Day 7: Leeds
Nau mai
Yesterday we played in the northern English city of Leeds
The Clyde was a polished mirror that caught the reflection of a wide, blue morning sky. Summer seemed determined to hang around, and as we emerged from the hotel Glasgow was shrugging off the morning chill and welcoming the warmth of another pristine day.
Soon our MAN TGE panel van was hauling south on the M74 as we sat in the back and watched fields of bleached grasses flash by. We made a breakfast stop at Cairn Lodge services, one of the nicest highway rest stops on the UK touring circuit. They employ simple things like an inoffensive colour scheme, and the option to order a salad, to make this place into a haven for travellers. I tried to order a single salad and was upsold by the salesman into getting two salads – a green leaf salad and an apple and mustard slaw. I accompanied this with a breakfast bap, buttered on one side, with a Cumberland sausage and a fried egg.
The next few hours saw us crossing moorlands and winding our way through tiny villages, trusting the GPS to do its thing as we strayed far from the main highways. Leeds was also basking in this spell of fine weather, and we arrived to find a venue that knew how to capitalise on these opportunities. An outdoor area was filled with tables and decorated with plants and festoon lights, a setting for drinking and dining that thrives in those European evenings that have such a beautifully stubborn twilight.
We entered a brightly painted brick structure, a former tile warehouse that was right on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal. This was Project House, a 1000 capacity venue and multi-use event space with an inviting café/restaurant in the large and sunny room on the front of the building.
Soundcheck was very straightforward. The acoustics of the room didn’t present any major challenges, and our hour up on the stage was only marred by a series of cruel pranks constructed by my bandmates while I was in the dressing room, slaving away over a hot keyboard to get my blog submitted on time and under budget. My microphone was hidden and replaced with a recorder – this wasn’t even a real prank, just an indicator that there was more trickery afoot. My lead was plugged into the wrong end of my pedal board. A playlist of Michael McDonald songs was quietly played through my in-ear monitors and was claimed to be radio interference. Finally, my pelican case which features a large Michael McDonald sticker on the front was hidden across the room, Michael’s tawny beard and blue eyes peeking out from between the curtains. These are only the pranks I found out about; there could be further surprises to discover in the coming days.
I put a brave face on for the show. I haven’t forgiven anyone, but I continued to act in a professional manner in my capacity as bass player for the band. We played a slick set on this Monday evening. The crowd were quiet but attentive, and very happy to engage the detailed kind of banter that just isn’t possible on a weekend show. In particular we learned that you can’t float down a canal as the flow of water is too slow (after Liz foolishly proposed that we float down the canal). What a fine group of people to share our evening with.
Dateline opening the show.
The Beths.