And so it
began, 14 shows in 3 weeks in Sunny Spain, Well maybe not so sunny at this time
of the year. The weather is decidedly inclement and reminds us much of the
weather we thought we left behind in England.
The plan was
to arrive in Valencia the night before the tour starts to be relaxed and
refreshed for the tough run of dates. However, partying til 4 am wasn’t really
helping that cause. But like the troopers we are we battle through, do a great
show then hit the bars in the old town once more.
We do not
have our usual driver on this trip, instead we have a local. A good worker, but
speaks no English, but then it gives us all a chance to practice our Spanish.
Which is good enough to introduce the band, order food and drink and get into
trouble.
On drums we
have Don Pedro, the Pedromadre! El Guapo on guitar, El Nino as JPJ and of
course myself El Santo on vocal. Why do people laugh when I am introduced as
such?
Onward to
Castillon, where we are appearing on TV with Nacho, a famous magician here in
Spain. He has his first TV series where he displays his magic tricks for us. As
well as amazing some of the audience as they enter the packed venue. Nice bloke
too.
To Murcia
and Malaga, in the teaming rain. I don’t think this part of the world has seen
such rainfall, streets flooded, thankfully this doesn’t seem to affect the
attendances too much. Nor the band spirits which remain high. Nothing like
working with a good bunch of guys.
Seville is a
lovely town where we spent our first night off, doing the tourist bit by the
cathedral.
The band
fully warmed up now and latest additions to the set, The Song Remains the Same
and The Rain Song going down particularly well. We are doing 4 encores per
night and we need the rest day, or should I say, go into the old town and get
drunk day.
Including a walk
along the river by the Torre D’Oro, a drunken horse and carriage ride around
the town, the open top carriage certainly was exposing! When we left Seville, I got the impression it
was just about the right time, as we would soon have worn out our welcome in
some of the bars, not to mention the monastery!
And then the
snow came.
It is a long
drive north to Burgos, a lovely old town full of history and tales of
Napoleonic sieges. The Duke of Wellington himself held the town. Statues of El
Cid adorn the bridge.
Woke up the
next day to reports of an earthquake in Burgos! Apparently a biggie, reports of
people in the shower hanging on for grim death, dogs hiding under the bed,
people fleeing for their lives. I don’t know anything about this, I must have
slept through the lot.
Now every
tour has a mishap, and ours came in Burgos, where a bloke resembling Beavis
from the cartoon made off with a load of our cash! However, we did know where
he worked and were able to exact a form of revenge before the drive to Oviedo.
Now, Santiago
de Compostela !!!!!!
There is a
name that resonates through the century’s. A place of pilgrimage, the
magnificent Cathedral where the relics of St James rest, whom the town is named
after! We stop at the marvellous building and pay homage to the saint in a
manner we felt appropriate.
We finished
the show and once the public had left the building the venue put all the
shutters down, I thought this a bit odd as we haven’t loaded the gear into the
van yet. I asked them to open again only to find the shutters had broken and we
and our equipment locked inside the venue!
It is
festival time here and the streets full of revellers. But we somehow managed to
find a quiet little street just by the old city wall for some peace and
privacy. The sound of my heeled boots on the cobble stones sounds more like
cloven hooves rattling down the ancient and now misty street.
Boiro is a
small fishing village, the smallest town on this stretch of dates, but we still
get a police escort to the venue! Apparently the biggest man-hunt in all of
Spain came to an end recently. Nice little venue too, and well attended as was
the Monday night show in A Caruna.
So: 5 shows
on the bounce, a we play the full set every night, the crowds still want more,
and we can’t resist giving it to them.
Today a
travel day, and then a much needed day off in Zaragoza. I’ll be back with more
later.
