Hygge, unless I am mistaken, is a word, often used in Denmark, which means ‘hug’ or ‘cosy’. They say the Danes are the happiest people in the world, and who would argue. Quality of life, a stable economy, good education services and high levels of social safety all contribute. Also, environmentally, Copenhagen kicks dust in the face of most other cities. Waste management is relatively advanced although not yet 100% efficient. The Copenhill plant, near the city centre, is an ambitious and unique project which as well as potentially burning 99% of the city’s waste, offers a 400-metre long, 90-metre high outdoor ski slope which is fast becoming one of the city’s major landmarks. The goal is to be carbon-neutral by 2025. And why not?

Yesterday’s day off was spent on the golf course with 3 of our hard working crew. Simon Jayes (Drum Tech), Pete Hughes (Sound Crew Chief) and Tellson James (Lighting Operator) all joined me for another trip to the beautiful Scandinavian Golf Club. The weather was perfect as we enjoyed an entertaining round on the perfectly manicured Old Course. With thunderstorms in the area, the air was humid but the heavy stuff stayed away all day. 

Gargantuan clouds gathered and on show day, the air became heavy and it wasn’t long before the first crack of thunder rolled invisibly across the city. Thankfully, no pre-show travel today but we did have to vacate the lovely Hotel D’Angleterre slightly earlier than usual, which meant a long ‘hang’ at the venue. The Royal Arena has only been open a couple of years so this was our first visit. First impressions were great upon our arrival. Super clean and tidy load-in bay and well situated and appointed dressing rooms, a mere 12 paces from catering! Highly dangerous. Kevin Hopgood, our Production Manager said they are still trying to find something wrong with the place. As far as I know, they never did.

Gear, I mean musical equipment is never very far away from general conversation and as we go deep into the tour, the rigs are settled and everything functions well. That doesn’t mean you can take your eyes off the ball, concentration is always required to get through a show unscathed. After sound check I wanted to record a piece for PreSonus who have supplied my audio interfaces for the tour. Non-gear-heads can skip to the next paragraph. The PreSonus Quantum 4848 interfaces are discreetly located in my onstage rack, not making a fuss or drawing any attention to themselves but they provide stunning quality, have virtually no latency and are reliable. I have 2 units, each one hooked up to a MacBook Pro, one being the main rig, and the other, a backup or ‘redundant’ rig. I can switch between using a ‘Radial’ audio switcher unit.

Every show we have done has come with a good audience, but Saturday night, in a sold out Arena in Copenhagen was something special. We had a ball and the huge Arena gave us everything you could wish for. As we left, we all thought, “what a city”. Then it was a very short run to the airport to board the jet bound for…Lyon, our base for the next 5 or so days. A 2.5 hour flight with a 35 minute drive at the receiving end meant it wasn’t until 2:30 we finally got to the rooms. Deep sleep beckoned and was easily achieved.

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