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Steeleye Span 'World Tour' Diary 2004

Saturday 13th March
The Tivoli, Brisbane.
Departed from our accommodating in Lismore, The Wilson Motel, at 10am. We had to take a very slight detour, calling in at the Twin Towns resort en route (where we'd played on Friday) as Maddy had left a dress there.
Not long out of Lismore, as everyone was chatting away, I heard what might be described as a kind of 'not quite so distant' crashing noise, but it was loud enough, and close enough to get me to stand up and look out of the back of the bus. To my horror I saw the door of the trailer wide open. I don't think I've mentioned the trailer, but that's how we carry the drums, amps and other equipment much of the time. Our driver Richard, pulled over, and having just gone over a hill we were imagining that much of our equipment was likely to be lying out of sight on the other side. To everyone's relief the only thing that had to be retrieved from a few hundred yards back was Liams cymbals (all in a very sturdy flight case). As the trailer door was actually still locked, this event necessitated an about turn, back to Lismore and to a hardware store for some strong rope.
The next mishap occurredon arrival at Twin Towns. On picking up my laptop case in the bus, I caught the nail on my third finger (picking hand) on the back of a seat. These nails are covered in acrylic and consequently there's no 'give' in them whatsoever. To some extent the nail separated from the finger, and I'm not lying when I say it was bloody painful. It's now bandaged up, and I'm having to try hard to remember not to use it when I'm playing.
The Tivoli, is a lovely theatre, and the show was sold out tonight with something in the region of 650 tickets sold. The set went extremely well, and my finger survived.

Sunday 14th March.
Empire Theatre, Toowoomba.
What I didn't mention yesterday was how impressive the city of Brisbane is. We are staying at 'The Good Earth Hotel' for two nights, and not only are the views from the hotel good, but just across the road there is a fantastic gardens called 'The Roma Street Parkland'. The plant life there is incredibly colourful, and I managed to take a few snapshots of the place - and one of a spider I stumble upon too, the largest spider I think I've ever seen outside of a zoo. I will upload some of these pics in the next day or two.
The theatre in Toowoomba was yet another majestic building, very art deco, and run by the most dedicated people you could meet. They are obviously proud of the building and the overall operation. Sadly though, in regards to attendance figures, this was the low point thus far, with only two hundred seats taken - in a room that will seat 1100. Still, the night was just fine, and the merchandise sales - for the numbers in attendance - were very good indeed.

Monday 15th March
Travel to New Zealand.
This is now a realisation of something I've wanted to do all my life - visit New Zealand, the place my father originated from. I am actually an official citizen of this country having successfully applied for a passport just over six years ago, and yet until this very day, I've never seen the place first hand. I'm writing this in my hotel room in Auckland, and I can't quite believe it. It's just a little disappointing that we are here for just two days before flying back to Sydney.
The other remarkable thing is that my mother and my sister Gloria, by total coincidence, came here for a holiday a week before I flew out with the band. They were due to fly back to the UK from Nelson tomorrow, but on learning of the Auckland gig, they changed their travel plans and are now coming to the show - along with my cousin Gary who I've never met. My father was born in Dunedin; he died three and a half years ago, and though it might be inaccurate to say that I sense his presence, I do feel remarkably aware of him. This is a very poignant experience for me.

The view of Auckland city centre from my hotel balcony.

Tuesday 16th March
Bruce Mason Theatre, Auckland.
The first half of the day was pretty relaxing, and despite my desire to take in as much of the city as I could, I was aware of the need to conserve my energies for the show tonight. I did, however, take a walk along Queen Street, where the hotel is situated, and discovered a music shop called 'Rockshop'. They had some very decent stuff in there - with quite a selection of acoustics. I got chatting to Al (if my memory serves me correctly), and on discovering what I was doing in Auckland, he showed me a room that the general public usually don't get to see. I followed him to a door which when unlocked revealed a room packed with the most incredible display of Beatles memorabilia you could ever imagine; magazines, LPs, pictures signed and unsigned, Ludwig drums, left handed Hofner violin basses, Rickenbacker & Gretch guitars, and much more. They use this room for receptions, etc. He also gave me a Fender scratch plate for Steeleye to sign.
At about 1:15 p.m. I got a call from reception to say that my mother and sister had arrived. It's interesting how in this situation - in a country I've never been to before - in the unexpected company of my family, the experience of profound relevance, and a sense of complete normality can coexist side by side. Some of the mysterious importance we seem to attach to events, I can't help but feel, is little more than conceptual - any experience itself literally 'happens'. The way we often evaluate things as they happen can have so much to do with nothing less than how familiar one has become with that particular place or event.
Should've had a cab turn up at the hotel at 5:30 p.m. to take me to the venue for the sound check, but twenty minutes later there was still no sign of it, so as luck has it, there just happened to be someone called Jane who worked not only at the hotel, but is also an usher at the very theatre I needed to get to. Thanks Jane.
The gig was special in a number of ways with only one blip. About four songs into the set there appeared to be a mass protest about the overall volume, so after one or two adjustments were made everything seemed to settle down and the night just got better and better. Apart from family and relations, we also had another special guest attend the show. Billy Connolly had just finished doing some recording here for TV, and it was a great surprise, not to mention a lot of fun to have him backstage after the show.

Ralph, Liam, Billy, Maddy, Rick, Ken & Peter

Wednesday 17th March
The Basement, Sydney.
After saying good-bye to my mum and sister, I left for the airport at 11:15 a.m. That's where the fun really began. As you might imagine, traveling with six or seven people, with instruments, merchandise and all the other bits and pieces involved in touring, makes the process of checking in at airports quite difficult at times. So far, most places have dealt with this pretty efficiently...... and then came Auckland. We have to check in fifteen pieces of luggage, and a lot of it is heavy, so excess weight is obviously a factor. Often we are not charged for this, but here they seem like real sticklers for the rule book. Still, one has to accept some of these rules. The real problem was that they appeared to want to catch us out on any point that they could. They appeared to be confused by the idea of us being checked in collectively rather than individually, and then along walked a more senior worker called Michelle who had the worst public management skills I've witnessed in some time. First off, I heard her stomping away saying "they're not going to get away with this", presumably in regards to the excess baggage issue. Then, when it was discovered that Liams passport pages had come away from the cover, she announced in what could be described as a somewhat 'triumphant' tone, "This person's not traveling anywhere today". Rick, to be honest, did not respond to this in the most diplomatic way, but then in response to that, she threatened to not let him travel also. It was a fantastic display of dreadful public relations. Eventually, one of her superiors could the situation in hand, made a phone call to Canberra, and very diplomatically resolved the situation. For a moment I thought this would be the birth of 'Acoustic Steeleye Span'.
Tonight we played a somewhat impromptu gig at a club called 'The Basement'. This was not originally on our schedule. It was a good night; unusual to be playing outside of a concert environment, but a very interesting change.