Frankfurt am Main is always on the tour itinerary for very good reason. This, the fifth largest of German cities is a fabulous place to come and play and the Festhalle is a real favourite on the tour. This 101 year-old building was designed by Friedrich von Thiersch. When Kaiser Wilhelm II made it known in summer 1905 that he would be willing to have the traditional singing contest transferred permanently to Frankfurt as well as having the 11th German Gymnastics Festival held there three years later, the municipal authorities lost no time in taking action. At a meeting of town councillors, funds were allocated for a general architectural competition. The invitation to tender was issued in April 1906 and was won just one year later by Herr von Thiersch, who designed a 6,000 m², daylight-flooded hall, suitable for playing host to all manner of exhibitions, musical performances and other events.  As well as the many urban truths and legends about when the building was hit during the bombardment of the second world war, we do know that it was nearly demolished but a decision was made to rebuild. I understand that it is currently undergoing further modernization to the roof and shutter system. This building I think would have been quite unique at the time as practically the entire roof structure is made of slats which can be opened to allow direct sunlight in. Of course we never see it in this mode, although when the crew boys arrived this morning it was in it's 'open' state.



The band woke today in the Villa Kennedy, what we call a 'proper' hotel. An assured 9.0 on the newly developed Lux'm scale of hotel evaluation, this place ticks all the right boxes for our stay. Since most of our time on the road is spent in hotels, it's inevitable that we should develop our favourites over the years of touring and traveling and a simple scale of appraisal seemed opportune. The way this tour is booked, we are fortunate enough to rarely see the lower end of the scale although that said, we've all done our time in grotty overnighters and every now and again we get to experience first hand a real travel agent mishap. (for those of you obsessed enough to be really interested in this, the Peninsula, Chicago is the current chart topper with a 9.5)

So, a trip to the gym and a swim in the beautiful pool, where I meet Mike, Richard and Danny and I'm ready to go to sound check.

Pete organizes the cars for the day, one in particular was quicker than usual!



Bernie Klein and the Hybrid S class





The familiar and unusual backstage areas are actually located underneath the floor area but are very comfortable and well designed with plenty of space for the various production and promoter offices, dressing rooms and catering areas. We sound checked and discussed more set changes and contemplated the usually difficult sound in this cavernous hall. Our fears were unfounded as the sound boys once again seemed to have won the sonic battle. Judging by the early reports from the show, this can be confirmed I think.

Simon took this pic of Angus preparing...something. I often chat to Angus and the catering boys since we all love food so much...I feel another catering interview coming on..



The interior of this Jules Verne-esque building is stunning





Our first show in Germany and the crew 'swag' is ready and waiting. Track-suits for all. Ben and Glenn pose.



Here is Ulf Ronneberger who mixes the live feed from the FOH desk for the Simfy USB show-stick. Available now



I had mentioned to Dave Hall, our Stage manager (he's the guy who calls 'house lights' as we walk on stage) that I'd quite like to experience pressing the house light button some time and today he handed me what looked like a very cheap TV remote with several small buttons on it. The button marked '1' was house lights OFF. I waited for the exact moment and squeezed the button and immediately the building fell into darkness. COOL!



Richard shows us his old Gretch archtop and runs through a few chords with Mike and John



The show was, well, one of our best I think. I seem to say that a lot but honestly, this band just seems to get better and better as we go. The interplay tonight was so much fun and the audience were nothing short of fantastic. The usual crowd-dash to the front of the stage in the last song was quite a lot earlier than usual but this only added to the already electric atmosphere and the crowd remained standing until we left the stage for the last time. I say last time as tonight, there was so much noise when we left the stage, we just HAD to come back on and do another song.

A very short trip back the the Villa Kennedy and we all met in the outdoor delightful bar-atrium for a few drinks and more chat about the show etc. Much fun.

a montage from Charlie Spieker