Modern Roadie

UK Arena Tour

2006-11-29T20:05:00.000Z

After a frantic few days in pre-production, the Snow Patrol entourage headed to the south coast for the first night of the UK Arena tour.
A 3000 audience in Bournemouth seemed tiny compared to last nights 14,000 at the Birmingham NIA Arena.
The crew has expanded dramatically, not sure what everyone does yet!

Now running 3 Apple laptops with Logic Pro and OnStage. Two for playback and keyboards, while a third runs Quicktime movies inside Logic.

Manchester MEN Arena tonight with an audience close to 16,000!

Isle of Man

2006-08-22T03:11:00.000+01:00

After a quick dash around Australia and the Far East, we headed back to some of the far flung corners of the UK. The Isle of Man has a newly renovated theatre in the beautiful sea-side town of Douglas.

Back to it...

2006-07-08T01:31:00.000+01:00

Here we go again kids! Gary has ben given the all clear to continue touring.

Folks in the Uk may have seen the Snow Patrol logo projected onto the night sky to call band and crew back into rehearsals.

Spent a couple of days configuring a second playback/keys rig. This is for when we haven't enough time to freight the backline to the next show. Playback 2 can be left behind while we fly to the next city where the other backline is waiting.

I used another of the G4 partitions to install an identical OS with the newer MOTU audio and MIDI drivers. Didn't want multiple drivers installed on the same bootable OS.

Of course i'm using Logic and OnStage on the second Playback rig enabling us to run a main and backup system side by side. The new MOTU ultra interfaces are half the size allowing two interfaces in one 19" space.

OnStage Setup 2

2006-06-15T20:32:00.000+01:00

In the last post I wrote about the initial ideas of automating the opening and closing of Logic Pro Projects during a bands set-list.

After a few months of head scratching, we finally got our basic Cocoa code to respond to Midi messages correctly.

So we gave it a fancy icon, added a retro looking GUI and came up with this.

We've been using OnStage since the start of the year, and we're now looking for a few more Logic savvy folk to give it test.

Zap us a message if you fancy giving OnStage a try...

OnStage Setup

2006-06-15T12:45:00.000+01:00

So with a bit of time on our hands, I'd like to recap on the Logic Pro setups we've been using on stage.
Last year with Doves we used two duplicate G4 laptops, with a unique set of EXS samplers and other virtual instruments for each number in the bands set-list.

This was done by closing and opening a new Logic Pro Project for each song, utilising the shared RAM to speed the loading of large multi-sample instruments.

Closing and opening each Project on both the main and backup G4 would take valuable seconds between songs, so we had a look at trying to automate the process.

After a bit of Cocoa reading, we discovered that a simple Apple script could be triggered via a Midi (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) Program Change message sent from any standard Midi hardware....

US Tour put on hold!

2006-06-13T11:01:00.000+01:00

After a week of sitting tight in New Jersey waiting for news of our next show, we finally got the message that, due to Gary's throat illness, the US tour had been cancelled and we were all being sent home.
Once again we see an artist suffering from the relentless, but essential promotion and touring associated with a newly released record.
I'd like to repeat last year's message - With all our technology, digital recall and backups, you can't dodge the human body taking a knock and needing time to heal.

Wishing Gary a speedy recovery.....

Good Morning America

2006-05-29T18:12:00.000+01:00

Dashed up to NY for a Good Morning America TV appearance. With a 4am studio call on a US holiday, the Times Square streets were deserted.

Austin, Texas

2006-05-27T17:45:00.000+01:00

Back at Stubbs in Texas. There must be a more efficient way of performing to your audience than singing to each person in turn!!

Granada, Dallas

2006-05-26T06:08:00.000+01:00

Paramount, Denver

2006-05-24T05:36:00.000+01:00

First show of our 5 week US tour.

Jools Holand

2006-05-16T05:03:00.000+01:00

Rehearsals for the Jools Holland TV show.

Radio 1 Big Weekend, Dundee

2006-05-15T14:10:00.000+01:00

A few TV shows in Europe meant one of the band's private jets had to be sent to bring the touring entourage back to Dundee in time for Radio 1's Big Weekend!

Ulster Hall, Belfast

2006-05-09T22:39:00.000+01:00

Most definatley the loudest crowd of the tour so far - Gary handed 'Run' over for everyone to sing!

