The Subways were kind enough to chronicle their North American tour for us, and we’ll be running their tour diary in several installments this week. Billy Lunn will be our guide, and as he writes, “Because so much usually ends up happening on our tours, we thought that this time round, whilst we’re on our exciting US/Canada tour, I’d keep a diary of all our happenings. As well as being a nice little insight for you guys into our daily lives, it’s also a nice way for me to recap and relive the days as they happen!” Check out entries for Days 6-10 below.
USA 2016 Tour Diary Day 06
Early start today for a Converse live session, but it was a great excuse to get in a cab and see the sights of beautiful Boston. The wealth of redbrick buildings reminded us of the redbrick of Manchester in our own U.K., which adds a natural autumnal look to the city, and this wonderful quality was compounded by the blue skies and soft, orange sunlight! On our way we passed Harvard Business School on our right, and I wanted to take a detour over the bridge to Harvard Square in Cambridge so I could get a nice feel of what it’s like there. All of a sudden I felt pangs of wanting to study a postgraduate at a Boston uni after I finish my BA at Cambridge—assuming I graduate, of course! Haha! We didn’t take the detour; we like to be punctual!
We reached Converse HQ in good time, and had a lovely chat with all the guys there whilst we set up our equipment. Everybody was so friendly—film crew, sound crew, reps, everyone—so we felt right at home straight away. The studio had big windows looking out over the river, and so there was a constant stream of natural daylight, which sends me always into a happy dreamland, and I think that that helped with the overall good feeling of the day. We bashed out “Dirty Muddy Paws” and “Rock & Roll Queen,” and followed them up with a quick interview explaining our songwriting philosophy before grabbing our free pair of Converse each and calling a cab.
This time we passed Boston University on our way back to the venue, and the uni wind band, accompanied by a full drum kit set up, were pumping out “And the Beat Goes On” by The Whispers, which made me yearn for college life even more. The students were just rolling out of their classes and walking by with their books under their arms. I want to study here! This yearning was drowned out nevertheless by our cab pulling up at the venue for load-in time: seeing our guitars and drums all laid out in front of the stage gave me chills of anticipation of what the night ahead held in store. Nothing beats the feeling of putting on that guitar and looking up at all those expectant faces. The fabulous Winter Brave, who had travelled all the way up from Texas just to play with us, opened up the evening’s entertainment. Josh and I kept remarking throughout their set how “these guys can PLAY!” And they’re such lovely guys. Then it was time for the heroic PINS to come on, and they played yet another blinding set. These are five incredibly talented ladies with some awesome songs under their collective belts.
When we crashed into “Kalifornia” we knew it was going to be a great night. I maybe spent a bit too much time talking during the set, but when you’ve travelled all this way, it’s hard not to want to engage so much with those smiling faces! Goodnight, Boston! And thank you!
USA 2016 Tour Diary Day 07
So back into Le Grande Pomme! It was a drop-and-go once more, and the one we’d all been worrying about because it was expected to be a bit stressful getting all the equipment out of the bandwagon and into the venue, let alone finding a good place to park the bandwagon afterwards. Still, we managed the job in a magical fashion, and soon afterwards we were all onstage sound checking and making jokes at my expense (it’s okay, it’s nothing less than I deserve!) in no time at all.
We were being photographed all day by a wonderful chap called Kenny, and whilst he took photos of us setting up we began talking about how great Bernie Sanders is for the U.S. elections, and how awful the Tories are for the U.K. in general. We were chuckling away at the ridiculousness of our respective situations, but deep down we were sort of weeping at the state of world politics at the moment. Still, we agreed, that’s why art is so very important: we are given safe environments for free expression outside of all that stuff. Take gigs, for example: there’s something so primal and cathartic in the way we express ourselves at rock gigs. We sign a crazy contract with the band and all the other gig-goers when we enter the venue through the front door and hand over our tickets, and we then proceed to go absolutely nuts – all our frustrations and worries are either expunged or forgotten. That’s why I love rock ‘n’ roll in particular; it’s a form of anger, beauty and celebration all rolled up in one!
And that’s just how it felt onstage that night. We were playing the Studio at Webster Hall for the very first time, and what a venue! Cool to the very core— New York as a microcosm. Born Cages rocked, and PINS were amazing as always. When we walked on stage, the feeling of goodwill washed over us. We put that goodwill to use, piling savagely into “Kalifornia,” keeping the tempo up right up until “Popdeath,” when we let the audience groove and take a quick breath for a bit. Tonight was a milestone for myself because I indulged in a stage dive during “It’s a Party.” Thank you for catching me, New York! Your embrace was nirvana inducing. And apologies to the photographer down the front, who unfortunately had to deal with my huge butt in her face as I tried to get back onstage. I hope you recover from your ordeal as quick as possible!
After the gig we had to wait for our manager to catch a cab to the bandwagon so he could drive it back to the venue for load-out (in the end he had to park it miles away—I’m not sure where, exactly), and in the meantime we were treated to some quality gabba/grime from the DJ who took to the stage after us. I started slipping into a trance from the processed beats when the van arrived. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy the sonic texture of the music, it’s just that I found it hypnotising when compounded with post-gig exhaustion. I was glad nevertheless when we finally got all our equipment onto the bandwagon so we could set off. A quick shower to wash the madness out of my hair and some Family Guy to relax to. Now we’re on our way to CANADA!
