THURSDAY 8th NOVEMBER
London - Kufstein (Austria):

Day one.. A blessing of a couple of days to recover from Amsterdam and we're off on our first 'joined up' trek out of England since April.

The usual grief of checking in instruments on a budget airline are artfully avoided by our new tour manager Dave.. Sadly he wont be joining us for the next few days as his mum has been taken ill. I hope she's recovering well as I write this.

Salzberg airport brings back loads of memories from our first trip abroad to Austria.. Thankfully this time we get to avoid cramming our stuff into a stupidly small hire car and get picked up by some familiar faces we haven't seen in far too long.

We've never been to Kuffstein but we hear it has the worlds largest pipe organ in the local castle / church?!

It's sooooo cold.. I'm wearing 3 layers and I'm freezing my nutts off!

Tonight's gigs was amazing. The best stage sound we've had in ages and such a mad for it crowd! One of those nights where everything just seems effortless and nothing but enjoyment.. This hardly ever happens trust us, mostly because I worry too much!

Today's comedy accommodation location is a farm on the outskirts of the town. Gus and I are sharing a room tonight.. It's as cold inside as it is out.. sky tv... but no heating! I'm a short ass so I get away with tiny single beds and kids size duvet.. Gus spends the night cursing.. neither of us sleep very well through fear of moving and letting the cold creep in!

Good points:
Being blown away by the most mad for it crowd so far this year!
It being Jim's birthday and getting him mashed.
The take that style poster signing session after the gig??!
Seeing the lines lads play live for the first time.

Bad points:
Errrrrrr... None....
Nooope... still none!

   

FRIDAY 9th NOVEMBER
Kufstein - Innsbruck (Austria):

10.30am and it's off for the short drive to Innsbruck. It's amazing here... The scenery is truly beautiful and things feel reassuringly familiar this time. The weather is cold and clear although the clouds are slowly closing in. Apparently a snow storm is headed in this evening which could be interesting for getting to Munich tomorrow morning :0.

Today has just disappeared.. Somehow I've spent most of the day trying to catch up on the mountain of band emails and myspace problems that have descended upon us.

In sound check Gus's guitar completely breaks and Ryan (Lines) puts his boot through the kick drum skin - thank fuck that didn't happen in the gig last night!! We all go to dinner in a local restaurant. The beer is served directly from a barrel whacked in the middle of the table and the chef proudly emerges with an entire farms worth of livestock culled and carved onto a hot plate - It's like some thing out of the middle ages! If you are vegetarian and happen to be pekkish in Kuffstein probably best to avoid this place.

We fix gus's guitar with what little we have with us (a leatherman and a roll of electrical tape). The "gusocaster" lives to fight another gig.

Good points:
Another amazing Austrian crowd - you lot are AMAZING!
James Amner.. The only man I've ever seen take a sweat towel onto the dancefloor like it's a totally normal thing to do.. brilliant!

Bad points:
massive hangovers and leaving austria behind :0(

SATURDAY 10th NOVEMBER
Innsbruck (Austria) - Munich (Germany) - Barcelona (Spain):

-1 degrees C, 8.30am, 3hrs broken sleep, the bus smells curiously of egg (yes.. before we get in it) and the early winter snow is falling pretty heavily this morning.

We're heading to Munich airport for a transfer to Barcelona. I can't close my eyes without wanting to throw up. Matt (our manager) is chewing in his sleep (sooo annoying "....yes bruv"!) and the rest of the boys are asleep. I left my ipod in the bag in the back.. Bummer. We're driving through a proper snow storm.. Kinda feels like being stuck inside one of those snow shaker things you get at Christmas.

Munich airport is huge.. totally glass sided looking out onto the airstrip. Stand at one end and you can barley see the other. Heavy turbulence on the flight screws our chances of catching up on any sleep so we pass the time reassuring Gus that most airplane disasters happen in heavy snow. Clint watches way too much late night discovery channel and has countless excellent stories! We decide the safest place to sit on the plane is in the middle.. Clint disagrees but not enough to move. We get some properly rancid airplane sandwiches but this saves a couple of euros at the other end for lunch so all is good.

Barcelona... late afternoon, beautiful clear skies and 16 degress C which feels tropical to us right now. We're collected from the airport by the venue rep Silvia. Axel F's theme tune is the first song we hear on the radio, swiftly followed by Tina Turner - awesome! Palm trees, the med and some gorgeous sea fairing yachts greet us on our way to the hotel, you don't get that on the way to the old blue last so it makes a nice change :0)

Tonight we have a proper hotel for the first time.. I score the only double room at the reception passport lottery.. result.

A couple of hours free means me Gus and Jim can head to the beach front for beer before sound check. Clint's mum is at the gig tonight (she lives in Spain) so they're catching up for the first time in ages which is great as he doesn't get much chance to see her.

Tonight the club doesn't open until 1am. We're on at 2.30am - 3.30am... And we need to leave for the airport at 6.15am. We only just did the maths on this one.... bugger. Tonight will be another all nighter then.

We figure out as we arrive back at the airport check in that we've been in Spain for less than 16 hours?!!

Good points:
Finding "garlic muslim" as a dish on the translated menu at the the restaurant.
All of us falling in love with razz club host Patrica in about 5mins flat.

Bad points :
Having a plush hotel AND a room to myself and not actually getting to spend the night in it.
Having every possible technical fault in one gig.. nightmare!

   

SUNDAY 11th NOVEMBER
Barcelona (Spain) - London - Manchester (England)

So this is where you find me writing this blog so far.. It's 8.00am on the plane back to London. When we land we'll be rescued from Heathrow by Dave (tour manager) and a van full of new kit to replace last night's technical nightmare

(currently listening to Ray LaMontagne - Trouble) ...More to follow but, for now...... hmmm..... sleeeeeeeppp....

Clive.xx