Feb 17: The Mission (USA), Boogaloo - Los Angeles

The concert was honestly just okay—nothing to write home about. Still, I had a pretty good time regardless.

Morgan Chase4, that new haircut looks good on you.

...you can only imagine what the organizers were going through while all that chaos was unfolding at the border...😢

..otherwise, the concert was alright... I was satisfied...

..especially regarding the set length and the genuine effort to leave the crowd with a good impression..

Hey everyone, give this a read; it’s a story about the state of our country, not just about The Mission.. tour diary "dead guitars"

I woke up shivering because I was freezing. Either someone forgot to turn the heat on or the power just cut out entirely. I asked Frank, our driver, to get it running again, but after another hour in the cold i decided to go and have a nice warm shower. You honestly never know when you'll get another chance at a luxury like that out here. Anyway, we ended up stranded yesterday at the American border. Some loser in a uniform decided he wouldn't let both bands into "his" country. Apparently, you need specific paperwork for all the gear. Nobody mentioned anything about that before—at least, that's what we were told back at the customs office in Germany. But once you hit the actual border, they seem to make up their own rules on the fly, don't they? They just love making you feel helpless; I guess that's where they get their thrills. There are plenty of mindless people in uniform who seem to get some kind of twisted ego trip out of these little power plays. I first ran into this exact vibe when i had to land in Houston on my way to Mexico. "What's in the back, sir?" My guitar, sir... "Are you sure, sir?" Of course I'm sure, sir. "Where are you headed, sir? Are you absolutely sure, sir?" It was enough to drive me insane. I had to unpack everything and have the guitar inspected because they couldn't tell the difference between a bomb and an equalizer on an electro-acoustic. Yesterday, we dealt with the same kind of weirdo. All we had to prove was that we weren't trying to hawk our instruments in Washington, D.C. I mean, seriously, who drives two whole buses and twenty people all the way to Washington, D.C. just to sell their damn equipment? What a total moron! Well, it all wrapped up based on decisions made by people who aren't even part of this. We’re getting a day off, and the guys from The Mission are going to perform using rented gear while their tour bus stays parked outside the country. Since our driver needed his mandatory 11-hour break, we had to pull over somewhere pretty soon. That's how we ended up at a campsite with a spa somewhere in Canada. To be honest, the "dead guitars" basically held a meeting by the pool, and I was pretty pissed off. We could have done an acoustic support set, but it's too late for that now. We've been totally let down by circumstances, and honestly, I really don't want to be in a place where they can treat people this way. You never even know if they'll let you leave. My Dutch passport doesn't help much anyway; it's like we're all just addicts looking for dope, grass, and hookers, right? we might write a letter to the ambassador in Germany and the Netherlands, but it's probably water under the bridge by now. Sorry to everyone who messaged us saying how much they were looking forward to seeing us. I hope you guys had a good night with the mission. I spent nearly 45 minutes in the shower just trying to wash off the frustration of a canceled show, the extra expenses, and the nagging fear that we're going to end up paying way more than we'll ever make back from selling a few CDs. I showered away the frustration, scrubbed my tired body, shaved my five-day stubble, brushed my teeth, and crawled back onto the bus. Here I am now, finished with my coffee and muesli, typing this to you on my laptop while we navigate the winding roads toward Budapest near the American border. Is this going to be our farewell tour? Is this turning into a total financial wreck? Will Silver Cross ever make it onto the next album? Just go back to sleep, van Putten!

Feeling pretty let down as I write this

Love & health

Carl

Wait, so the dead guitars didn't even make it into the US, and they didn't even get to play? 😕

EDIT: Ugh, this tour diary written in German is even worse—they are absolutely livid. Morgan Chase4, you're in trouble 😬

Hey everyone. I've got something interesting to write about today. We are currently somewhere in Canada. The gig in America isn't happening because this damn country won't let us in (not an EU member yet). The American promoter is a total joke —he tried to handle the logistics for both bands at the border. He really should have sorted this out beforehand; today is Sunday... Both bands are traveling without ATA Carnets, and now the American customs officer has completely trashed the whole show... so, the entire trip was for nothing. The Mission is currently trying to enter as private citizens (without any instruments) just to see if they can play using some rented gear. But the border stations are already talking to each other over the phone... it's a 50/50 shot. Everyone in our crew is incredibly pissed off & the promoter will be hearing from us soon —wasted travel, no merch sales, plus extra stays and expenses...

Is this meant to be the instruction manual for the toaster? 🤔

Well, you really laid it all out there now 🤣

I didn't really feel like translating this one 😉
Basically, word is the organizer is a complete idiot. People are furious and saying he's going to be hearing about this for a long time... 😁 All that traveling and money spent was for nothing, just to end up being stuck... and they actually called America a total dump😳

So, basically, they’re just tearing into the organizer and whining about our lack of "resourcefulness"—claiming the whole country is a complete mess because we aren't in the EU, then dragging in some nonsense about Sanader and Mexico, though honestly, I can barely follow their logic. 😬

Then, of course, there's the inevitable part where they curse out the promoter over the ATA Carnet issues and the fact that everyone else stayed on the other side of the border—followed by more incoherent rambling about politics, soccer, and wild cherry trees. ☕

It would be a huge help if someone could break down what an ATA Carnet actually is, just for us mere mortals who aren't out here organizing massive concert tours every week😕

ATA Carnet

Carl is talking out of his ass. I have no clue who he cornered in Germany to get that supposed advice about not needing an ATA Carnet for the US—probably just some buddy at a bar. He definitely didn't ask a customs officer, because German customs officials mostly stick to airports now; they haven't had land borders like that in ages. At the end of the day, nobody with actual authority could tell him they don't need paperwork for their gear, because that's just plain false. On top of that, our guys at the border usually aren't that "diligent" anyway and tend to let them pass through with their equipment without checking a single thing.

boldraven93, an ATA Carnet is basically a passport for your gear; it's a document that takes a day to process. Since most bands play within the EU or maybe one or two shows outside the EU (like NYC), most of them can't be bothered to deal with the hassle. Back when Canada, Canada, and the surrounding countries were outside the EU, anyone heading east had to get one. Now that all those places are in the EU, they don't need it, and the US is considered too "small" a gig to bother with all that red tape.

boldraven93 said:It would be helpful if someone could explain what an ATA Carnet actually is, for us mere mortals who don't spend our lives organizing concerts... 😕

Think of an ATA Carnet as a "passport" for technical or musical gear. It’s just a document listing everything you’re bringing in and taking out of a country. Even much smaller bands than The Mission carry them, often specifically for shows in the US, since you don't need this paperwork when traveling between EU countries. Complaining that customs is being difficult because they won't let you through without an ATA Carnet is like complaining that they won't let you into a country without a passport—you just want to get in, play the show, and leave. That's the law, end of story. Not to mention, customs officers are usually total jerks anyway...

Man, what a joke. Seriously, and here we were stressing out and pulling out an ATA Carnet just to get into Canada.

I tossed it into Babel Fish and it only translated half of it 😬

By the way, just how much of their own material do they actually play? They were covering the Beatles, Dylan, and Neil Young last night... 😁

Robin Rodriguez5 said:Btw, how much of their own stuff do they actually have? Since they were playing the Beatles, Dylan, and Neil Young last night... 😁

nah, just EKV

and yeah, that ATA Carnet is just one more reason why bands are probably gonna keep bypassing us.

boldraven93 said:And yeah, that ATA Carnet is just one more reason why touring bands are going to start bypassing us.

The whole concept of an ATA Carnet has been around for nearly half a century now. Getting the paperwork sorted costs a percentage based on the value of the gear you're hauling, which honestly ends up being a pretty negligible amount—unless you're lugging around half a ton of high-end equipment, but if you are, you clearly have the cash to cover it anyway. An ATA Carnet isn't required within the EU simply because nothing gets taxed or cleared through customs there, including gear. If a band traveling from outside the EU doesn't have one, it really just means they or their tour manager are either uninformed or incredibly naive. It’s exactly like Banderas said; they could probably show up without a passport if they weren't careful.

boldraven93 said:nah, just EKV

They didn't steal their songs; they snatched the bassist😁

As for the ATA Carnet, it's not expensive, but dealing with the paperwork is such a headache. It’s often easier for some bands to just cancel their Washington, D.C. dates or show up without one using the App system. Damn the European Union for expanding right up to our borders.😠

Anthony Bennett46 said:The whole concept of an ATA Carnet has been around for almost half a century now, and honestly, the cost of getting the paperwork sorted scales with the value of the gear you're hauling—which, in most cases, ends up being a pretty negligible amount (unless you're lugging around half a ton of high-end equipment, but hey, if you are, you probably have the cash to cover it anyway). Using an ATA Carnet within the European Union isn't some mandatory thing just because there are no customs duties inside the bloc; if a band traveling from outside the EU doesn't have one, it really just means they or their tour manager are either totally out of the loop or being incredibly naive. It’s exactly like what Banderas said—they might as well have tried to show up without passports.

Yeah, I mean, everything he said is fair, and it’s just silly to play the "if it works, it works" game and hope for the best. In my opinion, if the band and their crew weren't aware of the requirements, then Tom should have stepped up and warned them about something this crucial right away, especially since this isn't exactly his first rodeo with booking shows.

I wonder if the customs agent actually knows what's good😍