U
S
A
2
0
0
5
USA Tour June 2005
JUNE 1st
At daft o'clock in the morning everyone (except Dipster who finds us at the airport) meets up at London Liverpool Street Rail Station on route to Heathrow. Having got though all the airport security, there is time for a quick eye opener before our flight.
1600 - After a 10½ hour flight and customs checks, we are met by our own personal Elvis look-alike, Craig McGahey, who also turns out to be a mighty fine tour manager. Uh huh huh...
We check into the Marriott in Huntingdon Beach,and head for a bar just down the road for one beer to acclimatise. This inevitably leads to many more beers and we leave...later.
JUNE 2nd
Get to the fist gig early, and finish sound check by 15.00, so time for a couple of photo opportunities here.
After a good, loud show, everything gets loaded up and we are almost ready to leave the LA area for San Diego. Things aren't going so well though - the trailer has only one tail light and the brake lights are not working on either van nor trailer. Later, an attempt to fix these blows the indicators too, so its not safe to go to San Diego like this and we all end up on the floor of our tour managers office for the night!
JUNE 3rd
Chris Taylor's birthday and after half a nights sleep on the floor, we are all in the mood for wild celebrations...
After some breakfast we make our way to San Diego via a U-Haul repair shop. There is a bit of beach here so we wait it out by the sea.
We get to the house on Mission Beach where the band is staying (it's owned by webmaster Duncan's, Auntie Nancy - thank you!) mid afternoon, so have a game of FOOTBALL on the beach. Later the band take a visit to TAANG! Records for some refreshment before loading in to The Casbah.
Late dinner and another good, noisy, and very hot show.
JUNE 4th
A 10 hour drive after breakfast takes us to San Francisco's Bottom of the Hill club, via LA to change some of the drum kit which Simon has destroyed. A really cool club, and after a good gig with plenty of audience participation (you know who you are!), we head to San Jose for the night.
JUNE 5th
Spent the day sightseeing around San Francisco, including a music shop, trolley ride and a view of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Back to San Jose to the Blank Club, for another superb show.
JUNE 6th
A day off for travel to Eugene, and the aim for the day is to get north of the Californian state line. Unfortunately we have to stop just south of Oregon as a bomb scare has closed the Interstate border crossing. We have a Mexican meal and meet some very interesting people in a bar...
JUNE 7th
...who take Simon and Dipster shooting up in the surrounding hills before we resume the drive to Eugene. They say it never rains in southern California, but it certainly does in Oregon. Man it pours. We have what turns out to be the quietest gig for the tour.
JUNE 8th
Arrive at Seattle after several more hours on the I5 with time to check in to the hotel before the show. We have a look around and find we are staying right next to the famous Space Needle, and what appears to be a massive lump of chewed gum that turns out to be a museum of contemporary music. Nice.
Back to business with the show. Good time had by all.
JUNE 9th/10th
Hit the road at 1300 and head for Las Vegas, Dipster and Simon have a go at the driving later in the day as we travel till 0400, leaving us about another 6 hours to drive to Vegas. Stop for a couple of hours at a motel in Idaho before dropping down through Nevada to Vegas.
Upon arrival, we take a drive down 'The Strip', check out the venue (which resembles the spaceport bar in Star Wars) and get shown to our Casino hotel, Binnions, in the older part of Vegas.
The show is everything we expect it to be...
After the gig we make use of the Casino's excellent 24 hour drinking and gambling facilities.
JUNE 11th
Breakfast in the casino hotel before heading out of Vegas via the I15 and back to LA.
Having checked out the venue at Corona (Showcase
Theatre), the hotel and some fast food we have the what turns out to be
the best gig of the tour at the all ages, alcohol free venue. Unlikely as
it sounds, the audience of (mostly) teenagers moshed like mad, got right behind
the band, and drove the who show forward. Fantastic.
More of Caroline McGahey's photo's can be found here
JUNE 12th
Most of the band get a early wake up call from an earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale. Chris manages to sleep through it.
After breakfast and pool, we head for Hollywood and stop by the Guitar Center. Whilst trying out a kit there, Simon is told "You're a good drummer, but would you use brushes, or stop please - you're too loud!"
Nice club, and yet another astonishingly brilliant show (we seem to remember...)
Here's a bit in the LA Weekly recommending the gig. Iain Jordan's photo's are here.
JUNE 13th
Our last day gets a very late start with lunch at Ruby's Diner on the end of Huntington Pier and ends at our agent, James Harding's house, for a BBQ and end of tour business.
JUNE 14th
A short trip home...
A BIG HELLO & THANK YOU TO JAMES HARDING & CRAIG MCGAHEY AT LIBERTALIA ENTERTAINMENT, AND EVERYONE WHO MADE IT HAPPEN AT THE VENUES - PROMOTERS, SOUND GUYS, BAR TENDERS, ETC, ALSO EVERYONE WE MET ALONG THE WAY. CHEERS