Forum, London

2006-05-07T13:17:00.000+01:00

A Crazy couple of shows at London's Forum. Had the help of my glamorous assistant to capture crowd shots. Although, pushing the rest of the crowd out of the way and stage diving with a camera was above and beyond the call of duty!! X

Cardiff University

2006-05-04T10:54:00.000+01:00

Mid Week UK No.1

2006-05-03T11:25:00.000+01:00

Great show at Manchester Ritz last night, especially after the band heard their new record has the largest mid week sales in the UK.

ABC, Glasgow

2006-05-02T02:48:00.000+01:00

Dublin Castle

2006-04-30T01:44:00.000+01:00

Rte, Dublin

2006-04-28T23:29:00.000+01:00

London Opera House

2006-04-26T21:38:00.000+01:00

Koko

2006-04-12T20:34:00.000+01:00

Koko club in Camden.

VH2

2006-04-07T17:35:00.000+01:00

A bunch of songs recorded for a VH2 broadcast.

Radio 1 Session

2006-04-02T12:25:00.000+01:00

3 sonds recorded for the Zane Lowe show.

Top of the Pops

2006-04-01T20:14:00.000+01:00

Top of the Pops Live rehearsal. 11 bands to record for two shows so there's no hanging around!

Pipex Server

2006-04-01T11:20:00.000+01:00

Having real problems with my Pipex server space - think i might have to switch to a company that can provide a reliable service. Had to switch back to blogger space to post this message. Anyone know a good UK ISP?

Keep tuned for some new posts...

Toronto

2006-03-30T19:20:00.000+01:00

The final show before heading back to the UK.

NY

2006-03-29T00:50:00.000+01:00

Another show at the Bowery!

Boston

2006-03-26T00:39:00.000Z

Paradise Club in Boston.

LA

2006-03-23T15:35:00.000Z

A quick accoustic session for the lads at Yahoo

A cramped show supported by Irish singer songwriter Gemma Hayes.

San Francisco

2006-03-21T17:44:00.000Z

A beautiful old theatre for this show with Deus supporting.
Bumped up some of the Logic playback tracks by a couple of bpm.

SXSW2

2006-03-19T14:44:00.000Z

Loads to catch up!

The SP boys were headlining the second night at Stubbs, supported by the Magic numbers and a great Canadian band called Metric. Gotta love girls with keyboards! Musical as opposed to Qwerty, although that might not be a bad idea!

SXSW1 @ Austin, Texas

2006-03-18T20:49:00.000Z

This town goes absolutely bonkers during the South-by-South West Music conference.
Dashed down to the BBC Radio 1 party to watch the boys perform an acoustic set on Zane Lowe's live show. Then headed to the main 6th street where a band is playing in every bar, restaurant and clothing store!
Ended up at the Stubbs Bar-B-Q stage where Beastie Boys and Gomez were playing.

Atlanta

2006-03-16T20:36:00.000Z

Had a few hours before show-time to transfer the multi-track audio files into Logic for a new song planned for our next show at SXSW. It'll be a great addition to the set if this duet happens...

Paris

2006-03-09T20:18:00.000Z

Made the train bound for Paris by seconds due to our guitar tech. leaving the hotel head first!
A great show to finish this short European promo tour.

Amsterdam2

2006-03-08T13:34:00.000Z

Had a great day at the Dutch 'That's Live' radio studios. The boys were determined to score higher that Kaiser Chiefs on the music quiz.

Amsterdam1

2006-03-08T12:57:00.000Z

Spotted this sign outside a bar after the show. The owner let us all in after 20 minutes of knocking!

Koln

2006-03-07T16:38:00.000Z

The Magical party bus arrived in Cologne causing just enough of a distraction for Mr Jacknife to sneak a bunch of recording equipment past the Hotel Lobby staff. Garret joined the touring entourage to record Gary's vocals for a couple of bonus album tracks on a small recording set-up in his room.

Copenhagen

2006-03-06T22:10:00.000Z

Hopped on a tour bus and ended up in a snow covered Copenhagen. Managed to keep the Laptops runnin' despite the XS key being knocked out when a guitar smashed into our rig causin' Logic to Quit!
First G4 dent of the tour!

Brussels

2006-03-05T21:28:00.000Z

A few of us got an early flight to Brussels while the band stayed in Madrid for an acoustic show. The following night the boys supported Belgian band Deus to a crowd of 8000. Not much time to throw the computers and keys onstage before a stealth sound check!

