THE TAMBORINES tour diary
By Marc West
Following the exploits of our reporter Marc West as he goes on tour with The Tamborines.
Wednesday 25 October
06.59am
Typical! I’ve only gone and overslept! Whilst the rest of the group partied the night away with The Morning After Girls at London’s Fly Bar, I decided to get an early night in – and it’s backfired. Anyway, I’m now stood in the shower – on my mobile phone – oops! – whilst my lift waits outside tooting his horn furiously! I’m not so good at early starts, so this tour could be interesting!
13.32pm
Well, after having sat in traffic for nearly an hour at Oxford’s notorious Green Road roundabout, Rodrigo (drummer) and I have finally collected all the other band members, their huge amount of equipment and plenty of chocolate for the journey to Nottingham. However, the M1 was not a good place to be! It took six hours for a predicted three hour trip – and with not even a radio in our bus, we had to play a lot of eye spy!
18.58pm
Have they not heard of signposts up North?...because we haven’t seen any for Trent University SU! We’ve been going round and round the one-way system in the dark and rain for nearly an hour and sound check is getting closer and closer – there’s definite tension in the air! In the end, we pulled over (for the sixth time) and asked a girl at the bus stop…who only turned out to be a friend of Rick's (front man) from 10 years ago in Brazil - such a small world! She jumped in and showed us the way just in time – phew! Sound check went very smoothly considering everyone was tired and we all grabbed a few beers and finally relaxed.
21.43pm
The show went well - everyone seems to love The Tamborines and they’ve won many new fans - all very exciting! The Brian Jonestown Massacre put it a fantastic show too – although the venue didn’t lend itself too well to the sound of either band to be honest. Aaron (guitarist) was asked by the band to play tamborine onstage with them – what fun! As well as touring with The Tamborines across UK, Aaron is also guitar technician for BJM on their European tour, so hats off to him!
Thursday 26 October
01.56am
The last few hours have been a complete blur to be honest! We all enjoyed a few drinks – and a kebab - with BJM after the show and our van in now all loaded and ready to leave for East Oxford- where we will be staying at Aaron’s house. Today has involved lots of traveling and waiting around, so everyone – especially myself - is keen get their head down now.
12.37pm
After being awoken early by Aaron’s angry landlord, we’re ready to leave for Bristol. In a bid to save some cash, Rodrigo and (sound engineer) John have been busy in the kitchen and cooked up a delicious pasta dish for all of us – proper food! Until now, all we’ve eaten in the last 48 hours is whatever we can dispose of quickly, cheaply and easily.
16.02pm
We arrive in sunny Bristol and locate the venue – Anson Room - much easier than last night! After unloading the van and setting up the equipment, the band and I head off for a walk and try to do a little sightseeing! We end up at Clifton Suspension Bridge – where we decide to do a few promotional shots their forthcoming website: www.thetamborines.com.
18.06pm
We return to Anson Room to find BJM’s Anton Newcombe sound checking – this could take some time! The band are sonic perfectionists and the results of their hard work are apparent in their scorching live shows. However, the longer they take, the less time The Tamborines have to arrange their sound. I decide to find a quiet corner – if such a thing existed – and try to catch up on some much needed rest!
20.38pm
Tonight’s show was The Tamborines’ biggest audience yet and their performance was far better than last night. They’re version of current single and live favourite Sally O’ Gannon – out now on London’s Sonic Cathedral - is simply monolithic – and LOUD! The band is in very high spirits now and everyone’s up for a party! Aaron leaves the stage saying, “Make sure you see the BJM, they’re probably the best band you’ll ever see!” Anton Newcombe later replies to this by inviting Aaron onto stage with them, “Hey, Mr Tambo! Are you gonna come and play with us again?” Their show bears all the hallmarks of a classic BJM performance – with Anton even storming off stage for nearly half an hour, before returning for a triumphant encore.
