ANOTHER long lie after a late one….and then I fix some bust strings on the Acoustasonic.
Tonight’s show isn’t far away but Ismo comes to pick us up at 3pm to take us to the house for a late lunch before we head to Pensuo.
It’s nice to see Suvi and the kids…and Ismo gets the grill going and cooks up a storm.
We have a lovely few hours then Ismo takes us to Pensuo where we load in to the Juke Joint…a kinda private venue run by the local ‘blues mafia’ 🙂
It’s an extra gig - a filler sorted by the mafia blues fans - and we’re not expecting much. We’ll, however wrong could we be - great people, great place and probably my favourite show of the tour so far!
First song, first video in Sastemala and these two walk right in front of Margaret to snap a selfie!
OUR body clocks are kinda messed up with the hospital carry on and the late nights…and I’m buggered when I wake up even though it’s nearly midday!
After my now routine wander to the shop for breakfast stuff we catch up on stuff and then go a walk to the town centre. I forgot to bring an emergency jack-to-jack guitar cable in case my radio pack gives up…and it could also be handy if I need to connect my stomp box if a venue doesn’t;t have a spare DI box. We pick one up at the music store.
Ismo picks us up at 4pm for the 2-½-hour drive to Sastemala where venue owner Hannu greets us. We load in, set up and soundcheck then take out stuff to the dressing room before being sent to a nearby restaurant for a fantastic meal.
Ismo and I both have fun playing but it’s nearly 1am but he time we’re loaded out. I manage to stay awake and talk to Ismo the whole drive back…quite a drive after a show!
Ismo joins me for a song at the end of my set in Hammenlinna
ANOTHER long lie – well, more like a long sleep – dunno when I’m gonna start feeling like I’m getting back to full strength.
A wander too the shop and some breakfast then I get busy with some of the emails and social media stuff that’s been neglected a bit over the last few days. There’s also some video do download form the wee camera and phone from last night’s show.
Tonight Ismo and I play in Hammenlinna which is just over an hour’s drive from Lahti. Ismo pick us up and we hit the road.
After we get set up we’re given a fabulous meal. I tackle it carefully and enjoy what I eat. Most importantly, it stays down!
The place is pretty packed when Ismo takes the stage then there’s a short break before yours truly. Agin, I’m burst when I finish my set but it was still fun and everyone has a grand time.
It’s around 2am when Ismo drops us off…and I’m, ready for bed.
One of a bunch of images taken in Lahti by our pal Leif
WE SLEEP ‘til midday then I go out to find a shop and get some yoghurt and stuff for ‘breakfast’.
Tonight’s show is in town here in Lahti and Ismo’s not picking us up ‘til 6pm so we spend the entire day chilling, sleeping and trying to recuperate. I’m returning to eating slowly and carefully and have even downloaded a ‘slow down your eating’ hypnosis thing to try and re-educate myself not to eat so quickly. I always manage to slow down after the sickness bouts, but the change is short-lived. This time I want to try and make a permanent change to my fast eating habit.
It’s an easy load in at Virasto and the sound engineer, Atti, is on the ball – the venue staff are great too. Just me tonight, so I have to play two 45-minute sets which I can hopefully manage through.
There’s quite a few folks we know in or the show and all goes grand – although I am struggling physically toward the end of each set.
Ismo drops us back at the apartment and we go straight to crash.
Despite the multiple issues of the last day or two I make it to Tampere!
I’M AWAKE a few times during the night – I think it’s when the nurses come to change my drips etc. The vomitting and pain has gone. The opiate injection seems to have done a good job!
AT 7am a doctor comes to check me out and tells me I can be discharged. They call me a cab and I’m taken to the apart-hotel in Tikkurila – about 10k out of Helsinki. Margaret meets me at the door and we make a plan.
A late checkout of 1pm lets us get the train into Helsinki airport and collect the guitars, gear, bags etc from Finnair. Easy peasy – the staff have been amazing throughout.
We’re back in Tikkurila by 10am, set an alarm for just after midday and go to sleep.
At 1.30pm we jump on a train to Tampere and I doze most of the 2-½ our journey. Once there it’s a ten minute walk to Paapan Kapakka. We load in and have space to chill while we wait for Ismo.