Madrid

2006-03-04T11:58:00.000Z

Flew into the beautiful new Terminal at Madrid Barajas Airport, designed by British Architect Richard Rogers.
Tiny stage at today's El Sol club. Could probably have played to more people had we set the gear up in the truck!! Great show, all went well :)

Tokyo 2

2006-02-24T15:57:00.000Z

Had a bit of time to wander around the cool Shibuya stores. The boys had an Apple acoustic session over in Ginza - couldn’t resist trying the built in isight on the new Mac Book Pro!

Tokyo 1

2006-02-22T15:26:00.000Z

Everyone seemed a little jaded as we flew into a rainy Tokyo, this didn’t stop us attended the obligatory production meeting on arrival. Always nice to be in Shibuya.
All went well during sound check, but the show was one we would all rather forget with gremlins in all departments. Guitars and monitors went down at almost the same moment leaving the band in a right pickle. The main G4 froze during ‘How to be Dead’ so the backup system was brought into play for the first time.

Bangkok 100Rock

2006-02-20T22:03:00.000Z

Managed to grab an industrial fan to push air into the back of the G4s - thrashing your CPU and hot temps don't mix!
Great crowd reaction to the Patrol set, Placebo followed to close the festival.

Bangkok 2

2006-02-18T11:25:00.000Z

A busy promo schedule for the band meant some time off to get into the spirit of this wonderful city.

Bangkok 1

2006-02-17T01:39:00.000Z

Just landed in Bangkok and were met by the 'Artist Assault Force', who I assume were sent to assist in our route through immigration rather than taking the band down with a sniper attack!
The 'Backup battalion Charge' consisted of a police escort through the busy rush-hour streets, and were proud to deliver us to our hotel in one piece.

Belfast

2006-02-15T01:24:00.000Z

Show No.1!

A secret student union gig for the fan club and local supporters in the bands home town of Belfast. The place was sweaty and bursting at the seams by the time the patrol boys took to the stage.
All ran smoothly in Logic Pro world despite a minor panic with keyboard monitor levels cutting through the crowd noise!!

Pre-Production

2006-02-11T19:01:00.000Z

Had a couple of weeks to disect every song and transfer the audio files to the new Logic Pro touring set-up.
Mr Lee called into rehearsals for some aesthetic guidance!

Manchester V Cancer

2006-01-28T13:40:00.000Z

Dashed up to Manchester for a one-off muso who’s who in support of Cancer research. Doves were joined by a number of guests including Bernard Sumner, Johnny Marr, Badly Drawn Boy and Guy Garvey of Elbow.
The celebrity stage line-up increased for the ‘Wrote for Luck’ finale led by Shaun Ryder and Bez.

From Birds to Braving Weather Conditions

2006-01-23T23:35:00.000Z

Here we go again kids!

Spent today in the country with Mr 'Rock Producer' Lee, transferring the audio stem files from my new employer's previous record.
The past few weeks have been a frantic gathering of gadgets and toys for our new Logic Pro rack. I've a few days to put things together before Pre-Production rehearsals.
One of the hardware suppliers let their audio Elves run riot with the engraving machine!

Snow Patrol

2006-01-10T23:30:00.000Z

This blog could be tales of crazy after show parties, backstage antics and stories that will shock the faint hearted. Alas, another stereotype is to be smashed as I document my time working for a popular UK band on their forthcoming tour.

I've taken the job of 'keyboard technician', or roadie, and it's my responsibility to build and maintain the keyboard/computer playback setup
If stories of OSX Logic Pro audio streaming from external firewire drives does it for you, then stay subscribed!

Dublin

2005-12-22T12:49:00.000Z

The last time we set foot in the old Olympia Theatre in Temple Bar was at the start of the tour back in February

It was therefore the perfect place to finish the years touring - it's been a pleasure working with these Gentlemen!

Carlow

2005-12-20T23:57:00.000Z

A couple of days off and we're hopping over to Ireland for the last two shows of the year.

Bit of a squeeze getting our touring production into this small club. This place is new to the circuit, with Embrace being the only other band to bring production through the doors.

With no room for Monitor World on stage-left, the noise boys had the privilege of joining the stage-right experience. Alas, security seemed to be lacking - some bloke thought he'd watch the show leaning against the monitor desk!

