10.12.2009 Thursday

The maintenance day, once again. I had had a bizarre night sleeping in hotel bed. I have gotten so used to my waving bunk bed that this felt almost unnatural. I just kept waking up all the time wondering where I was. Hot showers, hot meals and plenty of sleep had still recharged my batteries.

We were supposed to do the laundry during the day off, but by fucking up the schedules we had found our dirty clothes to be locked in the bus and the driver was in other hotel sleeping. Now he was on his heels again, so it was the optimal time window for the task. I had already hunted down a nice coin-operated laundry service down the close by alley. We washed and dried our reeking clothes and had breakfast at local café. Then checking out of the hotel, back to the tour bus and then to the venue (which was literally next to the parked tour bus). We had coffee and loaded in with the help of local stage-hands. They were helpful and the venue had good premises, so it looked good again. Some of us are still in flu and spent the most of the day just sleeping and resting. I’m ok,, so I had a walk and did my usual gear maintenance. I have developed some kind of a routine to keep my gear and myself functional on the road. Here is how it works for me:

1. Clean guitar after every show, and always wear sweatbands to avoid excess dirt on chrome hardware. Change strings and wireless transmitter’s battery after every three or four hours of playing live.

2. Set up your own gear to make sure it is up and running the way it’s supposed to be. If in any doubt, check and double-check it. Always line-check before going to stage. Pack your own gear after show to know everything is in place. This part can also be done by a trusted guitar technician, but since we are touring with low budgets we have none. So it’s DIY all the way.

3. Have a spare guitar ready for every show. Have spare parts or replacement options for every possible piece of equipment. Be ready to cut corners and improvise if there is a technical breakdown. We have four amps on this road, so you can always borrow a spare one if your own is broken. You don’t have to have double of every item but you have to make sure beforehand that there is enough backline for the back-up gear on the road.

4. Make effort to pack the trailer decently. Bumpy roads will claim their victims, no matter how smooth the driver is. Bear in mind that everything that is not secured in hard cases will eventually break up. In 2006 the backline company didn’t issue us hard cases for the guitar heads, so we broke three amps in ten days. It means trouble.

5. Take good care of your personal health and hygiene and put some effort to it. Every venue does not have a shower, so sometimes you have to improvise or tolerate a couple of days without.

6. We’re all pouring sweat on the stage, so the clothes get wet. Hang them to dry whenever possible. You won’t get them dry under these conditions, but damp is better than soaking wet.

7. Have a stock of socks, underwear and shirts for at least ten days without laundry. Do laundry whenever there is a chance to do so.

8. Do not bitch and moan. Better bands have toured in worse conditions. Be prepared but have fun, ‘cause that’s what this is all about.

Well, then back to our day in Paris. Afternoon was comprised of maintenance, chilling out and enjoying the French catering. Absolutely nothing to complain about it. Then the venue opened and people swarmed in. I anticipated this to be good show from the crowd reaction OG had. They blasted a fierce set and got a really good response. So did we on our turn. Audience was full on from the first note, and we kept going till Devoid of Caring as an encore. She sound was brilliant and we really enjoyed our time on the stage. Niilo was still recovering from his flu, but somehow he managed to find the energy to growl and subdue all the way through.

After the show I had a strange experience of taking an ice cold shower in total darkness. So there is some room for improvement in those shower facilities I guess :) Some of us took that ride, some of us naturally skipped it. Then the basic load out, bus call and on we went to Munich. The drive is going to be long, so I stayed up for a while. No partying this night, just the usual chit-chat and few beers. Crawl to bunk, close the curtains, lights out. Goodbye France.





Sukram did some sightseeiing while the others were sick...(Sorry about lack of photos for few days. there will be plenty of more once I get well, T: Ville F./INSOMNIUM)

Ville Vänni/INSOMNIUM