Ephemeral World Tour - France 2004

The first show, a kind of 'warm-up'. Patrick is a tutor at the MAI on a regular basis - the show was well attended by both students of the MAI and outsiders.

Whilst the room was a good size, the stage was only about 10cm raised from the floor, anybody more than about 5 rows back was having problems to see anything....despite which people seemed to be having a good time, and it was an excellent kick-off to the main Tour events.

We travelled overnight to Raismes - a relatively short journey compared to what was to come!
Now the 'real thing' was about to happen - we really were on Tour!

The venue was spacious, light airy and clean with a large well raised stage, and good PA system. Everybody felt positive, everybody was excited and ready to go! The hospitality was excellent and shower facilities were laid on in a nearby Hotel.

Come the evening people started arriving in large numbers, including a Dutch contingent to support Dirk. The band played an excellent set including Avalonia from the new album - with it's fast flashy intro and moody mid section...will this become the obvious replacement to Barbarians?

A longer overnight journey brought us to this superb venue in the beautiful city of Tours.

A high stage and tiered seating at the back that ensured a good view from anywhere in the building, plus a good PA system and excellent lighting handled by a local company had to be a good combination for an excellent show. The hospitality from the organisation was second to none.

The audience eagerly participated in the show and Patrick seemed really happy to interact with them.

Speeding through the night we arrived at Bordeaux - the home town of Manu Martin. Catering was prepared for us in a red London double decker bus - which I found amusing, being an ex busdriver! Thanks to Fred - Tour manager and Sound Engineer for the super bus picture!

The venue was great and the lighting was pretty phenomenal and very effective - there was a good atmosphere and a lot of response from the audience.

Also exciting was the arrival of the second lot of Rondat T-shirts - these are Tour shirts with part of the album cover on the front and the Tour dates on the back. Preparations are being made to sell them from this website in what will be our new merchandise section....

Patrick has played here a few times before, notably on the Amphibia Tour - so we were fairly sure of a good response and were not disappointed! It was a sell-out, the place was packed!

The venue is large, with stairs to a balcony, good accoustics but a small off-centre low stage - a bit difficult to see the bands from a few rows back unless you happen to be a giant....it's perhaps the only critical thing one can say about it.

The organisation and hospitality was superb - I would like to add a personal thank you here. I arrived ahead of the band and was given access to a private dressing room and somewhere to sleep after the long drive from Bordeaux - a big thank you from me for that and also to Fred (Tour manager) - for his kindness and consideration throughout the Tour.

We collected 2 more 'techies' to help with the backline and merchandising - one of whom - Yann - would accompany me for the next couple of nights as we began to have some really long distances between venues.

Incredible venue - very spacious with a big high stage. At the back of the place we discovered half of an old American car which had been turned into a mixing desk.

The audience were extremely responsive and vocal, it was a very exciting show.

After a gruelling almost 1000k overnight drive, Patrick and the boys arrive in his home town - Paris. Yann and I arrived shortly after. The Elysee Monmartre has played host to practically every metal band that tours in France. It is THE place to play, and we were all looking forward to this show with great excitement.

The stage is huge - well above floor level, and the acoustics of this old and magnificent building are excellent. Incredible lighting was guaranteed from the hands of friend and former colleague from the Amphibia Tour - Eric, and Fred did his usual excellent job on the sound console.

This is a big venue - when the doors opened crowds of people came flooding in and the place was very quickly filled! It was an amazing sight and the atmosphere was electric!

As the Intro was played out Patrick and the band came on stage to a tumultuous welcome from the audience, to which they responded by playing the show of their lives! Only one criticism....the show was too short! Patrick was on top form, he was inspired and full of energy, the band was with him, and the fans were enthralled!

At some ridiculous hour in the morning everybody piled onto the bus, happy and exhausted to begin the drive to the next venue.

After the previous nights marathon, Paris to Strasburg was almost like a trip to the local shops! That at least was the theory! At 14h00 - the 'Get In' time for La Laiterie, the band and the bus were in fact still in Paris, in a depot for sick buses! A different bus arrived and all the gear was transferred and the journey began allbeit belatedly.

Eventually at around the time for 'Doors open' the bus hove into sight and sighs of relief were breathed all round. Everybody and anybody who could walk and carry helped unload the gear and clear the stage as the set was built in record breaking time, no sound checks, tonight was 'plug 'n play'!

Now is a good time to publicly thank the people of Strasburg for their loyalty and patience, nobody complained, nobody moaned, everybody was just glad to see the bands arrive and we all had a really fantastic evening!
To keep the flavour of things different, I decided also to give you a different view of the show - so this is how the band see each other....and you! At one point I noticed Patrick looking sideways and laughing, we had a head banging bass player and a head banging keyboard player - I got the shot...right click the graphic below and choose play on the menu to see the flash file

We were scheduled to play in the auxilliary room, which was quite small with very difficult accoustics, Fred did a good job to get a reasonably good sound, although it was maybe a tiny bit too strong for the size of the place - I found myself needing ear-protectors which is something I never do during concerts of Patrick's music.

The audience were very appreciative and responsive, and it was a really great show.

After a relatively short overnight drive we arrived in Montpellier and eventually got the Tour bus through the narrow streets leading to the venue - I'm not sure the local tramway company appreciated our manoeuvers.

The good people of Montpellier turned out in force.
The show was great, Le Rockstore is a very old building with high ceilings pretty good accoustics and a good sized stage standing high, so everybody could have a good view of the bands.

All good things must come to an end - and we arrive at Bergerac for the final show of the Tour - of course there is a sadness, many new friends have been made and everybody has enjoyed a wonderful 2 weeks on the road.

Tonight is crazy night! Nobody knows what is going to happen and everybody lives in dread - and not without good reason! Even your own musicians have evil designs upon you! A midway snack sure helps things along! I actually think our boys got off pretty lightly!

So the show ends and the set is dismantled for the last time - everybody is happy and sad all in one go. Now is the time for frantic e-mail address exchanges, promises to keep in contact - and the hope that we will all meet again for more fun very soon.