I attended the Houston Thor concert on 20 August 2005 and it was the coolest concert ever. I am only 18 and the show was at a 21+ only bar, so I originally intended on camping out next to the band entrance door in hopes of at least shaking hands with Thor and getting him to sign my Rock N Roll Nightmare VHS, even if I couldn't see the show. I waited about 3 hours before the band showed up in a Uhaul truck and I told them my predicament of not being able to see the show. They introduced themselves (Mike Favata, Magnus, and the stage manager) and said that Thor would certainly be willing to sign my video. Since the show was on the second floor of the bar, I offered to help carry some of their heavier equipment upstairs, which they politely accepted. After we had unloaded all the equipment, I scoped out the venue and was crossing my fingers in hopes that people would think I was with the band. Fortunately, no staff member ever questioned my being there and I got to hang out with the band hours and hours before the show. Mike Favata showed me his awesome drum set and explained how unique they were (made of African balsa wood I think), citing that an employee of Disney did the artwork on the bass drum. I even got to sit at the table with Mr. Favata when he ate dinner. My dinner consisted of whatever chips and salsa the rest of the band didn't eat, but I was wholly content with the idea that I was eating dinner with the drummer for Thor.

The opening band Hognose took the stage about an hour after previously scheduled and they played a pretty good set. But they were blown away when Thor came and delivered his reign of rock thunder. The highlight of the night, for me, was certainly "We Live to Rock," in which Thor involved the entire crowd in the mindblowing chorus. Whenever he played "Strange Lantern" and pummeled the demon that had infiltrated the crowd, eventually strangling him with the microphone stand, I was the lucky recipient of the upper half of the broken stand. Afterwards, I got the band to sign it, and I have attatched a picture of it.

Meeting Thor was the greatest. He was very nice and informative, answering all the questions I had been building up for years after first seeing Rock N Roll Nightmare. He also made me very excited by discussing the details of the upcoming DVD release of RNRN. Thor signed my VHS copy, and it is now proudly displayed in a frame in the center of my room. Steve Stack was also very cool; and he even gave me a poster from the New York show at the Continental. Overall, this has to be one of the best nights of my life.

Hail Thor!
Andrew Austin