Post by DAVE HURRY on Jun 3, 2007 0:15:57 GMT
Monday: Call from Big. "Can you do Germany this week?"
Tuesday-Thursday: Practice like f***, learning the Dave Murray parts and solos.
Friday rolled around, and the van turned up at 3pm at Manic Towers.We were well on time for the ferry, and luckily the customs fellas didn't seem to notice the mocked-up "sandbags" in the van (which they would have been well in the rights to check - they did look a bit dodgy!)
Safely on the continent, Quicko noticed a bit of deflation in the back left tyre, so pumped it up and on we went towards Germany. En route, three of our number got fairly pissed on duty free booze. Then, clunk. Flat tyre. It was virtually impossible (even with my considerable weight on the jack handle) to get one of the wheelnuts off, so we called the AA out - thankfully, Quicko had sorted breakdown cover for the van before we left. Bloody good job he did too, as once the tyre was replaced the van wouldn't start! Our resident piss-heads had left the door open (and in one case, decorated it with bits of carrot) which had driven the battery flat. Jumpstarted, we headed on to the nearest ETAP and kipped down for the night.
On Saturday morning, another kindly AA chap came out and sorted the battery out for us and we were on the road again to Berlin. I was becoming more and more nervous as we headed on towards my debut as Dave Hurry - would I go with the wrong harmonies or solos out of habit? Would I sound alright with my new pedal and cheap Marshall cab?
We got to the venue and unloaded, finding a nice room to play in (it resembled a large living room!). One of my worries was sorted straight away - my sound was really good. A run-through of Brighter Than A Thousand Suns was the soundcheck, and went without a hitch. Off we went for our free dinner.
The venue wanted us to do two hour-long sets, and as none of the other bands had turned up we went on to a near-empty room which was a bit of a disappointment. The crowd improved slightly over the gig, but those who were there seemed to be well into it. We played a blinder and, apart from a foot-pedal co-ordination issue at the end of Powerslave, I didn't cock up once! Such a relief. Me solos were more or less spot on.
We all went bowling the next morning (where we were given new monikers by the friendly yet possibly illiterate native on the buttons - Sfifty, Hurrly and Quicked!) and had a laugh. On to Hamburg, where we found the glamorous sounding Hamburg Ballroom was really just a pub with a small stage. We weren't on til 1am so we spent our time playing poker and "Big Steve" (AKA "stick a card on your head and look like a twat"), causing much laughter and getting some very strange looks from the other bands!!!
We all played a blinder once again, and with a decent crowd going nuts it was certainly more enjoyable than the night before from an energy perspective. I wasn't too happy with my performance but I reckon I was just knackered - it had been a travel-intensive, sleep-deprived weekend up to that point. We loaded into the van and, despite the venue laying on a hotel, shot off toward France as we wanted to cut down the homeward stretch as much as possible.
Playing "Twenty Questions" (in which Quicko kept us guessing for what felt like hours with "TV aerial"!) and stopping off for dodgy porn and coffee kept us sane on the long drive. We set down at a motel in Dunquerque where I got the chance to practice me French, get a shower and a bit of kip in a comfy bed. We reached my gaff at around 9am Tuesday morning after an early boat across the water and I went to me bed.
Looking forward to next week! Hopefully better crowds, and we may even stick in Rime of The Ancient Mariner...! Even though this weekend was a bit of an anti-climax gig wise (when you hear "festival" and "ballroom", you tend to get grand ideas!), I had a good time and enjoyed my first-ever gigs abroad.
Tuesday-Thursday: Practice like f***, learning the Dave Murray parts and solos.
Friday rolled around, and the van turned up at 3pm at Manic Towers.We were well on time for the ferry, and luckily the customs fellas didn't seem to notice the mocked-up "sandbags" in the van (which they would have been well in the rights to check - they did look a bit dodgy!)
Safely on the continent, Quicko noticed a bit of deflation in the back left tyre, so pumped it up and on we went towards Germany. En route, three of our number got fairly pissed on duty free booze. Then, clunk. Flat tyre. It was virtually impossible (even with my considerable weight on the jack handle) to get one of the wheelnuts off, so we called the AA out - thankfully, Quicko had sorted breakdown cover for the van before we left. Bloody good job he did too, as once the tyre was replaced the van wouldn't start! Our resident piss-heads had left the door open (and in one case, decorated it with bits of carrot) which had driven the battery flat. Jumpstarted, we headed on to the nearest ETAP and kipped down for the night.
On Saturday morning, another kindly AA chap came out and sorted the battery out for us and we were on the road again to Berlin. I was becoming more and more nervous as we headed on towards my debut as Dave Hurry - would I go with the wrong harmonies or solos out of habit? Would I sound alright with my new pedal and cheap Marshall cab?
We got to the venue and unloaded, finding a nice room to play in (it resembled a large living room!). One of my worries was sorted straight away - my sound was really good. A run-through of Brighter Than A Thousand Suns was the soundcheck, and went without a hitch. Off we went for our free dinner.
The venue wanted us to do two hour-long sets, and as none of the other bands had turned up we went on to a near-empty room which was a bit of a disappointment. The crowd improved slightly over the gig, but those who were there seemed to be well into it. We played a blinder and, apart from a foot-pedal co-ordination issue at the end of Powerslave, I didn't cock up once! Such a relief. Me solos were more or less spot on.
We all went bowling the next morning (where we were given new monikers by the friendly yet possibly illiterate native on the buttons - Sfifty, Hurrly and Quicked!) and had a laugh. On to Hamburg, where we found the glamorous sounding Hamburg Ballroom was really just a pub with a small stage. We weren't on til 1am so we spent our time playing poker and "Big Steve" (AKA "stick a card on your head and look like a twat"), causing much laughter and getting some very strange looks from the other bands!!!
We all played a blinder once again, and with a decent crowd going nuts it was certainly more enjoyable than the night before from an energy perspective. I wasn't too happy with my performance but I reckon I was just knackered - it had been a travel-intensive, sleep-deprived weekend up to that point. We loaded into the van and, despite the venue laying on a hotel, shot off toward France as we wanted to cut down the homeward stretch as much as possible.
Playing "Twenty Questions" (in which Quicko kept us guessing for what felt like hours with "TV aerial"!) and stopping off for dodgy porn and coffee kept us sane on the long drive. We set down at a motel in Dunquerque where I got the chance to practice me French, get a shower and a bit of kip in a comfy bed. We reached my gaff at around 9am Tuesday morning after an early boat across the water and I went to me bed.
Looking forward to next week! Hopefully better crowds, and we may even stick in Rime of The Ancient Mariner...! Even though this weekend was a bit of an anti-climax gig wise (when you hear "festival" and "ballroom", you tend to get grand ideas!), I had a good time and enjoyed my first-ever gigs abroad.