Coast To Coast & Up & Down

The frozen Mississippi River! Was right out the back of our hotel in Madsion!!

It was SO cold that Dan wrote "Fire" in water & it froze on contact with the concrete! It was this weird 'dry' ice. No moisture in it at all! Ice graffiti!!

Working hard in Bermuda.....!!

We are going every which way on this Tour. We’ve gone coast to coast & know we’re zig zagging our way through middle & southern America. Doing some legs by bus - anywhere between 2 & 8hrs - or flying - 2-5hrs! Sometimes it’s a combination of both! Like today, we’re flying to Detroit (2.5hrs) & then it’s a 2hr bus ride to Clinton Township! Hurrah! It does mean that we get the evening off & can actually have a decent meal. There has been talk of a bunch of us having a poker night… $5 of small coin & winner takes all! Just need to find some playing cards!!

Exploring Bermuda!!

Bermuda was great. We were basically treated like celebrities with drivers & the accommodation….! Oh my! The nicest place I have ever stayed - equals with Kata Beach Resort in Thailand. This place was insane. So very opulent & well above my station in life - especially as I was there as a grotty theatre tech & didn’t have any Ralf Lauren or Gucci to my name!! The bar staff seemed to like us as we were normal people, not rich & stuck up. Dan, Lynda & I entertained one of the barmen one night by 'Shoo-wop"dancing to The 4 Tops & doing all the back-up vocals! We were highly entertaining!!

Bakersfield & Pastrami @ it again!!

Beach Cat!! Follwed us around on the beach for ages! Was very affectionate. Never seen a cat so comfortable around water.

I think that the best part about our accomm was the Arcade downstairs - a treasure trove of wonderful electronic toys! The highlight was of course finding arcade machine versions of Mario Kart!! Those of you who have ever owned a Nintendo 64 know what I mean! Full, life sized versions! It was GOLD! Unfortunately there were only 2 machines but they did link up & it was loads of fun. Many a quarter was spent!! They also had a pool table which was given a decent work out too. It was a great way to kick back & relax with the Argentines and build on our Spanish & English. One night we followed it up with a sauna/spa @ 2am!!

Knoxville, Tennessee was where our crew was like “The Good Ol’ Boys’” from The Blues Brothers. They had the drawl going & it was our first, true change of accent whilst in America. They were great though & there were 4 Tim’s working on stage! It was quite comical. It was pretty cold there but not freezing per se. It was also the first time in awhile that the spots were actually bright. A few places we’ve played now use a standard stage lamp & they just don’t cut it, especially once you get further away form stage.

In Atlanta, Georgia we brought more snow with us!! First time in 5 years it had snowed!! Neil, their head tech was a great guy. Both Dan & I had the inkling that he was gay & that he fancied me..! He commented on both my aftershave & t-shirt within the first 10mins of meeting him! It was quite flattering & he provided me with one of the best effects for the show. We generally hang a set of red legs (like a curtain) downstage but they didn’t have enough bars. Neil suggested lighting the proscenium arch or outline of the stage! Their pro arch was angled in & framed the stage quite nicely. We lit it & it was such a cool look.

For Portland, Oregon, we started to feel the cold like we’ve never experienced before. We were being presented there by the only Dance Presenters on the West Coast - White Feather. The name comes from the big, white bird that the two co-founders of the Company own! They invited us to one of the Board Of Directors houses where they provided us with a fabulous meal. It was quite a nice night to be in a home, not a hotel & actually see the food being cooked. Not that we’ve been eating badly but to have a home cooked meal, in a house was such an energy boost - for the whole company.

Justin, the Head Tech of the venue was probably one of the best Crew Chiefs we’ve encountered. He had that Sopranos/Goodfellas thick Italian accent & he definitely was a wise guy! Cracking those deadpan jokes & then giving you that knowing wink or look! Squatch on the rail was a huge guy but definitely a gentle giant. They were a great bunch who were really accommodating & were keen & eager to get the job done. Whilst there, I met up with my Dad’s cousin, Maggie & her husband John & got them tickets to the show. I was only able to catch up with them for approx 45mins before the show & couldn’t see them afterwards as we had to load out. This was also the town where I bought my new laptop & camera.

