As we pull up outside the front of the venue, our spirits are raised at the
huge sign that hangs proud above the entrance to Nato.
Goldrush: The Heart Is The Place Tour! I take a picture of it, and it looks like it could quite
easily pass for being the front of Brixton Academy and perhaps when I show
these photos to my grandchildren, I will say that it is indeed Brixton
Academy. Who's to know eh? The vibe about tonights show is a good one.
Advance ticket sales have been good, and there is a sense that team Goldrush
are known around these parts, perhaps in part to the gig we played last
summer with Calexico in the enormodome down the road. Robin has radio and
press duties to attend to, whilst the rest of us marvel at the fact there
are two dressing rooms at our disposal - one side of stage where there is a
healthily stocked drinks fridge, and one just outside the main room. Les
Dennis would have been jealous...
Tonight's dinner is a generous helping of spaghetti bolognaise, washed down
with red wine. The combination of iron and anti-oxidants revives our tired
bones and before you know it, Phil is due onstage. We watch his set, which
has been getting better and better each night. Tonights venue is cool,
because the stage takes up half the room, and there is a tiered seating
section towards the back which reminds me of the drama workshop at school.
Joe, Garo G and myself joing the lovely Phil for his last song and he leaves
to a rapturous response. Good job Jones! Interstellar Overdrive starts up,
our now trademark intro music and we ready ourselves for the tenth
consecutive gig. Last night was a bit of a tired show, and we are conscious
that we want to make sure tonight is a vast improvement. By the time
"Everyone One Of Us" starts up, it already feels like we are succeeding. the
packed room are getting into it, and we feel at home. As we end the set with
"the Heart Is The Place" we stroll off to one of the two dressing rooms (the one
with the drinks in, naturlich) and clink bottles to celebrate a job well
done. The shouts for an encore get louder and louder, and so the good people
of Leipzig get another three songs. Good times indeed....
27/2/2007 - Munich - Orangehaus
We awake in the venue appartment in Leipzig when a charasmatic chap bounds
in and offers up Breakfast on a trolley. For the sake of comparison, imagine
the German equivalent of Uncle Monty. He marvels at Joe's Apple Mac laptop
and wants to know more about the life of a travelling rock band. Surely the
beaten look on our pale little faces tells the tale more than words ever
could. We assemble daywhiches (a sandwhich prepared from whatever various
breakfast elements are deemed passable) and head off, having been warned by
dear Monty that it's a good five hour stretch to Munich. On the way there,
Robin gets a call from someone who was at the gig last night, saying it was the best
gig he had EVER SEEN! High compliments indeed...We must be doing something right...
Now then. Munich. Cool place - of that I have no doubts. However today was
going to be one of those inevitable scenarios that bands the world over must
face, where by the venue is located in a cold industrial part of the city.
So it would seem inappropriate to offer any cultural observations. What I
can offer however is my tried and tested (and no doubt tiresome) review of
venue accomodation and food! The appartment was amazing. Nice, clean
spacious rooms with a huge living area. And a kitchen, housing a fridge
taller than I, stocked full of local brew. We head over to soundcheck, and
"The Wizard" is pumping out "Back In Black" over the PA system. I run around
the venue with a guitar round my neck, wishing I was in AC/DC. Formalities
complete, we head back to the appartment for dinner. The key components for
which seem to be pastry, salt, cheese and mushroom. I wonder how this would
fair in the UK's traffic light system of assessing how healthy food is - I
don't think a red light would even cover it to be honest. What's worse than
Red? The dessert is pecan pie, which is very good in all fairness...
Compared to the victorious display in Leipzig, tonights gig is slightly
underwhelming, although we are not allowed to leave the stage with anything
less than a three song encore so can't say fairer than that. We have a good
chat with people afterwards, and sign CD's and t-shirts. The people of
Munich are very lovely it has to be said. I decide that I want Morty to give
me a lesson in Sound Engineering and head over to the mixing desk. I listen
attentively as he imparts great wisdom, but after five minutes I accept that
I am probably not cut out for this science. Best stick to what I know best -
putting on a good jacket, strumming four strings and posing every night...
28/2/2007 - Stuttgart - Schocken
As the city of Stuttgart comes into view I can't help but marvel at it's
beautiful neon hills. Certainly doesn't look like any of the other cities. I
try and equate it with somewhere back home. Sheffield perhaps? Anyway, it's
love at first sight, and Garo tells me that last time he was here it was
quite a night, so the omens are good. There is some confusion at the venue
when we arrive as to whether we are playing upstairs or downstairs. We are
assured it is in fact downstairs. We are not a fussy bunch, although quite
how all our gear would fit on the downstairs stage is the the issue. Joe
Bennett is not a man to be defeated in the face of adversity, and we embark
on a game of giant Tetris, until the final quarter inch jack lead sits
proudly upon the stage. Job's a good 'un. We are told by the generous staff
to ask for free drinks from the bar when we felt so inclined - and what's
that I see - Strongbow? It is! I look at some of the posters around the
venues walls. It seems Stuttgart is a major stop on the touring circuit.
