Set up by those wacky 8th Dimensional Monster Freaks, Die Monster Die, this show turned out to be the last official show with Jon, who is off to Chicago to pursue fame and riches... or something like that.

Sound problems followed the band, but all in all, it was a pretty excellent show. Maybe Paul can fill us in on his thoughts later.

-- Madelyn

Surprise, surprise, we played again. In the long history of shows getting dropped into our lap, the Sanctuary Anniversary show had to be the weirdest. I am still wondering how it was confirmed. We had planned on taking some time off to write. In true happy birthday fashion, some of us put away just a little bit too much booze before going on. Thank God it didn't turn into a "Behind The Music" nightmare.

Our old friend, sound system difficulty dropped in for a visit. Our monitor mix was a little too heavy and I think there might have been some damage done to the monitors. Other than that, things went okay. The introduction of the new song tentatively titled Format went over well. This song is quite different than anything we have done previously and marks the beginning of new material expected to be ready for the next time we play out. For the time being, our fun is over and it is back to work. Hopefully we will be able to match or surpass our previous material. Keep your fingers crossed.

-- Cary

I am starting to wonder if the magic has worn off a little. The July 29 show at Sanctuary had a pretty lame turnout even with a touring band headlining. I am left wondering "Where did everybody go?" Where are the masses that tell us we are great, then never support us? All well, I guess you can't win them all. All those who chose not to show up, you missed a great show!

In spite of the turn out, we went on stage and gave it our all for about six people (albeit quite late as the promoters waited for the crowd to show up but were left wanting) One of the crowd was our loyal fan and first time roadie Chesh. It was good to get Chesh in to see us since he misses a great deal of our shows because of his age and lack of a fake ID. The rest of the crowd were club employees. I am quite happy with our performance. DJ Evil K offered some praise, saying: "I think AT delivered a really intense set. That's probably one of the best sets I've heard them play." This coming from a man who has heard more of us than even he wants to admit! Kevin even stepped in and ran the stage lights as a volunteer, Thank you Evil K! A couple of members of Wick complimented our sound which I find cool coming from a band that has been signed and is touring. Ok, I am through patting our back now!

It is definitely time to move on to new material. We have a couple of things in the bag that we need to work on. Hopefully next time we play, we will have some shiny new stuff to throw at ya! Until then, have a good one!

-- Cary

It can truly be said that there is no rest for the wicked. Three shows in less than one week can atest to that. I am pleased to report that we made it through and didn't do too bad, all things considered. The July 11 show at Getty's was a good showing for us as a stripped down three piece as Jason missed this show as well. Absinthe has turned out to be a cool band to hang with. They let us use their rigs for our show which was a blessing and a horror all at the same time. Dallas's rig is set up quite differently than I set up. This was evident from the first note I played through his rig. Paul might have been giving me shit, but I am picky about my tone and a vocalist just wouldn't understand... Absinthe also draws a great crowd that seems to like to see us play which is nice considering most of our supporters from the Industrial/Goth scene refuse to travel past 2100 South to see us. Hey, we miss you guys!

Technical difficulties aside, I had a good time as usual. I am greatful that Getty's and Absinthe both appreciates us. I think we definately need to take some time here soon and write some new songs. The standard material is starting to show some age. Warm up time is not even an issue any more and it used to make or break a show. It is time for the next challenge, its time for new blood and more sun bleached bones to knaw on.

-- Cary

July 10 at Xscape, opening for Dredg. Oour first dealing with the so called "Big Time" promoter. There is a point in music when it starts becoming more about the money and less about the music. This is somewhat sad. This show had more drama wrapped up in it than a Days of Our Lives episode. We are talking more dicey and scarier than any of the small time promoted shows we have done. Come on! I mean is it that hard to pay the sound guy what he asks? Is it impossible to have local openers without exploiting the hell out of them? In an ideal world it is, but as I am fond of saying; "We do not live in an ideal world"..

At any rate, this was a fun show after the initial shock and limbo that we were thrust into. Back up to full strength for this one, kind of. Jason graced us with his presence at this one. After all, it was Xscape, formerly DV8, and legends have played there. Amp problems have started plaguing me and it affects our sound. I ended up playing through a rental amp that Paul picked up for this big all important show. The amp worked out really well considering the amount of time I had to get intimate with it. I never really found the sweet spot though. This was possibly the shortest set we have ever played. It fits the "Short But Sweet Tour" analogy really well. So did the business hours at Xscape. Lets just say the bar was not open long enough for a proper celebration of a great show! All well, it was better to save it for later anyway.

