White Lies Big Tv U.K. Tour 2013- Diary of....

White Lies Big TV Tour 2013 -A Diary Of.....

 

 

Firstly if you would have told me before I embarked on this journey for much of this tour that there would be Travel Chaos and Disruption, Emotional Stress, Financial Woes, Infighting and Bitching, Loss Of Property, Lack Of Sleep..then I'd probably never of done  this.....  OK I probably would :0)

 

Alas though I did enjoy the good bits, my journey started in Glasgow and 2nd night of the Big TV tour, tonight is a small venue at ABC Academy and the audience are expecting a great night out, the band haven't been back to Glasgow in a long while since 2011 a long time to be away.

 

Support is from 'In The Valley Below' a duo from California, the female singer looks like she is from a Tim Burton movie dressed in long white dress, top hat and Black long hair quite gothy looking ,the male guitarist was the vocalist of the two of them that I most preferred his vocals and lyrics were witty, I was a little freaked out when the female singer picked up some chains and started to rattle them it looked a bit bizarre .

 

 

Second support band is 'Frankie Rose' a mainly Girls on guitars type band from 'New York', the drummer has a lot of rhythm and the songs are a bit American  Indie for me , there was a little bit of 'Lush', 'Breeders' type 90's sound going on although I do like the 1st before last song with the catchy chorus it has been a fav of mine throughout the tour.

 

The singer 'Frankie' is a bit nervous looking onstage and seems to prefer when more lighting is on her,she plays an energetic set and now that I've seen them 6 times I'm used to them.

 

At 9.15pm the boys come on stage and there is a lot of dry ice blowing in fact it almost looks too foggy out there and we struggle to see their arrival at first,there is a reason it as its going to provide a spectacular show for us, the  band kick of off straight away with 'To Lose My Life' immediately the lasers beam down on us and they look awesome it really works ,the first time I seen the band use lasers was at Latitude in 2012.

 

'Harry' looks casual tonight in White T-shirt and Black slacks and the other guys look relaxed and ready for a good show, as they go into 'There Goes Our Love Again' he's pleased to be back on stage as he beams that familiar smile through the beard he's had much of this year to the crowd.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 'Charles's confidence with the bass is a joy to watch as he get's involved at some stages almost duelling at times with 'Harry' he almost gives ZZ Top a run for their money with that ever pointy beard, 'Jack' has the new Blue Drum kit that he uses all the time these days and it has the Michael Kagan Big Tv Sleeve cover adorned on the drum skin.

 

 

This time 'Jack's drum kit is not too high on a podium and is central to the stage instead of pushed back so the whole set up feels like everyone is together and at one on stage like a family, 'Tommy' resides his position to left of 'Harry' as usual he look's suave and sophisticated and dare I say moody and serious in a good way..

The crowd are rather more laid back than I was expecting for a Glaswegian show there was no pushing and shoving so it was nice to enjoy the show without the usual crowdsurfers ruining it , 'Farewell To The Fairground' my fav single comes on and a bit more energy in the crowd and singing along to the chorus,the lasers beam and taper over us in full swing in Pink Green Blue colours and its as though the band are Arena ready although remember they have played huge venues before they have only headlined their own show in Wembley Arena which by the way was Fantastic!!!

 

A lot of album favourites are in the setlist tonight 'EST' and 'Place To Hide' from debut album and the band also played 'Streetlights' from 'Ritual'.

 

 

 

Tonight was also about airing the tracks from the new album and we got 'I'll Be Your Man' my fav song,'Mother Tongue','First Time Caller' and 'Goldmine' in the first half and a special part in the show where 'Harry' gets a keyboard centre stage and 'Jack' moves away from the drums plays the Xylophone on 'I Would Die 4 You'.

 

 

 

 

 

The track is available on 'Small Tv' an EP of acoustic and special songs available to buy on the tour and on the bands official website (this one originally sung by Prince and introduced as the song they wanted to cover when they were teenagers) Minimal light was used for the performance.

 

Almost Encore time and 'Unfinished Business' and then of course 'Death', they end the show with 'Big Tv' and 'Bigger Than Us'.

 

I managed to chat to the band afterwards and I asked them if the would be playing 'Heaven Wait' and Tricky To Love' as they were fav tracks from 'Big Tv' as 'Charles and Harry explained "Unfortunately no because the arrangement isn't right for the songs" and I said "oh that's a shame I really like those tracks" and 'Harry' said "Well we can't play everything on there obviously but I'm sure we may at some stage play those" and I chatted to the others it was getting really late (2am) as there was a party before that and the weather in Glasgow was getting quite stormy it was beginning to rain and the wind was getting a bit much so the band headed to the bus and I headed back to my hotel nearby and got some sleep.

 

I had no idea how my day was going to go so horribly wrong until I woke up to the news that Glasgow Central was closed due to Damage on roof with glass dropping on the platforms onto passengers it was better to evacuate and close the station which meant NO Trains!! There were no trains moving anywhere as a HUGE storm swept much of Scotland ,Tree trunks and damaged carriages littered the rail network so it was all on to get everything working again, as people couldn't get in or out .

 

 

I even booked another night worried I wouldn't have anywhere to stay or how long it would take ,it was only after 1pm when trains started running in Scotland and only in Scotland not outside it, that  relaxed a bit until hours later I started to Panic I'm supposed to be in Manchester Tomorrow 6th Dec for the next show!!!

