US Tour I 2004: diary

`<<Continued from the previous page`
`Saturday - March 6, 2004`

`2:00 hrs`	`Back to the hotel. Pool and hydro massage.`

`10:00 hrs`	`Waking up - Breakfast at Hooters - Coffee, hotdogs, disgusting!`

`11:00 hrs`	`A swim in the pool.`

`14:00 hrs`	`Rob came, he was very angry. "You will play tomorrow, not tonight." He didn't tell us why.`

`15:30 hrs`	Went to the Pinellas Park, a wide area with two stages and an amazing backstage. Many people congratulated us on our performance at Boomerz the night before. Among them there was Clanny Stratton, ex-Iron Maiden. Cool thing, guys! He approached us and said to me: "Your playing is very good, man; what kind of guitar do you use?" Several bands went on the stage. We saw three black men from San Francisco with their shocking groove and excellent sound. I was favorably impressed by "Trivium", a very good original band, a mingling of Swedish Death and Nu Metal. At about seven we saw Chuck Billy of "Testament", James Murphy (Testament, Obituary, Death, etc...). We had a chat and left them our CD. Meanwhile "Agent Steel" had started playing. Californian band with a lot of fans in Italy. Other bands follow (great set!): "Prong", "Mod", "Seven Witches", "Ice-T", "Testament". Arrived at the hotel, half asleep, we just toyed with the idea of going out for a walk but we were so tired that we fell asleep almost instantly.


`Sunday - March 7, 2004`

`8:30 hrs`	`Waking up. Breakfast in a free shop.`

`10:00 hrs`	`Rob met us at the hotel at 10: "You'll play tonight guys." He showed to be quite happy now. We left immediately and ten minutes later we were at the Expo Center. On seeing us Fish said: "Arcadia! You guys will play at 8:10 tonight." So a shuttle driven by Dave and Tony took us back to the hotel. Had a swim in the pool, hydro massage, lay in the sun. Then had a jam session with Martin, drummer of "Spearhead", who, revealed to be a good guitarist too.`

`17:30 hrs`	`Dave and Tony picked us up at the hotel and took us to the Expo Center.`

`18:00 hrs`	`Arrived at the Expo Center, saw two stages ready. One for the performance, the other for next band to play. We made friends with the guys of "Obituary", "Deicide", "Hate Eternal" and Nick (ex-Cradle of Filth), drummer of "Nile".`

`19:00 hrs`	`Had dinner. We were scheduled to play at 8:30. "Spearhead" went on the stage. A very pleasant show! Several kids asked us to autograph the CDs they had just bought.`

`20:30 hrs`	Went on the stage. Started playing "Mind Control". Sounds are not so appealing on the stage. After our performance Martin of "Spearhead" said the the external impact was quite strong. The next song was "Net Realm". The audience was delirious, they applauded like mad. Followed: "Shiver Vision" Intro, "Nu Progressive", "Useless Fight", "Future Shock", "Tonight", "Last". It was an ovation. It was a pleasant atmosphere. When we left the stage, we were surrounded by a crowd of fans waiting for us in the backstage. Stood to enjoy the show and, at midnight, decided to go back to the hotel. Said goodbye to Rob, Fish, Dave, Tony and left the place.


`Monday - March 8, 2004`

`7:00 hrs`	`Waking up and breakfast.`

`8:30 hrs`	`We had the last call from Rob. We thanked him and expressed our satisfaction with the show, the staff and the organization. He congratulated us on the great sound and professionalism of the band. He invited us to another fest in the summer. Then we got ready to leave.`

`12:00 hrs`	`Left Tampa. Destination: New York`

`14:00 hrs`	`Arrived in New York.`

`18:00 hrs`	`Left New York. Destination: Milan`

`8:30 hrs -IT time-`	`Arrived at Milan Malpensa airport where several waving supporters were waiting to cheer us.`

	`Written byDemetrio`
`<<Read the previous page`