I've been a die-hard fan of the MTX for a LONG time now. I've only gotten to see them twice, and that has been a few years ago. When I heard that they were going to be somewhere remotely close; I as totally psyched. I, myself, am the leader of a local punk band However, Indianapolis, sorry to say, doesn't have much punk. Nothing would stop me from seeing my favorite band.

I could only get a 1/2 day off work, so I wanted to jet out at noon. My friend and I escaped our job at noon sharp. There was a mini-marathon going on, so we didn't get on the highway untill about one. We were an hour off, but that wasn't gonna slow us down. Just getting out oif the city was awful. We must have gave the finger about ten times, and lunch hour traffic bites. We got about 30 miles out of Indy, when the worst thing happened; 20 miles of heavy construction. After that, I was flooring it, and pissing of anyone in my path that was in my way. I ran people off the road and drove 95 miles an hour, forcing anyone in my path to get the hell out of my way. There were 2 tornadoes, 2 severe storms, and a flood all the way through Indiana. I drove, foot to the floor, through every wall of water and street lake. That and the traffic through Michigan delayed us another 2, or so, hours. The show atarted at 6:00 Detroit time, and it was 7:45 by the time we got to Detroit.

Thanks to the help of a 20 year-old map, a drunken cab driver, a stomed prostitute, a cop, some homeless guy, a disgrunted parking attendant, and gas station clerk; We didn't find the Shelter untill 8:45. Habib, the scary parking attendant alsomt got jumped by me because he snuck up behind, and scared the shit ouita me. When I got to the door, the bouncer told me that the show was over, and he would not let us in. I could hear them still playing and I told him that I had just drove 500 miles, through the gates of hell, just to get there. He didn't believe me, so I whipped out my driver's liscence and work I.D. After feeling pity on me, he took our tickets and let us through. All I got to hear was the end of "I Just Wanna Fo It With You" and "Sackcloth & Ashes". Everyone in the croud was wore out, but Frank, Joel, and Jym were still kickin' it. It was seven bucks, 500 miles, and a journey through hell, in exchange for seven minutes of pure happiness.

It was a high price to pay, but it was worth it. If I had to do it all over again, I would. But, Mr.T. Experience, if you can hear me, will you PLEASE play a show in Indy sometime?? I don't want to ever have to go through that again. You kick ass, and always will! ==:)

Sincerely,

Rick DeLatte