 

By 8pm I decide to pack all my stuff and go down to the station and found out luckily for me that there was a train heading back my way but was delayed and we were all waiting in a lounge to get out of here, eventually thanks to Virgin trains we were well looked after and tea biscuits were provided for us, I got on the train after 9.30pm and on my way back I was feeling relieved as I was passing Glasgow I could see the venue below a sign I hoped that I'd get home on time .

I managed to get a couple of hours sleep before venturing out again to the Manchester Academy, I arrived in time for Soundcheck which I was listening to from the back of the venue outside as it was very loud ,the venue has great acoustics tonights gig will be Awesome!! Thankfully the band had got back OK too ....relief.

 

 

 

The crowd had obviously really missed them it was a great reception the new songs were well received I think the band enjoyed it too,I stayed back after to tell the boys of my trauma getting home and 'Jack' told me they were lucky they got the last train out to London as it was a day off for them ,I didn't get much of a day off just spent it travelling I met some great people at both Glasgow and Manchester who were fans of the band more on that later ..you'll see why..

 

 

A few more hours later I had a train to catch for Nottingham , I arrive in the afternoon of 7th Dec to find the venue is even closer than I thought the back of the venue is right next door to my hotel ,a bit embarrassing me arriving in a taxi right past the tour bus ... I didn't want to bump into anyone til after the gig really and even then not too much .

 

 

The gig started earlier tonight due to a student club night it finished at 10pm, It was quite a rowdy crowd there was a Huge bar area to the left and there was this guy in the crowd that tried to grab girls off the barrier and he was quite annoying and getting physical for no reason other than he was Pxxxd up and overbearing he got told off by security a few times but was not taken out it was a difficult show, the stage was very low and closer to the crowd so it was quite and intimate show.

 

 

 

I went back to the hotel early tonight and got some sleep before I finally got a day off on 9th December Yayyy!!!

 

Part TWO

 

 

Week 2 I arrive in London early afternoon and check into my hotel opposite the venue It saves Taxis staying in London ain't cheap , I am attending both shows at 'London's Camden Roundhouse at the moment no one is queuing so I go out around 4pm doors open at 7pm apparently , I meet with some fans who are also fans of my other fav band 'Muse' we chat for ages nice to catch up on 'Muse' whilst I'm here :0)

 

The 1st show is sold out, tonight's gig is bigger and special as its their hometown show, 'Harry' wears a white shirt he has trimmed and styled his beard he looks quite dapper in his shiny buckled shoes ,they walk on to a James Bond theme ,its very dramatic there is a vibrant reception for the band and they look very pleased with the gig so far ,we have big massive balloons at end of the gig and everyone wants to take one home or be photographed with it.

 

 

 

2nd night was great and I had a few friends coming to this show so we had a catch up however it became apparent there was someone out there causing trouble when my words were apparently overheard in a conversation somewhere and twisted on the internet and it became a row with 2 girls I'd met in Manchester me of course oblivious of anything going on, and the bands website getting involved thanking them for their support in response to the supposed reported incident, I hadn't said anything bad about anyone just goes to show you can't speak about anything without it being public, my name and conscience is clear.

 

I wasn't really in the mood to travel over for the Xfm Winter Wonderland show which was a bit stressful as I'd never been to Brixton before although in Glasgow 'Jack' assured me I'd be fine its a cool place, of course now though I was also quite annoyed that my name had been dragged through the mud unable to prove myself, I had also not seen a friend that was due to come to some shows  I then found out she was having some kind of problem like mine only she thought  I had something to with that which further stressed me out and she later apologised, I'll be distancing myself from fans now after this !!

 

 

I went to Xfm Winter Wonderland and it was great Churches were on they were I great live and also Miles Kane was amazing I have seen him before but tonight he looked awesome wearing a Union Jack flag shirt and he played a great set of his new and old tunes the crowd loved him it got quite crushed when he was on, after him was 'White Lies' and they were awesome playing a 40 minute set and it was going out live over the radio a few technical problems from the start on the mics sort it out I thought ...sort it out Xfm .

 

 

 

I left when the headliners 'The Vaccines' were on about 4 songs in they were great I watched them from the back as I asked to be pulled out when 'WL' had finished and I was due to travel home to them travel to Birmingham for the last show.

 

 The show was great and I had great night ,met up with some friends and I really enjoyed the show they even brought the balloons for the shows end ,it seemed more people knew the 'Big Tv' tracks better here too, it was a vibrant show and the band filmed the end for their Facebook page and its on YouTube.

 

 

 They really got the crowd into it and everyone loved the whole thing at one point during 'Death' one bloke was upside down like a pair of scissors and he looked hilarious 'Harry' says he didn't see him from there but it was so funny ,we all chatted after the gig and I got a group pic that I haven't had since 2010 at Fac 251  it was also Jack's birthday when he emerged at 12am precisely unplanned of course ,I sang 'Happy Birthday' to him he got some gifts off others and it was a great way to end the Tour I'll never forget it and yes I probably would do it again.

 

 

You can see the pics from the Big Tv Tour Shortly when I upload them to the Brand New 'White Lies' Tour Gallery for now Happy New Year see you in 2014 !!

 

 

 

 

Lmi   xx