TOUR DIARY - Spain Tour Sep 2009
Rehearsals - Madrid
Arrived in Madrid with a combination of nerves and excitement. Missed the city and havent played a show in so long, sure to be rusty. Greeted with hearty hugs from Santi & Pablo (Record Label bossman) at the airport. Gave the same to Brian when he arrived later on. Met my new Barcelona based band mates and brothers of Jon (Drums-BV's) & Toni Zuriaga (Bass) at a rehearsal space that REM has called the best in Europe. The fellas are from a great Barcelona band called Cosmopolitants and fantastic musicians. Rehearsals were promising but got firing solid by the 3rd full day of rehearsals. Amazing how music chemistry can be formed easily and quickly when sorrounded by great musicians. Brian & I know we are lucky lads. Bring on Ebrovision!
Ebrovision Festival - Miranda de Ebros 17/9
LONG drive north to the town of Miranda de Ebros. Was told that this was one of the most respected Indie festivals in Spain so felt quite happy to be part of the first day's lineup. Reached the venue which was a cultural centre but looked like a massive hall. Even a done up shed. Stage was huge and the sound even better. Thank God for long soundchecks. Santi..s amazing band Amigos Imaginarios opened up proceedings and got the crowd warmed up nicely. This is Spain..s answer to Wilco in my humble opinion and Santi Campos is no doubt one of the best songwriters in the country. Kinda feels odd that a) he is opening for me and b) is my tour manager, driver and guitarist. Santi is our spiritual rock leader. Another tick in the 'you got lucky.. box.
Show time. Close to 1000 very curious people ready to listen and pounce on this Aussie. Probably the biggest crowd I've played to but surprisingly no nerves. The anticipation of the 1st show killed any fears and think we won over a lot of new Spaniards. Lots of dancing, screaming of random things and loud enough cheering to make us feel like this tour will be ok. Made us fel like rock stars after the show too. Thank you Ebrovision.
Popxiria Pop Festival - Carballo 18/9The high from the previous nights show was still being felt over coffee and croissants during the band post mortem. Only thing was that, Brian C was missing and later discovered to have danced the night away with the concert goers at the local bar, Partner in crime being the drummer from last tour (and Amigos Imaginarios keys man) Charlie Bautista. They too got accosted by the people. But in a good way. We knew he was ready for more when he found time to get rid of his beard before the drive to Carballo. Crazy.
This powerpop festival was held in a great Irish pub and we had the pleasure of sharing the stage with 3 amazing powerpop/rock bands in Stay, Cosecha Roja and Cooper. The Spanish just do this kind of music so well. Its scary. Went on at about 12:30am so it was my birthday and got the birthday song in Spanish from the crowd. The gig was a good one too. Though Santi thought he didnt play well. Hes a very hard marker. We were still trying to find our feet with the songs but needless to say that Toni & John were really gelling with us well. Our first proper headline show in Castellon should really tell us where we are at.
Four Seasons - Castellon 20/9
Sometimes you play shows where everything seems to be in the right place. You know, the sound, the performance, the audience etc all coming together perfectly. Thats exactly what happened at Four Seasons in Castellon. Firstly, this club is AMAZING. Its modelled on a swinging 60..s club from London and the attention to detail was impeccable. 2nd and very oddly for Spain, the gig was on a Sunday at 7pm. But it didnt matter. Castellon has a great reputation as a town that truly knows and loves its Rock & Roll. They are quick to let you know if they are digging your noise or not. So we were a bit scared. Well, I was anyways.
We started off on a quiet note and opened with 'Stars'. By the 4th song of 'Skipping Days, the crowd had well gotten into it. There were some hardcore fans who knew every song and words and some who got swept up in the whole thing just like we did. Brian Crouch pulled off an amazing hammond solo during our cover of 'Down by the river' and his playing was pure beauty at times. Jon also sang and drummed his arse off. He was starting to be a the real glue to the group and for the first time, we felt and sounded like a 'band'. Great feeling. I also made an arse of myself when I started talking in Spanish about all the drunken folks at Carballo-Popxiriapop. But it came out as a rant about Drunken horses instead. Got many puzzled looks. Kicked on with the locals afterwards and many promises of a return to Castellon was made. I intend to keep it.
Wurlitzer Ballroom - Madrid 22/9
Finally had a day off before the Madrid show, which was great. Sharing a big van with 4 other grown men is ok but the long hauls arent. The road food made it all worthwhile though. Every service station had a great restaurant. Santi made it a mission for us to eat a local dish in every town we stopped at. Bless him. The squid in Carballo killed me. Anyways, day off included a live interview and performance on Radio 3 during prime time. We did acoustic versions of 'Stars', 'Sunday Best' and a Beatles cover of 'Ive just seen a face' .Great fun.
