Blog
Portland, OR — Roseland Theater
9th April 2012 | Larry
Seattle, WA — Neumos Crystal Ball Reading Room
8th April 2012 | Larry
Vancouver, The Commodore Ballroom
7th April 2012 | Larry
London, Royal Albert Hall
4th November 2011 | Larry
The very royal Albert Hall
4th November 2011 | Juliet
So after a right royal breakfast there were meetings….
Being on this tour has brought a tight and disciplined timetable. In the morning there is usually Geography (where are we?) sometimes Philosophy (who am I?) followed by P.E. (gym/Pilates/yoga/swimming/reclining/strolling).
Sometimes there is press, or meetings (Maths etc). Then it’s Soup. Then it’s Music. Then Music again with VIPs. Then dinner, then Debate on the set list question. Gathering and counting. Do we have seven?
Then double Music (first half) short interval and double Music. Sometimes there’s more Music (extra encore). Apart from small seminar groups doing harmonies, there’s usually no homework..
Tomorrow is Day of the Dead in Mexico. Maybe our wonderful cheerful chefs knew this or maybe they didn’t. But today we have chili tomato soup. I detect Mexican chipotle smoky undertones. Later it’s an Italian rigatoni, and tiramisu with a ‘this contains alcohol’ warning. Saul’s warning on how to hygienically handle the bread is still there, but the baguettes look rugged and well manhandled by 6pm.
But back to the scene of the Albert Hall. It’s a round building; there are endless dressing rooms off the circular corridor. It’s easy to go round and round in circles just finding the right direction. More colour coding backstage, I say.
Dave sends a text. He is on stage soundchecking. ”Went to Crush. They only had 1 shot of wheatgrass left. Love an extreme juice if u doin 1.” Lisa gives me a bag of spinach. I juice the lot. It makes 2 inches of bright green slime in a pint pot. Add it to Dave’s juice, a cocktail of purple, orange and yellow vegetable matter. Add a lemon. It looks like a tequila sunrise having a bad day. The green sits in dots on the foam. I deliver it and walk away worrying what if Dave throws up? It’s extreme in its green….
Outside in the corridor someone is singing an aria, cos they can, I guess. There are violins tweaking. It makes me nervous when they amass a swarm of vertical violin bows in a tight corridor. So crucial delicate and ….er, snappable…
I am sewing a fine seam, well as fine as I can, and locating dry cleaning. Everywhere there is excitement in the air and questions of who got who when and where on the guest list. Did so and so get an aftershow, don’t forget the in-laws, is the family in a box, where are my sister and her bloke sitting? Is Tilda Swinton coming? Is Eno going to make it? Is there a good seat for Ed Harcourt cos he is definitely coming…and then Peter Rudge arrives just in time to check on everything….
Thanks to Thomas, Steve and Alice in production all is fine… And thanks to James’ faithful super-crew who work all hours the show is fine too.
Simon, Mark’s keyboard tech, is at the show. We missed him this tour as there were no keys to tech. Instead, daily, the grand piano was tuned by the tuner. Silence fell in the venues at 2.30pm as the keys were calibrated to be at their finest.
And then silence fell on the James with Orchestra of the Swan and the Manchester Consort choir tour….
Who knows what’s next in the Alaskan pipeline?
Must get moving on those designs for the his ‘n hers James jimjams. Daisy buttons or round…?
And finally a few observations from Mr. Gott…
“NB Orchestra of the Swan’s bass player, Ben, broke down near Oxford on the way to the Albert Hall. Desperate not to miss the gig and let everyone down, he hitched a lift on a flat bed truck along with his double bass. What a trooper!!!
“There’s a mirror with your name on…” The orchestra gave us a mirror inscribed with all their names, which is lovely and will be proudly displayed in my flat if I can get it home in one piece.
The Albert Hall crowd were amazing! They were stomping so loudly at one point that I feared for the structural integrity of the building – the earth moved!! What a fabulous end to a triumphant tour.
Gateshead, The Sage
2nd November 2011 | Larry
The Sage is known for its wonders
2nd November 2011 | Juliet
Breakfast in the big dining room that looks like the set on a Jack Lemmon film…the one with Shirley MacLaine shown on Sunday afternoons once a year.
The poached eggs come on a round piece of bread and the ketchup comes in a jar that says, with royal symbol, it’s fit for a queen. Outside the window are the royal gardens. There are swans and ducks that come up and say hello and ask if you have a snack. If only I had the discarded toast crusts from my circular toast….
