The European Tour 2002

After Area 2 ended in mid-August, we were all ready for a break. We were to reconvene in mid-September for more European promotional (TV/radio) dates, as well as a short leg of concerts. It was decided that a smaller version of the band would be doing the first TV dates, simply because those programs weren't equipped to deal with an eight piece band. I wasn't in that unit, so I got a bit more vacation time ... but just a bit, as I had to spend a few days mixing down the Toronto AREA 2 show for a broadcast on Canadian radio. For this I returned to the trusty Looking Glass Studios, where I've worked on loads of projects since 1991. The show was recorded on digital multitrack tape, so I transferred it into Logic so I could do a lot of the cleanup at home. Our Toronto show was fairly long due to the absence of Busta Rhymes, but they only needed an hour of material. David told me to mix the tracks that I thought worked best ... so, I did.

Once the mixes were done and vacation spent, Cat, Mike Garson and I left to meet up with the others to rehearse in London at the Hammersmith Odeon. I never figured out why we rehearsed there, but it was fantastic. We learned several new tunes for the fall dates, among them 'The Bewlay Brothers,' 'Alabama Song,' 'Moonage Daydream,' 'Survive,' and 'Look Back in Anger' (have I forgotten any ... ?) I had spent some of my vacation time arranging these new tunes so we could slip into them quickly, as we only had two days of rehearsal. Given this bit of preparation, and the enormous talents of all involved, it was a cinch.

An unintended new addition was a version 'Rebel Rebel,' which sprang from my messing about with Joe Jackson's 'Is She Really Going Out With Him?' while playing with an echo pedal. (The band tend to launch into all sorts of different songs while warming up, so Joe Jackson was my choice at that particular moment ...) David heard it in a completely different way (as he tends to) and jumped in with the lyric at the right time ... and that was that. Another new addition to the stage was a jackalope, which our tech Andrew Burns purchased after our initial encounter with said beast at the Nebraska truck stop. The jackalope would be set up next to Cat onstage, where he could survey the scene and provide inspiration. Or something like that.

Our first gig was at BBC Radio in Maida Vale, London. This was an intimate promo gig for an audience of a couple of hundred, if that many (I tend to like these shows the best, I have to say). We played many of the newer songs, including 'Look Back in Anger,' 'Survive,' 'Bewlay Brothers', and the new arrangement of 'Rebel.' Judging by the reception from this extremely vocal audience - which once again included Jonathan Ross - it went down a treat. Afterward, it was off to the audio booth to supervise the mix.

Our next date was Jools Holland's 'Later.' This gig was a joy to play in '99, and it didn't disappoint this time ... this time with the added bonus of getting a prime seat for my college buddy Tom Frederikse (right next to Blam, no less). We played a variety of new and old tracks - '515,' 'Rebel Rebel,' 'Heathen,' 'Look Back in Anger,' and even fit in 'Ashes to Ashes'.

We were now off for Europe. This time, we were in a larger plane operated by Scot Airways. For those of us who get a bit tweaked flying, this was a much appreciated development. It had a Tartan theme - plaid costumes for the flight attendants, plaid material for the seats, and plaid wrappers on the little shortbread biscuits. Even the tail of the plane was plaid! No wonder I began to refer to it as 'Old Plaid.'

>>> European Tour Part Two