The Legend Lives On
Posted: 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
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
