Happy Halloween!
Apologies again for the couple days missed of blogging! The whirlwind of tour has been sucking away my time and life!
Tour is a funny thing – from the outside it looks as though you would have lots of free time, but in actual fact you have hardly any at all. We are usually in the theaters by 4 or 5 hours before the start of the show in order to set up our side of the backline and tech (drum kits, my wireless units, my laptop for running tracks, etc) and then do soundcheck. Some days after soundcheck is finished, the Druid boys have a blocking or music rehearsal, some days we have a little bit of time to either go get some groceries or wander through a town (although usually everything is closed because the shops here close at 5 or 6pm!). Then it is back to the theater to do makeup, hair, put on costumes, tune instruments, etc and be ready for the curtain up at 8:15! At the end of the show, we go to the front of the house to meet the audience and sign programs, CDs, etc. It is a nice opportunity to meet people, get feedback on the show, and get a feel for an area. Then it is back to the backstage, to pack up the drum kits, wireless equipment, laptops, makeup, etc and get ready to get on the road again.
This tour runs a little differently from the ones I have usually done in the States. There we have long drives most days, getting up early in the morning and driving to the new city in time to do all the tech and sound check. After the show we are usually to our hotel by 11:00 or so.
Here we have shorter drives, but we have to drive both before and after the show. With traffic, most of the drives have ended up being about 2 hours each way (we hit a traffic jam coming home from the show at midnight on friday night!!). Yesterday there was no time for dinner before the show, so I cooked dinner at 1:30am when I got home, which meant getting to bed about 2:30. I was grateful for the time change last night – an extra hour of sleep!
Today we have a matinee in Drachten. It is a city on the northern side of the Netherlands, not quite 2 hours drive from our little Rabbit Hill. It is raining now so I decided to take this moment to do a bit of writing rather than taking a walk. We actually got here a bit early, so the tech crew were not ready for us yet when we arrived. I hear a bass and drums on stage now though – which means that it is my turn to go get set up!
So to sum up, Friday we were in Velsen, a suburb on the western side of Amsterdam. It was certainly a well-heeled crowd, although the area around the theater didn’t seem to be the nicest. We had a moment between soundcheck and show to walk and it had the vibe of a commuter area – very few shops or restaurants, mainly row after row of semi-modern houses – didn’t make for very good sight seeing! (although there was a cute black and white cat outside the theater!)
Last night we went back south again, a shorter distance, to Cuijk. We got caught talking to the audience after the show, and the theater director wanted us to film a little web-blog for their site. It ended up being a late arrival back home even with the shorter drive.
But…after the 3pm show today and the drive back, we have a few wonderful free hours this evening….and…an entire day off tomorrow! Yippee! I can’t wait to…do my laundry. ☺
Time to get on stage. More soon!
