Dr. Chud's X-Ward October 25 2007

  One year had passed since we had last seen Dr. Chud. And during that year, I had become addicted! I listened to the cd I had bought at the last show (Diagnosis For Death) non stop all year! Along with his cds with The Misfits and I even bought a cd of his previous band before The Misfits (Sacred Trash) and the Sardonica cd that Sal Bee had given to me. That's it! That's pretty much all I had listened to all year long. I was on such a high! And when they announced the tour for 2007, it got even worse! Especially since there were going to be 2 shows in short driving distance that we would be able to go to.
  As high as I was, I was about to hit my lowest of lows before the first show. 4 days before the show, my Grandmother passed away. I was very close with her. She had pretty much depended on me for everything the last 10 years of her life. She had been in a wheel chair for I'm not sure how long, stricken with  really bad arthritis, and needed help with most everything. Some people look at that as a burden, but I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. She was not a burden. She was awesome! And I love and miss her very much.
  The last time I saw Dr. Chud, we were able to sit around, have some drinks, and talk. He had told me that his song "Goodbye" was written after he lost his own grandparents. The combination of my endless plays of the album, that story, and what was happening to me right then, planted that song firmly in my brain moments after my grandmother passed.
  She passed on Sunday, the funeral was on Wednesday, and the show was on Thursday. I needed this show. Now more than ever. I needed a little escape for a few hours. So there was no doubt in my mind that I was still going.
  The Show was in South Bend IN (about a 2 hour drive from where I live) and I volunteered to be the designated driver, because drinking in my state of mind would be a disaster. So 6 of us piled into a Jeep and hit the road. As we walked into the venue, we noticed a familiar face sitting at the bar. It was Sal Bee! He wasn't in makeup yet so we all gathered around to shoot the shit before he got ready for the show. There was some commotion off to the side. It was Dr. Chud and the Promoter (?) arguing about something. There was talk that the show might get cancelled! The 2 ladies in our group went up and talked to Chud after this. Now I don't know what was said or if it had any impact on whether the show was canceled or not, but the show would go on!
  The opening bands were some local bands that I had never heard of. They were good, but to be honest, we didn't pay much attention to them. The one thing I remember was that one of the bands were using a large Rubbermaid trash can as a bass drum! I laughed a little when I saw them setting it up, but when he started playing, it sounded pretty good! He killed it! Then came the main event! The showmanship of the opening intro is really fun. Not to many bands go that far. I love it! The ladies that were with us (wives of 2 of the guys with us) were invited "up on stage" (there was no stage, only a drum riser) to be back up dancers.  The X-Ward had a new guitarist this year, I never really got to connect with him (he was more interested in the ladies!). Also, not a new drummer, but a different one from last year. Al X (as he would be called) was the drummer on the album and a member of Sardonica. 2 great musicians along with Chud and Sal Bee, put on a hell of a show! Again, I don't have the setlist for this show, but I'm pretty sure it was the same as the last years show. The difference was that I new all the songs this time. It was a little hard when they played "Goodbye", but I sang along as loud as I could, with a tear in my eye, thinking of my Grandma. Some of the songs didn't quite sit right simply due to the situation I was in. Such as "Bury You Alive". Now normally I would love this song, it was just the timing of it all. That being said, It was a great show!
  After the show, we hung out taking pictures and having stuff signed. I had brought a home made greatest hits cd compiled of Chuds works from some of his other bands as well as X-Ward. It was a hobby of mine. I was tired of buying crappy bootlegs and was trying to see if I could make my own. It definitely looked home made as it was one of the first ones I had done, but Chud loved it and signed it for me. At this time, Someone had told him what I had been going through the past week, and I told him how "Goodbye" really helped me through this. He must have been moved by that because he gave me one of the biggest hugs I had ever received. Sal Bee had to take off early to catch a flight back to NJ. This was his last show on this tour. A new bass player would be joining them for the rest of the tour. We continued to hang out as the band loaded up. This time, we knew it would not be a year before we saw them again. Next up, The Halloween Show one week later. We all piled back into the Jeep and I drove everyone home, I was the only one still awake by the time we got home!
 I brought a camera this time! The smoke machine is great for the ambiance of the show, but it sucks when it comes to photos! Anyway, I still got some great pics