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And so the tour begins... in a what?!
16 September 09After what was probably the most stressful festival experience yet at Bestival; a stray drum kit, mysteriously shifting set times and a near miss with the ferry we arrived in Brussels. I must be honest, I was very slightly apprehensive about the first gig on our tour- not because of the promoters (who were lovely) or the location, just because we had been informed it was happening in an apartment. I needn’t have spent even a second feeling the slightest bit worried though, because this was in fact the biggest apartment I have ever set foot in.
Every month or so the residents (Charlotte, Michel, Nuno) turn their cavernous space into La Boite a Musique, and people reserve their tickets, sit on the floor and appreciate the performances seemingly just because they love music. There was no pretension and I think this made what started out as a totally alien experience into the most natural thing in the world. Our hosts were some of the most genuine and enthusiastic people I have met for a while. We played for an hour and I was totally blown away with how kind people were and also amazed that they called us back for two encores which I’m definitely not used to! Afterwards we ate so much Belgian chocolate which challenged even my high cocoa threshold, which culminated in us sitting on the floor in the middle of this massive space, hacking away at a massive block of cooking chocolate with a hammer. We left in the morning feeling refreshed by the experience and ready to start on our tour with Noah and the Whale. Which brings me to Utrecht where I’m currently in our dressing room surrounded by food which is also one of my favourite things about doing gigs in Europe. Copious amounts of cheese and ham and bread…We were just served some amazing meatballs and mash and I’m slightly worried that I’m too full and sleepy to make it to the stage.
Berlin tomorrow!