Despite Theo's mail going into to seizure once the band left Hamburg the tour unfolds into Scandinavia...
Hamburg
Still lots of snow when we reached Hamburg. As we had a day off, we stayed in a hotel - a smart one actually right next to the venue which is very handy. The venue in Hamburg was CCH Saal 2 and it was huge. A large concert hall that looked like it was usually for orchestras or choirs or maybe one of those great German radio bands like the NDR band.
Anyway, the gig was seated and as I say in a huge room. These things did not help the vibe, though the sound was good. I think we played well but there was not much of a buzzy atmosphere. Marco's parents came to the gig and they are lovely and were in good spirits. I met some musician friends of Adam's too who were cool. They all enjoyed the gig a lot. After the gig had a nice hang with Guthrie and Marco in the hotel bar and had a good chat with them accompanied by a modest amount of Oban single malt whiskey. Then sleep, before our long drive to Stockholm that was going to involve a short ferry ride, a very long tunnel and the huge Malmo bridge taking us to Sweden.
The venue in Stockholm was one of the most striking so far. A large church with a very wide stage and a dress circle and top balcony. At the back of the stage were pipes from the organ and in huge letters the word JESUS. The dressing room facilities were lavish with candelabras, comfortable sofas and very ornate fire places.
The sound was surprisingly good in the room and the audience was pleasingly responsive.
During the song 'Harmonie Korine' I leave the stage as I do not play on it. Sometimes I watch the video projected on the backdrop as it is great - very strange, evocative and powerful with weird imagery. So I noticed while this was on, I was standing next to a ten foot high wooden cross which seemed to accentuate the symbolism and imagery. "Whoa..."
Talking of what I do during the gig, a few people have asked me what I am doing when I go up to the front of the stage and sit by the keyboard on the song 'the Raven..' Facebook? e mail? computer stuff? No - I play the extra top line piano part, as Adam is already playing the main piano part which takes two hands. On the last tour I played about three songs on keys, but this tour just the one. I enjoy it.
After the show and the traditional 'white Russian' drink at the end of the gig, we chilled for a bit then got on the bus as we were heading off to Oslo that night. Had a really interesting chat with our excellent tour manager Harv about his time touring with U2 during the Zooropa tour in the early nineties. Interesting to hear what it is like on the inside and at the centre of a tour by such a huge band. Then on the bus then to sleep.
I woke up in Oslo where we got off the bus at 10 am and checked into our hotel. The snow was deeper here and the temperature lower. As I got to my room, I felt really exhausted and crashed out, not waking till lunchtime.
No gig tonight, so off for a meal with some of the chaps. Looking forward to the Oslo gig tomorrow and catching up with an old friend too.
Theo Travis
