Las Vegas Airport — 8:58AM

Some processing.

There’s a flight that’s going to Newark like four minutes before mine, is four gates away from where I’m sitting, and is canceled.

Two ways to look at this. One, my flight is never going to happen. If they run two and one doesn’t, no way the other does. Or two, my flight, as the younger and more agile of the two, fought victoriously in honorable combat for use of the runway at that time. If it gets canceled they tell you that shit on the app now. Heck of a thing.

That pit stop last night before Monolord. I was testing myself there a bit. It had been kind of an up and down night, owing to circumstances that had nothing to do with music or anyone playing it, and there was a second when I was standing about to put my shoes on and head out where I was thinking I could just call it quits, get the extra hour of sleep, be that much more ready to shower, pack, go in the morning. But I didn’t do that. I was tired, feeling old and sunk a bit, but I went back out anyway. And Monolord turned the night around again and I felt like they were a great end to the fest, so I guess the upshot is something about believing in your own bullshit.

Thank you to The Patient Mrs., through whom all things are possible, and to The Pecan, through whom an impressively growing list of things are also possible, for the time. And everything.

Thank you to Evan and Remy from Psycho for having me out, putting me up, and for being continually kind and generous.

Thank you to my mother, my sister, my wife’s mother, my wife’s sister.

Thank you to Steve Murphy, an ever grounding presence.

Thanks to Amy Johnson for the Isotopes shirts — which rule — and the chat.

Thanks to Esben Willems for hanging out. Ready to start our rock-dad parenting podcast whenever you are, buddy.

Thank you to everyone who said hi, a lot of friends and folks you know from the internet who are cool and everybody was very nice even though I mostly kept to myself. Tim Bugbee was there though. He’s the best. He’s the kind of guy whose smile makes you smile and it’s humbling to be in a photo pit with him. Incredible talent, pure spirit. You can tell him I said that. That’s fine. I’m pretty sure he knows the regard in which I hold him. Or at least I would hope so.

There’s more. Daniel Hall, the Kings Destroy guys, John Gist, Church of the Cosmic Skull, Elder. On and on.

This was a pretty wild trip, you know? Seeing Kings Destroy on Saturday really got to me emotionally. I feel like something’s been lost in me since the pandemic and I’m trying to figure out which way the balance is going. So I’m alive, in other words. But still.

As regards Psycho, it is a beazt — that was a typo but I’m leaving it — unto itself, and it has become a worldwide touchstone among metal festivals. I didn’t avail myself of the complete experience in the poker, golf, chess, pool, etc. aspect much, but it’s all that stuff that builds the personality of the event, and Psycho has style to spare. I can see desert and mountains from here. And there goes another airplane. Not mine yet.

The invading-barbarian-horde aspect of this festival is fascinating. Because that’s what it is, right? Visigoth party weekend in Rome. But there’s so much there. And sometimes Psycho delights in crossing the line between adapting microculture to pop ideals in event making and simply owning the ground on which you’re standing, if just for a time.

You gotta understand, writing is all I have. It’s all I’ve ever had. I’ve never been smart, sociable or good-looking, any single one of which would be enough to be a NPC in either life or fiction. Writing, and writing about music, is the only thing in my life that makes me feel special as just me.

Am I wrong to seek that out? I’m sorry.

My plane takes off in a couple hours, unless it doesn’t, but I’m gonna chase down some coffee and read. I thank you for reading and following along if you have been. Catch you at the next one.

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Tags: Las Vegas, Nevada, Psycho Las Vegas, Psycho Las Vegas 2022, Psycho Las Vegas 2022 Coverage

This entry was posted on Monday, August 22nd, 2022 at 1:42 pm and is filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.