Tim enthusiastically tells the locals that swans can break your arm using their necks. I move away swiftly from the scene keeping ulnas and radii well intact.
And we stroll on past the orangery where Lady Di was wont to wander.
So how did we get here?
Well only the other night we were in Gateshead. The soup had been pea and mint, and the risotto butternut squash. A local one of our party accompanied a moonlight stroll at 6.
We saw the splendid giant pod that is the Baltic, and the magnificent bridges across the Tyne….we even crossed the moving bridge as we circumnavigated the site. It all looked very pretty lilac and green lights shining across the waters…bit like big Chris’s lighting on The Shining.
The Sage is known for its wonders. It’s modern and purpose built. The staff are all enthusiastic and nothing is a problem. John Tweddle our liaison man even blocked off the smoke detector with a purpose built smoke detector blocker so that there could be the burning of the moxa.
The Sage has fantastic acoustics. The show was blessed with a wonderful audience including loads of James extended family some of whom joined us on the bus till the wee hours.
Meanwhile upstairs some of us slipped on our regulation James jimjams and it was over and out…
Finally we left for London on the sleeper bus. An 8 hour journey. We hit Crouch End in the rush hour for the North London drop and chugged on down to somewhere near the Albert Hall. It’s day off again….
Sara and Kokila (cello and violin)
2nd November 2011 | Juliet
A few words on the tour from Sara and Kokila from Orchestra of the Swan:
We’ve been on “Top of the World” for this tour; yikes…it really is coming to an end! :(
As Orchestra of the Swan, we’re open minded about creative possibilities, but this has pushed us further and we’ve revelled in “Getting Away With it”.
The band has encouraged us to embrace a freer outlook through expressing ourselves more individually in performance and dress…This abandon has resulted in an enlivening and memorable experience…the spontaneous approach means it’s a fresh performance every night.
“Boom Boom”: did you notice the S&M “Riders” in the violas?!..and Dave la Page (Leader) looked “Really Hard” in his sparing dual with Larry.
On the “Upside” the catered food is top cuisine so “Hey Ma”-I don’t miss your cooking, though the hotels have been pretty “Medieval”.
Oh, don’t “Look Away” when we play ’cause we improvise for two songs…so watch this “Space” and see if you can work out which ones.
…Off to get into our funky outfits so we can parade in the “Fairground”…”We’re Gonna Miss You” James, “when you’re gone”.
Sara and Kokila (cello and violin)
Manchester, Bridgewater Hall II
1st November 2011 | Larry
Manchester Day 2 Tuesday
1st November 2011 | Juliet
Saul was in the dressing room resting and watching the Arsenal match. Meanwhile on stage the show was well underway. Then Saul realised he was meant to be on stage. The set list had changed again. Oops.
Indeed there were several set list versions on stage. Tim’s set list had two Medievals on it. “Now that could work,” said Tim later.
There was high security on the building.
Dave was ironing his new shirt. He put it on and found it had shrunk. Cursing, he then realised he had accidentally ironed Saul’s version of his new perfect shirt.
Peter Kay was at the show and Tim sang to him in Fred Astaire.
Earlier in the day there was an unveiling of the plaque at the Hacienda. The Lord Mayor was there and Lord Peter Hook. Apparently Jim is now allowed to drive cattle through the city every third Monday of the month (this may all be hearsay or a strange dream).
The lovely Rainband were in the Revolution Bar at the meet and greet after the unveiling. Their song about the rainbow was inspired by She’s A Star…
The soup was Spicy Parsnip brought to us, like all the soups, in a bowl courtesy of Flying Saucers.
Today Lisa, one of the chefs, has been seen dancing the bamboleo bossa nova bolero shamanic dance of the kitchen to House of Bamboo whilst the butternut squash were being attended to. The resulting risotto was excellent.
During the gig Tim talked about his stalker. ”If you see anyone making a lunge let me know”….
In the second half there was a minor fracas with the removal of an over enthusiastic Mancunian singer (…James support MEN xmas 2010…) who had drunk a few bottles of Merlot too many. He later got back in and came to the aftershow via the bathroom window. Security glitch.
Next morning Tim is out and about in Manchester. He returns with the Manchester Evening News On the cover is Tim’s picture looking a tad fluorescent yellow.
As well as the headline “Student Midwife Stole Camera With Tragic Baby Photos,” there is the headline “James Star In Death Threats Ordeal” full story Page 3. There’s also a review of the gig.