Glasgow

2005-12-16T20:22:00.000Z

Good to be back at this venue in the heart of the east-end barrow market.

Easily the best crowd of this short tour. Might be my imagination, but the sprung ballroom floor seems to make everyone jump a little higher!

We had another visitor in stage-right keys world today. Snow Patrol's keyboard player, Tom, had a look around the set-up to get an idea of how we're using Logic Pro for live. I believe these guys are planning a tour for next year.

Preston

2005-12-16T11:06:00.000Z

This venue also hosts snooker tournaments, so was an ideal opportunity for Jimi to unveil his rendition of the BBC's snooker theme!
Everyone seemed nervous before the show, but the months of practice paid off as this World premier went without a hitch.

Isle of Man

2005-12-14T15:38:00.000Z

Never been involved in a show on this beautiful small island situated between England and Ireland.

Millions of Manx pounds have been spent renovating the old theatre in the town centre of Douglas. This lot have their own parliament and tax laws!

A change to the normal audience demographic, with kids and old folk joining the usual thirty-somethings. I just hope the local burglars didn't realise most of the Island had turned up for tonight's show!

Newcastle

2005-12-12T12:03:00.000Z

It's now official that Northern crowds make more noise!

Martin set himself the odd challenge of playing the whole set with his arms crossed?!

Message to [self] - crutches and slippery floors don't mix.

Llandudno, Wales

2005-12-11T19:29:00.000Z

The Double L is pronounced like a cat with a stuck fur-ball.

Had to load-in on the morning of our day off due to a comedy children's party double booking in today's venue!
This we didn't mind so much, but it took bloomin' ages to clean the jelly and ice-cream off the monitor desk. Got a free pencil and a slice of cake though.

Poole

2005-12-10T14:34:00.000Z

A bizarre venue with the stage and auditorium on hydraulics, presumably for a variety of venue specs. Great idea, but seemed incredibly dangerous to me.
Heard stories of crew falling off the stage not realising it had been raised, or venturing under the auditorium never to return!

London

2005-12-09T23:24:00.000Z

Today's venue is a beautiful old theatre with a sloping auditorium, similar to Brixton Academy.

Been checking out the new Google Earth Beta for OS X - still unbelievable!

Manchester

2005-12-08T17:45:00.000Z

Great crowd for this home game.

The chorus for 'Last Broadcast' seems to have become an audience favourite between songs!

Bath

2005-12-05T15:50:00.000Z

Nice to be in the beautiful City of Bath. The venue owners had done a great job of decorating what was essentially a huge metal shed.

Power problems meant the band had to leave the stage after three songs.

I hope it was just a coincidence the power went down as Jimi requested the fairy lights hung around the venue!

Reading, UK

2005-12-04T15:57:00.000Z

Well, here we go again kids!

A few more weeks around the UK to complete what has nearly been a year touring with this crazy bunch of loons.

This was the first time we all saw the new video, lighting and stage designs - the guys decided to go with stage plot similar to the one tested in Tokyo.

So, it may not have been such a good idea to joke that we'd all been doing this so long we could probably do our jobs on one leg!!

Hop-a-long, peg-leg, 12-inch (only one foot - creative!) are a few of my new nick names. Joy.

Modern Roadie Cast #11

2005-11-02T15:53:00.000Z

MR-2005-11-02

Sounds from Japan

Listen to the Modern Roadie Cast #11 here

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Tokyo

2005-10-31T18:31:00.000Z

Another early start to catch the Bullet train to Tokyo city. Today's 1500 capacity venue is in the heart of the trendy Shibuya district.
The band decided to test a new stage layout today, pushing the drum and keyboard risers down-stage.
Great show to end our short trip to Japan.

Nagoya

2005-10-30T21:16:00.000Z

An early dash to Osaka railway station to jump on the Bullet for the 200km journey to Nagoya.
A smaller club show today on the 'Live Entertainment' floor of a busy department store!

Osaka, Japan

2005-10-29T20:02:00.000+01:00

We almost had the luxury of 1st class travel with 150 empty seats on our flight to Japan!

Most of the hired backline was in place when we arrived at the Big Cat venue, presumably from the stage plot sent in advance. The keyboard rig was soon up and running apart from the MS2000 that refused to accept the Midi sysex dump of Martin's patches. I'd saved a few individual patches for various TV shows which loaded fine, but the rest had to be programmed in the few minutes before doors opened at 6pm!

