THE DAVE EMORY TOUR DIARY,
thus entitled: DOOMSDAY, CAR BOMB, CONTINUING
DAY 9:
Fourth show is at the House of Blues in Chicago. A chain of clubs run out of a head office in L.A., H.O.B. is a fascinating and uneasy mix of contemporary club design, faux-period architecture, and "naïve" art displays. The latter provides for one of the more interesting aspects of the place: according to the first staff member they encounter upon arriving, the group is told they can't take photographs because the walls are "registered". Who ever heard of copyrighted walls? And does this mean that every time a patron shoots a glance at one of the artworks hung there (probably without the knowledge of the Louisiana Bayou shack-living artist who painted it and sold it by the side of the road), a cash register in an office somewhere in L.A. starts ringing? Undaunted, the crew sets up the show, even though every single item of business must be "cleared" with the head office, including lowering the motorized stage by a foot and granting clearances for any fans who wish to videotape the show. It is later learned that the staff of the venue still confiscated fans' equipment when they tried to enter the premises.
The show winds up being the most lackluster so far, and the visual crew is forced to set up on stage instead of in front of it at a short distance, thus reducing the size of their images significantly. Lots of enthusiastic fans in the audience work hard to give props to their over-the-hill heroes.
Everyone works in near darkness to clear the stage after the show ends, as the band is told that the lights can't be switched on again without clearance from the head office in L.A.
The Chicago Tribune reviews the show, with the headline "Negativland Fails to Stoke the Flames". Article rumored to be written by Greg Ginn of SST Records under a pseudonym.
| Intro | |||
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 |
| Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 |
| Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11 | Day 12 |
| Day 13 | Day 14 | Day 15 | Day 16 |
