"So after a day off in snowy Berlin during which the snow did not stop, half a dozen of us including Steven went for a very pleasant Greek meal and then relaxed in the hotel bar where a live duo was playing a mixture of classic songs and instrumental jazz. The lady drummer/singer who was American walked over to us and said 'You are clearly musicians!' and she seemed most interested in the band and wrote everything down so she could check out the new album later.
The gig itself was the following day and was in a big hall, where I believe Porcupine Tree have played before. I met fans who had come to the gig from Peru and Brazil! There was a relaxed vibe onstage and I thought it was a good gig. This band is so tight and so professional that the sort of musical disasters that often happen onstage in a band just don't seem to happen with this lot.
Steven asked the audience whether they liked to sit or stand and in response got everyone to stand up for the songs Harmonie Korine and No Part of Me. In fact I don't think they sat down for the rest of the night. It certainly increased the audible excitement in the room. For the encore we played 'Radioactive Toy' again which worked really well (I thought so anyway). After the gig I went out to the merchandise stall to sign some CD's and programmes etc.
On the tour bus after the gig the film for the evening was 'the Business' a Danny Dyer film about South London criminals in the Costa del crime and Gibraltar. Not my regular sort of film but I liked it. It was funny and had strong characters. It reminded me of the Phil Daniels character in Quadrophenia and that is a film I love.Then we finished off the Sherlock episode Hound of the Baskervilles before bed. Woke up in Essen. Hey no snow!
Theo Travis