Snoop Dogg, P Diddy and OMD are all passing through town in the next month.
Maybe i should move here...
After a stroll to the apartment, we have a quick bite (pizza) and head back
to the venue. We are delighted to see the lovely Guys and gal from Crashing
dreams who have come down to see us play tonight. We twist their arms to
join the Goldrush "choir" once again for the opening number "Aperture." The
tiny room is packed and tonight ends up being one of the more enjoyable
shows. The local folk sure no how to dance, that much is certain. Morty
leads the crowd in some robotic, Crouch-esque manouveres throughout "We
Will Not Be Machines" leading to conjecture that his talents are watsted
behind a mixing desk. Afterwards, we stick around for a while, and I get
chatting to a nice chap called Paul who is from Essex. He works out here
for Mercedes now, and heard an advert on the radio advertising the gig and
decided to come and check it out. Soon though, my energy levels start to
crash, and I have to head back for some sleep. Have to load out first
though, and if there was a time I wished the gig wasn't downstairs it was
now..
1/4/2007 - Alte Wascherei (or "The Old Launderette") - Hall (nr Innsbruck, Austria)
Today we would be leaving Germany and heading towards the beautiful Alps. It
allowed us time for a little perspective. We played eleven gigs over eleven
nights in our beloved Deutschland, met some amazing people and consumed
ridiculous quantities of ham and cheese. But for now, our work is done. As
the snow capped Austrian mountains came into view, the contrast with
Germany's sometimes cold industrial terain was evident. I nod off in the
back of the van, and don't awake until we arrive outside the "venue". Now a
little about tonights setting, and try and take this in as best you can. On
this day, March 1st 2007 Goldrush performed a concert in the grounds of a
mental hospital (psychiatric hospital -P.C ed.). The venue itself is a converted
laundry facility. And yet tonight is probably the best night of the tour. For a
start, the promoters are amazing people - they put us right at ease despite the,
ahem, unique settings. Also tonights gig is sold out in advance, which puts a spring
in our stride. As we head for dinner i look at the amzing surroundings, and
feel totally at peace. For the sake of comparison, imagine Center Parcs in
the Austrian mountains. When touring with Goldrush leads to my inevitable
mental breakdown, I want to come here.
We are served a lovely and nutritious dinner in the on site cafe by former
patients of the hospital. At the next table sit Seattle band The Long
Winters, who share the bill with us this evening. We chat about their
experiences touring England. They did a gig at the Cavern Club in Exeter
with an un-named British band, and they were shocked that said band were in
a tourbus the size of the venue itself. We explain that this is very much
the way bands operate back in Blighty, and that a chart entry of number 42
is all the encouragement a band needs for a sleeper bus and an expensive drug habit.
Anyway, I digress...
Before going onstage tonight, the jolly promoter gives us a "big up" on the mic that
lasts a good few minutes. I can't understand any of it, but from the audience
reaction we sense he's a big fan. When he loudly exclaims "Goldrush!" we take that as
a cue to walk on, and from the off tonight is a belter. All this touring means that
we are operating at full power and efficiency, and we feed off the energy of a packed
laundry room. I can't believe how weird that sounds but I guess you had to be there.
Afterwards we stick around to watch The Long Winters and let our hair down a
little bit before heading back to the hotel. We gather in mine and Morty's
room for a bit of post match analysis, but G decides to leave when I become
a little over excited and start kicking my shoes at everyone, and the others
follow suit. Forgive me gentlemen, it's just the excitement of being in
Austria you understand.
2/3/2007 - Aarau (Switzerland) - Jugendhaus
Another beautiful drive today through the alps towards the first of two gigs
in Switzerland. We stop at a service station for a bite which is fairly
decent. In England, the best cuisine you could hope for would be a
ridiculously overpriced meal from a Welcome Break. If budget didn't allow,
you would be condemned to Burger King, or worse - Ginsters. Here we are
though, in amidst the Alps eating decent food with table service, and it
still only costs about £6 a head. And you can have a beer if it takes your
fancy...brilliant! A few hours later we arrive in Aarau, and the venue is
situated by one of the fastest flowing rivers I have ever seen. Make a
mental note not to go for a dip later. After setting up, Garo teaches me a
little riff that i'm to play on the acoustic in the chorus of "Wheels." The
venue is way too loud with Morty checking the PA and such, so the tutorial
takes place in the mens toilet. We then opt for an impromptu Guns N'Roses
jam in said lavatory, with sublime versions of "Used To Love Her", "My
Michelle" and others being aired. Beauitiful...
