Oh yeah....the tour ended didn't it...

Hmmm, its now February and i didn't write anything at all about the US tour did i??? What have i been doing you may ask? The truth is .......... not much at all. I've been enjoying some time off to be honest.

After the UK tour we had 2 weeks off before the US tour started but i headed out a little early for a week in NYC and some R'n'R before heading on to Pomona for the rehearsals and start of the tour. There wasn't much to do in the rehearsals really besides check that nothing got broken in the shipping process and run through the songs a couple of times to get back into it. We also had the pleasure of the company of our new opening act " Fran Healy". For those who know him, he is a wonderful person and a fantastically talented musician and those who don't should check him out.



Next day we off to LA for a show at the Wiltern, which is one of my favourite venues in North America.


We also had the pleasure of having Andy Summers of the Police come by to play on a version of Roxanne with Brandon and the band.

Was a fun addition to the show for that one night.


Next up we were heading North to Oakland and a show at the Fox Theatre, which is definitely one of the more opulent venues around.


It was nice of them to put my job description on the advertising hoarding outside though just below Brandons name i thought....


We had another special guest tonight when Fran Healy joined us onstage for a version of his song SIDE from the band he sings with, TRAVIS


After that we were motoring and leaving California(and In N Out Burger & Coffee Bean) behind us as we blazed a trail up the Pacific Coast towards Portland. We got in around the late afternoon and had a very chilled day off before the show at the Roseland Theatre the following day, it was a nice intimate and sweaty little show and it went quite well. There is a spot in Portland you need to check out if you are ever there.....Voodoo Doughnuts. They specialise in gourmet doughnuts and do a damn fine job of it too.

Here is the signature Voodoo Doll.


Noah, our drum tech does not look convinced by the Maple & Bacon Doughnut either but i assure you he came around to the idea after a mouthful of deliciousness



After the show we found a bar to while away the time in which was a converted arcade full of old and classic video games and pinball machines with a bar inside......Perfect!!!



Although i never noticed the crotch-cupping in the background any other time i played Street Fighter before ??



Anyway onwards we went to Seattle and then onwards to Vancouver where we had im afraid to say an audience who were not very nice to Fran and insisted on talking loudly all the way through his set, which was a shame but otherwise the show was great.

After that we had a long drive to Salt Lake City coming up so we broke up the travel with a stop in Couer D'Alene, Idaho to allow our drivers to sleep. Unfortunately with it being offpeak season there wasn't much to do but it is a beautiful loaction nonetheless.


A couple of us made a trip to a local cinema where we were surprised to see that apparently you can't say ASS on a cinema display.


Idaho does have the distinction of having the cheapest parking rate i have ever seen too

After another long drive we arrived in Salt Lake City, we had the pleasure of some old friends coming by to say hello and play a few songs as well, which is always fun.

First up was Ted Sablay, who was the touring keyboard/guitar player on the Sams Town tour
and then we had Ronnie Vannucci, drummer for the Killers drop by to play guitar and sing on a tune


After a show in Denver we were off to Kansas City for a day off. Unfortunately Kansas is a business district city and so there wasnt much to do except find a bar and settle into an evening of sample size beers before moving on to the bigger brothers a little later.


Im happy to report that the show was a belter and the 'little' town of Lawrence, Kansas is a fun spot

Now we were heading to the cold weather as we headed to Minneapolis for a show at the always great First Avenue and then onwards to Chicago.

We also had a small radio contest winners performance in town at a bar called Martyrs.



Next day was a show at the Riviera Theatre, which is a venue i haven't been to since the Hot Fuss days with The Killers and it hasn't changed much in the last 5 or so years.
We continued with the cold weather as we headed to Royal Oak. Michigan where we said hello to our old friends Transfer and goodbye to our new friend Fran Healy as he was off to Canada to play some shows of his own.

That night we had a mammoth drive to Boston so we spent most of Thanksgiving on a bus but we did stop on the way to have our own Thanksgiving dinner in a truck stop.


So after all my years of touring with American acts i've had thanksgiving dinner in Newcastle, Abu Dhabi, Sydney, Peru and Germany to name a few but this was the first time i had ever had it in America and above is all i got. Oh well...

Boston was next and i had my usual issue with not being allowed to use any theatrical smoke to help the lights out due to a silly licensing law so onwards and upwards or is that downwards by the map??? To Atlantic City for a show another House of Blues


Culinary delights followed next as we went to Philadelphia for a show at the great Electric Factory and a pile of Philly Cheesesteaks. There was some commotion across town as apparently a factory caught fire so we clambered up onto the roof to take a few shots of the scene.


I also found this picture opp waiting for me on the in house lighting desk and couldnt say no


I had a nice gift waiting on my desk the next morning at the 9:30 Club in DC which didn't last long i have to say.


Cupcakes are always good !!!

Tonight was another exclusive as DC got a rendering of the latest Killers Christmas Charity song, Boots.


Anyway, a day off was beckoning but as is the way on tours, its never where you want it to be as we found ourselves in Asbury Park, New Jersey which im sure in the summer is great but in the windy and rainy depths of winter, its not much fun. Oh well, nothing can be done so a very chilled day at the hotel before a tiny show at the Stone Pony which is the venue made famous by Bruce Springsteen as this is where the boss got his start so obviously we had to cover one of his songs for the occasion.




It was a great show and had the band in great form just in time for the New York show the next day at Hammerstein Ballroom which went off without a hitch.




So we were on the home stretch of this leg now as we headed to Montreal for a show at Club Soda where the band playing the next day made strange reading when on the marquee below Brandon's name.


However we had another great show and some great food as always. I highly reccomend trying Poutine and Schwartz's Smoked Meat sandwiches whenever you are in town.

So suddenly we found ourselves at the final show of the tour and in good old Toronto where we always have a good time, and this was no different and a great end to the tour. So, that was that leg done. Next day i flew home via NYC, landed on Monday morning and then on Weds morning flew from Dublin to Chicago and on to LA to do the KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas show at the Gibson Amphiteatre which has almost become a tradition now having done it a bunch of times with the Killers in previous years.






So then we headed to Vegas for what was def the end of the tour with the opening of the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino. We were on site for a few days before the hotel actually opened to the public so it was a strange experience to check into a hotel room that nobody had ever stayed in before and to wander through a completely deserted casino floor.

It was a great location for a show, just above the strip on the pooldeck with the hotel horizon as the backdrop and it was a great way to end a tour, especially i think for Brandon since he used to work just across the street at the shops when Planet Hollywood was the Aladdin Hotel, way back when.











So there you have it, that was the US tour done and dusted and i was headed home with a few days off in NYC to cap off the year before having 6 weeks off before the next project rolls out. I can't promise to update this more often but i can promise to try and thats all i've got.




***Disclaimer - If i have used any of your photos or video in this post, thanks. If you didn't want them used, don't put them online : ) ***


Thanks for reading and i'll update again in awhile as i am currently sitting in a rehearsal room in London starting rehearsals with Miss Kylie Minogue but there are some Killers and Brandon Flowers shows just around the corner too so hopefully a busy year to come