After a night in an unscheduled hotel, the band had the whole day to luxuriate in Sofitel splendour. Actually, the hotel was lovely and the food was excellent. The breakfast I ordered was much better than most 'high end' hotels we've stayed in. Even after a one-night stay in a hotel, somehow my bag 'explodes' and re-packing seems to take an absolute age. Once I managed to shoehorn all the clothes I have with me but never seem to wear into the aging suitcase (only one working handle left) I took a nap. The alarm woke me at 4:45 and we were out of there and on the road again at 5pm. Mannfred and driving team 'C' drove us to the airport where we took the plane to Nimes. Daniella served up more of her extraordinary delights, a plate of salads, fois gras, cheeses and meats. Lyon I learned is quite the gastronomic capital of France, or so some say. Not sure if Parisians would agree, feel free to comment on the forum. As always, it's a shame we don't have more time here.



Arriving in Nimes at 6:30, the follow me vehicle was rather comical I thought. Gunther said that there was a threadbare staff at this airport and none of them bothered to speak any English, which is a little disconcerting since it is the international language of the aviation industry! It was a predicted a 20 minute ride to the venue. It ended up taking the best part of an hour due to gig-traffic. Unavoidable at this hour I suppose. Once at the gig we all dropped our bags in the dressing room area and took in the splendour of this beautiful arena.




Pic Nelly Duclos

We were last here in 1992, I believe. (maybe it was 1996.. OR was it 2001?) In fact we filmed the On Every Street dvd here as I'm sure most of you are aware. A truly awesome building, the Nimes Roman Amphitheater is the best preserved building of the Roman era, built under Emperor Augustus in the 1st century A.D. That's right, it's 2,000 years old.



We arrived to some not so good news. Tom, Richard's guitar tech suffered a serious muscle tear which means he has his right arm in a sling. This meant that it was impossible for him to operate normally so Dave Hall was drafted in to help. Not an easy task since Richard's guitar changes and tuning requirements are the most complex on the stage. Apparently during the load out in Lyon, a flight case was about to topple over and TC reached up to stop it but the case was simply too heavy and the muscle (bicep) was torn. Of course we all wish TC a speedy recovery and hope he can stay with the team for the final week of this amazing tour.


Photo Angus McKinnon

I wanted to get a couple of shots of the amphitheatre whilst we were on stage so I asked Angus from catering if he'd mind taking my camera up there. He took these magnificent shots.

We took to the stage at 9:30pm and the French crowd were going ballistic. The band assembled at the end of the tunnel where presumably 2000 years ago gladiators were prepared to take the stage. I would imagine the French roar was similar. As the three pre-show songs played, we adjusted our in ear monitor levels on our 'packs' and timed the walk toward the stage to coincide with the call for 'house lights'. As we picked up our instruments, the noise in the cauldron was deafening. I'll say it before, I'll say it again...what a night, what a crowd, what a tour.

Au revoir France. Vous revoir tous bientôt.


Photo Angus McKinnon