From here we headed down to California where we dined out on really good Mexican. We played in La Jolla & Irvine & I feel really bad but I can’t remember the Irvine crew right now…!! They must have been good because you always remember the bad! La Jolla crew were good but we were tight for time. It wasn’t the crew’s fault though. The Production Manager form their end had basically not really been communicating clearly with the venue staff so we were behind the eight ball as soon was walked in the door. Kat, the Chief Electrician worked her ass off to get us there. It was kind of scary not even starting my focus until quarter past four - usually about the time I’ve commenced plotting & setting up the cues!! I operated Act 1 off subs managed to plot the cues for Act 2. We held doors for 5mins whilst I finished off Act 2! Then Johannes - the bad Production Manager - proceeded to give both Dan & myself notes during the show…. Get the fark away from me! It was too loud, more bass was needed, the smoke/haze should turn off now, that should be brighter…! I nearly turned around during Act 1 and punched him! Luckily, the next day was Disneyland & all our tension was rollercoasted away!!

We then moved down (or is it across?) to La Crosse & Madison, Wisconsin. Man, that brought some cold weather!! Zoowee! It was definitely time to break out the thermals!! Bitterly cold & the windchill took it too minus 35deg for us..! If you had any exposed skin, you could literally feel it start to dry up & then freeze. We’ve become used to seeing snow & ice everywhere & have all but given up hope of a cold beer in the sun & chomping on a snag from the barbie!! Jack, our main tech in Madsion was a funny guy and was desperate to have a beer with is after the show - which we did! He said that it’s very rare they get a “fun crew in”!! He took us to a bar called ‘Bodega’ which had over 400 beers!! We got few some but fell way short of the 400!

"Bodega", the scene of much merriment!!

Jack, myself & Dan.

Minneapolis gave us our first real taste of a Union Crew - "if that don’t fall under my job

description, I ain’t doing it!" We’ve had other union houses & you are warned that they’re like this but these guys & gals were a pain in the ass! Most other houses have been fine & it is better to be prepared for the worse cause then it’s never as bad as anticipated - expect in Minnie! They were slow & just down right annoying! I was getting grumpy along the way. It is also @ that part of the tour where setting the show up again does start to grate the nerves & these guys were grating them raw!! One of my personal hates on stage is crew sitting by when there’s work to be done. Due to the demarcation line between depts I couldn’t utilise the extra bodies as I slipped behind schedule! RARRRRRRRRRR! BUT… the show ended coming up a treat & we played to over 3,500 people! It was a huge hall & we basically sold it out!

Turns away most gun weilding maniacs I would think....?

Moving on down to Michigan, we had a great day in Clinton Township. The crew & venue were prob one of the best combinations we’ve encountered on the road. Dan was loving the sound system, I loved the way the crew worked & how effortlessly things were achieved. Anthony focused their FOH Wash effortlessly - as it should be. Basically the whole crew came out for lunch with us. There were laughs & much fun was had over the day. The main highlight was definitely the Snowball War! Every time we hop off the bus & there’s snow, no matter where we are, a snowball war erupts! Mariela fights dirty & has, on numerous occassions, put snow down Dan & I’s backs as we load their costumes etc. We literally deputised the entire crew, told their Boss that it was sanctioned by Dan & myself & then laid in wait with an arsenal for Mari to get off the bus!! Of course, after about 3 snowballs were thrown, most of the Company was ducking & weaving - as were us Techs!! Good, clean, honest & cold fun!! Unfortunately the crew all had a 0500 call the next morning for a load in of a kids show but Michelle, the Head LX, still managed to meet us for a drink until 0200 after they loaded us out… She would have been pretty tired & resulka (hungover!) 3hrs later!!

Dan, myself & Carolina pointing out our arsenal!!

Well, that’s enough for now! Quite a long one but I think I’ve covered most of it!! Have completed writing this in Fairmont, West Virginia (worth of a WHOLE Blog entry to itself!) & now must go to bed! Thank you avid reader & catch ya again soon.

Where the snowball is exploding - that's the back of my head!!