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Neal Morse's Bridge Across Europe Tour Diary
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Well, flying in was pretty uneventful except that they planted the most Arabic looking dude in the WHOLE WORLD to be the first person I saw when I boarded my flight for London out of Chicago. Full turban and beard...they must've put him in the bulkhead seat as a prank to scare the living daylights out of all the Americans boarding the plane. The guy looked like freakin' Bin Laden himself! Nice way to start off. No offence to our peace-loving arabic friends (I hope!).
Arrival was cool. Went straight to rehearsals up in Oxford at some place out in the country called the Fruit Farm. Radiohead wrote OK computer there or so they say. It's a pretty decent room except they forgot one thing....RUNNING WATER!! Hallo. "Where's the bathroom" ..."oh yeah...uh...it's out the door and about 3 buildings down"...very nice in a hail storm.
But that was the least of our worries. Never mind the anthrax infested coffee pot, what about all these notes we've got to play? What about all the 3 part harmonies we've got to work out in 3 days? And Mr. Portnoy wants to add MORE MATERIAL! Ach Mein Gott. Does the word brutal mean anything to you at all? I think day 2 took the cake for most tense rehearsal in my musical history. EVERYBODY got mad at least once that day. Mike's a pretty demanding guy and, honestly, I think he's used to a higher standard of preparedness than the rest of us, so, it was quite frustrating for everyone. It must have been really bizarre for Daniel from Pain of Salvation. I mean, we're at least a little bit used to the idea that we don't always agree on stuff (ok, we barely ever agree on ANYTHING) but Daniel must have felt like he'd just walked into the Lion's den. (No Biblical pun intended).
The thing that I actually enjoyed about the rehearsals was the fact that we stayed in the same hotel for 4 days (3 + the Oxford Zodiac gig) and I could leave my keyboards and stuff spread out for days on end. I enjoyed my morning runs through Milton Heights as well. Actually, Mike checked into another Hotel 'cause ours didn't have phones! That was pretty hilarious. We got there (I had to go to pay for it....don't ask) after the 2nd rehearsal at about 3:00 in the morning (after getting lost) only to find that the hotel is locked! We rang the bell to no avail, and then the rain started. "Nice weather were having" said Pete. Finally Alan (Mike's tech) managed to reach someone and they came round and checked him in. So I got to bed about 4:00 am.
The next day was our warm up gig in Oxford and I had no idea what was going to happen. I pretty much thought that the tour was going to be a hellish nightmare at that point. I think I told my wife that I couldn't wait for it to be over and it hadn't even started!
Well, surprise....Mike came in and asked everybody into a huddle and apologized ....and it completely changed the vibe amongst the band immediately. It was very big of him because it's not like he was wrong...I should've been more prepared than I was.
So what do I remember about the warm up gig in Oxford? I remember being a little nervous and annoyed in the dressing room before the show because I kept trying to warm my voice up and people kept asking me questions. I finally went out and did my warm ups on the stair well. Some lady stopped me for an autograph. The nerve! Pete and Roine were writing down their lyrics about 20 minutes before the show, which I found pretty amusing. I tried to think of that gig as a rehearsal. I remember pretty much just standing there and playing most of time.....and making a lot of mistakes as well. I thought it went pretty well for a warm up. But there was a lot missing.
On to London. 11/10/01. The best thing about playing the Astoria is that there's a Starbuck's right around the corner. We arrived a little late so sound check was tense and rushed and Mike had some words with some dude from the venue that started telling us he had to open the doors. We didn't really have our sound check routine together at this point so it was a bit of a mess. I really enjoyed this gig...even though we were still pretty loose. This was the night it took Pete 3 tries to find the right chord at the end of "All of the Above". I thought it was kind of funny but he took it a bit hard. This was the first night I came out with my electric guitar during the CHARLOTTE/BEATLES thing. It was fun but I'm never sure if it's fun for everybody else....especially Roine. Maybe I should ask him. All in all, I felt very at home at this gig. My voice was holding up pretty well and I don't think I clammed too many notes. I'm always worried about the falsetto notes I have to hit in the quiet parts of "STRANGER" AND "CAMOUFLAGED IN BLUE" but so far my program of exercise and vocal exercises and NO PARTYING has really been paying off. It's so much more fun to actually be able to sing. It's very freeing to not have to worry about it. I felt like we connected well with the audience, and what an audience they were! I've never seen so many people at that place. The balcony was completely full! 1600 or around there. And they seemed to know the material real well and were singing along. Killer Indian food after the show. Pete was really upset because they kicked the guys in Marillion out before he could find them. Derek Kemp (our agent) hung out for a bit. Some girl I didn't know got upset with me 'cause I didn't remember who she was.
