It's great to have a place to play in STATEN ISLAND again! We have so many friends and fans there and we never get to see them in their own backyards. There's nothing like seeing people in their own worlds. The enthusiasm is always high but it seems everyone is even crazier when they're "home". This crowd was so energetic that it was hard to keep up, but we managed... (barely).

And there was nothing bad about this club either. Mystic Lounge is a great new rock club soon to be renamed (appropriate drum roll, please) L'amour! and anyone who knows anything about rock and roll knows that legendary name...

Tonight, all of my fellow Italians were in attendance and it was great. They really know how to keep a party going. We can't wait to come back...get ready for ZO2 @ L'AMOUR!! (never thought I’d get to say that) =)

Holy Shit!!! Is that too strong of an opening? How about this: Holy Fucking Shit!!!? I don’t know how else to describe this show. It felt like the first of three sold out shows at the Garden. Everything that someone would want as a musician was very much in place. The sound was incredible, the stage monitors were great, the smoke machine filled the stage beautifully, we had use of the full stage including the drum riser, our crowd almost doubled in numbers from the last time we were there and, best of all, we got to play for an hour and a half. It was an exciting night for us. Songs we normally couldn't fit in, were included - “Hopelessly Gone”, “Dirty Water” and “Get Up Now” - it was great to play them again after a little time away from them.

The only downside to playing such a long set it seems is that my hands weren’t used to it. By the third to last song, my left hand started cramping up. My entire hand closed and clenched the neck of my bass. At first I couldn’t even open it. I had to rotate my hand downward and start playing the notes with my thumb just to try and somewhat continue the song. I don’t think anyone noticed until I was finally able to open my hand and started to shake it vigorously. It’s so debilitating when you lose the use of such an important part of performing your craft. It’s like Ron Jeremy all of a sudden going limp and trying to shoot a scene. Not very “uplifting”.

However, that aside, the night couldn't have been better. The great club is only overshadowed by our great crowd!

*