The Boston Tattoo Convention

September 23-25, 2005

For the second year in a row, we attended and performed at the Boston Tattoo Convention.

Thursday, September 22, 2005

The journey to Boston began at the proverbial ass crack of dawn. I stayed up through the night after catching a few cat naps here and there. Around 4:30am I woke up Meghan after makig sure the car was loaded and ready to go. We drove over to pick up Dr. Grift and then to the airport, after unloading our luggage and gear Meghan drove the car back home. We check in with ease and then headed for our gate with what should have been plenty of time. However, the security check point was backed up and we soon found ourselves looking at very likely missing our flight. Luckily the airline was aware of the problem and with a little bit of a sprint we made it onto the plane as the last ones before the door was shut and the plane pushed back from the gate. I managed a bit of fitful sleep on the two flights it took for us to make to Boston. Our second flight was delayed so we got in a little late but that was fine. Our buddy from last year and subsequent Jager tour appearances, Kirk, was there to help us out with a ride into town to the hotel. During check in the desk clerk gave us a speech about problems with some guests from last year who were there for the convention.

Once we got settled into the hotel and moved our gear over to the venue Kirk took us out for some dinner. We ate at Generations, great food and very hospitable. Dinner soon turned into drinking and bar hopping. I know we went a couple places - including a VFW - and had more than a few jager bombs and beers. Most importantly though Kirk and I won the dart game.

Friday, September 23, 2005

Dr. Grift made it to breakfast at the hotel Friday morning. I opted for the extra sleep and shower time. We grabbed some snakcs at a 24 store on the walk over and then set to work. Fridays are typically slower days for most conventions but in Boston this Friday was only slow when compared to the crush of people that turned up Saturday and Sunday. We enjoyed a pretty steady flow of people throughout the day and had a nice crowd for evening set onstage.

Saturday, September 24, 2005

Saturday morning came and I once again passed on breakfast. As we walked into the venue before doors to get the booth set up again, there was already a long line down the street of people waiting to get in. Shades of last year's convention when people were constantly waiting in line to get in due to fire code restrictions. When the day was done this year exceeded last year by thousands. Our only break working in the booth was when we took the stage for a fantastic set. The addition this year of a large projection screen allowed even more people to take in the show as the packed the rows in front of the stage.

As usual, we closed out the night in the convention bar but opted for an early evening due to plans for breakfast with friends in the morning.

Sunday, September 25, 2005

Sunday morning before the start of the convention we met up with my old friends Alan & Roxanne (here's me as the best man at their wedding in 1996) and their kids Chloe & Riley. It was my first time getting to see Riley and I hadn't seen Chloe since she was only a couple months. After some Starbucks they took the kids for food and we went to work at the convention. Sunday proved to be another good day for us both at the merch booth and onstage. After the doors closed we finally got to hang out with the organizers and staff over a couple beers and then we went back to the hotel to get ready for our Monday morning flights.