The band were off stage by 8.30pm and the venue was cleared and prepped for the following days performance by the team of scurrying lighting girls!

We were taken out for a traditional Japanese meal where it was discovered that our guitar tech, Mr Coates, bears an uncanny resemblance to a popular Japanese comedian, Mr Bater.

That's spooky!! (Coatsey is on the right)

San Diego

2005-10-12T23:41:00.000+01:00

The second ‘House of Blues’ show and another great crowd to end this short US tour. A few last night antics keep everyone on their toes!

Anaheim

2005-10-11T22:38:00.000+01:00

The first of two west coast ‘House of Blues’ shows, and I once again find myself on Disney turf.
This venue can be found in the mock downtown boulevard, squeezed in between the many retail outlets which have been strategically placed between the car park and the main Disney entrance!
Probably one of the best crowds of the this tour, and the supporting Marjorie Fair provide a great start to the show.

Download Festival

2005-10-09T21:36:00.000+01:00

An hour drive out of San Francisco for today's show at the Shoreline amphitheatre in the heart of Silicon Valley. Went for a wander out the back of the venue and stumbled upon the offices of a little internet based operation!

Modern Roadie Cast #10

2005-10-08T18:39:00.000+01:00

MR-2005-10-07

A short hotel-cast from San Francisco

Listen to the Modern Roadie Cast #10 here

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St Louis

2005-10-07T20:40:00.000+01:00

The Pageant in St Louis is one of the best venues on this US run.

Loadsa stage and production office space, and of course fast free wireless!

The last time I was at this venue was for a Christmas party a few years ago while working for another UK act, Bush.

Staten Island

2005-10-03T20:29:00.000+01:00

A real Brit fest today with Kasabian, Doves, Jet and Oasis on the line-up.

The stage was at the back of the Staten Island Yankee baseball stadium - huge container ships passed behind us. The Manhattan sky line could be seen across the Upper New York Bay behind The Statue of Liberty.

Two white arches form a memorial to those who died in the Sept 11 attacks, the view through the centre is where the towers stood.

Northampton

2005-10-01T19:29:00.000+01:00

Quite a small venue today - don't think the promoter and venue owner were used to so much production going in.

Funny how politics can get in the way of a performance - the show was nearly off a couple of times during the day!

Eventually the guys went on for a cosy performance!

Toronto

2005-09-30T12:45:00.000+01:00

Great stage today with loads of wing space. This venue is situated a few miles around the lake from the main city centre. You've a great view of downtown.

Columbus, Ohio

2005-09-28T19:39:00.000+01:00

They packed the audience in for tonight's show - great college crowd.

Someone mentioned the student riots that took place here back in the sixties.

They seem a docile lot these days!

Chicago

2005-09-27T20:48:00.000+01:00

Great venue, great crew and top catering! The gear flew in so we were set by 1pm!

One of the crew guys had managed to get OS X Tiger running on his peecee - what ever next!

The lads are about half way through the set. Should be a quick load out and then it's off to Columbus, Ohio.

Any Doves fans might be interested in another touring blog written by our lighting tech Mofo - some top photos.

Austin - City Limits Festival

2005-09-26T14:32:00.000+01:00

An early show time of 2.30pm, and with temperatures around 104F we had a real problem with the G4 processors over-heating. A gap in the roof allowing direct sunlight onto the computers didn't help, even with a reflective tarp across the body of the laptops.
Both the main and backup machine struggled during 'Here it Comes', a track that uses a large EXS piano.
We could hear Coldplay off in the distance on the main stage while we waited for the 11pm curfew. Drove for 22 hours to Chicago.

Dallas

2005-09-24T22:57:00.000+01:00

There didn't seem much point in performing a show in Houston, what with most of the audience evacuated! So we spent a few day 'hunkered down' in Dallas!

Band are onstage at the gypsy Tea Room down in the Deep Ellum district of Dallas, then it's off to Austin for the City Limits festival.

Atlanta

2005-09-20T23:31:00.000+01:00

Had a visitor to stage right keyboard world today!

Brandon contacted me a while ago to say he'd been listening to the PodCast and was interested in using Logic Pro for his own keyboard rig. His band, Train, have just finished their new album and are due to tour at the start of next year.