This Madrid show felt like a 'home' gig for me. I feel like a local when I am here and a major concentration of my fans are from this city. The 'Wurli' is a great venue and looks like CBGB..s from NYC. My good mate Adrian Whitehead opened the night and he was tremendous. The people loved him. Hell, my band were dumbstruck to how good he is. Nice work Adro. We then went on in front of a big and GREAT crowd, with lots of familar faces, expecially from the wonderful Powepop Action crew. The best fanbase anyone can ask for. The band again lifted another notch and we felt even more like a ..band.. despite our existance only being a week! We were joined onstage by Adro on 'Stars', Charlie Bautista for 'Right Now' and Javier Extremera (Cosmopolitants) for 'Western Tale'. I also sang in Spanish for the first time. One of Santi's amazing songs. By all accounts I didnt butcher it too much and he seemed touched by it. Finished the gig with a massive sinalong to 'I Shall be released', complete with Madrids musician finest onstage with us. I'm still amazed at the singalongs and enthusiasm of the crowd. Makes this whole thing really worthwhile. This was also enough to spur me out of my self imposed tour alcohol ban and did my first all nighter. Madrid Rock city indeed.
El Varadero - Gandia 24/9
By now, the band was now known as either the Borracho Caballos (Drunken Horses) or Bryan Estepa & The Gays. Mainly cos of the Castellon incident, Jon being able to replicate all the girls vocals from the album and Santi branding us Gays for not finishing our food sometimes.
These gay drunken horses made our way north to the seaside town of Gandia. Beautiful spot. Great Bar. Only problem being the place is populated by retirees. You can almost smell the arthritis cream in the air. So to a small crowd we played to, but still a great show. Santi was playing on the dance floor and Toni pulled off a great solo on 'Stars'. I feel guilty making a great guitar player like Toni playing bass. I also gave the 'intimate..crowd an unplugged performance as a last song. Top night.
Matisse - Valencia 25/9
I have mixed feelings about my last show in Valencia 2 years ago. Simply because my voice was slowly disappearing but the band was musically at its best that night. So I felt like I was on a mission to redeem myself. Was met for a late lunch by the excellent Alta Tension crew. These guys promote and tour artist who they love and they have always treated us well.
The venue ..Matisse..is another cool venue, with a great vibe and look. Took to the stage to another rowdy crowd and knew that my voice was truly redeeming itself. By this show, the set seems to fly by too quickly and each version of 'Myself' got quicker and quicker. Jon was practically begging for it to slow down each time. No way. The set itself is 18 songs but time does fly when yer having a great time. Heard a Perry Keyes tune on the dance floor before the show too, which was a highlight. Paul Kelly & The Stems was heard on the last tour. Valencia sure loves its Aussies. Thank you Valencia & Alta Tension.
Pic by Ana Yturralde
Heartbreak Hotel - Albacete 26/9
By the time we rolled into Gandia, we were all trying to avoid talking about how soon the tour will end. We all got tight pretty quick and playing better and better each time. It was almost cruel. But onto our return show to Albacete and this was the perfect end to the tour. Was met by our very gracious promoter Jomi, who again treated us like kings. Great guy. I also love this venue and the owner Antonio could be an extra from Easy Rider.
Had a great surprsie before the show when I saw faces from Valencia & Madrid, come to this show again. Some have travelled a long, long way for tonight..s show and we were blown away. The gig again was an excellent one and the audience were on fire. They were so close you can almost smell their breaths. It was a sad moment once the band rang the last chord out and we took our final bows. The crowd started chanting after the encore so I obliged by one last unplugged tune in the middle of the dancefloor. Still in shock its over. Thank you Spain for another unforgettable tour!
Bryan
Pic by Ana Yturralde
Typical Setlist:
Stars
Sunday Best
Different with you
Skipping Days
Western Tale
By The Window
Roses
Aches & Shakes
Carl Wilson
Your Best Night
Right Now
Falling Through
I'm Going
Myself
Covers Played:
I've just seen a face - The Beatles
Down by the river - Neil Young
I shall be released - Bob Dylan
Permanecer - Amigos Imaginarios
To Love Somebody - The Bee Gees
Be my Baby - The Ronnettes
That was the day - Daniel Wylie
Road Music:
Wilco
The Jayhawks
Adrian Whitehead
Michael Carpenter
Cosecha Roja
Amigos Imaginarios
Robin Y Los Subtitulados
Carole King
The Zombies
Big Star
Elvis Costello
The Sunday Drivers
Alejandri Escovedo
Neal Casal