greeted with a lovely welcome message, in Portuguese, from the event producer. We were extremely happy with this warm welcome, which was later very well appreciated.
During our lunch, we looked at the posters showing the number of important bands that had already played at that unusual venue… who would have thought that a go-kart track could host so many sensational Heavy Metal shows in such a perfect way? All it takes is creativity and competence for the events to be successful.
The most curious thing about these concerts in rural Germany is that most of them take place in quiet towns, seemingly without much activity, but which simply transform when they host this type of event. People from all over come to enjoy the shows, no matter what day of the week it is. There's no need to schedule something for the weekend to attract an audience. People show up in droves because they truly enjoy it! They travel, arrive early, buy merchandise, have fun, and go home happy as can be.
And since we're talking about fun, our show was something masterful. Entertaining people the way we did was great! That audience is used to seeing excellent shows every week, and they engaged with our interactions so quickly and fiercely that it impressed us.
We saw several people at the barrier wearing Shadowside t-shirts, singing our songs, vibing every moment, with their fists clenched in the air… It was sensational! Winning over this audience is simply wonderful! Furthermore, we received praise from several people in the Hellish Rock tour production team. A sign that we aced our homework.
Finally, we patiently attended to everyone who wanted to take home a physical souvenir of our visit to Kaufbeuren. We hope to return soon!
Next destination: Bochum, Germany.
Check out the complete Shadowside travelogue
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