It's great to be back in western Australia. Perth is always a bit of a shock as far as audiences are concerned. Very laid back and attentive. SO different from the hysteria that greeted us in Mumbai and Bangalore. This all made for an interesting and indeed very enjoyable experience. It just took us a while to get used to it. At times we were 'treading on eggshells' as the dynamics were so exaggerated.

As you can see here, the clouds were rolling in today, not your usual Perth late summer afternoon, just very humid. This venue is wierd in that it's what I call a 'pressure dome'. The entire roof (and it's massive) is kept 'inflated' by an air pumping system. This means that the only way into the venue is through an air-lock. I don't know how the crowd entered, or if indeed they even notice this fact. we had to drive into a large room wherupon the doors were shut behind us before we entered the main arena. Lets face it, it doesn't really work. It feels stuffy, the sound is a challenge and it requires a lot of energy just to keep it up. That's why I guess the plan is to demolish it by 2012. I don't know if this is true or not but I gained this information from a conversation between local crew and the caterers.

Back to the show....Mark has been suffering the last two days with what the doctor calls a 'golf ball' in his throat. I guess the painkillers worked because he was able to sing sufficiently well. We were all a bit worried yesterday about his condition but fingers crossed, he'll make it through with no long term damage.

As you can see here, the room itself is a MASSIVE dome not entirely conducive to the greatest sound quality, but if anyone can make it work, our boys can. And by all accounts, they did. Looks like an outdoor, eh?

These pics were all taken during the soundcheck today. duh.
does that little keyboard look wierd?

----The set list for Perth----
Why aye man
Walk of life
What it is
Sailing to Philadelphia
Trawlerman's song
Romeo & Juliet
Sultans of Swing
Bonaparte
Song for Sonny Liston
Donegan's gone
Rudiger
Speedway at Nazareth
Boom like that
Telegraph Road

Brothers in Arms
Money for Nothing
So far away

Mist covered Mountains/Local Hero