Friday 27 October
01.17am
Everyone’s had a fantastic night and we’re really sorry to be waving the BJM off to Paris in their unbelievably cool bus. They’ve been very accommodating to us and have also become good friends of the band. We hope to catch them when they return to UK for a show at London’s Astoria on November 26. We, meanwhile, have packed up our little van – again – and luckily been offered a place to stay in Bristol by two wonderful new friends and fans of the band. We make the most of it by drinking, dancing and partying very late into the night. Life on the road for support bands often involves slumming it on floors, but nobody seemed to mind, although I doubt the high spirits would last if we had to do this for two weeks or more!
10.00ish? !!!
After a quick cup of tea, we pack the van and head for a greasy breakfast to settle our stomachs, before setting off for our final show in Cardiff. We seem to spend most of our time loading and unloading the van, but as with most band’s, they have some very expensive pieces of equipment – including some quite desirable guitars – which we obviously have to ensure are secure.
15.09pm
We are all quite tired now and it’s raining (again) when we arrive in Wales, so we just unload all the equipment in Clwb Ifor Bach, grab some fresh air and sunshine, then head for a pint of Guinness in the pub! When we return to the venue, the promoter has laid on a decent rider for us, which is very quickly demolished – before we realize it’s probably for the other bands too!
20.00pm
Doors open and people very quickly pile into the venue. Tonight’s show is much smaller than the band has been used to during the last couple of days and things don’t go especially well during their set. Despite that, the show was still great and we made many new friends in Cardiff too.
Saturday 28 October
03.27am
After packing the van for the final time on this leg of the tour, we head back to London and on the way drop Aaron at Heathrow for his 6am flight to catch up with BJM in Paris. By this point, everyone is very tired and despite the fact we have all had a fantastic time together and are really quite sad to say our goodbyes, it is clear that everyone is in need of sleep – and some space.
11.03amFollowing the exploits of our reporter Marc West as he goes on tour with The Tamborines.
Wednesday 25 October
06.59am
Typical! I’ve only gone and overslept! Whilst the rest of the group partied the night away with The Morning After Girls at London’s Fly Bar, I decided to get an early night in – and it’s backfired. Anyway, I’m now stood in the shower – on my mobile phone – oops! – whilst my lift waits outside tooting his horn furiously! I’m not so good at early starts, so this tour could be interesting!
13.32pm
Well, after having sat in traffic for nearly an hour at Oxford’s notorious Green Road roundabout, Rodrigo (drummer) and I have finally collected all the other band members, their huge amount of equipment and plenty of chocolate for the journey to Nottingham. However, the M1 was not a good place to be! It took six hours for a predicted three hour trip – and with not even a radio in our bus, we had to play a lot of eye spy!
18.58pm
Have they not heard of signposts up North?...because we haven’t seen any for Trent University SU! We’ve been going round and round the one-way system in the dark and rain for nearly an hour and sound check is getting closer and closer – there’s definite tension in the air! In the end, we pulled over (for the sixth time) and asked a girl at the bus stop…who only turned out to be a friend of Rick's (front man) from 10 years ago in Brazil - such a small world! She jumped in and showed us the way just in time – phew! Sound check went very smoothly considering everyone was tired and we all grabbed a few beers and finally relaxed.
21.43pm
The show went well - everyone seems to love The Tamborines and they’ve won many new fans - all very exciting! The Brian Jonestown Massacre put it a fantastic show too – although the venue didn’t lend itself too well to the sound of either band to be honest. Aaron (guitarist) was asked by the band to play tamborine onstage with them – what fun! As well as touring with The Tamborines across UK, Aaron is also guitar technician for BJM on their European tour, so hats off to him!
Thursday 26 October
01.56am
The last few hours have been a complete blur to be honest! We all enjoyed a few drinks – and a kebab - with BJM after the show and our van in now all loaded and ready to leave for East Oxford- where we will be staying at Aaron’s house. Today has involved lots of traveling and waiting around, so everyone – especially myself - is keen get their head down now.