As Doves were performing in his home town, it seemed an ideal opportunity to check out our Logic setup. Hope he's got a few ideas for the tour next year!

Chappel Hill, NC

2005-09-19T16:35:00.000+01:00

Not even room to slightly sway a cat on today's stage. The 10.4 big cat still purred like a dream.

Maybe you can take a metaphor too far!

Baltimore

2005-09-18T16:29:00.000+01:00

An overnight drive down the east coast past New York, and we're at the Sonar in Baltimore.
Ran the Tiger machine as the main show computer.

New Haven

2005-09-17T14:15:00.000+01:00

I believe this chap was the promoter for the New Haven show.

This venue is in the heart of the University of Yale complex. Always nice to have a ladies Volleyball game going on next door!
A real acoustically dead venue which meant a good dry sound onstage. The main G4 wibbled out during 'Last Broadcast' so I switched to the backup machine running OSX Tiger.

Apple Store 2

2005-09-16T12:24:00.000+01:00

The audience gave a rapturous reply to the boy's afternoon performance, causing an impromptu acoustic encore of 'New York'.

Alex discovered the awsome potential of Apple's Keynote presentation software!

Apple Store - New York

2005-09-15T11:44:00.000+01:00

A quick dash across the East River and we're at the Apple Store in SOHO. A few hours to set up the acoustic gear and have a browse at the new gadgets!

Brooklyn

2005-09-14T21:15:00.000+01:00

We caught a few glimpses of downtown Manhattan as we drove a few blocks from the waters edge towards today's venue in Brooklyn. We arrived a couple of hours late so the absence of a sound check proved very handy.
We're in the heart of the Polish community - the venue has 'Polish National Home' at it's entrance. This beautiful old stage looks more suited to a children's talent contest or a strange performance in a David Lynch movie!

Montreal

2005-09-13T11:31:00.000+01:00

Just rolled into downtown Montreal. A couple of hours before load-in so there's no sign of life at the venue. Always nice to find an open network while sat on the bus!

"where do I plug this in again!" - everyone seemed a bit rusty after a few weeks off.
A new set with a bunch of new songs certainly kept everyone on their toes, but all seemed to go well.

I ran the backup machine from a newly created partition on the external drive, enabling me to test the new Logic 7.1 on Tiger 10.4. I'll give it a few more shows to test the stability before resizing the Panther partition to create space for a new Tiger Boot drive.

We've just been given information about a performance at the New York Apple store in a few days. Lookin' forward to a day in the Apple environment, although an acoustic session means we wont be taking our show computers - DOH!

Maybe it'll give me time to record the next PodCast...

$5 & 2 Logic Dongles in my pocket - Here we go again!

2005-09-12T11:35:00.000+01:00

Landed in Boston last night. Kinda strange flying on September 11th - full flight though.

Just loading into the Avalon Theatre for the second time this year. We've a bit of time to check over the gear while the lighting boys have the stage.

Electric Picnic - Dublin

2005-09-07T17:32:00.000+01:00

A long drive from Dublin airport and we're at the Electric Picnic festival site.

Had a few sound problems so we used most of our 30 minute change-over.

The Flaming Lips must've been the highlight of the festival - the singer started the show by climbing into a huge inflatable transparent ball which he then proceeded to 'ride' on top of the crowd.

Part of their stage props included huge balloons and around 30 animal costumes which were worn by some of the backstage staff. They all wandered out and started dancing to the first song - Norman Cook (Fat Boy Slim), who was DJing next, joined the animal parade dressed as a Tiger!

Modern Roadie Cast #9

2005-08-26T16:36:00.000+01:00

MR-2005-08-26

Festival Season

Listen to the Modern Roadie Cast #9 here

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V2005 - Staffordshire

2005-08-22T14:32:00.000+01:00

A few photos from the weekend!

One of the Kaisers meets up with his record company reps

Alex bumps into an old school buddy

"The physiotherapist said jump around on it"

Kaiser crowd

Prepping the Chemical Brothers rig

Intro by Peter Kay!

The lads onstage

Another great day at the V festival. A bit more space and a couple more risers backstage made for an easier set-up. Doves had a special intro by Peter Kay - Check out the next PodCast!

