9/11The DEFROST Tour’s triumphant finale!
BB here, speaking for the band. The last three shows of the tour – Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Francisco – were simply amazing. Each city blew away its previous attendance record, one after the other. Los Angeles set a new USA crowd record for us…which lasted exactly 24 hours until San Francisco broke it *again*. We are beyond grateful – California, thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
But that’s only half the story. There were a series of unforeseen practical and logistical obstacles in the final week of the tour – climaxing in the full closure of the main freeway between Los Angeles and San Francisco on the night between those two shows – that required an absolutely HEROIC effort on the part of the crew in order for the shows to happen at all. They rose to the occasion, and made it possible for us to finish the North American leg of the DEFROST tour in grand fashion.
For those who have been following this tour from the beginning, you know that it has been an unusually dramatic affair. The issue with Guthrie’s visa alone almost killed the whole thing before it even started, and there was plenty more. Somehow, miraculously, it all worked out, and I know I speak for the band when I say THANK YOU to everyone on our small but mighty AristoTeam for persevering, and THANK YOU to all of the fans across North America who came out to make our first tour in almost three years such an incredible success.
We want to give special thanks to Congressman Tom Malinowski and his legislative liaison Michael McCurry for their invaluable assistance with the visa issue; Chris Kies and Shawn Hammond from Premier Guitar for their special attention in making the latest Rig Rundown video; and the one and only Rick Beato for shining his uniquely bright spotlight on Guthrie and The Aristocrats at just the right moment. We’re going back into the freezer now, but stay tuned for news about international touring in 2023…and our next studio album.
Once again, on behalf of Marco and Guthrie and myself: T h a n k y o u.
P.S. We were so exhausted at the end of the tour that we forgot to take a band “end of tour” picture! So here’s a shot of the massive crowd from San Francisco instead :)
