Part 2:
I don’t know what time we woke up but I remember screaming off our balcony “Gooooood Mooorning Vietnam!!!!” after which I was told to shut up and reminded that we were in a socialist communist country. But I was in a great mood and we’d had a great first night of the shows and we were well appreciated and the spirit that exists in you when that happens is really just a monster of energy! Rupert came over and asked how our night was to which I think he saw in our eyes the answer without our needing to actually say anything. We chilled out for a bit then decided to head out and take care of a few things. One of them was the idea of selling CD’s of some of our unreleased tracks that had already been mixed and mastered. As part of walking around a bit the day before, Niko and I had already found a great spot to burn a bunch of CD’s for a price that was waaay better than the other places we’d inquired. So, we took care of that and hung around while the CD’s were burning. We made 15 copies and hoped that we’d sell enough to at least pay for the cost of making them. Anyway, after making the discs we headed back home for much needed rest cuz we knew that the Vasco’s gig was going to be huge and that rest was going to pay off later in the night.
We each napped and woke up in time for sound check. We must’ve played 2 to 3 songs to get our sound the way we wanted to with the amplifiers and vocal tones, niko had the problem of a revolving drum kit but was able to deal with it by simply moving his stool a bit to the right after each song. I had a quick beer with Rupert while packing up then it was time to head out. Deciding that we needed a bite to eat I suggested Lily’s Café down the street where the love is strong and the police are nowhere to be found! We got settled, ordered a bite to eat, waited for the food, ate, then went home, all in under an hour. Meanwhile, Rupert was out looking for CD cases. We were all hell bent on selling some CD’s and making some money since we didn’t really have a lot to begin with.
I can no longer remember what time we had to be ready for Rupert to pick us up but as usual, we weren’t quite ready when he arrived but we were awake and slowly moving. The next thing I do remember is arriving at Vasco’s and loving that there were already a number of people there having some cocktails and that I started feeling the energy of the night. It was good energy. Hot! Exciting! Comfortable and almost spiritual in its ethereal presence. Niko and I sat at the bar while Nino talked to some old friends from Manila. We met Niko’s cousin, Dose, who was set to spin before, inbetween and after our sets. His wife Lori was there as well, and Rupert’s girlfriend too! While chatting with these people we ended up meeting more people and before I knew it I could no longer remember the names of everyone that we were there with. We met Melanie through Lori and were warned to stay away from her, which we did not and im glad we didn’t because she turned out to be one of the best people we’d gotten to know while we were there! Anyway, drinks start pouring, we ask what their strongest beer is and get served a couple of 333’s ( or in Vietnamese, bababa ). We learn that we have a bottle of scotch but decide to hit that later on instead and just pay for a few beers ourselves in the meantime. Shots of tequila’s were quite abundant as well and by that I knew that tonight was going to be pure madness! I ask about our timeline, how long before were set to play and was told at least an hour more before we begin, “What?!” I said, “Oh man, were gonna be so drunk tonight” I resigned. Maybe 20 minutes later people were asking me what time were starting to which I say at least an hour more but then they argue to start sooner. I said its not up to me but im ready to go. Another 20 minutes pass and were told to hurry up and begin but this time its by Rupert so there’s no messing about. We ask for 5 minutes more for the band to sort of put together a set list and have our time alone before hitting the stage of the already packed Vasco’s. Rupert agrees and we step outside with pen and paper in hand. We shared a guiness glass and made a set list which im not sure we followed. Then we were rushed to begin and with that we ditch the list, take the beer and head to the stage.
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