Still swimming in two different time streams. The present brings me back to Broadchalke from Paris after a triumphant final gig. I rarely sit up the front at a gig - the band hardly need to see my ugly mug smiling back at them - but I watched the first set from the fourth row and there were even more exchanged smiles and jokes than normal. Slightly "demob happy" as Mel put it in the interval. And a few pleasant set list surprises (I never look at the set lists in advance as it is better to experience them as they are intended, with no road sign to tell you where they might lead).
My review of the past dates leads me to Turin.
A very different feel to the other cities, and a different, more subdued, audience. We were warned that the venue might present difficult audio issues - and after the soundcheck everyone was confidently wondering why. The sound in the hall and on the stage was generally very good. And then the show started! There were huge problems with the bass end. Strange standing waves, so that you could move a couple of yards, and at one point you would have far too much bass, and at another none at all. And the band were suffering with low end feedback. It was gradually tamed during the first half of the set - but the inconsistencies were so large that one could do no more than compromise. Every seat was getting a completely sound. There are times when it is wonderful no longer to be the sound engineer... Mark Vreeken coped admirably and put in a long shift the following day, trying to further mitigate the issue. A good end to the tour of Italy - none of the predicted problems emerged. The audience were very respectful of the requests for no photography, and even the bootleg merchandise dealers, who had been told would be impossible to remove, were regularly moved on by the police (as photographed by Adrian).
A few pics of the end of the final show in Italy. A panorama...
A Close up...
And backstage, for our brave new world, a pair of Apartheid laundry bins (yes, the apostrophe annoys me too)...
"The centre of discipline: the degree to which we are able to hold ourselves in front of a challenge."