When we finally got to the bus after signing stuff and all, that was one of the first times I really missed the Spock's guys. Not only that but a whole new crew as well...except for Mikey and Eike....I was getting on a bus of total strangers! I'm used to this whole family vibe. It was strange for the first part of the tour.
Paris 11/11/01
I woke up, got off the bus and was walking down the street to the hotel when some guys called out my name and wanted autographs AND PICTURES!!!!! I'm sure they're beautiful.
So nice to HAVE hotel rooms. Spock's never has had day rooms or anything. It's made all the difference for me on this tour. Plus Dirk Lehberger, our tour manager, carries my bags up to my room. He's wonderful. I can't tell you what a difference it makes just to have a clean space in which to read and exercise and take a hot bath. Aaahhh....heaven.
Had a nice run up and down Monmartre. Had a hilarious conversation with my wife from a pay phone (that worked!) at the bottom of the hill. Ate breakfast at the top. The French really know how to make an Omelet and a cup of coffee. I sat next to a bunch of those crusty street artist guys speaking a mile a minute to each other and smoking like fiends.
Felt disconnected at the gig. Still making a few mistakes. Good crowd but I didn't recognize anybody and I didn't feel like I was part of the band that night. I don't know what it was. Mike loved it though.....you never can tell how it is for everybody else. You can all do the same gig and have completely different experiences.
Now Tilburg... that's when everything changed. There was a real shift in Tilburg. I think we were all nervous about the gig since they were shooting a DVD and multi track recording it and all. Every time I made a mistake (which wasn't too many) I laughed to myself "Oh there's another one you'll have to fix". The crowd was great and nothing major went wrong, which is unusual for me in Tilburg. Good to see some familiar faces out there. I like feeling like I'm home among friends. My voice started to crack in "We all need some Light" and I started worrying about the quiet section of Stranger right then. I asked for help from above (really!) and I felt that God was with me and if I just didn't push and try too hard, He'd help me sing and reach people. Lo and behold it was so! Then, for the first time in forever, the audience wouldn't let us leave! We were downstairs quite awhile after and Dirk came down and told us "they won't leave...what do you want to do?" There was much discussion. It was hilarious! Pete - "No...we CAN"T do 'Shine On'...we don't know the words...we'll look like idiots! Why don't you do 'Bridge'? Neal - "I don't think I can! Come on, nobody cares if you know the words....they're Dutch for cryin' out loud!" Mike - "Forget it...that's enough. But if we're going to do anything it's got to be 'Shine On'...anything else will be anti-climactic". Roine - "I don't think we should do it...maybe you should do 'Bridge'" Pete - "why don't we just repeat one of the songs we've already done...they won't care, they'll love it" This went on for 10 minutes! I wish it was all on film. Oh well. We finally went on and did 'Shine On' with Mike cueing as much as possible. The crowd loved it and it was a gas!!!! It was just what the band needed. A gig everybody felt good about.
Cologne - Live Music Hall 11/13/01
InsideOut guys came and that's always fun. Nice to be in good voice in the same venue where I ate it on live television. Dedicated "We all need some Light" to George 'cause last time I'd played there was with him. Don't remember much else about that gig except that the crowd was good and it was nice to be in Germany and sweating.
Frankfurt - Day Off
The whole band and most of the crew went and saw Yes at the Frankfurt Opera Haus. VERY COOL! We got the greatest seats! Sitting right over the stage on the side. We were about twenty feet from Steve Howe and could read his set list. They played with a full orchestra (mostly young pretty Polish girls really getting into the music) that were wonderful to watch.. I had Pete on one side and Thomas on the other and we were cracking jokes all night long. Pete - "Is Jon Anderson on strings?". They opened with 'Close To The Edge' and did most of their best stuff. Jon's voice was perfect and after the show we went backstage to Chris Squire's dressing room or "Club Yes". "Welcome to Club Yes" he said in a thick English accent. We talked about Aynsley Dunbar and Eric Burdon. They all know each other from the olds days in London. Anyway, we had an amazing time.
