...correction, this was the best gig of the tour so far. What a day. Stuart and Danny are captured luxuriating in the Lowry, Manchester hotel lobby as we check out there just before we drive much earlier than usual to the plane. This of course is so that we can watch the big game at the venue in Dublin. Hardly the scintillating display of raw, exciting talent we had hoped for but 3 points is 3 points, eh?
Every time we arrive in Dublin these days we're greeted by the happy smile of Mick De Vine who drives us to and from venues etc. He was supposed to be at a wedding today and his replacement (his son) commented later that if he didn't show up at the reception his wife would divorce him for the 19th time. Mick has driven just about every major artist that has passed through Dublin and has many a funny story to tell.
The thing I really enjoyed most about arriving at the venue only 2 hours after the crew go there is the fact that I can witness the setup of the production. When I walked into the room, the twin rings were being assembled on the stage in preparation to be hoisted skyward. At footy half time I returned and they were in the air and Colin our stage manager was strutting about the stage testing it's rigidity. Not entirely perfect as there were many deviations and wobbly sections which needed re-enforcing before any of the back-line gear could be brought up. The load-in was already an hour behind schedule due to the late arrival and Lance (drum tech) was also waiting impatiently at the rear of the stage whilst the local fork-lift driver had a fag out the back. He ambles back and starts lifting cases with his machine whilst chatting nonchalantly to his mate. Lance was having none of it and screamed at the driver "watch what you're doing, concentrate on the cases"!! A full on shouting match ensued and Colin and Oz joined in. They were right to be concerned as these cases are extremely heavy and safety is of paramount importance during the day as was proved last year at the Point when Colin actually fell through a hole in the stage which wasn't cordoned off well enough during the load-out. A few minutes later peace was restored and the driver was doing his job with due care. It still staggers me how our guys set everything up so quickly and they were ready for sound check at 6:00.

The point in Dublin is another one of those venues where it is difficult to have a bad night. The combination of beautiful building and an Irish crowd is always something to look forward to and tonight's show was indeed fantastic. In particular the opening few songs. There were many interesting moments too one of which involved the intro for This is us as the Bass synth loop somehow failed so I had to jump on the Nord synth and play it manually which was interesting for the first few bars as I entered in the wrong octave and thus it sounded more like Noddy's car. Then Richard accidentally and unknowingly stomped on Emmylou's on/off switch and muted her acoustic. The ensuing confusion was fun to watch. Stuart played a blinding solo in Red Staggerwing, Matt was awesome throughout as usual, Glenn was a monster, Danny was king, Emmylou was wonderful, Mark 'played his arse off' as Danny put it later and Richard was as always 'a builder AND a destroyer'. The security tried their level best to stop the audience coming to the front for the encores (we do brief them religiously every night but still they get it wrong) Never mind I don't think anyone was upset and there were many many smiling faces as we went into Why Worry to end the set.

We raved about the show on the plane as we took off after-show from Dublin en-route to Paris and a day off. The gin and wine flowed and Emmylou told us of what happened in her dressing room during the show. She had left her bag containing her hair dryer amongst other things up against the make-up lights. Luckily Emily (Emmy's PA, pictured above with me on the plane) entered the smoke filled room just before our runner in time to prevent the ensuing fire. An hour and a half later we're coming into Paris to be greeted airside by the team of drivers, this time including Bernie who drove us on the last tour. He's been driving Eric Clapton around and came and joined us whilst Eric has a few days off. I sat in the front of the lead car, a NEW Mercedes S500. The front seats utilize jet fighter aircraft technology and actually have compressed airbags which inflate accordingly as the car corners to keep you upright in your seat, insane! Can there be any more luxury on this tour? We arrive at the hotel and as expected here, the rooms are comfy but very very very small so in order to accommodate the ensuing party Tim helps me change rooms. Found one a bit bigger and anyway, it's not the size of the room that determines the luxuriation level is it? The playlist included most of my DeepSka box set

which I insist you buy immediately from Proper records (click the pic). Also running was Creedence, the Tornados, Helen Shapiro, Dusty Springfield, Buck Owens, Joseph Spence, Muddy Waters, Matt Monro, Lonnie Johnson, D'Angelo, Nick Drake, Mel Torme, Aretha, Patsy, Billie, Celia Cruz etc. etc. etc.
Glenn, Emily and Pete Mackay made it until about 4:00am but Danny and Mark finally stumbled out of my room in search of theirs at 5:57.