In all our travels, we stay in a lot of different hotels of varying standards and comfort levels and there's no doubt we're fortunate enough to explore the higher end of that range. There are some that just stand out and as I mentioned yesterday, the Peninsula in Chicago is one of them. As soon as you're inside the building, it's clear that these folks aren't messing around. Firstly, everything works. A simple enough demand you may ask but it's surprising how often this isn't the case. From the courteous employee you speak with when you pick up the phone to the way the lights and electronic curtains in the rooms work, the quality of the bed (most cocoon-like), the solidity of the building itself, the contents of the desk drawers... I could go on. The other thing worthy of mention is the pool and gym complex. It's absolutely stunning. Very clean and well equipped with beautiful views of the downtown city with the John Hancock Tower tower looming off to the left as you sweat away on the treadmill. Whilst writing this my room service breakfast order of traditional eggs benedict has arrived and of course, it's perfect... If you're coming to Chicago and you have a few bob set aside for accommodation, do yourself a huge favour and stay here.



The day for me began in the usual way, get the kettle on, download the previous day's photos from the 16 gig card in the camera and start writing the diary. I ordered some Birscher muesli, something you don't often see in the US and went to the gym and swam lengths in the exquisite pool and ate the breakfast when I got back to the room. Then we assembled in the hotel street level lobby at 2:15...

'Our life in their hands'...
the touring management team. l-r Peter Mackay (assistant tour manager, transport) Paul 'Crocks' Crockford (Mark's manager aka the Crockford Files) Tim Hook (tour manager, accountant, hotels, flights and god knows what else)



Then it was off to Saint Louis. Once again, I can't recall when we were last here, I'm sure someone out there will enlighten me.





Mark, Glenn, Danny and myself talked about the city known as the 'gateway to the west' as we flew from Chicago Midway airport, we thought as we often do about how difficult a life it must have been for early settlers here and indeed those who came through Saint Louis on their way to the new world and the West. As usual when delving into a city's history, an amazing story emerges from the early French explorers in 1693 to the construction of the grid system in 1763 which was laid out by two Frenchmen, Pierre Laclède sent Auguste Chouteau to emulate New Orleans. They had previously traveled up the Mississippi from New Orleans to found a post to take advantage of trade coming downstream by the Missouri river. The city grew quickly as the 1763 Treaty of Paris, signed by Britain, France and Spain had handed Britain all the land east of the Mississippi. all this is a far cry from the academic and corporate center for the biomedical sciences that it is today.





It was a solid 30 minutes drive to the beautiful Fox theatre in the downtown area. I could see some weather approaching from the west, just as our new pilot, Steve had mentioned before take-off. Sure enough, just after we arrived, so did the rain. Dave Hall mentioned to me as we walked in that it was another stunning building. A fabulous American 'temple of amusement' built in 1929 as one of the crown jewels in William Fox's motion picture empire. Apparently Fox's wife, Eve Leo, filled the theatre with paintings, sculptures and furnishings gathered from her travels around the world for the astronomical sum of $700,000. Visitors could buy an entire afternoon or evening in the company of the Fox's own elephants, lions, monkeys, peacocks, and dolphins. Fierce rajahs armed with wicked, curving scimitars glare down from their niches in the lobby. Indian Vishnus meditate on either side of the stage. From the dome in the auditorium hangs a fantastic 5,280-pound chandelier, 12 feet in diameter and glittering with 2,264 pieces of jeweled glass. And, to find a resting place, one couldn't ask for a better vantage point than one of the many gilded velvet throne chairs adorning the lobbies. The seats in the auditorium looked pretty comfortable too.



I had a wander round the place armed with the wide-angle lens. I found Cod in the foyer and the resultant photo opportunity was too good to miss. Cod is a Millwall supporter (nobody's perfect) and their nickname is 'the Lions'. There's a lovely quote in their wikipedia page - In 2004 Millwall won the champions league.





There seemed to be an age between sound-check and gig so a few of us took full advantage of this and power napped in the dressing room, with the sound of rain dripping on the outside air conditioner. An hour before show-time, Matt brewed the Ginger tea and we commenced vocal warm ups and the wake-up process was enhanced by the Brookstone massager I bought in LA. Everyone in the band has felt the healing power of this little device. We went onstage at 8:50 and the band was really on song.

At the end of the show, during our final waves, we were touched by the warmth of this audience, the first few rows in particular. Danny handed a pair of his sticks to a little girl who clearly enjoyed the whole show, he later heard via Facebook from the father who said that Chloe took them to bed with her and slept clutching them tightly.

The traditional runner to the plane in the pouring rain and back to the Peninsula. By this time it was after 1am so it was straight to bed for everyone, looking forward to staying and playing in Chicago Tomorrow.

Whilst the band is on stage, the production office seems to be a hive of computer based activity as I often find out when I take my mid-show break during Sultans of Swing. This evening I learned that the boys in management have been in regular contact with an old pal Northampton Saints flanker Phil Dowson. He will hopefully be coming to see us at the RAH in June. Phil's an old drinking buddy of ours and we look forward to another session recalling our night in the last tour's worst hotel. Apparently Phil is already looking at entertainment opportunities at the end of his rugby playing  career and will be looking to hook up with Mark's manager to chat about areas of mutual interest....



**Please read a late addition to the bottom of the Denver Diary entry**