BTS’s Senior Staff Photographer Dante Torrieri recently had the privilege of joining and photo-documenting local Philadelphia metal bands Sadgiqacea and Haethen on a week-long tour that was punctuated with a stop at The Indianapolis Metal Fest. Below is Dante’s recount and photo essay of the events straight from the horse’s mouth.
The adventure started with a Tetris-puzzle packing of two bands’ worth of gear into a trailer from a Southern Jersey practice space before heading to Boston. Night one of the tour took us to Roggies with a solid turnout and quality backing bands Brain Famine, The Binary Code, and Scaphism. Sadgiqacea and Haethen tore into two great sets that would only improve as the trek continued. We found a place to stay this night with an interesting fella named Whisky Werewolf and his massive garden, homemade hot-pepper vodka, and couch-filled house that has seen many transients and bands pass through over the years.
We got an early jump on Day 2 as we had to make good time to DC from Boston. It quickly appeared that motherly duties had fallen upon me and I had the daunting task of awakening 6 other hungover individuals every morning. Once everyone was finally awake, we got our asses in gear. Arriving just in time in DC, we quickly unpacked the trailer and loaded into The Pinch and awaited setup. An interesting kinship was formed with a black-metal-loving, satanic New-Mexican and the show was a psychedelic thriller, with Admiral Browning joining the line-up. We managed to find a spot in Alexandria that night with a group of very nice hosts that fed and entertained us into the early morning. The man of the hour was a jolly giant named Richard who stood 6′ 9″ and serenaded us with crazy stories of touring in his youth.
Tasked again with another long drive from DC to Columbus, we started out on Day 3. We managed to stop and take in some of the sights in contrast to the rear of the van that was a sensory void with no windows and only sparse light from the windshield. We got in some jollies stopping to watch a giant mantis rip the heads off unsuspecting stink bugs. Soon enough it was time to get a fire under our asses again and make it to Columbus to perform with The Swarm at The Summit venue. This turned out to be by far the best performance I heard from both Sadgiqacea and Haethen of the tour. With set lists solidified and a full PA with drum mic’s that can and did make a world of difference- They fucking slayed. With many friends in Columbus, lodging was an easy score and my favorite location as it was spent in a smokey haze.
My final day on tour was in Indianapolis which was the shortest drive of the tour but with the earliest load in time of 11am for the Indianapolis Metal Fest at the Old National Centre with 30+ other bands. Load-in times that early can be torture for late night touring bands but we managed to get there about 25 minutes before set time/load in and set up by the skin of our teeth. It proved to be a quick whirlwind and before we knew it, we were torn down and loaded out and ready to leave. The guys- Fred, Evan, John, Rich, Adam, and Kevin joined me for a farewell dinner before I hopped on a plane to Atlanta to continue my journey with the likes of QOTSA, Mastodon, Kylesa, and Royal Thunder. Story for another time. Special thanks to Evan and Fred of Sadgiqacea for including me on this tour. And thanks to John, Adam, and Richard of Haethen, as well as Kevin, it truly was a blast. Now I’ll shut up and deliver the photographic evidence.
Words and photos by BTS’s Dante Torrieri (Useless Rebel Imaging)
Sadgiqacea Day 1
Haethen – Day 1 Boston
Sadgiqacea – Day 1 Boston
Sadgiqacea – DC Day 2
Haethen – DC Day 2
Sadgiqacea – Day 3 Columbus, OH
Haethen – Columbus, OH Day 3
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