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Psycho Las Vegas 2018: Departure

psycho las vegas 2018

08.20.18 – 6:57AM – Monday morning – McCarren Airport, Las Vegas

My cab driver on the way over here was from Athens, a retired cargo-ship captain whose pension got taken back from him and who’s been in the US for eight months. I talked up the Greek heavy rock scene to him and apologized for the weirdness of the times here. He said, “I think America is the best country,” and compared it to Albania, where he said it’s harder to make a living. When we got to the terminal, I gave him a good tip and wished him good luck.

Maybe it was a story he tells everybody. Maybe he made it up. Whatever. I like a story.

Flight is in about an hour. My original reservation said I was flying to Houston. When I checked in this morning with my magic confirmation number, it was San Francisco. Vegas to San Fran to Boston. I’ll get into Logan in about 13 hours, reportedly.

Before I close up the laptop so I can sit anxiously here at Gate D58 and wait for boarding to start, as though my staring would somehow expedite this process — shout to Steve Murphy, who’s seen this in action — I have to say thanks. Thanks to you for reading and for your support and just everything. I was overwhelmed this weekend at the kindness of everyone who came up and said hi, people who knew the site and others with familiar names from the social medias who introduced themselves. Bands I’ve written about and bands I should’ve written more about, and everybody else. It was incredible. Thank you.

Thanks to Evan, Ronnie, Jay and everyone else from the Psycho crew for having me out here. It was a festival unto itself. The big Psycho comparison point is European festivals, the Desertfests, Roadburn, etc. Psycho is its own thing.

Just like American bands and European bands trading influence back and forth across the ocean, Psycho is the start of that conversation from this side of the world. It’s not the first US heavy fest by any stretch, but it might be the first on this scale, and all weekend rumors were circulating about venue changes and even bigger things for next year. Should be interesting.

But thank you. Thank you to The Patient Mrs. for running point on The Pecan and allowing me to be here. I’ve had a couple trips fall through this year and this was one I was glad to make.

When I get back it’s time to knuckle-down for Fall. The Patient Mrs. starts a new semester of teaching right after Labor Day, and that means I’ll be doing my share of daddytime in a way that this weekend I most definitely was not. He’ll be 10 months this Friday. First steps accomplished last Wednesday. Three teeth, fourth coming in. Dude is killing it, and if you didn’t see it, that Vol. 4 cover made by the esteemed Slevin is album art of the year as far as I’m concerned.

They just delayed my flight, so I need to run and find out what that does to my connection. Maybe I’ll get to Houston after all. Here’s to adventure. Thanks again for reading and all the best from wherever the hell I’m headed.

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3 Responses to “Psycho Las Vegas 2018: Departure”

  1. miller says:

    Good luck getting home brother and thank you for keeping me abreast of all the happenings. Happy five/sixths Pecan!

  2. Matt says:

    Now that I’ve moved out of the US, The Obelisk has become even more essential for keeping up with heavy music stateside.

    Not sure I’ve ever commented before, but thanks so much for the last however many years of reviews, photos, musings on life, &c.

  3. James says:

    Thanks for the awesome reviews of the festival! I didn’t get to go this year, so it was great getting to read about it here! Best music site out there man, thanks for all you do!

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