After soundcheck we go to a local pizza place. Margaret and Ismo eat – I have a glass of coke. I effectively haven’t eaten anything since Sunday morning. Hope I can get through the show!
As it turns out the show goes well…a marathon stint for both Ismo and I who alternate half-hour sets for the duration.
We’re loaded out by 1am and then Ismo drives an hour-and-a-half to Lahti and drops us at the apartment in the centre of town.
MIRACULOUSLY feeling a lot better when I wake up. Phew. I don’t feel much like eating but mange some fruit and overnight oats.
Then it’s straight to the studio to prep and pack the gear. All stuff that would have normally been done yesterday…along with a rehearsal of some songs at least.
There’s a bunch of other stuff to catch up on while Margaret finishes off some of the other packing then we hit the road to the airport.
We are good time and I pick a salad while Margaret has a more adventurous meal before we wait at the gate. I start to feel a bit ‘not right’ before we board but there’s no way I’m giving up now.
Come take off, though, I can’t hold it anymore and fill a number of spew bags…Margaret buzzes and attendant who brings more and moves us to the vacant back row on the plane. Things go from bad to worse and it’s a pretty traumatic two-and-a-half hours.
I was aware of an announcement from the flight deck asking if there’s a doctor on board. Turns out there is and the flight staff are amazing. I get checked over, an injection in my arse and an ambulance is arranged to meet us at the plane. Fuck sake.
I’ve lost it a bit when we land but seems fire and rescue got me off the plane where border patrol, police and medics met us before were transferred to an ambulance on the tarmac. I’m hooked up to various machines, given IV fentanyl and we’re sped off to the hospital.
The fentanyl didn’t seem to work much. But there’s no waiting around at the hospital. Transferred to a bed, drips, bloods, doctor all within (I think) half an hour. Margaret has our hand luggage – Finnair is taking care of the guitars and checked bags – and the staff organised a cab to take her to our hotel. I think it’s around 1am.
Shortly after the nurse comes back with more IV anti-nausea and gives me an injection of some kind of opioid – half an hour later I’ve drifted off.
FIRST job of the day it to make up set lists for the Finland and Estonia dates.
Next on the list Is a bunch of stuff for my pal Kevin in prep for his new single which lands on 15 May – with being away the next fortnight I wanna make sure we have our ducks in a row.
In the office there’s a bunch of guitar pins to be finished off for the merch case. Cutting it fine time-wise but they’ll be ready just in time!
We go to the local pub for dinner with Betty and have a lovely evening until...I get that feeling…the pre-cursor to the mystery vomitting thing. I excuse myself and head home, closely followed by Margaret.
We debate if I should use the injections I have and decide there’s nothing to lose. I jab myself but fifteen minutes later I’m being sick. I can give myself another injection in an hour if I’m not better. I have the second injection. Doesn’t help. And so it begins…this is not good timing,
MAIN job for today is to try a test cut of the audio point info board using a router and circle guide on a piece of scrap wood.
Not s straightforward, of course, as it should be. First, the bit of chipboard needs cut to side and the clamps I need are nowhere to be seen in the ‘recently tidied’ shed. It’s great Margaret tidies the shed every so often…the problem is the things that need to be access quickly sometimes end up out of sight requiring the shed to be blurry emptied to find them. Also, things that go together like the jigsaw, its accessory tools and blades are separated and ‘tidied’ giving rise to the same problem.
It takes an hour to find the stuff I need and 30 seconds to make the cut.
Cutting the circular hole with the router is easier than I excepted but there’s some irregularities in the geometry of the audio point that I need to accommodate and that’s not quite some straightforward meaning I have to re-think my design idea. I get there eventually. The real info board is gonna have to wait tho’.
I’d hoped for a walk. But I have some urgent video and web stuff to do for my pal Kevin…then new promo videos with an additional show need to be edited up for the Estonia section of the tour.
Suddenly it’s after 9pm and Margaret’s calling me for dinner….
AFTER breakfast with Fred we sit and chat a while then I drive her back home.
There’s some bits and bobs of shopping to pick up on the way back. After a late lunch and getting my emails, socials, this blog and stuff done I’m feeling a bit under the weather.
I had sore throat last night and now I’m all blocked up, sneezing and fading fast so I take a nap on the couch. For four hours!
As a result I get next to no work done. Ah well, there’s always tomorrow…
