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Az – Phoenix – Monster Mash festivals
31st October 2015
Ok so this is a weird one to blog about, We went to a music festival in Arizona on halloween called the Monster Mash Az, how do you blog that without it becoming a band for band review! so I’m not going to do that all I’m going to say is that every band we seen were amazing! Especially our two main events Tool and Puscifer. There were tears in our eyes at one point. An amazing once in a life time trip with amazing people, we the Jerome 3 Thanks Arizona for letting us in to your world if only for 4 days.
On this trip we were joined by the one and only Gillian Badger, she’s one of those cool human being deals who you have only ever hear about as a legend, a whisper on the wind, until one day you accidentally meet them in a kiser soze type deal by through a friend at a nine inch nails gig. You instantly hug as you know more shit about each other then people you’ve known for years an instant thunder buddies for life moment. Flash forward two years and the three of us are crammed in a tin box 30,000 in the air hurtling at 500 miles an hour towards Maynard James Keenan fan mecca, A Tool gig in Phoenix Arizona and then on to Jerome.
We land quite late, early ? I’ve no idea as our frame of reference has been thrown out the window, were 7 hours ahead? behind? I dunno we get our first ever uber car from the airport to the hotel in tempe, Seriously Uber is amazing! we don’t have this in Scotland yet, I cannot wait for it. Were staying at the red roof in in tempe. This place is cheap! I mean CHEAP! it has an american psycho road stop murder vibe about it but we like it, although it is located in the in the middle of nowhere, and we don’t have a car , the infrastructure in this city is not! going to suit us!
We quickly unpack and decide to go out and try and get some food, we hit the front desk and ask for recommendations, J asks about Denny’s, and get laughed out the room!
I asks “So is there a Denny’s anywhere around here?, ever since Las Vegas, I’ve been craving a Denny’s skillet, They have haunded me!” Yeah but its nigh time? ya dig? “the receptionist responds with, I reply with “Oh ok.. yeah sure… ” I didnt have a clue what she meant by that at all! but after doing some reading in the morning apparently denny is only open for breakfast, lunch and late lunch. I didn’t know this, I was informed but also gutted!
We head out and grab an uber, god I love saying that and head towards tempe main street and student area, the local foozballteam are playing and the town is jumping with what I think are jocks? or sports fans. We hit a local mexican and try our hardest not to fall asleep n our nachos.
God we All ordered starters and when they came they were the biggest meals we had ever seen.
“What do we do? I’m scared I don’t want to offend them but I’m stuffed? should i put it in my bag ? ahhh.” Not sure what one of said that but it was probably J, he likes to panic about social things like that.
We finish up hit a local Bodega.. say it with me Bo — De — ga, thats right you’ve got the hang of it now, and find some drinks for the room and some roller grill snacks.. not sure what it is but ill try it.
We easily get back to the hotel and the plans of a night cap fall flat on its behind. The girls call it a night and I’m left watching the tonight show, then the late show, then the late late show. SUDDENLY it all made sense I never understood why there were so many versions of this show, its timezone sheduled. My mind was blow, I tunrd on the late late show and fellow Scot Craign Ferguson was hosting, I wasnt quite at ease as I was sure that he had retired, was this a re run? was I hallucinating through sleep deprivation? enough was enough I ht the stand by btuton and instantly fell asleep. maybe it was all a dream.
Were up early next day with only one thing on our mind SKILLETS! and DENNYS.
suffiencently stuffed with breakfast greatness we hit the road for a lazy day of shopping , the first night of the festival had been canceled so we were at a lose end, we found ourselves in a few of the large malls around Pheonix, mainly to stock up on Pants, a long story but someone packed lots of camera equipment, but no pants typical! The girls went tosapporro and I went to best buy to take in a some make up and cheap tech.
A little bit of shopping was done and we visited a nice local “English Pub” for some drinks and nachos! Eventually ending up in Scotssdale taking in quiet americana life, It was cool, strange and almost like a modern “thank you malm” wild west.
