chrisg's Tour Diary

Woke up early this morning to a day that the weatherman had accurately forecast as "dismal". Rain followed us down the motorway from Birmingham, through the horrible traffic near the London orbital that delayed our arrival from Manchester by a couple of hours last week. We arrived in Chelmsford, just northeast of London, with some time to spare, so we were able to grab a nice lunch and look around the high street for a little bit.

All of us were very excited to be playing Chelmsford. It was one of our favorite shows last year, both because of the enthusiastic crowd and because of the great promoters. We arrive, load in our equipment, and catch up with Mark and Paul. After soundchecks and food, we spend some time chatting with Jackie, another of the bitterscene promoters, and then watch the opening band, Bendigo Tennyson. They play a really great set, with lots of old keyboards and a vaguely Grandaddy feel. Three of the four are wearing trucker caps, and I mean to resolve a question I've had all tour, which is whether the hats are called "lorry caps" in England. But I forget.

It's our last show of the English leg of our tour, which makes all of us a little giddy. It's been great to be over here again, playing music and seeing familiar faces, and a lot of new ones. But I'm a California boy, so I needs me some sunshine. Our giddiness turns into abandon onstage, which makes for an enthusiastic and fun set. The crowd responds too, and asks us back for an encore.

Afterwards, I have a great time chatting with various people who've come up for a CD. People are very nice. Talk for a bit with Stafford, who put on our Colchester show last year. We were very sad that we couldn't play there this year, but we have made a pact with Staff to build our next tour around the Arts Centre there. The Centre is in a beautiful cathedral, and was one of my favorite shows last year. Plus, it's next to a place where you can get a very yummy fry up.

Once the club has kicked us out, we retreat to Paul and Jackie's place for some tea, brandy and rum (in separate cups, of course). It's hard to believe that we'll be in San Francisco tomorrow. I'm looking forward to watching as many films as possible on the flight back. We're taking bets on which Sandra Bullock film will be featured. Because let's be honest, no flight is complete without a piece of the Bullock oeuvre.