ION VEIN added to TESTAMENT show at Austin's, Libertyville IL 2/10

[Chris Lotesto]

We're very excited to announce that our first show in support of IV v1.0, and
our debut show with Scott and Rob, will be sharing the stage with the mighty
Testament and Chicago's upstart thrashers Diamond Plate at Austin's Fuel Room
in Libertyville Friday, February 10th!! More details to come! OH YEAH!! \m/

 

[Chris Lotesto]

BTW...for those of you wondering, Death Angel dropped off the
tour due to a change in their touring plans...

 

[Jasonic]

Congrats Chris!
That's quite a show for a first gig back.
I just saw Rob on Friday and he didn't say anything, that sneaky devil!!!!!!

 

[Rycher]

Very cool - will it be a set of all new material? Or will you break out some Ion Vein classics?

The only time I saw the band was in 2003 at Penny Road Pub, supporting Reigning Memories. Looking forward to seeing you guys again, especially since I'm really digging the new tunes!

 

[Chris Lotesto]

@Jason...indeed, thanks!

@Rycher....thanks, and cool...it'll be all new stuff!

Btw...we should be getting some tickets to sell directly if anyone would like to avoid the fees.

 

[Jasonic]

Btw...we should be getting some tickets to sell directly if anyone would like to avoid the fees.

Good thing John Barr doesn't post here anymore!!!!!! He would read ya the riot act!!!!!!!!

 

[Chris Lotesto]

Good thing John Barr doesn't post here anymore!!!!!! He would read ya the riot act!!!!!!!!

Why is that? We're not required to sell tickets, it's purely a convenience
for anyone we know that wants to go.

 

[Chris Lotesto]

Two weeks from today.....get your asses there!

 

[Jasonic]

Why is that? We're not required to sell tickets, it's purely a convenience
for anyone we know that wants to go.

I agree 100 percent. He just stated to me that he is extremely opposed to it and would never do it. It's an extremely easy task which is worth it to play a higher profile gig.

 

[nomisofsiman]

I just realized this show is in direct competition with Gigantour. Weird they would have both of these shows the same night.

 

[Rycher]

I just realized this show is in direct competition with Gigantour. Weird they would have both of these shows the same night.

Gigantour was probably booked a while back. This is a headlining show for Testament on an off-night from the current leg of the Anthrax/Testament tour, which was likely booked within the past month or so.

Austins' tends to do that - I saw Lacuna Coil there 2 years ago, which was a randomly announced show 2 weeks prior to the show date. The band had an off-night, so they booked the show since they would be passing through Illinois on the way to another show.

 

[Chris Lotesto]

This is a headlining show for Testament on an off-night from the current leg of the Anthrax/Testament tour

Right, so not only do you get an extended set, bu the mighty GENE HOGLAN is
drumming as well....so I highly recommend seeing this show and going to Gigantour
on Sunday, the 12th, in Milwaukee if you're debating....quite the metal weekend indeed!



-

 

[Chris Lotesto]

Btw...got the official word:

DOORS: 7PM
ION VEIN onstage: 8PM

get there early!

 

[Rycher]

Right, so not only do you get an extended set, bu the mighty GENE HOGLAN is
drumming as well....so I highly recommend seeing this show and going to Gigantour
on Sunday, the 12th, in Milwaukee if you're debating....quite the metal weekend indeed!



-

Too bad the "extended' set meant the only addition was about 2/3 of Alone in the Dark before Chuck cut the song short, otherwise the set was pretty much the same as what they had been playing. Either way, they kicked total ass. I was in the 4th row for most of the night, until I got sick of being pummeled from behind by some really drunk, aggressive people. Being that close to Alex Skolnick was unbelievable. He was shredding it up, and giving it to the fans on the rail all night - making faces and screaming at them for more...which they happily gave! I ended up with one of his picks too!

Edit - I forgot that they played The Haunting, so we got about 2-3 extra songs compared to their recent sets.

Diamond Plate was awesome - they won me over by the first song, and were a lot of fun to watch. Those guys have some unbelievable stage presence and talent for being a fairly young band.

The Ion Vein set was really good too - I love the new singer, though a lot of the songs sounded "samey" to me, though that could have just been a little bit of a muddy mix as well. I think the new style really fits and I love the more aggressive riffing. Great job!

 

[modernwizardry]

I've seen Diamond Plate a couple times and they were great each time. I thought they out-played Sanctuary earlier this year when they opened.

 

[Chris Lotesto]

The Ion Vein set was really good too - I love the new singer, though a lot of the songs sounded "samey" to me, though that could have just been a little bit of a muddy mix as well. I think the new style really fits and I love the more aggressive riffing. Great job!

Thanks, Steve, appreciate it, and both Testament and Diamond Plate
kicked some quality ass, we had a blast, it was a great night!