I did a bit of touring back in the 80s and loved the excitement of setting off for a new destination, the camaraderie, the shared sense of purpose. And of course, having my bad habits reinforced by hanging out with people who had made the same lifestyle choices.What I didn't like was sitting in the back of a windowless transit, with amps and the PA for seats, playing cards to pass the time. There were nine in the band/crew and only one of them (the sax player) didn't smoke. Guess who played sax.
Touring with Indefinite Articles is a wholly different experience. No one smokes, the gigs end in time for tea (and sometimes in time for lunch). The sax player plays clarinet and flute now and handles all kinds of lighting, video and audio cues. He always sits on a seat and often actually drives the van. Nobody smokes.
Last weekend we went to Havant for a performance of The Chalk Giants. The sun was beginning to set by the time I took the pictures. Parts of the town are very pretty, others a bit run down. If you look closely you'll see those shops aren't shops at all.
See? I told you.
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Well I come from Fareham which isn't too far from Havant. I don't think I remember the town centre liek that, but I suppose it's better than empty shop-fronts advertising that the place is run-down.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more, Mark. Much better than plain boarded up shops. But the hardware store, obviously an old traditional ironmonger's, amused me. More like B&Q in this reconstruction. I'd love to meet the curator and learn what constraints s/he was up against.
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