9th June The Pyramid Centre, Portsmouth.

So I arrived at the venue (an adjunct to a swimming/sports complex) to find that fans had already begun to accumulate at the door (Marillion fans, obviously). Security was tight so there was a slight feeling of oppression before sound check. In the venue, they were just finishing off some line-checks etc so I had time to chat to some people I had known on an earlier tour. (Thanks Andy, for the watch!).

My sound man, Sam, did an excellent check for me and so it was time to try to relax/rehearse/be nervous/nice to people/drink/change/slap on stage war paint etc. There was no food in the venue (I found out later that there was but I missed out) so Stuart located a sandwich for me.
Sitting backstage is always a strange experience, the old adage "It ain' t all glamour" generally applies. At least I had a room to myself, it smelled of the sea which is better than other possible backstage odours.

And suddenly it was 7.45...
The weirdest moment for me is just before I'm going on and adrenalin takes hold, this is different from pub/small venue gigs. This is 1200 or so fans of another band's music and you have something to prove. Those moments seem to last forever and then suddenly, somehow, you're walking up the steps and onto the stage and it races into fast forward.
It's really difficult to explain what happens during a gig, especially a good one. The audience were great and there were even some people singing along at the front which is always a tremendous ego boost (and handy if you have forgotten the words, which happened once or twice). Mostly I played tracks from the previous albums, but I also gave some of the new work a bit of an airing. It went down well, especially the newest song, Poseidon which I think is going to be a huge track in terms of instrumentation (eventually). The sound was excellent, and if I can ever afford to hire the guy, he's top of my list.

Tempus Fugit...
And then it was time to say goodbye, I'd sung the songs, cracked the jokes, punted the cds and taken my bow.
Walking off stage is hard when you've been having fun, but schedules are strict.

I went back to my dressing room, drank some wine, put away the guitar and put on some comfy shoes (I always wear heels on stage as it makes me stand up straighter, but I get sore feet).
Then I went out to the front, and enjoyed some Marillion songs, before spending most of the evening outside chatting to people.

Afterwards I got a chili burger from a man in a layby. I also saw the biggest moth I have ever seen in my life.

I miss big gigs!

jo
x