Belgium was OK. Wrote a song and had some nice food. Audience was a little small but that fit my mood. I was in a mellow mood and so were they it seemed.
Hamburg was Hamburg. Very fun. A lot of friends out in the crowd. I've been playing the drums during 'Stranger' and Mike's been stage diving on the crowd. I think the first time he did that was Hamburg. He's done it every night since. It's been really cool how the show evolved and got more and more interesting as the tour went on. Too bad we didn't have some of that stuff when we shot the DVD in Tilburg. My acoustic guitar solo in "We all need some Light" didn't really come alive until Hamburg as well.
One thing that didn't really work in my opinion was opening with a bit of me doing "BRIDGE ACROSS FOREVER" by myself. We did that in Hamburg and Munich. In Munich we also ended the show with the last chorus. I don't think it worked at all. The big spooge was a much more satisfying ending.
Berlin was fun. We did "Shine On" and I pulled a Ryo and pulled my keyboard down on top of myself at the end. I didn't have a riser that night so I was closer to the people which I enjoy. I got mad at the end 'cause I couldn't get a ride to the hotel after the show and had to walk with my suitcase in the cold.
Karlsruhe - One of my favorites of the whole run. Big crowd and just a great feeling. I played the same venue a few years ago with Eric Burdon and it was the only time he came out after "House of the Rising Sun". Karlsruhe ROCKS!!
Tonight in Munich (our last show in Germany) was fun, but a bit off. Mike and Pete messed up the tricky part at the beginning of 'Duel' and it was a real train wreck. We re-did it correctly after we finished the song. Good gig though all in all.
So I go to this gym down the street from the venue in Munich, and I'm taking a sauna (naked of course) and in comes some naked 60 year old German lady!! I high tailed it outa there in a hurry!
Another funny gym experience was when I went to the gym next door to the hotel in Tilburg. Right when I walked in I walked into the smoking lounge! They have a smoking coffee bar area in the gym!
I'm now at the Malan Malpensa airport waiting for my flight to London. I haven't slept at all. By the time we got done getting all our stuff together and sorting out business it was 3:30 am and my flight leaves at 7:30 which means I had to leave the hotel at 5:00 so I just took a shower, watched a bit of TV and caught my cab. Long ride. Got mad after I waited in the check-in line for 1/2 an hour only to be sent to the ticket counter to wait another 1/2 hour. Traveling is SO much fun. What could be worse than waiting in lines that never seem to move after staying up all night? Well, at least I'm getting on my flight...
Last night in Milan was OK but not a killer way to end the tour. The crowd was a little small (about 500) but really into it for most of the show. But they didn't applaud long enough for us to do 'Shine On'. Same in Munich. If they only knew how close they were! I actually got mad during the show. I've been using this head set mic that drives me nuts!!! It's NEVER in the right place. Ian - the sound guy - comes back before the show to put the contraption on my head and make sure that the mic is in the right place ( or else you can't hear me) and I jump around and shake my head and everything seems fine. Then, somehow, during the show, it's always down on my chin or way over to the side or falling off my ears. God, I HATE THAT THING!!!!!! But, I need it for the gig because of all the different stuff I've got to play. I was battling with it every night. Last night I lost the battle.
Had a great run yesterday in Milan. Found this huge Catholic graveyard that looked like a fortress. Giant shrines of marble and gold and glass with family names on them. Miles of 'em. And there I was jogging through it all. A lot of them have pictures of the deceased on the grave. Really interesting. Different. Passed by a school where kids were playing just like my kids play and thought of the chorus of a song...."We may have our differences, but the children are the same..." Very Cat Stevens sounding thing.
I can't believe it's actually over. Life is so weird. I mean, you plan something and work on it and dread it and look forward to it....then you're doing it....then it's over and you're on your way home. Bam.
Well...that's it. All in all a great tour. I really enjoyed it most of the time. Many thanks to the crew and the crowds and the guys. See you next time.....
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