The souncheck is slightly problematic because the in-house engineer chap (who is
very friendly, although NOT in a rush) has the monitors wired incorrectly so
poor Morty is having a headache giving us the correct mix.
When we finally work out which send is which, the "relaxed" gentleman from the
venue starts to wire everything back the other way.
We can laugh now, but on day fourteen of a tour the amusing
side isn't always apparent. Still, the venue serve up a fantastic dinner - a
Vegetable Thai red curry, and Chicken Drumsticks. The promoter tells us that
the cooks are all volunteers, and do this for the love of doing it which
makes us even more grateful for the feast that was bestowed upon us. I
wander back to the dressing room, and pass through an over 50's disco that
is taking place in another room inside the venue...those guys could teach us
a thing or two about partying - it was kicking off in there, i tell you.
Showtime. It was a Friday night indie rock n' roll nightclub, the kind that
takes place the world over. I takes until "Wheels" to really engage with the
youth of Aarau, but from then on in it's a good gig. Tonight we decide to
encore with a ten minute version of "You Really Got Me" which proves a good
choice for there was dancing and shreaking coming from the floor. Oh what a
time we had! And as it's Friday night, we join in the festivities
afterwards. Alarm bells start to ring about two hours later when Garo decides
it would be senible to load out the gear. When the most wayward members of
the party decide it's time to leave, then it's probably a good time to
leave. Unfortunately Morty has forgotten that he was on driver duty tonight,
and is in an utterly useless condition, so chaos ensues as we stand outside
in the rain trying to hail taxis. We then manage to wake up the hotel
manager at 3am. He (politely) points out that we had already been given our
room keys, and that there was no need to wake him up. And he's right of course..
3/3/2007 - Dudingen (Switzerland) - Bad Bonn
Last day of the tour. Cor blimey, what a couple of weeks we have had. And
not a single punch has been thrown! So we arrive in Dudingen, knowing that
the venue Bad Bonn is a little off the beaten track. As we sit at a
crossroad contemplating our next manouvere, a very strange thing happens. A
car starts reversing round the bend at great speed, coming straight at us.
WTF!!! I think it's going to crash into us, but instead pulls up beside our
van. The window winds down, and a very cool cat says "are you looking for
Bad Bonn?" Yes we are! The good soul then leads the way to said venue which
really is in the middle of bloody nowhere. In fact, once inside I see a
poster on the wall with the slogan "Where the f**k is Bad Bonn"? It's remote
location has become something of an injoke, and even selling point. The good
people of Dudingen are obviously used to leading stray vans in the correct
direction, hence the crazy episode earlier...
Tonight's support band have quite a good following in the local area, and
own an impressive selection of quality gear which is squeezed onto the tiny
stage. We chat over dinner, and they seem a nice bunch of guys. The guitar
player also does catering at one of the biggest venues in the surrounding
area and has served grub to the likes of Franz Ferdinand. Apparently they
are a bit "moody." As well as popular local support, Goldrush are also up
against the cosmos this evening. Observing our stage time, it becomes
apparent that there is to be a lunar eclispse half way through our set, and
apparently there is no chance of it being re-scheduled. What to do? Well, we
ploughed through the first half of the set, then took an interval break. The
vast open sky with the Alps in the distance was an amazing setting for the
eclipse, and we return to play the second half with our transems
re-aligned. The gig goes well from here on in - the first half being a bit
cosmically shambolic in comparison. The lad from Burnley at the front spurs
us on, his northern charm reminding us that home is but a day away. One more
element seperates us from victory - a window at the side of the stage so
people in the bar can look on as if we were but on a television. This will
not stand! It's time to get confrontational. We've hauled our asses hundreds
of miles to be here, so the hatch is coming down. If you wanna watch, come
out front! Robin closes the hatch, only for security to re-open it. Then
Robin closes it, and punters re-open it. And so it goes on...but persistence
pays off and finally we play to a packed room. Bloody hell, sometimes you
really have to take the law into your own hands in Europe!
And that dear readers is the end of the tour. Yes, we had a drink after the
gig. And we stayed in a - you guessed it - hotel! But you had probably
guessed that. Until next time...guten nacht. Don't have nightmares...
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