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I wasn't sure whether to include this show as it took place two days before we actually hit the road. Anyway the last time we played the Freebutt was when The Liars came to Brighton on their first UK tour and that show ended in a big mess so we were excited to be playing there again. I sadly missed The Fairy Traders as I was doing the door but they sounded good, very different from the last time I saw them. When Castro took the stage I got very excited and got right to the front, they were very loud and very concentrated - Chris the bass player looked like he was about to explode. I remember Russell screaming furiously at us, they created a wall of noise that I can only describe as sounding like early 90's American underground rock, I hope that doesn't make them sound bad, just check them out. We started with an untitled new song, which was very fun to play. It was great to play to a packed small venue, and there were people about a foot away from the stage, which made playing very exciting. People seemed to be really into the show, we gave a free record to the person who made the best animal sound after a song. Apart from bumping the left hand side of my head I can't really remember much else from our set. It made us happy that a bunch of independent Brighton bands can attract 120 people to a venue. Also thanks a lot to Jon Slade for running the merchandise stall whilst we played. Monday 5th August - The Verge - Kentish Town, London We had a lot of fun travelling up to London, one of the highlights for me was shouting "ou et le skag" at people in those upper class bits of Lundin. Eva and me went for a walk after our terrible sound check, which meant we only caught about two minutes of Moonkat's set, which was a bummer. Econoline played a good set; one of their songs had a dreamy feel to it (a bit like Trizteza). I enjoyed our set, I remember being very hot. I killed the pickup selector switch on one of my guitars during 'Broken Dialogue' (poo), which didn't really affect the rest of the tour that badly. Foe started with the awesome 'Triangulator' (the only Foe song I know) and then piled through the rest of their set. I was very tired and a bit dazed during their set, I need to be familiar with songs like those or they seem to go over my head. Zoë and Tom who helped organise the show made us some amazing vegan food, which included a giant watermelon that we drove around with the whole tour. After the show we drove to Oxford and slept at Ady's house. Tuesday 6th August - The Cellar - Oxford Sunnyvale Noise Sub-Element sounded cool, mixing electronic beats with cool guitar and bass parts, quite danceable stuff. Econoline were really great that night, they gave off a really good energy, and the sound mix was better for them that night. We all had a good show, it seemed very dark whilst we played, the floor there is not very nice, nasty concrete tiles. About two songs in I said some stuff about the venue and where it is situated and I don't think I made myself very clear. I said that it's a shame that this cool place is surrounded by such shit, then I said that it's worse than Brighton. During 'Soiled Skulls' I hurt my back, but it was fine after the show. Steve said some cool stuff about getting involved in political activism before we played 'Everything Has A History'. After we played I went to get some water and the bar staff said that I should apologise, they thought I hated the venue, but they were cool after I explained. And other people thought I hated Oxford, which in a way I do, it seems like a very strange alienating place. I'm excited about the Audioscope show we are doing there on the 7th September, as we met some really nice enthusiastic people and it will also be nice to be playing for a necessary cause. Wednesday 7th August - The Retro Bar - Manchester During the drive to Manchester I finally got to hear the band Neu! And I was blown away by how good they were (are) the music went well with the scenery and the speed we were travelling at, lot's of lamb's that had been spray painted (yuk). When we got to Manchester me and Steve let of some steam by jumping into the side of the van, we accidentally dented a panel (but we got our deposit back for the van o.k.) Jo who promoted the show made the bands some delicious food and made us feel welcome. It was nice to see lots of flyers for shows around the venue that weren't just for big touring bands. Valerie went on first, we all thought they ruled, they had a great energy and their songs were so cool and catchy, I would like to see them play again using a proper PA. Hooker played next, they started off with a bang, the singer has an incredible voice, which she uses really well, but I did get a bit tired of their set by the end, I was dying to play. Then as they finished a lot of people just went home or just sat in the corner and talked which was a bummer as Moonkat and us had travelled to play the show. I decided to stand right at the front to watch Moonkat as I missed most of their set a few days before. I love the tempo they play at, Richard's fucked up guitar parts go so well with the rest of the band. About three songs in they played a slow song with really emotional singing that fucked my head up, it was such an intense song, I hope they release that song soon if they haven't already. We decided to start our show off with 'Soiled Skulls', which was a bit of a bad idea because after that song I had already hit my head and lost some co-ordination - we should leave that song for later in the set. Die-hard COF fan and good friend of ours Ro, travelled from Brighton to see us that night, thanks Ro we love you. There was some good dancing going down on the floor and I wanted to give free records out to lots of people that night, the winner of the free record was cool. After the show we stayed at Jo's house, and we all took turns trying on this crazy knights helmet that she has in her living room. Thanks to Jo for being so kind and hospitable to us and also thanks for playing me some great UK bands that I had never heard of. I must check out The Devils website. Thursday 8th August - The Packhorse - Leeds We had a strange show, everyone enjoyed it a lot apart from me, it just seemed to fly by without ever hitting a really amazing moment, plus I really fucked up both my shins that night. We stayed at a big recording studio that night - bands like Shed 7 and Chumabwamba have recorded there, we all laughed at the signed pictures of the terrible bands that graced the walls. We may return to Leeds soon with Lapsus Linguae. Thank you Moz you are great. Friday 9th August - The Barfly - Glasgow Anyway Brian Reynolds cooked us a great meal, which I ate too much of. I missed Foe which sucked (I waz doing the door). I enjoyed our set a lot more than the previous night; it felt good and special again. Lapsus Linguae played a great set. The highlight for me was 'The Strang Makes Everything OK' they played with a lot of energy that night, directed more at the music rather that at each other - I only recall one spitting incident. I really loved the AC-DC cover as well. Hopefully one day we might tour with those guys. We fell asleep listening to Lungfish. Saturday 10th August - Café Da - Norwich Sennen were the first band on, I really got into them, I hate mentioning Mogwai, as I don't really like them, but Sennen sometimes sounded like the nice singing songs that Mogwai do, they finished off their set with a really good song. Econoline were amazing tonight, my favourite performance of the tour, I'm not sure if they played well because they had been drinking before hand, but they just let rip. Ian was all over the place, Val kept playing these crazy little songs in between the bands actual songs, the place was very busy whilst Econoline played, and we were right at the front, nearly getting smashed by guitars. They ended with a song about the vile George W. I can't wait for their album. We started the show off with 'Telephone Rings', and then flew through the rest of them. During our set my mike kept cutting out, for whole songs my voice was not coming through the PA. I'm sure a few of the hen night girls that were there were quite happy about that. We finished the tour off with a fucked up version of 'Soiled Skulls', during the song all the mikes were cutting out, I was trying desperately to find a mike to shout into. At one point Steve handed me a mike, which had no lead on it, so I grabbed Eva's and hit the deck for the last bit. Thanks to Charlie for a great night. Thanks to Ady Peace out Dan - COF |