Just like the start of the last blog i've been a bit busy demoing it up right now and so i've neglected this here blog for awhile.
So let me tell you a bit about my jaunt with Philip Selway around Europe.
Well, actually it started with a sold out headline show for us at La Peniche in Lille. Myself, Laura Groves (aka Blue Roses) and Laura's man Josh hit the road in the 'dad mobile' at a silly early time in order to make the drive from Leeds to Lille which is a pretty long one i can tell you.
It was my first Eurotunnel experience. What a cold, dark place! But it gets us to france in like half an hour so who's complaining right?
The venue in Lille was on a boat next to a funfair, and it was the first of our 3 experiences of working with a wonderfully helpful crew. I feel like i've been on a roll with that of late.
It was lovely to see so many people come down. There was no support and so to fill this place up for what was technically the first ever Lone Wolf head liner was pretty nice. It was also nice to meet a couple of my long term fans. One of which (Claudia) travelled all the way from Amsterdam to be there and Audrey travelled up from Paris. We did a 60 min set which saw me doing an encore of Greenfly which i don't think i have played live since SXSW 2009.
When you travel and play gigs with a small group of people, you tend to go a bit nuts. Even if it's just for one night. So i got this daft mirror application on my iphone and took a photo of my face. The image in this picture was pretty startling and after many beers he became an entity of his own. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Jaques:
We like to think that Jaques floats up and down the corridors of the hotels we stay in warding off burglars and other criminals. He has no limbs, but he can just 'make things happen'. He also (though not often) talks out of his tear ducts...
Yes. all three of us are mad. Did you never realise?
So the next day we headed off to Brussels:
We met up with Mr Selway and his crew who were as welcoming as ever. The AB Club in Brussels is a pretty special venue indeed.
I wish i could say the same about our hotel...
Ladies and gentlemen this is a plea... If you ever go to Brussels and you are taken in by the cheap prices of 'Hotel Barry' just look away and find something else! It was one of the scariest experiences ever!
We picked up our key (and TV remote control... WTF??) at the front desk and were directed though a fast food restaurant to a door on the other side. When we walked through the door we literally had to climb over a pile of bin bags to get up the stairs to which we were greeted by some snails on the ceiling. Our room was this dingy, stinky little place that had FIVE beds jammed into it. There was a phone on the wall that had been melted by someone, filthy carpets, the drawer on the desk was stained with what genuinely looked like blood, the shower was falling to pieces. We sat and contemplated if we should just sack it off and go to stay somewhere else, but money wasn't permitting so we dealt with it. Granted, i pushed a bed up against the door when we slept... Even Jaques didn't make it to this hotel. He slept in the car.
Josh and the melted phone:
But anyway, the show was a delight. I got to meet a bunch more dedicated fans before heading out to a bar and fully utilising the fact that i was in Belgium. It's not often that you can just get a Maredsous 8 or a Westmalle Tripel on draft so i thought id drink myself to death before braving Hotel Barry! Myself and my moustache cause quite a stir in the gay bar we were drinking in and i had to turn the barman down which was much to Laura and Josh's amusement.
We survived the night in Hotel Barry and just like something from a comedy film, i happened to just take a glance out of the window to see Phil's tour bus pulling away and driving past our hotel. It was one of those "DON'T LEAVE US HERE!!! TAKE US WITH YOU!!!!" moments. We checked out, paid (begrudgingly) and set off for Paris.
How i adore Paris. I think i've been there like 4 times now and never have i been disappointed. The city just bleeds a certain charm that you very rarely find elsewhere.
Tonight the crowd were (sorry UK) by far the best i have ever had. Despite the fact that both my guitars decided to break during the set, i have never had such a loud rection. I felt like i was a head liner to be honest! So thank you Paris. Audrey showed up again to get her second Lone Wolf dose for the week.
After the show Laura, Josh and I finally got to spend a little time with Philip and his band/crew/management and we all went out for cocktails. A wonderful end to a short, but lovely trip to Europe. I can safely say that Mr Selway is among the most wonderfully lovely people i have ever met in my entire life. I also managed not to get too gushy about Radiohead!
Anyway, it's 13:15, im still in my pyjamas and i have songs to write, plus im going to go down and say hi to Anna (Our Broken Garden) who is shooting her new video in Leeds with Ashley Dean right now.
Take care all and speak to you all again soon.
Much love!
xxPaul Mxx
