UK Blog VIII
So. Well. Rested! October 1, 2009
That’s right folks, PF here, writing from the comfort and cleanliness of a Holiday Inn Express – it’s no Travelodge, but hey, what is, eh? Speaking of Travelodge, I know that I’ve been talking about our time in the Braehead Travelodge and the surrounding mall-country, and just yesterday we left them for the last time on this tour. Sniff sniff . . . I’ll miss the faceless anonymity and the easy access to box stores and shipyards. Also, there’s the Xscape. Have we talked about the Xscape? It’s this massive mall addendum that’s dedicated to adventure sports. There’s a climbing wall, a bowling alley (adventure!), and a ski slope! Crazy. All indoors, all in the midst of a suburban parking lot. Maybe I’m just exposing my naivete, I don’t know . . . I thought outdoor sports we supposed to be undertaken outdoors. But hey, it’s clean and cheap, and conveniently located, and so it goes . . .
Anyway, last blog ended with us leaving Belfast for the ferry back to Scotland. It’s funny how a place can start feeling like home after a relatively short amount of time. To me, Scotland is our home base while we’re over here. Maybe it’s the extended amount of time with Gerry, our Paisley-based ambassador. I think it’s as much that I’ve gotten entirely used to the accents and speech patterns of the Glasgow area. Yikes, time to get back to Richmond, I reckon.
So we landed in Stranraer and had a beautiful drive up the western coast, through Ayrshire, to Irvine – a sweet oceanside town with a nice harbor and beach paths and the like. We had played Irvine about a year before with the Wilders – I recall we played “Summer of ‘69” during the final superjam – epic! Anyway, we played at the the Harbour Arts Centre, in a sweet small theatre set up amphitheater-style. The room was nearly full, and it was just a very intimate time, and who wouldn’t want to be intimate with the Hot Seats?
The next day was spent bumming around Irvine – long walks on the beach, tea, coffee, lunch, etc. It’s an exciting life, no? Our days off – they could all blur into a single series of events: walking around, over-caffeination, looking for cheap/free activities, more walking around, cigarettes, mindless noodling on instruments. Obviously, its a pretty glamourous life. We ended the day back at the Braehead Travelodge, glad to get back “home.”
Next day was the Kilbarchan Library. Kilbarchan is the hometown of our agent/promoter/Scotland guru, Loudon. Whenever Loudon comes to a show, it’s time to step it up, as he has a sharp ear and is unafraid to tell you exactly what he thinks. We therefore through in all of our newest and best material, along with “Cakewalk,” a chestnut from way back in the band’s history which has been recently rediscovered. It was a fun show, full of many familiar faces from our previous shows in this area.
A side-note, Loudon made us dinner that night – something called “Stovies,” a dish that is apparently different in every Scottish household. As near as I can understand, it’s basically the end of the week meal, to be made with whatever’s leftover from the week, cooked slowly and very sumptuous. Loudon’s was pork bellies and potatoes, and it was great, rib-sticking and filling.
And that brings us to yesterday – Carnegie Hall! Finally, all of our years of heard worked paid off! The old joke of “How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice!” Know that one? Well, there’s a second answer, which is, “Come to Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland!” This Carnegie Hall is also funded by Andrew Carnegie, the steel magnate. Apparently he was born in Dunfermline, who knew? The town is just a bit north of Edinburgh, and up on a hill, so when you look south you can see the Forth Rail Bridge, of which many pictures have been taken – it’s a very cool bridge. Carnegie Hall is a lovely theater, older and maybe a little more ornate that most in which we have been playing. It’s also a big space – maybe 500 available seats including the balconies. We had around 100 folks in there, but they were such an enthusiastic crowd that it didn’t matter – plenty of clapping and hooting and shouting to cover the empty seats. We’ve been trying this thing wherein we just come out and start playing, no talking. However, there’s always about 30-45 seconds of preparation that happens before we actually start. Last night, someone in the crowd shouted, “Don’t worry boys, we’re ready whenever you are!” That was amusing to me . . . So the gig went great – there’s nothing like having first a gorgeous young woman and then a charming older lady both come up to you and tell you how much fun it was and how happy the music made them feel. That’s right! Pleasing the ladies of all ages! That’s us!
And now we enter the home stretch. Newcastle tonight, then Hawick, the Inverness (!), and then Dundee, and then airport! There’ll probably be one more blog in me, I’ll write it in the airport while we wait to board. In the meantime, keep checking the picture page – I’ve posted a few travel shots, and then a bunch more of our most recent performance at the Polish Club (HEY!), taken by Davey Stewart – the highlight being Jake with his pants down, ladies.
That’s all for now,
PF HotSeats, over n out.