V2005 - Chelmsford

2005-08-21T21:37:00.000+01:00

Actually writing this in the Staffordshire artists area. It's a beautiful sunny morning and folk are beginning to emerge from their respective tour busses in the search of catering and hot showers!

Great day yesterday. Caught a bit of the Magic Numbers who had a huge crowd show up mid afternoon. Got our risers as Good Charlotte came off stage so we had the Bravery and Kaiser Chiefs sets before ours.
Watched the Kaiser front man hobble around stage due to strapped ankle, but it didn't stop them winding up the crowd.

Did our change-over in 15 minutes, saving the Chemical Brothers from a possible noise curfew fine. Think they're gonna help us out with our truck position today!

Doves had a great performance - they seem to have found the perfect festival set list.
The Chemical Brothers finished the day with their juggernaut of a show!

Sudoeste Festival - Portugal

2005-08-08T11:53:00.000+01:00

Basement Jaxx performed a great show last night in Spain, although the security staff didn't spot a manic guerilla invade the stage during the last track.

All was well during a quick afternoon line check, but lost the Midi and Audio interface connections on the main G4 during the 15 minute changeover. Ran the first two tracks from the backup machine while I rebooted OSX. Apparently this has been sorted in the new 7.1 version of Logic which enables the hot swapping of audio and Midi interfaces.

Doves had more respectable 9.05pm stage time, so we were back in Lisbon by 3am.

Benicassim - Spain

2005-08-07T11:12:00.000+01:00

A day at home before we flew to Spain for the Benicassim festival. Doves had a 3.15am stage time so it was off to the beach after the morning line check. This festival is famous for late performance times and the side of stage swimming pool!

Modern Roadie Cast #8

2005-08-03T16:56:00.000+01:00

MR-2005-08-03

Brits Abroad!

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Fuji Rock Festival

2005-07-31T02:02:00.000+01:00

Eventually arrived at the Naeba Prince Hotel around 4pm and promptly slept for another 11 hours!
Up early for a 4am wander round the festival site. Doves are onstage at 5.20 this afternoon...

Narita Airport - Japan

2005-07-31T01:43:00.000+01:00

Had an empty overnight flight from Perth to Japan - most people had a row of seats to themselves. Had a great sleep apart from a spell of turbulence half way through.

Had a quick fight with the airport ATM before jumping in the small Fuji van for the 5 hour drive up to Naeba Mountain. Got some food at a Japanese truck stop - recorded some audio for the next PodCast!

Perth

2005-07-28T03:12:00.000+01:00

Right, back up to date!
Had a great day off at cottesloe beach. Hooked up with the Athelete boys in the Indiana Tea House for a few cocktails overlooking the Indian Ocean.
Last time I was here I took a photo of Horace Andy feeding crisps to the seagulls!

Out Hotel is opposite the huge Sun Microsystems offices just next to the river.
Back down to Fremantle in a while for todays show, then it's off to Japan for the Fuji Rock Festival.

Adelaide

2005-07-28T03:08:00.000+01:00

Welcome to Manchester someone shouted as we landed in Adelaide! Back down south so its more like winter.
The venue had a video projector today so, not content with two laptops onstage, we hooked my lappie into their system to run the visuals for the last four songs. Forgot to set QuickTime to play back and forth for the Fear video so the audience were shown my OSX desktop for about 10 seconds, DOH!
Think it was still a good idea as the video is an integral part of the show.
This is one of the few places in the World to have a half an hour time difference. Whats that all about!!

Splendour in the Grass

2005-07-28T02:57:00.000+01:00

So I actually find myself in an internet cafe in Perth, after a bunch of days with no inkernet access. None of our venues have been equipped with a broadband connection and hotel fees are much higher than the UK and US.

Had a great time in Byron Bay, our OZ rep has been keeping us informed of all the top parties! This is only a small festival with one main tent and about 15,000 punters.
The festival performance seemed an annoying interruption to our stay at the Byron resort Â why am I here again?! Amazing how a few days in this place can produce a relaxed and enjoyable performance. Stayed onstage for Interpol who performed after Doves.

Byron Bay

2005-07-23T07:37:00.000+01:00

A few hours drive and we find ourselves at a new resort called The Byron at Byron. A couple of days off in this wonderful complex of open plan, self contained apartments built next to the beach! Once in a while a promoter will put band and crew in a great hotel - this place has to be one of the best!!