12.37pm
After being awoken early by Aaron’s angry landlord, we’re ready to leave for Bristol. In a bid to save some cash, Rodrigo and (sound engineer) John have been busy in the kitchen and cooked up a delicious pasta dish for all of us – proper food! Until now, all we’ve eaten in the last 48 hours is whatever we can dispose of quickly, cheaply and easily.
16.02pm
We arrive in sunny Bristol and locate the venue – Anson Room - much easier than last night! After unloading the van and setting up the equipment, the band and I head off for a walk and try to do a little sightseeing! We end up at Clifton Suspension Bridge – where we decide to do a few promotional shots their forthcoming website: www.thetamborines.com.
18.06pm
We return to Anson Room to find BJM’s Anton Newcombe sound checking – this could take some time! The band are sonic perfectionists and the results of their hard work are apparent in their scorching live shows. However, the longer they take, the less time The Tamborines have to arrange their sound. I decide to find a quiet corner – if such a thing existed – and try to catch up on some much needed rest!
20.38pm
Tonight’s show was The Tamborines’ biggest audience yet and their performance was far better than last night. They’re version of current single and live favourite Sally O’ Gannon – out now on London’s Sonic Cathedral - is simply monolithic – and LOUD! The band is in very high spirits now and everyone’s up for a party! Aaron leaves the stage saying, “Make sure you see the BJM, they’re probably the best band you’ll ever see!” Anton Newcombe later replies to this by inviting Aaron onto stage with them, “Hey, Mr Tambo! Are you gonna come and play with us again?” Their show bears all the hallmarks of a classic BJM performance – with Anton even storming off stage for nearly half an hour, before returning for a triumphant encore.
Friday 27 October
01.17am
Everyone’s had a fantastic night and we’re really sorry to be waving the BJM off to Paris in their unbelievably cool bus. They’ve been very accommodating to us and have also become good friends of the band. We hope to catch them when they return to UK for a show at London’s Astoria on November 26. We, meanwhile, have packed up our little van – again – and luckily been offered a place to stay in Bristol by two wonderful new friends and fans of the band. We make the most of it by drinking, dancing and partying very late into the night. Life on the road for support bands often involves slumming it on floors, but nobody seemed to mind, although I doubt the high spirits would last if we had to do this for two weeks or more!
10.00ish? !!!
After a quick cup of tea, we pack the van and head for a greasy breakfast to settle our stomachs, before setting off for our final show in Cardiff. We seem to spend most of our time loading and unloading the van, but as with most band’s, they have some very expensive pieces of equipment – including some quite desirable guitars – which we obviously have to ensure are secure.
15.09pm
We are all quite tired now and it’s raining (again) when we arrive in Wales, so we just unload all the equipment in Clwb Ifor Bach, grab some fresh air and sunshine, then head for a pint of Guinness in the pub! When we return to the venue, the promoter has laid on a decent rider for us, which is very quickly demolished – before we realize it’s probably for the other bands too!
20.00pm
Doors open and people very quickly pile into the venue. Tonight’s show is much smaller than the band has been used to during the last couple of days and things don’t go especially well during their set. Despite that, the show was still great and we made many new friends in Cardiff too.
Saturday 28 October
03.27am
After packing the van for the final time on this leg of the tour, we head back to London and on the way drop Aaron at Heathrow for his 6am flight to catch up with BJM in Paris. By this point, everyone is very tired and despite the fact we have all had a fantastic time together and are really quite sad to say our goodbyes, it is clear that everyone is in need of sleep – and some space.
After returning the van back to the hire company in Witney, the only thing on my mind is sleep! I return home and head to my bed for sixteen hours! Even after a short space of time, our experience of life ‘on the road’ is that of extreme of highs and lows combined with lots of traveling and waiting around, but little daylight and decent food! Good times though!
BBC OXFORD
THE TAMBORINES tour gallery
BBC OXFORD
THE TAMBORINES tour gallery
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