It’s quite amazing how much rubbish accumulates in the van over a week of riding up and down the motorways of our fair isle. As I collected up the accumulated detritus from our van floor, finding little bits and pieces from the towns and cities we had visited over the preceding days, it occured to me that I hadn’t actually written anything so, a few thoughts…
 
Being on tour is such a weird life when it comes down to it. Days tend to follow the same sort of patterns: wake up, drive, load-in, sound check, eat, hang-around, play, load-out, drive to where we’re sleeping… Rinse. Repeat.
 
In Glasgow we played King Tuts where we were looked after with a level of service not unlike that found at most people grandparents houses… you know, the ones who won’t stop trying to foist food upon visitors until they are fit to burst?! After the sandwiches, the rider and the supper, still being able to roll onstage to play was a bonus but what a crowd to start out with. The place was rammed to bursting and hot as hell, most of the people attending singing back the words to songs that aren’t even out yet. I think Charlie was a little bit overwhelmed by it all to be honest, such a great vibe to start out with.
 
After the show we hung out in the bar for a bit and I managed to make a muck up of attempting to introduce a girl to my friend by getting her name totally wrong; pretty embarassing and definitely not ideal when trying to impress the person in question. Being in a band definitely doesn’t make you cool, kids! A few drinks turned into a few more and we went to a local bar for a couple before heading off back to the Travelodge for the night.

Speaking of Travelodges, it’s interesting to see quite how much they vary in standard and quality from place to place. The one that we stayed in near Gretna on the first night was pretty cushy but Glasgow’s effort was rather less than plush. Aside from that though, it’s quite amazing how many times in a week that we turned up and they’d overbooked the rooms (three out of seven actually) meaning that we had to go two to a bed into other rooms or, as on the last night, make completely alternative arrangements at last minute. Hardly ideal for a travel hotel. I undestand that they see money-making potential in people that haven’t shown up but the nature of travel is that it’s often not easy to predict and there’s nothing worse than looking forward to a bed that turns out to be nothing but a cruel mirage… </rant>

After waking up a little bleary-eyed in Glasgow, some of the guys and I went for a run in order to clear out the cobwebs before we set off for Newcastle. I actually tried to go running most mornings, it really helped me feel human after all of the travelling we were doing. I always miss running whenever I can’t do it and I always have to steel myself to get out there whenever I do have the time; but always enjoy it when I’m out. The run in Glasgow was nice actually, down by the Clyde with a bit of sun on my back; cetainly beat getting lost in Portsmouth anyway and the less said about my improvised pyramid-training on waste ground at the Gretna Travelodge the better…

The rest of the shows we did followed form more or less, sold-out or at least close to it, great crowds and good vibes.
Newcastle was fun and there is something about the way that the Academy complex smells that is quite unlike anything else, a mix of rancid beer, vomit and body odour all intermingled and matured over years; it’s rather reassuring in a funny way. The show was good and it was especially nice for me to catch up a great friend beforehand, but with an air conditioning unit situated right above the stage, it was actually quite cold when we were playing; a pretty bizarre feeling. Load out was accompanied by not only some of the rather ‘choice’ locals who inhabit the local area hanging around and making a nuisance of themselves but also some really awesome fans who hung around for a chat. Some of them were even fans of my and Sam’s (he’s currently moonlighting as Charlie’s guitar tech) other band Me and the Mountain, a nice surprise!

Birmingham was notable for a rather superb curry that we had after the show, while Manchester included a highly entertaining trip to a bar called Big Hand after the show. With a day off scheduled the following day, it was more or less the only time that we actually had a proper party over the tour (a miniature van party on the way to the Walsall Travelodge excluded!)

Final thoughts go to the fantastic support that came out on the road with us: Sam Gray and The Xcerts. Murray, frontman from the latter, hilariously summed it up by saying: “Sam is like 8 weeks of summer compressed into 30 minutes, while we’re more like winter all year round!” He’s doing himself down, of course, as they played a superb stripped-down version of their normal set to some very appreciative crowds, including many people who’d never checked them out before and their Scottish miserablism left lots of people buzzing. It’s weird, I’ve been a big fan of theirs for some time and it was a huge pleasure to get to check out a bit of their set each night.

Such a trip to be part of it all; I couldn’t be happier for Charlie who has poured everything he’s got into it and it looks to be paying off… Any more reinventions and he’ll be getting towards a Madonna-esque level of chameleon!
I took some photos along the route and, if you want to check them out, they’re up at my Lightbox here: http://www.lightbox.com/wall/nick_worpole