“Andalucia pts 1 and 2” read my notes for April 9, 1992, at the Axiom in Houston. That’s my shorthand for a false start. Twenty-two years after the fact, I’m guessing it was monitor feedback, and pretty sure that was the last straw with our soundman du tour. Bad vibes are plentiful. The band before us “trashes” their drum kit, a gesture that appears somewhat short of spontaneous when they gingerly move the kick drum mic out of harm’s way immediately preceding their moment of rebellion. The scorn goes both ways: “Stick around for Hoboken” are their parting words. The next morning, before departing for Austin, we fire our soundman, grudgingly agreeing to drive him to Dallas bus station, where in our mutual haste to be rid of each other, he leaves behind his copy of Stephen King’s The Stand.
