Onto Manchester, England
MDH

WEDNESDAY 21 October--THURSDAY 22 October

Frantic repacking at the last possible minute (again), then Matt and I head for the airport. meeting Bob there. The whole travel experience could not have been easier. Easy check in, watch the Yankees in the airport bar, stocking up on magazines. Then the best news--the flight is only 1/3rd full. British Airways takes very good care of us. Veggie meals a bit on the wan side, but good. Stretch out across four seats and have several hours of sleep. This is a very good thing.





Land in London after a fast 5 hour flight (strong tailwinds), transfer to Manchester flight--easy again--and land almost as soon as we take off. Step out into the dreary english day and I'm delighted to be here. In all the chaos, I hadn't considered how great it was going to be to return here. Already wish I were staying longer.

Taxi to the venue and first sight of our new three week home: THE BUS. It's a double decker affair with three lounges, about twenty bunks, tv, vcr, fridge, CD, cassette, stereo, the works. All seven of us are on board and our driver is named Fish ( hopefully not for "drinks like a..."). The last bus occupant was Depeche Mode and Page/Plant have it after we're done (we switch after London). Travelling in style.


Spend the afternoon working on my guitars--putting new Spurzel tuners on both, new bridges, too. Hopefully this is going to fix the tuning problems. Get some tools from the Mercury Rev tech, Slouch. Very english roadie, nice guy.

Mercury Rev keep to themselves, look very rock and roll. Wonder what they'll sound like. Only have their first record and a lot of the band has changed. Dark Star miss the gig. Their engine overheated, they blew out a tire, then got stuck in Birmingham traffic. Poor guys--not the way you want to start a tour. When they do get to play, it'll be only their second gig ever.

Charles and I hit town looking for a pedal board. No luck in local music shops. May have to make my own. Matt and I have a great Pub lunch. I get a hold of my friends Chas and Shirl (Teenage Fanclub's managers) and they take Matt, Charles and I to dinner at an Indian place. Delicious. They'll come see us play in Sheffield.

The gig goes really well in this room where everyone has played at some time -- Joy Division, Smiths, Pink Floyd, early Genesis, Hot Tuna, Oasis, Stone Roses -- on and on. About 800 there. Healthy walk-up even on this rainy night. The combination of new gear (we didn't bring the 4X12 cabs or my Top Hat) and jet lag makes for a familiar but strange experience.

I really like playing a real Vox AC30 (in England). May be trading the Top Hat in when I get home. The crowd go mad. Pogoing, moshing, stage diving. I give my water to people in the crowd. Bob says it's a real Sugar crowd. They go crazy for Man on the Moon. It becomes our new last encore.

After, Charles and I go out. First to Rock World and learn that the 80's were not forgotten in Manchester. One room of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Beastie Boys. One of Smiths and Echo and the Bunnymen (two kids lie on the dance floor singing How Soon Is Now? at the top of their lungs) and the third is techno, fog, lights and void of people. More PVC than I've seen in a while.

Then a stop at a Brew pub (Firkin's?) which would be a frat bar in the states but the accents make it tolerable, actually amusing. Brits are serious about their nights out. And about their pop music. People of all ages know the words to all the songs and sing along, sweaty and drunk and dancing on tables. They're all the stars of their own videos on a night out. Kind of admirable in an odd way.

Enough watching people have fun. Charles and I head back to our home on wheels. I was worried that sleeping in these small bunks would be borderline claustrophobic, that the noise from everyone would make sleep imposible.

I crawl in to my upper berth and, except for fifteen minutes when the bus starts moving at 8am ( I have to sit in the front lounge and wait for my stomach to adjust), I sleep for ten hours. I could have slept another two at least.

When I get back to NY, I'm going to build one of these in my bedroom.

Wolverhampton, England
Wolfren Hall

FRIDAY 23 October

Very strange to go to sleep in one place and wake in another. Stumble in to the venue and suss the surroundings.

Wander in to town in search of the ever-elusive pedal board. Not only do I not find that, but I can only rustle up 9 sets of guitar strings and two 9 volt batteries. The shop keepers are all very nice, they just don't have much.



Back to the Wulfrun for sound check. Nice warm sounding hall, but very boomy. We're miles from our amps and Matt seems so far back that it's like he's in another band.




Charles, Matt, Jim and I go back into town, get some sundries, socks, gloves, cold medicines--we're all beginning to struggle health-wise. A very good Indian meal and back to the hall. Dark Star are here this time and do a great set considering it's their second ever. Cool bass stuff and great drummer. Guitar/vocals are very dreamy and effect-laden, but they have a cool vibe and interesting stuff happening musically. Very British. Working very hard to establish themselves, and I admire that. Very nice guys as well.



My first real listen to MercRev. Much more interesting than the bit I heard first night. Hard to believe they're not English. Very early 90's shoegazing, but as I loved that music, I enjoy this, too. Lots of fog and detatched cool. They are very into the Style thing. This is not necessarily bad. The whole feel of this bill is so different from Varnaline and us.




After the dreamy, dark distance of the first two bands, we must come on like a freight train. Loud, sweaty Americans with angry guitars. And in Wolverhampton, they eat it up. Big lads down front cheering us on. It's the best vocal mix I've had in ages. Makes it so much easier to sing and so much more fun. Guitar sounding good and the tuning is improving.

Post show shower, then on the bus for the drive to Sheffield. I decide to stay awake for the drive and watch videos with Matt and The City. First the Philadelphia Experiment, then The Lover (not a good movie to watch after weeks on the road with a bunch of guys -- or maybe it is..).



We drive through tiny little streets, our upper lounge eye-level with the upper stories of the homes. Must be bizarre, this behemoth lumbering through the sleepy little streets. In fact, when we do arrive, we park in an industrial parking lot rather than wake the people in the lodge we're going to. Go to sleep with a WWII tank on the knoll next to us. Surreal picture in the 4am English countryside.

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