A surprise announcement was made last night during an alleged Cowboys From Hell show at First Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The announcement? That it wasn’t actually going to be some band called Cowboys From Hell playing. Instead, it was going to be Pantera performing, and it was going to be a special night.
According to comedian Craig Gass, who opened up for the band with a standup set, the performance last night was actually going to be a live album recording session for Pantera, who somehow has never recorded a live album before. Apparently there were rumors and murmurs afoot regarding this super secret, but because of how the internet and social media work together like the Batman and Robin of drama and villainy, people in the know were well, in the know. (Because the venue posted the band’s CFH logo as a promo for the show, so like, yay for those who figured it out!)
Here’s what Gass said on stage, as transcribed by Blabbermouth.net. You can watch a video of the announcement below as well, taken by one Chad Davis.
“Announcement number one. The band you are seeing tonight is not called COWBOYS FROM HELL. You are about to watch an exclusive show from the band PANTERA. The rumors got out quickly, [and] you guys bought up all the tickets. And you may have heard this rumor. And this is also true. We are recording our first-ever live album right here at the First Avenue. So, there’s a couple things you need to know about it. First of all, you will all, for eternity, be heard on a live PANTERA album. That’s the good news. The bad news, you’re not gonna get paid for this. Welcome to the music business.”