Gilby Clarke: "South America Has The Best Music Fans In The World"

via Blabbermouth
Fan-filmed video footage of Gilby Clarke's December 8, 2010 performance at Petecos in Buenos Aires, Argentina can be viewed below.

Clarke has issued the following recap of his just-completed South American tour:

"South America — what a great trip this was...

"It didn't start out great when I got a call the week before that Dave Langguth (drums) broke his ankle and couldn't make the tour. I called Dennis [Morehouse] and he changed some gigs around and was able to do it. So off to Paraguay we went...

"Now I've played Paraguay before; the fans were great and the production team was first rate.

"On these tours, we always play with rental gear and my band has pretty simple requests when it comes to backline, but in the States they never have what we need and always have an excuse why they can't provide it. So what a surprise that Paraguay had the best gear of the whole tour. Brand new Marshalls, classic SVT's and a killer kit.

"Next up was Argentina for three shows and a house party for a radio listener winner. I knew it would be special when I got off the plane and there was a welcoming party of girls.

"The El Teatro show kicked ass. I met the local Hell's Angels chapter president and my doppelganger. But the second show we went on at 2:30 a.m. at Petecos and that pissed me off.

"After the Rosario show, we had to drive a couple hours back to Buenos Aires to catch our flight to Brazil where I met the American ambassador and did a meet-and-greet with the boys and girls club in Sao Paulo. The show was another packed house and good thing, cuz' last time it was half-filled.

"We stayed up all night again to catch our flight to Chile, so we were a lil' beat when we arrived. The promoters took pity on us, since we've been up for two days straight and let us cancel the press conference.

"The show in Santiago was crazy... I hadn't played there since 1994 when I opened for AEROSMITH, so I was surprised when the show sold out. Of course, we only had a couple hours sleep again to catch our flight to Bolivia...

"I know this sounds like a broken record, but I didn't book the flights, my agent did, and they should know you play at 1 a.m. in South America, so don't book flights at 7 a.m.!

"Anyway, Bolivia was killer, except I could barely breathe 'cuz of the altitude. The mayor gave me a certificate and the key to the city as a token of their appreciation. (that we rocked the house) so I'm sure we'll be back soon.

"South America has the best music fans in the world and are very passionate about good music. Can't wait for the next tour!"

Clarke suffered three broken bones in his left foot/ankle and a broken bone in his right foot in a hit-and-run accident on his motorcycle on January 10. He had his second surgery in early February during which "they put in a rod, plate and lots of screws," he wrote on his blog.