Wednesday 30th July 2003 - Reno NV
The Biggest Little City in the World, says the sign.
Reno is a blue collar version of Las Vegas and is not as glamorous as its counterpart to the south.
Like Las Vegas, it just does not work in the daylight; it looks quite cheap and nasty under the sun. It still looks cheap and nasty at night, but it's the only place I know of where you really need to wear shades at night.
Reno is a blue collar version of Las Vegas and is not as glamorous as its counterpart to the south.
Like Las Vegas, it just does not work in the daylight; it looks quite cheap and nasty under the sun. It still looks cheap and nasty at night, but it's the only place I know of where you really need to wear shades at night.
H-O-T
For someone from the north west of England (for all you Americans, basically, that's the bit around Manchester and Liverpool - does that help?) Reno was a total first for me.
I had never seen a desert before - any desert. And for sure, I had never experienced that kind of heat before. Now, that's not because I've never been anywhere, it's just that being fair-skinned and blond, I avoid hot places. I prefer cooler, temperate climates.
I thought Sacto was hot, but Reno was H - O - T ! What's more, this was only on the fringes of the desert. If it was this hot here, what was Arizona going to be like?
In the van, we had aircon, which was cool. Arf, arf! You don't notice the heat, you just see the scenery change from the luscious, verdant slopes of the mountains, to the sandy, boulder-strewn, sagebrush and scrub of the desert. Then, you open the door and step from the van onto the sidewalk. The heat takes your breath away. You go from a cool 68° to 103° in less time than it takes to say 'How about that heat?' The only thing I can compare it to is once going on a trip around a commercial pottery. They were showing us the kiln when, suddenly, the door was opened and a blast of incredibly hot, dry air hits you in the face. You breath in and gasp for air, momentarily. That is what stepping onto the sidewalk in Reno was like, only it wasn't just in your face, it was all-encompassing. The heat is so dry and you suddenly notice that sweat is rolling down your face; you feel it trickling down your back and legs. It's not that it's humid, it isn't; it is just incredibly, unbelievably hot. You begin to understand how a self-basting, oven-ready turkey feels - or would feel if it was alive when you put it in the oven.
Your only thought is that you need to get out of the heat and get something to drink. Nothing else matters.
I had never seen a desert before - any desert. And for sure, I had never experienced that kind of heat before. Now, that's not because I've never been anywhere, it's just that being fair-skinned and blond, I avoid hot places. I prefer cooler, temperate climates.
I thought Sacto was hot, but Reno was H - O - T ! What's more, this was only on the fringes of the desert. If it was this hot here, what was Arizona going to be like?
In the van, we had aircon, which was cool. Arf, arf! You don't notice the heat, you just see the scenery change from the luscious, verdant slopes of the mountains, to the sandy, boulder-strewn, sagebrush and scrub of the desert. Then, you open the door and step from the van onto the sidewalk. The heat takes your breath away. You go from a cool 68° to 103° in less time than it takes to say 'How about that heat?' The only thing I can compare it to is once going on a trip around a commercial pottery. They were showing us the kiln when, suddenly, the door was opened and a blast of incredibly hot, dry air hits you in the face. You breath in and gasp for air, momentarily. That is what stepping onto the sidewalk in Reno was like, only it wasn't just in your face, it was all-encompassing. The heat is so dry and you suddenly notice that sweat is rolling down your face; you feel it trickling down your back and legs. It's not that it's humid, it isn't; it is just incredibly, unbelievably hot. You begin to understand how a self-basting, oven-ready turkey feels - or would feel if it was alive when you put it in the oven.
Your only thought is that you need to get out of the heat and get something to drink. Nothing else matters.
Une Matinée à Reno
The Ark-a'ik is a strange, non-airconditioned mixture of record shop and back-room live music venue. I know the picture of the Journey video game and KISS pinball machine is sad but, hey, I'm a saddo!
The Reno show was unique in that it was the only afternoon show on the tour. We had the luxury of a hotel room tonight, we had rooms at Fitzgerald's, right by the Reno sign, so we had all been and showered and changed. Not that it made much difference. As soon as you walked out of the door again, you were drenched, but at least you could shower as many times as you liked! I was sharing with Chig on this night and whilst I showered, he made coffee. It was the most disgusting coffee I have ever tasted. I'm not quite sure what he did to it, but it seemed that there were technical difficulties with the water/coffee element of the brewing process and he couldn't get it right. Maybe he just added Chig instead of coffee. Who knows?
The Reno show was unique in that it was the only afternoon show on the tour. We had the luxury of a hotel room tonight, we had rooms at Fitzgerald's, right by the Reno sign, so we had all been and showered and changed. Not that it made much difference. As soon as you walked out of the door again, you were drenched, but at least you could shower as many times as you liked! I was sharing with Chig on this night and whilst I showered, he made coffee. It was the most disgusting coffee I have ever tasted. I'm not quite sure what he did to it, but it seemed that there were technical difficulties with the water/coffee element of the brewing process and he couldn't get it right. Maybe he just added Chig instead of coffee. Who knows?
Afternoon Delight
Reno was one of the best crowds of the whole tour, I thought. It may not have been the biggest, the loudest, or the most insane crowd but they did their thing and enjoyed what they were given and they really seemed to enjoy the show.
On the other hand, I didn't feel that The Skeptix performed particularly well. Maybe it was too early in the day, perhaps it was the heat but the set was short and not played with the feeling that it could have been by certain band members. Personally, on the day, I felt the fans got a much better value-for-money performance from The Street Brats.
Click here for the next bit
On the other hand, I didn't feel that The Skeptix performed particularly well. Maybe it was too early in the day, perhaps it was the heat but the set was short and not played with the feeling that it could have been by certain band members. Personally, on the day, I felt the fans got a much better value-for-money performance from The Street Brats.
Click here for the next bit