We got to Kansas a day before the show, so me and Scrim decided to go exploring. Scrim is Lu Edmond’s tech. He is also a Luthier in real life and works at Chandlers Music in Kew, London.
P.I.L.
We got to Kansas a day before the show, so me and Scrim decided to go exploring. Scrim is Lu Edmond’s tech. He is also a Luthier in real life and works at Chandlers Music in Kew, London. I’m most in awe of Mr. Scrim due to the fact that when he left school he worked here!
Scrim
We went off on a bit of a trek to a more artsy part of town and found the usual second-hand shops, record shops, cafes, etc. It was an historic portion of town and there seemed to be a lot of shops that were closed down. Some nice old stores like the Broadway Hardware Company with its fantastic stained-glass windows, neon sign, and wood-paneled interior. We’d had a decent 5 or 6 mile walk and then I decided I needed to go to K Mart. In a taxi. Seven miles away in the opposite direction. Net result: $30 in taxi fare to buy a $14.99 pair of headphones. Plus 4 hours wasted. I’d also wanted to buy a cowboy shirt, but it was Sunday and the Western Store was closed (always the way on tour; luck of the draw, etc.).
Me, Scrim, and Lu ended the day together in an Irish pub watching two geezers playing Irish songs on acoustic and bodhran (like a giant tambourine). Loud people turned up and did sort of piss take drunken Irish Jig type dancing. It was on a fine line between harmless drunken fun and racism. No, I’m kidding. Although the reason I just typed that is because I actually know people that would think that. They also thought The Smiths were exciting.
Kansas City park bench
Anyway, these gigs all seem to blend into one after a bit. All I can remember is that the venue was fucking miles from the fucking poncey bit of town where our hotel was. Ah, I’ve just remembered the journey to the venue (Midland Theater; I think Buzzcocks may have played there once), reversing the bus into the alleyway to load in, the rain, getting the juicer in to the venue, and … nope, still can’t remember what the gig was like.
I will say this though: I only remember one show where the band weren’t fantastic. It may have been this one as two days off before the show, a thousand-mile drive, and being stuck on a bus in a truck-stop for eight hours may have something to do with it. Ask a musician what a day off is and the answer will be “a waste of time”. It’s the opposite to what squares think (i.e. a tour is like a holiday). Musicians like to be in that “zone” everyday. A day off breaks up the momentum. Musicians thrive on that momentum. It’s not like a footballer who needs recovery time; musicians will get a big lump of recovery time at the end of the tour.
Read part II of the tour diary here, part III here, and part IV here
You should re-read your writing before you post it to make sure there aren’t too many mistakes.
i can’t read anymore of these diary entries. this old fart is putting me to sleep.
so much blood in my bowel movements, I need to see a doctor, this shit is getting scary!
I see those two have been issued their poorly-aging-musician hats
“Anyway, these gigs all seem to blend into one after a bit.” Much like the articles describing them. Oh no I didn’t!