Bucharest, birthday and more

I think it’s time to recap on the countries we have covered in the last eight weeks:

USA

Canada

USA

Chile

Argentina

Brazil

Ireland

France

England

Romania

Germany

Turkey

Switzerland

England

Sweden

The outdoor venue for Bucharest was like a roman amphitheatre, the weather was lovely and things were relatively relaxed, as there were no other bands on with us that night. So much so that Glen took a little nap on the gear piled up backstage after the sound check.

When there are no other bands involved it is easier for the crew, they can check all the equipment at a decent pace, they don’t have to worry about another bands gear coming off or another bands gear coming straight on at the end of the show.

It was the mans birthday, he and the boss were now the same age and he reflected back on the fact that he has been doing shows on his birthday on and off for the last 40 years, the last time was with Lou Reed in London in 2008.

Toby had organized a cake; we did not do any candles, maybe not a good idea with Steve as he could have set himself on fire!

We all gathered in the dressing room including the boss and sang happy birthday, the cake was extremely gooey and extremely yummy.

There were two other things that I remember about that show; it had been decided after an incident at Download that I would be the one to lead my man off stage. It is very difficult for well meaning friends and colleagues to lead Steve in the dark; I am very used to doing this, as we are together 24/7. I know to watch for obstacles that are likely to hit his head or face even though he is 6ft and I am 5’3”. I know how to talk him through an uneven surface and up or down steps or ramps, as he needs to know if they are narrow or deep, wide or steep. In the dark he is a completely blind man and there are hazards all over the place.

That was also the day that I started to feel under the weather.

Next stop Bamberg, Germany and what a lovely town it was. We had a couple of days off before the show, which was actually in a small town called Weismain about 40 minutes away.

Steve and I walked into Bamberg town centre and did a bit of shopping; he found a couple of really cool hats, which he has been wearing ever since.

The Weismain festival was LOUD! When we got there we found the production and dressing room tent was really close to the stage area, which had non-stop music from many rock bands including Motorhead.

It was raining and I could not hear myself think from the minute we got there. Nobody could hear anybody else, which also made our radio’s useless and that made the atmosphere just a tad tetchy. We couldn’t find a VIP and I found myself in the rain, waving a VIP laminate in the air at the crowd in the hope that the lost person would come forward. I had no other choice other than waving the laminate as my voice had all but gone by this time.

The AC band was fantastic that night, whatever is going on before or after the show, the band always performs at 110 percent, I am so impressed by this.

Next up Istanbul

Sleepy Glen

Damon relaxes 

Steve doing the solo in 'Fire'

Bamberg: