Monday 3.4. Off-day / Bochum, Germany
Since two of the shows on this tour got cancelled, the promoter went bankrupt,
we did manage to book an extra show in Bochum to try to somehow make it up
for the fans, furthermore we managed to make the deal in such a fashion that
you could use the already purchased tickets for the cancelled Cologne and
Herford shows to get in. It was a really shitty situation and we did the best we
could to sort it out. It’s really frustrating when something like this happens.
Anyways, we spent the Off-day in Bochum at a hotel we’ve been to a couple of times
before. They have a nice sauna and swimming pool so it’s the perfect spot to relax.
I just took it easy and rested and in the evening a whole bunch of us went to a Greek Restaurant for a long dinner. It was really good and after that I was really ready to
sleep.
Tuesday 4.4. Bochum, Germany
Woke up really eary and then went for a run and breakfast. It was really interesting
to see if anyone would show up since we announced this show on such short notice
but in the end we got a good crowd and played a very hot show. Now we’re on the final streak with 6 shows in a row.
Wednesday 5.4. Ludwigsburg, Germany
I went for a long walk and checked out the local palace from the outside and did
some shopping before heading back to the venue…then it was business as usual,
after the show we hung out on the parking lot for awhile since someone had opened
a bar from the back of their car. We didn’t have that much time before it was time
to leave for Leipzig.
Thursday 6.4. Leipzig, Germany
Today I managed to lose my shoes, I went into the wrong backstage and then when I went to our, it seems that I left my shoes behind ;-) …at the time I didn’t know it but these shoes will resurface later. Anyways, today our bus went to the get some service since it wasn’t working properly, the part that they needed had to be sent from Belgium or something so that ment that we’d get a new bus tonight to get us to Sweden in time. I left some stuff on our bus that I neede so me & some of the crew took the support band bus and drove to the service place to pick up said stuff from our bus. The place was so far away that when we came back we missed dinner….while starving our TM did order us some food and about an hour later everything was alright. Except for the fact that I was getting sick. As usual on tour the flu starts somewhere and then in begins to circulate among the tourparty…now it seems it was my turn. I decided not to take any pills or anything if I could avoid it, in order to let the fever rise and get me well asap….I have no idea how these things work but it has before so let’s see….on stage I felt kinda shitty….. In the middle of the night the new bus came to pick us up...and off we went towards Sweden.
Friday 7.4. Malmö, Sweden
Got woken up quite early, we took a ferry from Rostock to somewhere in Denmark and I hit the tax free shop on the boat. Still feeling sick but somehow managed to survive, the rest of the day I spent sleeping and resting whenever I could. The show in the evening was once again a bit of a struggle. Tonight we had to wait until 0400 for our "old" bus to catch up with us and after that it was straight to bed for me. Great to be back "home".
Saturday 8.4. Örebro, Sweden
More resting, I think I sweated most of the crap out last night when I was sleeping, let’s see…I was feeling closer to normal during the show, still not a 100% but close.
Sunday 9.4. Göteborg, Sweden
Back in business, apart from a bit of a runny nose I was more or less ok. The usual 3 day tourcold was gone. Spent the day packing up my stuff etc. In the evening the shows featured a bunch of pranks as usual. The Striker show got invaded by a bunch of dudes working out, Thunderstone had Tony brushing his teeth…On our show, we had a pervert wolfman showing up during Among the shooting stars….Tony totally lost it since it was so funny….during Don’t say a word a table was brought in to the middle of the stage with our support bands taking a seat and drinking beer. There were also some huge balloons flying around….it kinda got out of hand a bit. At the end of the show all the band took a bow together and then that was it. The tour was over. Actually one more thing happend, Elias played guest guitar on Until we touch the burning sun, the last song in Thunderstone’s set.
…After the show we hung out and had some beers and wrapped the tour up. The Triosphere drummer and FOH also showed up btw.
A really huge thank you for our brave support bands, Striker, Triosphere & Thunderstone…and of course to all you crazy fans showing up at the shows and supporting us !!! 41 shows in 7 weeks , that was a tough one.
Monday 10.4. Travel Day, Göteborg-Helsinki-Kemi
Since we live in the middle of nowhere it took all day to get home. We were at the airport at around 10 in the morning or something….flew to Helsinki at 1300 and then we hung out in the lounge until 2345 when the flight to Kemi left…arriving at 0115 on what was technically Tuesday morning. Now we have 3 weeks to rest and do other things (like recording the final 3 songs for the new Secret Rule album). Before it’s time to hit Latin-America with 5 weeks worth of shows. I update some pics from Europe when I get around to it…
cheers,
Henkka
