GALWAY 7/24
What a fine little room the Roisin Dubh is. We had a nice mix of international students and local folks...played a damn fine show, got kinda tipsy afterwards...had to pull one of us out of the Special Club that was visible from our accomodations' balcony...had to hit the road at about 3am to head to the ferry to Wales...seen a lot of dawns in this country...
NOTTINGHAM 7/26
Too much rest, too much good tandoori, too little bouncing around semi-sleeping slouched on a rock hard van bench--we went soft in 24 hours! Our set tonight was not as intense as every other one has been. Damn those days off! I did scream at the audience quite a bit...TAKE OFF THE GODDAMN SWEATERS...I guess I thought that meant something...
CATANIA 7/28
Now, this is paradise for Posies. 2 days of top-notch hospitality, sun, swimming, eating like kings...Nottingham seemed like the world outside the illusions of the Matrix by comparison. Sorry guys! We were there to play the annual tribute concert in memory of Francesco Virlinzi...FV was a dear friend of REM’s, and a force of nature in the music scene in Sicily. Producer, radio DJ, musician, promoter. Sadly, his life was cut short by cancer. He died in 2000, only in his early forties. I met him on my first visit with REM to Italy in 1998. Definitely a positive person in every way, he treated me as if I’d known him as long as he’d known REM. He didn’t, as some people have, treat me at a different level of courtesy or cordiality than he did the key members of REM. Since he died, his family has maintained the friendship with REM and related folks, and thus I have been seeing his mother, cousins, etc. at REM’s shows in Italy ever since, and his cousin Manuela came to see my solo show in Milan last year. Having gotten to know me and the music I make outside of REM, they invited the Posies to perform at the tribute concert they put on in the summer in FV’s memory. Although the other Posies members didn’t know FV or his family before arriving to Catania, I had briefed them on the reason for the concert and our invitation to perform, and anyway, we were made to feel most welcome! FV’s mother and stepfather, Nica and Toto (nicknames, folks) had us up the family home on the day we arrived (having driven overnight to Heathrow from Nottingham in the pissing rain, to catch a 6am light to Milan, run to catch our connection to Catania) for a home cooked lunch; and dinner at a gorgeous rooftop restaurant near Catania’s famed avenue of churches, with the whole family. Matt and I went with Cousin Manuela (who really served as an excellent guide) to a lovely nightspot near a crumbling ancient seaside fortress, essentially a platform over the rocks at the seaside, with groovy funk being played, pillows on the floor to lounge on, and nice stiff drinks (of which I had exactly one!). Nobody got messed up, no fights, and we were in bed by 3am. Ah, yes, we also had a real press conference at the hotel that afternoon! Hilarious! Worked tho’, we had articles in all the local papers etc. Next day, with no great haste, we made our way to a private beach access...there aren’t that many beaches per se nearby, but there are concrete platforms that lead to the water amongst the rocks. You dive off, and swim out…we found some large rocks that stick out of the water, great for jumping off. The rocks you climb out of the water on are covered with velvety lavender seaweed, nothing sharp that would hurt you…OK, eventually we headed to our soundcheck. The venue, Le Ciminiere, is a cultural center built in a ruined factory (hence the chimney reference—there are large smokestacks all around). Modern structures have been built into and amongst the old crumbling brick buildings; it’s a great architectural effect. In the center, there’s where we played—a small outdoor amphitheatre, with room for a few hundred people. When our soundcheck finally finished, people started to trickle in. Amazingly, we filled the place. Nica & co. had done a great job to get the word out. The audience and band were able to synch up nicely, despite the fact that most folks only knew a little bit about us. By the end of the show, we had the audience on its feet, many folks onstage with us, FV’s young son playing guitar, a 70-ish year old man dancing wildly with me, and later, Matt…unbelievable! We were absolutely heartbroken to have to leave the next day…especially knowing England would be soggy and grey…thanks to all who put this together, Nica, Manuela & family of FV; Grazia and Alex; et al.
LONDON 7/30
Well, no disappointments here! Packed venue, and a blistering set…we are really getting into a groove. The welcome arrival of semi-nudity by me for the encore…welcome for me anyway, I have (despite the 2 days of Italian food by the kilo) been shedding baby fat and thus all my trousers barely hang on my hips. The pink leather studded belt I bought in Camden when I was in town with REM last month is already in need of another hole—Leff Carroll, technician on the REM tour, helped me punch a clean hole to tighten it up in Cardiff…and my pants are barely hanging on as it is. So, I chuck them, and my drenched shirt, for the encore. You get to see the nice undergarments I wear for rock and roll shows...way more sexy than the grey boxers that Michael Stipe bared a couple times onstage with REM! After the show we had guests come up to the top level bar, which was held for us, hilarity ensued—we’re still waiting for a price quote! Many thanks and apologies to Duncan Arbor, who lent us his West Kilburn flat…again, we’re still waiting for a price quote.
MANCHESTER 7/31
The best set yet? It keeps getting more and more over the top as we get experience under our ever-more superfluous belts. Another packed house, a successful rendition of ‘Any Other Way’, and multi-instrument madness on ‘Jungle!!!’ It’s working! Thanks to Roberta and Kirsty for merch help and hospitality…
On to Glasgow—like that could even come close to sucking!!
Love
KS
Posies van, in between Manchester and Glasgow, UK