-- Cary

There is just something about July that gets us busy. Last year it was the end of the month wich was our busiest time. This year, it has been the first of the month. The July 5 show started a flurry; three shows in one weeks time. This was quite a first for us. This first show in the "Short But Sweet Tour" was indeed short. We were short on everything: short on notice, short one and one half guitarist, and we played a very short set. We were back to playing as a three piece. A very strange three piece, as we were missing the high end edge that Jason provides. It is weird how you can take our sound for granted. When that one element is missing, the dynamic of the whole group changes tremendously. It was a fun experiment, but I don't want to start making a habit out of it

-- Cary

The show at Getty's on 6/06 started things rolling. The Dark Arts show was Awaiting Treatment at its finest. We really shined our brightest for once. Everyone in the band left the stage satisfied for once, including myself! Anyone who has read these knows that I can be our harshest critic. We kept the exact same set-list from our previous show at Getty's and just turned it up a notch. The comedic banter with the enthusiastic crowd helped get me amped. The near flawless performance of all the songs finished it off. I just cannot find anything bad to say, This has to be arguably our best performance to date.

The whole Dark Arts experience was great, aside from some minor fucking around with our time slot. (Which I believe helped with the motivation for this show) We were able to make some new friends here in the local scene as well as the out of state bands like the Cadavers. Rumor has it, Skitch from Apox was even impressed with our set and offered some praise.

Dark Arts 2002 also marked the first year of Awaiting Treatment as a show playing entity. It was great to have Hyrum doing sound for us just like last year. It was also great to see that crowd get pumped up just like last year. For me, there is a lot of sentiment wrapped up in this last year. We are light years past anything I could have imagined and there is no signs of going anywhere but up from here. Thanks to everyone who has made this past year an experience I will never forget.

-- Cary

Once again, we had a show just drop into our laps. We were working diligently on getting ready for The dark Arts Festival, when out of the blue, Gene called us in to open for Absinthe. We agreed and brought the AT sound to a whole new audience. Our target crowd was taking in the first day of DA, so we were definitely in uncharted territory. We geared the set-list to be as furious as possible, dropping two of the slower songs and debuting the side project material of SMFDM. This gamble payed off as the energy of the band as well as the audience built into an incredible crescendo at the end of the set. We ended the night with some new fans and a sense of accomplishment.

It was great to finally release something for SMFDM, our much anticipated clown act side project. Now that everyone has an idea what SMFDM is about, we hope we can get more people to collaborate with us and spread the joy in just goofing around and making weird music.

-- Cary

The show at Getty's was a glimpse into the future. The show could have had a better turn out. It was hard to get pumped up with the small crowd, but I think we did ok. Considering it was a Sunday and Mothers Day to boot. One thing was realized from this show: It is definately time to push forward and expand on where we are at at this point.

This show opened up a new chapter in the ungoing Awaiting Treatment story. With the addition of John on guitar, we played our first show as a four peice. Jon was brought on to help usher in the future for Awaiting Treatment. The envisioned plan is to become a little bit more guitar driven alnng the lines of bands like Ministry. With the added flexibility of another guitar, we will now have more room for experimenting with some ideas that we just didn't have room for in the past. It is safe to say that there will be some definite tweaks in the material planned for after The Dark Arts Festival. The Ministry Medly and In Ruins (which were the highlights of this show) are a but a glimpse as to what is ahead for the band that continues to redefine itself and grow musicaly.

-- Cary

This show was a roller coaster of emotion. From start to finish, it was up and down. We hadn't got in a lot of practice leading up to it. In my world, we could have done better, In everyone else's, we were magnificent. Thank God, my opinion counts for little!

I will spin a little here. I attribute the audiences perception of this show to the fact that we brought the mysterious rugs on stage with us for the first time. I think they looked out for us!! On stage, I was having a hell of a time. First, In the middle of Undercurrents, I lost the strap off of my bass and had to play with it rested on my knee until I could drop out and fix it. Second, I nearly tripped over the extra lights set up at the rear of the stage, ouch. Amazingly enough, we pulled it off!

The crowd seemed to evaporate on us. Playing that late was a first for us and I think we lost a lot of people to last call... There were people there from way back in the annals of AT history, like the singer from a band that Jason and myself started way back when, who split before we started AT. Also, a group of guys I used to run with who know the actual secret behind the name Awaiting Treatment! Scary!!

High point: unveiling of Thomas. This song has become everybody's baby. From Jason writing the sequence for his girlfriend, to Paul's emotional lyrics, and my bass riff that I wrote forever ago and coincidentally fit the digital sequence perfectly. Something beyond our world was at work when we put this diddy together!! Although it doesn't sound like Awaiting Treatment, this song reflects more of the band than I think even we realized!!

Low point: dehydration! I was not in good shape at the end of the set due to taking a handful of ephedrine right before we went on. It sucked the water out of me and I had a bad case of cottonmouth!

-- Cary

After nearly two months of recording, the band is restless and wants to do a live show. Leaving nothing to chance, they hit the practice studio and rehearse like it is their last show. Fearing rust, they start out with caution, but it is soon evident that whatever rust may have collected is quickly vanquished by a single run through the set. Even the Ministry medley that had been totally dismantled came back quite easily in its newest form with the addition of yet another portion of a Ministry song that will for now remain a mystery.

