Day 11: London
Nau mai
Yesterday I slept in the most comfortable bed of my career.
We also played the biggest headline show of our careers. 3000 people came to watch us in Camden’s glorious Roundhouse, and we played one of the best shows I can remember.
These types of events don’t just happen by themselves. There are hundreds of moving parts that must operate in perfect synchronisation to achieve success. The Starbucks at Newport Pagnell Southbound Motorway Services was one of the cogs in this great machine and provided me with the sustenance to get through the day, a Signature Tuna Melt, and a coffee so bitter it made my tongue shrivel.
Teddy drove us into London. This is one of the world’s great traffic cities and it takes an extraordinary amount of time to cross it in a motor vehicle. After a good ninety minutes of dribbling through London’s backstreets we spotted the conical shingled roof that sits atop the Roundhouse, a huge structure dominating the main street of Camden borough. There was a further fifteen minutes of looping through narrow streets and lanes as we tried to find the entrance, until we saw the show promotor waving at us from the gate.
Entering the Roundhouse for the first time we were awed by the atmosphere of this magnificent old room. Built as a railway turntable back in the age of steam, this brick structure been transformed into a concert venue that is both beautiful and functional. Ornate cast iron arches support the wooden rafters of the ceiling and hanging below are the modern looking lighting trusses that are ready to bring the space to life.
There is tiered seating around the edges and ample standing room on the floor, and of course the stage as the focal point of the space. More importantly there was a ramp leading up to the stage, a brilliant piece of technology that gave our arms and backs a much-needed break as we loaded in.
The Roundhouse crew were fast and professional. Speakers were placed and wired up, microphone stands emerged, power cables were run around the stage for our equipment, and risers were set up for the drums and amps. A long pole was lowered at the back of the stage, and the banner was hung. As we assembled our instruments and equipment the bar was being stocked, and the merch was being counted and laid out.
Tristan carries out the priming procedure for the Recorder-Me.
It was an enjoyable soundcheck and afterwards we felt excited and ready for anything. The room sounded echoey but that was to be expected while it was empty. I went to have dinner with my family. My parents had come to the UK to visit my brother and had been good enough to schedule their holiday to coincide with our tour. It’s nice when you get to see your family on the opposite side of the globe and it’s very nice when they get to come to your biggest ever show.
A year ago we were just beginning to workshop a new batch of Liz’s songs and last night we got to celebrate the outcome of that process. We felt incredibly proud to be able to put on this concert and grateful that we had so many friends and family with us to experience it. Being up on the stage was a powerful experience. It was exhilarating to stand and soak up the energy from a crowd of that size.
Dateline played a ferocious opening set.
After a short but productive afterparty we walked to our hotel and I climbed into the cotton cloud that was my bed, enjoying the plushest duvet I have ever tucked myself into.