We ended up in an apple store at one point and a carl vordaoen moment happened. Some maths were done and we all traded in our old hand handsets and left with new shiny ones with a profit in hand. Work that one out!
it was quite late now so we hit a cheese cake factory and got our sugar and caffeine on! We booked an uber to get back to the hotel and deal with our jet lag, We were all at breaking point. Eventually an SUV pulls up and an old woman called Gracey gets out and start talking to us.
OH MY GOD Gracey is a legend! she is in her 70s and is such a motherly character she gives us all bottles of water and some sweets for nothing! she recollects old times in Arizona and regales us with stories of her youth, We are instantly recharged and filled with an expectation and un bewildering hope tat one day we will be as awesome and as crazy as Gracey. We may have been more awake due to other factors as well, her driving was terrible and you didn’t feel safe at all! but thats probably the adrenaline that woke up up! She’s lovely and so humble! we get dropped off at the hotel and we each get a hug… we really feel that Arizona is an amazing place, the people are beautiful and still have a wild western air about them. This place is a dream. We give her a wave as she clumsily makes her way out he parking lot at 4 mph … its a long good bye but we feel warm n fuzzy inside after it. we have a few beers in the motel and turn in, tomorrow we see TOOL, it our 8th time seeing them but and a 1st for Ainsley, exited.
Breakfast ? Denny’s again ? done deal! We get picked up late in the afternoon again by an uber driver. We’ve had so many cool conversations with uber driver so far and this guys is no exception, the guys just back fro traveling around Europe, such a character and great stories about music festival in Croatia and Denmark, were pumped up now and ready for the festival, we get dropped of at the end of the que. We each crack open a bottle of IRN-BRU, have a quick slanj then get ready to roundhouse this first day of the festival in the face!
We get in hit the beer tent, hit the amazing open air food field get our grub on and then make our way to get in line to see some amazing bands! its all a bit of a blur so ill just post some of the instagram photos and vidoes we took on the day. Again all the bands and especially Tool were amazing. It was halloween and the night had a carnival feel to it, even the bands were dressed to impressed, Tool came on dressed as lead Zeppelin and then opened with a Zeppelin classic No Quarters. The smell of weed was everywhere! they are so laid back in this state when it comes to Cannabas i felt like it was 16 again seeing tool for the first time – DAMN DOPPERS! (Tool in joke).
After the concert ends we walk along the main street and take in a sports bar, get some more Mexican food and some big cocktails and beers.
We leave and try to flag a taxi but its useless, on our walk we see what I can only describe as a booze ware house. We have a quick peer through the window, the place is pilled floor to seeing with big american sized 1.5 ltr bottles of spirits form everywhere, this place is a labyrinth of booze, we head on in eventually finding the wine section and pick up some cheaper than normal Arizona strong hold wine, the guy from tools winery who weve just watched. We sneakily manage to flag a taxi on the wrong side of the road and reach the hotel and chill out, what a great first night of the festival.
Our second day is a little bit more frantic, we want to get to the festival early to catch ghost, a band J was really into and spoke very highly of, we get in get some break fast and cocktails, Sat our asses down and decided that today would be alot more chilled out than yesterday.
Ghost were amazing! great opner. the corwd was on fire. here are some videos
We waited on tender hooks as the Puscifer stage was set up, this was Mynard from tools personal project we had been following them for a long time and now that we were actually going to see them seemed preposterous yet completely overwhelming and exiting they take the stage and open with a classic. The rest of the day is history. Heres videos from the rest of the night. Out standing moment in our lives and friend ships.
Most memorable moment of the day: sipping big margaritas watching the mighty Deftones dropping HEAD UP with the one and only Max Cavalerra from Soulfly,
Second most: Having several conversations with the bar staff and impressing them while dumbfounding them that we had travelled all the way form Scotland to the show, high fives handshakes and hugs from lots of them, Arizona is amazing, such a welcoming and warm place. We made lot of cool friends that day and our facebook pages were lit up the next morning with friend requests. It was done Part one of our voyage… did I mention that before? the two parter? well if not i have now.
