Current music Duke - Genesis
We are currently on route to Manchester and I’ve had my first cup of the tea of the day *ooo fascinating stuff Mike, tell me more.* This was from a Costa machine in a petrol station, something I’ve always avoided due to unwarranted paranoia about milk serving size and cleanliness. I broke the seal yesterday and am now totally there for a machine based hot beverage, (if there are no cafes or roadside service stations where one could be made by hand.) The lads all went to McDonalds and I am reminded that I could have got a much cheaper tea there and also avoided the tablet ordering system, so that I could use my touring cash at the counter. Next time.
Despite a couple of technical issues, night 2 of the tour went a lot smoother. The room was deep as opposed to Norwich, which I personally prefer. Overall there is not a lot of difference in stage width, but having a tiny bit more depth between the mic and drum kit makes a big difference to me. That’s how it feels anyway. Not taking anything away from Norwich though, it was still a great venue. Having a deeper venue condenses all the wonderful faces into the view, when not obstructed by the mist of the fog machine.
Last night we played The Grove in Byker. Unfortunately not the one from the TV show that shaped part of my youth “MY FUCKING EYES LAD I CANNEE SEEE” but this was a large U shaped venue with a courtyard and massive TV screen. The bar was separate to the venue which the merch was set up alongside of. There was a free play Mortal Kombat arcade machine which excited me greatly when we arrived but of course when it became apparent I might have some time to have a game, the bar was packed and I needed a bit of quiet before taking the stage.
We managed to catch some more of St Agnes (and not St Anger as Davey G had to point out to me during a mispronunciation) set and I couldn’t be happier with what they bring to the stage and hope to catch the rest of the set over the remaining days. Absolute pros.
Sidequest - This Duke album by Genesis is good.
I’ve been feeling recently that due to all the new fangled production methods and possibility of AI in current music, I’m tempted to use 2025 as a soft cut off and just work backwards through music. Of course not exclusively, there will be lots of good much to come in the future, including our very own Demons album! But as music gets more and more commodified for content, I find it comforting that there already exists more than enough music I’ll ever be able to hear that was made by humans, with feeling, thoughts and purpose.
Sidequest complete.
A Quick shout out to Seth and Nadia whom I bumped into on my way to the venue, after a quick stop off at Morrisons and Weatherspoons. They helped me navigate my way back to The Grove after a couple of wrong turns and were lovely. It was quite an amusing situation I had not been in before. They asked if I was going to the gig, I said yes and left it a couple of seconds before mentioning I was in the band.There never feels like an unegotistical way to say that. It’s certainly not meant like that, but I guess we are conditioned through the media etc that it’s always some sort of flex (a word the kids use for ‘showing off’) but no, just a fact.
Hmm, I’ve gone a bit Partridge.
Not much more to report. Got back to the hotel, ate some crisps and fruit and went to bed around 1am. No hardcore partying for me at the moment, no alcohol for me at all for now, actually. I’m enjoying the clear head in the morning but more importantly, not feeling like death on 4-6 hour drives is a game changer for my enjoyment of touring. Long rides coupled with an unhappy head and digestive system is… uncomfortable to say the least. I wouldn’t have managed this a year or two ago and have been desperately trying to rewrite my brain chemistry to not rely on alcohol so much. Work to do but getting there.
I think we get a 12pm check out time tomorrow so the beers may flow tonight, albeit after the show, because I can’t be needing a piss every three minutes during an hour and a half set.
Challenge absolutely not accepted.
Photos by @tjx_photos