Leg 2

A week and a half off, feeling kind of refreshed, and off I pop again, this time covering southern and eastern Europe with a bit of Balkan action thrown in, not to mention the odd Alp here and there. I'm armed with a shiny new Macbook Pro so regular posts are to be expected, unless of course someone swipes the bugger. Woe betide anyone who so much as looks at it.

Here's how leg two looks:

02-11-2010 Teatro Tivoli, Lisbon, Portugal
03-11-2010 Hard Club, Porto, Portugal
04-11-2010 Penelope, Madrid, Spain
05-11-2010 Sala Q, Seville, Spain
06-11-2010 El Tren, Granada, Spain
07-11-2010 Salamamdra 1, Barcelona, Spain
09-11-2010 Rocking Chair, Vevey, Switzerland
10-11-2010 Z7, Pratteln, Switzerland
11-11-2010 Estragon, Bologna, Italy
12-11-2010 Alpheus, Rome, Italy
13-11-2010 New Age, Treviso, Italy
14-11-2010 Magazzini Generali, Milan, Italy
15-11-2010 Boogaloo Club, Zagreb, Croatia
16-11-2010 Listhalle, Graz, Austria
17-11-2010 Viper Room, Vienna, Austria
18-11-2010 Diesel Club, Budapest, Hungary
19-11-2010 Arenele Romane, Bucharest, Romania
20-11-2010 Blue Box Club, Sofia, Bulgaria
22-11-2010 Randall, Bratislava, Slovakia
23-11-2010 Exit Chmelnice, Prague, Czech Republic

Antwerp

Our rare and highly collectable tour passes:

Eindhoven

Second of the Dutch dates and Les finally gets the office he deserves. You'll generally find him tucked away in some dingy, brutally lit hole in the bowels of any given venue, hunched in front of his laptop taking care of the intricate and demanding bureaucracy of touring. Not today though. In Eindhoven he is king of his domain, floor to ceiling windows bathing the workspace in drab autumnal light and providing a commanding view for those moments of relaxation and contemplation when the mind is free to ponder such things as Jack Daniels, cheap cigs and midi. So here's to you Les - keyboarder, tour manager, sound engineer, driver, bank, agony aunt, travel agent, arbitrator, arse-displayer, booze-touretter and all round sorter-outer. Enjoy it, you deserve it

Saarbrucken

I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that having a "Wales - Land of my Fathers" (surely that should be "our fathers?") scarf on tour is almost as massively useful as Ford Prefect's towel was in the late Dougls Adams' Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. You can kneel on it, stick it in your tool box so the contents don't shift in transit, wipe up beer spills with it, polish guitars with it, wipe a patriotic tear from a bass player's eye with it, and if you're really pushed, wear it around your kneck when it gets cold.

Cheers Felix from Leipzig!

Paris

A big show in the Elysee Montmartre, an old theatre somewhere in this great mess of a city with about fifteen hundred punters expected. Petter is a little nervous, bless him, so I reminded him that all guitarists are show-offs at heart and that he shouldn't have any trouble, being as sickeningly talented as he is.

I've found the perfect use for my Wales scarf, when Jay isn't draping it over his amp in an act of patriotic fervour that is (I thought the surname Cavanagh would have given him Irish ancestry). Anyway, I employ the aforementioned kneckwear as a handy hassock, making the act of kneeling to gaffer cables and pedals to the stage a far less arduous experience.

I write this on a laptop kindly loaned to me by our driver so posts should be a little more frequent for the rest of the tour. Cheers Tim.

Wurtzburg

Show number two of the German bit. We spent our day off after the Krakow show parked up at Auschwitz and took the opportunity to have a good look around, both there and at Birkenau (Auschwitz 2) a little way down the road. If you ever get the chance  go and have a look - it's a most sobering experience, and a reminder of how very close we are to quite staggering acts of inhumanity given the right (or wrong) set of circumstances.

Boredom kicked in big time in Leipzig the following day what with the lack of laptop, early load-in and having only one guitar to restring. Luckily we had ping-pong, pool and table football close to hand in the great little Anker venue. I had a bit of a kick around outside with a couple of the local kids as well, one of whom insisted on running home to get a present for me. He came back with a "Wales - Land of my Fathers" football scarf - a baffling gift I found quite touching. It was Dan's birthday but he didn't seem to chuffed to be another year older. Hope you had a good birthday mate.

Krakow

It's been a few gigs since my last post as I couldn't muster the required effort after having my laptop stolen in Oslo. Still, one mustn't dwell on such things. I have most of my stuff backed up and there were no bank details or other sensitive info on there. Enjoy your new computer dick head.

So, we've been to Arhus, Berlin and Warsaw since the last post and it's been pretty much sleep, load in, gig, load out, sleep, load in, etc, etc. There's been a bit of time for post-gig merriment on the bus but my merry-making has been of the quick night cap and straight to bunk variety. Nevertheless, it always seems to be four in the morning before I get there. Luckily I have a few series of Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show on my phone to listen to so all is not lost entertainment-wise.

I found a good answer for the occasions when the tour manager asks if you have any more names for the guest list. Simply reply, "Yes, sometimes I call it the friends register." Guaranteed to raise a titter. The more you say it the more the TM will love it.

We have a day off tomorrow and it looks like we'll be having a look around Auschwitz.

Laptop stolen from venue in Oslo. Gutted. Normal service will resume presently.