23.10.2012 - Minsk, Belarus
We woke up around noon and had a warm breakfast at Yulia's appartment. Vince went to take the van from the security parking and we loaded our personal affairs in it. We left Grodno around 1.30 am. It took us a little bit more than 4 hours to reach Minsk. The promoter came to pick us up at a metro station near the entrance of the city as our gps was not working. We went to the venue and found that the show was taking place in a gay bar. That was fucking awesome and kinda a strange place for a hardcore show. We unloaded the van and set up the merch almost immediately as the show kick off was approaching fast. We had some pizzas and started selling merch with Jerome to the Belarus kids. There were 190 paid entries on a Tuesday evening. The venue was packed up and the kids were dancing and having a good time. The first band played mosh core with NYHC elements. The venue was half full and some people started moshing encouraged by the vocalist. When the next band (emotional hardcore trio in the vein of some 90s bands) started playing (bands are very organized in Belarus/Russia and usually take only 10 to 15 minutes to set up their gear in between bands) the venue was already crowded. Next came a metalcore band and the last local band was the crust band we saw in Grodno the previous night. Kids were already moshing and getting amped for the main act. Nine Eleven started their line check and I got hit by some hard moshing kids. The band did their mosh policing speach and started their set. From the first song the kids went berserk and didn't stop moshing/dancing/singing along, especially for the songs from City of Quartz they knew by heart. An awesome show! When it ended I watched a football game on the giant screen while the guys were taking a rest. We then loaded the van and went to a friend's place where we had pizza. After dinner I took a shower and went to bed. So did the other guys (except some of them took a shower in the morning).
24.10.2012 - Riga, Lithuania
We woke up very early and after saying goodbye to our hosts took the road to Riga. I drove the van for the first time since the beginning of the tour. Otherwise it was a pretty uneventful drive: a lot of sleeping, reading, joking and losing around 3 hours at the border. It took us more than 9 hours to get to Riga (I drove the van for the first time after we passed the border) but we still arrived early for the show and after unloading our stuff we had dinner (a very delicious seitan with carots and mashed potatoes) and went for a walk around the city. The first thing we saw was a pro abortion monument. Otherwise the city was very beautiful and we had a lot of fun walking and joking around. There was only one band that played before nine eleven: some kind of post hardcore/rock thing. I couldn't really enjoy their music as it was too loud and I just stayed in the other room of the club. The venue was pretty big and there were 3 or 4 different rooms. Then Nine Eleven went on stage and there were a lot of kids moshing. We met our friend Remy there as he didn't have enough time to get his Belarussian visa and he missed the two shows there. When the show was over the guys took some rest, we loaded the van, parked it in a secure parking and went to sleep at the hostel nearby. I just took a shower and went to bed while some guys went downstairs for a beer.
25.10.2012 - Pskov, Russia
We left the hostel at 10 am and after a short stop to change our money we started the trip to Russia. After another quick stop for a well earned lunch break at a supermarket near the main road we continued and arrived early in the afternoon at the border between Estonia and Russia. We spent at least 3 hours there. The customs didn't bother us but they really took their time and did everything very slowly. After the border we headed straight to Pskov and turned around a little bit before we found the venue. Then we unloaded the van as usual and had a small dinner (a few chips + some salad, very little after a whole day in the van. There was only one opening band: Not An Accidental Death who played a tough guy metalcore (think about 90s vegan edge hardcore) with a female vocalist. Their vocalist turned out to be one of the biggest 911 fans around and attended also the next two shows. Nine Eleven came on stage next and made every one of the 50ish attendees to mosh, stomp or at least headbang. We spent very little time in the club after the show as it turned out that the kids in Russia, just like their counterparts in Belarus, buy some merch before the show/set of 911 and 10 minutes after the band has finished playing there is no one in the club. So we headed with our full van to our host's appartment and Richard and me we spent the night in the van. It was cold. During the show the rain had turned into snow. It turned out we'll have the snow accompany us for the next 4 days.
26.10.2012 - St. Petersburg, Russia
We went to the appartment in the morning and took a hot shower. It felt good after the night in the van. We left for St. Petersburg maybe around 11 am because we wanted to have some time for sightseeing. Lena came with us as she is living in St. Petersburg and we had some free space. We arrived around 5 pm in the city and after Remy negociated with a policeman to go without paying a fine after a U turn we parked in front of the venue and went for a walk around. The center is really amazing and we checked out the Hermitage (from the outside of course), a few churches and just had a good time walking in the streets and melting in the crowd. We were back at the club at 7 pm and unloaded the gear + set it up on stage. The first band made a short sound check while we were having dinner. The show started around 8 and the kids were moshing hard during the first band's set. They were playing some kind of tough guy mosh hardcore with a lot of break downs. There was even a semi fight during their set when one person was kicked a few times when he felt on the floor. Nine Eleven started and the 50 to 60 kids in the venue moshed hard. This caused Richard to break a fight during one song. The set finished without any other problems and everyone was smiling at the end of the show. We chilled for a bit, loaded the van and went to a super market to buy some pasta and cookies. We cooked the pasta and Remy made a delicious sauce at our hosts' place. I had dinner, took a shower and went to bed. Two people slept at the van this night.
27.10.2012 - Petrozavodsk, Russia
I think we left St. Petersburg around 10.30 am in the morning as we had a long drive to Petrozavodsk. The distance is only 400 km but the road is not that good + it had snowed the previous night. We were stuck for an hour in a traffic jam around 100 km after St. Petersburg. Otherwise the trip to Petrozavodsk was good and with only a handful of breaks as we were late for the get in. At the entrance of the city we stopped to wait for a train to pass by and it was the longest train I've ever seen in my life: 4 locomotives and 51 cars. Huuuuuge! After maybe 10 minutes it passed and we were able to enter the city. We found the venue without any problem (fingers in the nose as we love to say) at 7 pm and unloaded the gear at - 5 degrees and with 40 cm of snow on the ground. It was hard and we were all feeling the winter in our bones. There were no opening bands tonight so 911 did a short sound check and the show started around 8.30 pm. The 70 kids that came to the show were not disappointed. The band delivered a heavy set and everyone was having a good time. We sold a lot of stuff at the merch table with Jerome. As usual 5 minutes after the show ended there was no one in the club besided us, the promoter (the venue owner/manager) and our friend from the two previous days Lena. I think she was in love with the french guys and was having a hard time to let them leave. We had to load the gear in the van very fast as the venue was transforming in a night club. Afterwards we had dinner and coffee and chilled for a few moments before taking the road. We had decided to have an overnight drive to Vologda because it was too far away and the weather conditions were very bad.
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