The Legend Lives On

paul and sue · Post by **paul and sue** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 1:04 pm

Firstly I have to thank the Monro family for allowing me to tag along on this tour, this is a dream come true for me. I have been bugging Michele for months to see if there was anything that I could do on the tour and now I am the official driver for Matt Jnr and the merchandise representative.

I actually started off doing Northampton with Matt and that gave me a taste for what was to come. I have been so excited for weeks and willing the time to pass quickly and Sue has been a martyr for putting up with me. Michele asked me to be at the house for 11.30am. I was up past midnight the night before going through my list a dozen times to make sure I didn't forget anything. You will note that I have taken my camera and hope to let you see several shots that I am going to take along the way. I left my house in Worthing at 6.00am because I was so nervous about being late and was sitting in McDonalds a mile from their house at 8.00am - a tad early - but better than being late.

Talking of late, I had to take Matt to a television broadcast en route and after promptly arriving they kept us waiting ages saying "another 10 minutes". It got so that we didn't arrive at the theatre until 6.00pm. Matt was worried about getting the sound checks done properly. One thing I have already noticed about Matt is that he is methodical and meticulous about getting all the technical and sound stuff right. He likes to get to the theatre early and allow at least two hours before a show.

He rushed through to the stage area and I went about setting up the merchandise stand. Michele had given me some of the DVD's to sell and I was able to play them through my portable DVD which I think looked fantastic.

The theatre was not quite filled to capacity but the support act, Zac Skjerdal warmed the crowd and by the time Matt went on the room was electric. It is amazing seeing things from behind the scenes, Matt has been ill for the last week with a viral infection and laden with cold but he just strolled on full of confidence and wowed the crowd. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

The Foyer was jammed afterwards, Matt always come down after the show to say hello to the fans and he was mobbed. One woman dragged him out of the theatre doors, I didn't know whether to go after him in my protective role or to protect the merchandise. Apparently the fan wanted Matt to say hello to her parents who were sitting in the car. Matt is ever obliging and the women love him. He stood there for over an hour signing autographs and having pictures taken with who ever wanted them.

I was knackered so I don't know how he felt. By the time we had packed up and got to the hotel it was nearly midnight and all I wanted was a nice cold beer and a soft bed. The hotel was so small I nearly missed the bar. Aptly named the "Rex" (the Tryanasaurus must have fallen off the horading sign) is a quaint inn dating back to.......... Matt and I were allocated single rooms. I thought we were going to have to move hotels until the staff were able to shuffle things around and allocate what had been actually booked. We sat with our drinks and Gus Douglas, the tour manager and Matt dissected the show, going through each number, the sound, the lighting, echo, reverb. fallback. It is another language but they seemed to understand each other. It is amazing you would think after the day we had had we would fall into bed, but you need to unwind, you feel such a buzz and a natural high that it takes a while to come down back to earth. We finally turned in at 2.00am.

In the morning I'm off to the bank, filling up with petrol and hitting the road for midday - then it is about an eight hour drive up to Dunfermline for Sunday's show. I'm loving every minute and will check back after the show.
Bye for now
Paul

mariana44 · Post by **mariana44** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 3:40 pm

Hi Paul---well done for giving us such a full and interesting account of your time on the road with Matt Jr.

Looking forward to hearing more of your "Adventures" on the road !!

Frederick · Post by **Frederick** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 4:48 pm

Sounds like you're the right man for the job Paul. Your post made very entertaining reading.

ROBERT M. · Post by **ROBERT M.** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 5:10 pm

Thanks for your very interesting post Paul, but its a wonder you had the time to type it all out

Marian · Post by **Marian** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 5:54 pm

Excellent report Paul, and very interesting. You can really feel the enthusiam you have for Matt's tour.

Jack Jones had a tour manager called Gus. Just wondered if it is the same guy?
Look forward to more interesting reports "on the road"!

Marian

Michele Monro · Post by **Michele Monro** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 10:53 pm

Gus Douglas is one and the same person who just did the Jack Jones Tour.
Well spotted.

Lena & Harry Smith · Post by **Lena & Harry Smith** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 12:17 am

Thanks for the interesting story Paul. Many of us don't realise what work and organisation is involved in a tour of this kind. Because of your enthusiasm we have some idea now.

paul and sue · Post by **paul and sue** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 12:20 pm

What a mammoth drive, nearly eight hours all in, which admitedly included a petrol and wee wee stop. Grabbed greasy spoon sandwiches for the car and we were back on the road. Very lucky with the traffic otherwise I am not sure how long it would have taken.

Then a stumbling block, well more like a bloody great boulder. If any of you have ever been to Glasgow you will know that you cannot get near anything in a car. We were going round in circles trying to find the hotel and all I saw were one-way arrows. The was nothing else to do but get a police escort - we stopped to ask the police and they offered to bring us in - not literally. Even with their help we were not allowed to stop outside the "Quality Hotel". We had to park in a NCP nearly ten minutes away and trolley in all the luggage. Apparently we are going to have the same trouble at the theatre so we will have to catch a cab which won't be easy with all the equipment.

Gus has us booked us here for a couple of days as we are in Dunfermline Sunday and Glasgow on Monday so now we are safely here we don't have much driving to do until the way back on Tuesday.

After all of that we all decided to go into the bar and have a long cold drink and so apparently did most of the Celtic Ranger's supporters. We made a fast exit and had room service. I didn't dare step foot outside the hotel's protective doors as by the policeman's own words "Glasgow is the murder capital of the world". I am sure he was over exaggerating but I didn't feel the need to wander around in the dark in unfamiliar territory.

I went to bed with both dead bolts firmly in place and the chain slipped over the lock just for good measure.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Lena & Harry Smith · Post by **Lena & Harry Smith** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 4:24 pm

Hi Paul, thanks for the update on Matt's tour.
The story of your arrival and sleeping in safety in Dunfermline prompted us to think of funny man Ken Dodd, who has often talked of all the great comedians and funny men that he has been priviledged to know and work with and the types of humour.
It can be measured by a reaction from a giggle to a chuckle and a real belly laugh..
He said it was Freud who described humour as being as incongruous as a buckled wheel.
But the trouble with Freud is he never played to a Glasgow Theatre on a Monday night after both Celtic and Rangers had lost on the previous Saturday.
Well Celtic won yesterday, and Rangers play today. Good luck Paul

ROBERT M. · Post by **ROBERT M.** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 11:07 pm

Yes, and Rangers lost

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