8:00 pm, the band arrives at the club to unload. Imediately, it is clear that something is awry. There is a large party on hand to watch the Super Bowl and there is no PA set up. In limbo, they wait it out. It is soon decided that the band would not play this night. They are offered another night at everyone's convienience and a new date is set. The band is handsomely compensated with some cash and a bar tab wich quickly turns the show into the Awaiting Treatment Band Party From Hell. Cary says, "The next day, I definately needed treatment, as I came down with one of the largest hangovers in recent memory." (Look for more on this in the bodies section under Cary's Benders)

The band would like to thank Nancy and everyone at the Manhattan for a great time!! In spite of not playing, they had a good time and ended up with a better gig out of the deal: The Fetish Ball on February 24! Come check it out, you will not be dissappointed

-- Cary

The Red Cross Benefit Show was another defining moment.

Before we decided to do this one, I was concerned with the way things were going. We hadn't done a show since the August 12 at The Manhattan, almost two months earlier. That was a low point; morale was low and we were partying to much and practicing to little. When I volunteered us for this show, I was not sure which way we would go. We were having blow ups like you would see on "Behind The Music!" Finally with a common goal, we banded together to pull off a great show!!

This was the outcome I had hoped and dreamed for. Undercurrents (formerly S&M) and In Ruins (formerly Odyssey) came out of the tension filled months leading up to this show! These are two of my favorite songs. Especially Undercurrents; the bass line is a real challenge and the feel is just amped up a notch from our previous material. The show prompted the CD Black Synapses, which will be out soon!! It also gave ourmorale a much needed lift. Once again, we were poised to conquer the world!

On a cool note, Paul's parents checked out this show and hung out with the band afterward This was a surreal event indeed!

-- Cary

This show was a blur. The band discovers playing for booze which would be the downfall of this show. The whole Sunday Night at Manhattan was just starting. The show was advertised in Slug and City Weekly but the turn out was horrible. We drank quite a bit at before going on and still played decently. Once again, there were sound issues.

Low point, Paul forgetting the lyrics to So What and announcing mid song, "Oh shit, I forgot the Lyrics!! Remember, we were medicated!!

High point, Jason pulling the strings off his guitar at the end of the set causing the coolest feedback I have ever heard. What is really cool, both points happened in the same song!! So the story goes, Paul has a phobia of returning to the Manhattan to perform; no one can say for sure though! Set list not preserved.

-- Cary

This was the middle of the busy season for us with shows on 7/27, 8/5 and 8/12. The Apox show literaly landed in our lap after The Goth Band Bonanza. The set list was not preserved for this show either. But the Ministry Medley (Cheese and Monkies version) debued at this show. This has turned in to a fun one. I do however miss the C&M version.

Ibex Throne was loud and abnoxious, leaving a fake blood stain on the ceiling of rhe club wich is still there. In fact, there is still evidence of that show on our stage monitors as well. We had a difficult time with the sound at this show. The PA kept cutting out on us. We weren't as tight as we could have been, but we managed. The crowning moment came when we unleashed the MM (C&M version). This got the crowd riled after suffering through the sound cut outs.

I didn't get to stick around for Apox. They did however borrow my bass for their show due to problems with their own, so there is my claim to almost fame!!

-- Cary

This was a great show, one of our best. I don't think the set list was preserved but I can remember that Refuse was debued at this show! I remember playing Defragment and the small but enthused audience crowded the stage. This show really set things in motion for us. Being the new kids on the block we opened things up for Tragic Black and Domiana. We played a tight set due to a great sound check. The fact we played the whole set in the sound check before hitting the stage helped a great deal. This was also the first show we used the dramatic entrance with an intro tune which has become sort of a trademark.

This is also the when Sonic Fucking Death Monkey made its first appearance. Thank you Alanja!! Back then it seemed like everyone wanted to change our name, so Alanja had the fliers printed up to say "Sonic F***ing Death Monkey". This gave birth to the "We Are Not Primates Intro" that can be heard on the Core Samples Demo before Refuse.

-- Cary

We had anticipated this show for a long time. A lot of work went into getting that first five song set together. We were just starting out as a musical unit, and our dynamics were somewhat rough.

Musicaly, most of the songs we played have withstood the test of time with very few minute changes and improvements here and there. Hollow is the only song that was dropped. Lyricaly, its a different story. Paul has made drastic lyric changes since then but it has all worked out for the best.

All and all, it was a good first show. We were a bit nervous, which is evident in the video of the set. We ended up being the only band that did an encore for the whole festival, which was very encouraging. Not expecting an encore, we played Piss Christ a second time because we only had the five songs ready! At that point we had no other material to work from. My, how things have changed since then; we've been on a rampage ever since!! For the most part, we have introduced a new song at every show with the exception of the August 12, 2001 show at the Manhattan.

-- Cary