Next stop Jerome for a haunted hotel & wine tasting awesomeness.
Since our wedding in March we had dreamed about coming back to Jerome again, we just didn’t realise it would be so soon! fate had decided that the time would be now! We picked up a soft top black mustang once again from the airport and started our road trip J drove for the first quarter.
Aftr an our and a bit on the road we pulled into the bloody basin truck stop’s 30s diner. Milkshakes burgers a basket of chicken; perfect.
Gillian picked up the remainder of the drive and couldn’t be pried away from the steering wheel for the remainder of the tip, we reach cotton wood early and head up the hill to the Jerom Grand.
All the memories come back from our minmoon SO HAPPY to be back. We quickly check in to our old room! the view is spectacular as always! there is a ghost hunt going on and the building is vibrating with people. We dump everything and head out to the Caducius cellars tasting room, thats why were here and were ready to go.
We order a few tasting flights, its very busy but the staff recognise us from our previous visit and we quickly get ushered in, we spend quit a pretty penny that last time we were ha and theve remembered, we get 5 star treatment with a free few glasses of wine including special additions and some food…. We were home.
The night flickers away and we are a happy and enriched with information about grapes and growing conditions, we dont make a large purchase yet and put it off until the next day, we want to savour the flavours weve tasted and make the correct decision in the morning.
We head back up to the spooky as hell looking Grand hotel head to the asylum bar,
We have some well recommended cocktails and whisky’s and slowly slip in to serendipity,we carry on a bit like teenagers and have a laugh playing with some of the scary Halloween props in the building, LOTS of photos are taken,
We crack open the one bottle of wine we bought at the cellars and discus the ghost stories of the building, This place is properly haunted and we had witnessed some sights and sound the last time we were here, that we couldn’t explain eventually we turn in all sleepy tipsy messes, we blame the Altitude for the tipsiness and not the vino. We leave Gillian and take the old fashioned manual iconic cast iron lift up to the room, take in the night view from our private veranda and finish our wine and head to bed. Today has flown in. hopefully tomorrow will be a bit longer, its our last day and this adventure has been over to quick.
We, well when I say we I mean me gets woke up early by an overly exited badger, Ainsley is already dressed and good to go, I fell asleep for a bit on the balcony and was paying or it now. I get up we pack out stuff and prepare to leave.
I set up a time lapse video as the rain rolls in over the Verde valley.
Our heads are a little sore we we crack open a good old bottle of BRU to keep us back in line.
We check out and “try” to pack the car. Our cases are too big for the tiny boot! We ended up putting the top down and loading one of the cases in that way.
We head down to the pusifer store and caducius and make several large purchases of wine and merchandise.
We load the car and say a teary fare well with a promise to come back again (maybe not s soon for us but still snoon enough)
We were hungry and only only one place in town could cure this want, the best bbq joint we’ve ever visited, Bobby D’s
we head back down through cotton wood and stop off at the Arizona strong hold tasting room.
Gillian pulls in at Arizona strong hold and Im glad she’s driving! I didn’t get a good chance to try the wine last time we were here I esd tr nominated driver, so I’m very happy to finally to get to taste some of these amazing wines. We got a red tasting flight and I ended up buying some nice pieces of wall art, and a few other bits and pieces; an hour well spent.
It was almost home time, this trip was over way to quick, we had a long day and flight ahead of us. we were say to be going home. We had one last thing to do and see.
We went and dipped our toes in the Famous River Verde, the band we had came to see wrong songs about the beauty of this place, they had captured it and captivated it so well.
Time for our long road home! As we joined the high way the heaven opened, it was like being back n Scotland, thunder and lightning, hail al of it! we were definitely homeward bound so sad to be leaving but what a unique experience we would talk about and reminisce for the rest of our lives
What a trip, what an adventure what a friend ship! until our next road trip! Puscifer will come to the uk and we will once again experience this and we cant wait!
Final thought: Uber home?
Jaimsley Signing off.
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