South America

So after our Caribbean fun we were off to South America for our ever visit to Colombia. The show was in Parque Jaime Duque about an hour outside of downtown Bogota. After load in was done we went for a little stroll around the area and saw just how seriously the local police take the security of the venue. All the regular security guys were armed guards and the Police outside were dressed up like something out of Robocop.



We also saw some nice quaint taxi's


and some rather "tasty" looking local BBQ



The craziest part about this show was that the doors to the venue opened at 6pm and The Killers didn't go onstage until 11pm with no opening bands and just a DJ to entertain the crowd for the 5 hours. It did nothing to dampen the audiences spirits though and they were well up for the show once the guys hit the stage.



We were a little perplexed after the show to find the bottle of Vodka on the bands dressing room rider came in its own studded leather case. Just a little bit odd if you ask me


After the show it was back to the hotel where i was slightly confused as to why my hotel desk had a large 1980's style calculator on it.


Next morning i was given a rather unique wake up call as even from my 7th floor room it sounded like this old steam train was about to come in through my window


Next day we were off to Lima, Peru for a couple of days R&R before the next show. As this was our first trip to peru we were a little hesitant as to what the reaction would be but from the people who were at the airport to the fans camped outside the hotel for the 4 days we were there.


Across the road from our hotel was a shopping mall with various resturants and shops as well as a cinema and a club called Gothica where we all went to a gig by singer/songwriter Donovan Frankenreiter. It was however a little weird seeing Christmas decorations so early in the year.


Also around the area were a bunch of the cow sculptures that are now dotted all around the world. Here is a couple of my particular favourites




The next day was spent going around the Old Town part of Lima and taking in the sites.




Another Day.......another Day Off!! Easy Life on Tour eh!!
So off to the skies we took

Thats me Paragliding over the roof of our hotel.

Next up was some lunch......Manwich anyone???


All washed down by Peru's national soft drink........Inca Kola....and yes it really is that colour. Its quite tasty though


We were getting closer to show day so there was only time for last tourist sight and so off i went to Parque De Reserva to see the fountains.


My particular favourite was the walk through one.


They also do a fountain light and laser show every 45 mins after dark. Unfortunately my camera died so i had to track down some other footage on youtube



So finally we had a show to do, crazy idea eh!!
It was in a pretty cool location tooked into the side of the mountains just outside Lima.


And the show lived up the setting with the best audience so far....which is really saying something after the previous bunch of shows.




The peruvian fans also sent this rather great gift backstage for the band. Apparently it is a traditonal gift called a Ayacuchana



So after all the Pisco Sours we could handle at the aftershow party it time for some sleep before we headed off to Sao Paulo, Brazil.

This turned out to be one of those days where sods law says if you play outdoors its gonna rain.....not in Brazil tho surely?? Unfortunately so. The rain was so heavy on the after noon of the show that by the time it stopped the site resembled a mud pile and not a concert venue.




Some of that mud and water was up to 10 inches deep but those people stood in for 4 hours before the band took to the stage and wouldnt you know as soon as they did it started raining again but every one stayed and battled through the elements for another great show.


So after getting back to the hotel and attempting to dry off and warm up a little we were off to Punte Del Este in Uruguay for 4 days at a resort while we waited for the next show to roll around. Or were we?????
After driving an hour to the airport we discovered that our flight had been cancelled and the next flight wasnt for another 10 hours. Luckily the airline had managed to secure us some rooms in a local hotel so we sat there and waited to head back to the airport to try it all again. Luckily there was only a minor delay to the later flight and we managed to get on our way. So after a 3 hour flight, customs, immigration and a 90 min drive we finally arrived at the resort at 5am. Just a little later than our original projected time of 8pm. Oh well, what can ya do eh!!