To The Valleys Boyo

Off to Wales we go to for a show at the Cardiff International Arena before heading back North to Sheffield for a day off where i brought Mikey, my lighting tech from Canada to his first football match. He seemed to enjoy it even tho it was only Sheffield United v Birmingham at a 3/4 full Bramall Lane on a Sunday morning. Sheffield may be a dead town on a Sunday but its a pretty nice place to walk around.


After shows in Sheffield and Nottingham it was off to Aberdeen via a drive through the beautiful Scottish highlands.


We had a day off in possibly the best hotel room i've ever had.


Huge bed and a bath in the bedroom. Also a damn good resturaunt with a butcher shop that you can pick your steak before its cooked. It also has a very good whiskey tasting cellar with over 250 different malts.
We also got a great hook up in Glasgow with Bulmers having dropped off 12 crates in return for tickets. Sounds like a good deal to me.

After 2 great shows in Scotland (the 2nd one being in Glasgow) it was off to Newcastle and then on to Manchester for the last few shows of the UK tour. Not quite sure what the hell this guy directly behind the security was wearing but gave me a laugh nonetheless.


After that we headed off to Amsterdam for a day off amid the usual craziness that Amsterdam has to offer.
Started with the usual calmness before descending into the usual Jagermeister fueled madness.



Next morning we were off to the venue in Amsterdam for load in. I couldnt help but feel like the traffic signs had been
Killers-ed up a little.


From here on in the day got a little strange. Upon my arrival i found all of the local crew outside because of a bomb threat in the area of the venue. As the day progressed it became more and more possible that the show would be cancelled but we proceeded as normal and the band came in for soundcheck in the hope that we would get to have the show. Unfortunately it was not to be and the local Dutch Police were forced to cancel the show just before doors. So we now go back to Amsterdam on May 29th to make up the show. Apparently a threat was made against the shopping mall that is attached to the venue and the threat specified targeting a large scale gathering of people. 7 people were arrested and an undefined amount of plastic explosives was found in an apartment a couple of hundred meters from the venue. Luckily the police took the responsible approach and meant that no one was put in any danger. It was a little weird loading the show out at 6pm knowing that the building was a target though.

So with nothing to do we were off back into Amsterdam to waste a few hours before heading off to Dusseldorf and then onwards to Berlin. i've no idea who this band is but its def one of the cheeseiest pictures going

After the Berlin show, it was off to Munich for a show at the Zenith which is an old steelworks which is desperately in need of not being used as a venue anymore.

For some reason it has a random 50's style sandwich cart/bar in it

I did manage to spruce up the front of house set up at this show though. Ahhhh comfort!!



Next up we were off to Milan for a St Patricks Day show at the DatchForum Arena which was recorded by Italian TV for a broadcast soon. My crew chief did find a rather nice Dolce & Gabbana Bathrobe to wear for the load in though which relieved some of the boredom.



Next day we were on our way to Switzerland, we didnt get any swiss chocolate on this trip but we did have a good stock of Cadburys Choc Fingers on the bus.


After a quick overnight drive we were off to Paris for a show at the Zenith.



And so the long drive came around. After driving through the Spanish countryside.

13 hours later we were in Barcelona. Which is one of my favourite cities in the world. I always have a great time when i come here and this one was a little quieter than it could have been but was a good time nonetheless. We did end up at the strangely named "OBAMA" British& African pub.

It was a fantastic show at the Pavello Olympico though i am not sure what the relevance of the name of the in house security company is.


Here is a little video to show how great the audience from the show was


I also recieved a gift from the girls of the Italian fanclub who were at this show.

Might just look like a cat but its actually a small vaccuum cleaner. Can be used quite nicely to clean up my lighting desk.

That night we were off to Madrid for the last show of the European tour. Another fantastic crowd awaited and a great night was had by all.


Unfortunately this meant we had to say goodbye to our caterers who had been taking great care of us for the past month or so.
The food on this tour was some of the best catering i've had on a tour for a long time. Particular favourite has to be the "Snickers Cheesecake"


So, there we have it. the first European leg has come to an end. Next up Australia and New Zealand.