Managed to pack everything in the car except the bass amp and drumkit then set off to Leeds…
Day I Leeds
Packing skills
The venue is on the first floor of the Packhorse. We go pick up the bass amp and drum kit from Quack Quack only to realise that we’re also missing a kick pedal, so we need to cross town again. We finally set up all the gear and Nick makes us sound great. Good surprise to see David from LRR and we all go for a greasy pizza in the self-proclaimed “best pizza place in Leeds”. Mark is gutted because they don’t have the advertised caviar pizza, we think it’s probably better that way. There’s a thunderstorm and we all shelter under a bus (shelter).
We taste a bit of local ale and we’re on stage, intense set and lovely people! We try out one new song, Through Water / Water for the ashes and really get into it.
We watch worriedaboutsatan’s set, it’s their album launch. Great set with 13 Tzameti projected in the background, need to see that film.
Day II Newcastle
Once everything is loaded we set off to Newcastle, stopping along the way in a countryside pub in the middle of nowhere, amazing food! We even get mistaken for people on their way to the Young Farmers’ convention.
Morning
Having played in the Byker area of Newcastle before (Star and Shadow cinema on the Mi and L’au tour in 2006), we had already had a taste for this part of the city and its art galleries/ venues, and the recently developed Cluny 2 only adds to it. Great venue and great sound, only weird thing being the seats on the right of the stage and the mini-catwalk.
We get more drinks and stay up talking before getting some sleep. The next morning we get a feast from the lovely Belle & Herbs café and head off.
Cluny 2 - Newcastle
Day III/IV Off!
Day V Cambridge beer festival.
Day VI York
The great novelty for this part of the tour is that we have a van and a driver. And it’s yellow. Ross will be driving us around for the next couple of days.
Bruce II
After picking up a second cab for Dan “just because we can take two” Carney we set off to York. The venue is called the Basement and the stage is on the “length” side rather than at one of the room ends, making it quite weird and awkward sounding during soundcheck. However as it fills up it starts sounding better. Out the window you can see the river. We get some lovely food prepared by the promoter and go for a walk around York. Rachel has to dissuade me from buying a massive sword in a sword shop. The set goes very well despite the bass being unbearably loud from where I’m standing, hopefully it sounds better at the front. After the show we head off to a nearby cocktail bar where they dangerously have one of these 2 for 1 offers. Their cocktails have sometimes ill-chosen music related names, and Mark and I down a couple of “Jose Speedy Gonzales”. See what I mean.
We get woken up by a cat and have a nice fry up before heading to Coventry.
Day VII Coventry – in store
Tin Angel
I can’t remember the Tin Angel being a record store last time I was there, and it’s such a great place. It’s also nice to hang out with Last Harbour, Mark and Rach play on a couple of their songs and it sounds fantastic. Our set goes very well, best so far on the tour, probably helped by the intimacy and cosiness of the venue. We decide to start by a song we haven’t really played before, just Rach and I, and during soundcheck Chris and Mark join in and it sounds superb so we play it with them too. After the show and a couple more drinks with Last Harbour we set off to London where we’ll be staying for the next two nights.
The very patient Ross has to cope with our drunken banter and Mark’s incessant requests to put Public Enemy on the stereo.
Day VIII London
In the van
Apparently they’ve been some confusion as to whether this gig had been canceled or not, which doesn’t do us much good in terms of attendance. The guy doing the sound really cares about our recreating our sound which is a rare thing. As he is French we speak in my mother tongue and for some reason I just can’t seem to make sentences that make sense in French anymore. I guess I’ve been living away for too long… The set goes pretty well and it’s good to see familiar faces, I somehow manage to detune my guitar completely in the noise section of Capturing Shadows, which leaves us enough time for some top quality banter during the re-tuning.
Stop by to get some cheese and wine and saussicon (homesickness) and the night ends with beards and wrestling matches.
Day IX Bristol
Folk House
There’s just something absolutely fantastic about playing in big reverb-ery venues. Cafe Oto, All Saints church… and the Folkhouse in Bristol. The sound just seems to engulf you and carry you around. It is probably the best we play on the tour, we’re all hearing and feeling everything, it just flows.
Back at the promoter’s house we taste some delicious liquors and I spot a pond in the garden. It had gone by the morning.
Day X Brighton
Beardy Chris
Newspaper headlines say “hottest day of the year” and they’re not wrong. We bid farewell to Dan at Heathrow airport (no he was not flying somewhere, just going back to Cambridge to do the sound for Prurient) and stock up on ice cream. Tonight’s show is somehow drumless as we’re only allowed a tom, snare and cymbals and the lack of Dan’s bass can be heard too (going from two cabs to none is a bit like going cold turkey). Initially having wanted to do an intimate set, as the evening goes on we more and more think we should play more noisy/energetic tunes, and it somehow doesn’t feel right once we’re in it. But hey, we have a good time and it’s the last day! Add to that the fact that Ross’ football team got relegated (I’ve learnt quite a bit about football while on tour) and we’re in need for some morale boosters, which cost £1.50 from the bar. Altogether an awesome tour, great people to meet, great to play our songs all around the country, and we gained a new friend.
