It was a short drive down to Mannheim from Frankfurt this afternoon and the Mercedes S500L simply demolishes the miles. The 80 kilometer journey feels like 20 and before we know it we're pulling into the huge SAP arena. As was the case on the last few tours, our two teams of drivers leap-frog each other throughout the European leg in order to pick up and drop off the band wherever we are. There's some pretty clever logistical solutions on this tour but this is our favourite. Getting into these remarkable cars with familiar drivers is another luxury not to be taken lightly. Not that I ever watch TV in a car, in fact this is the first time I think I've done it but the Portugese MOTO GP live practice session was on.





Fabian, Bernie and Dominika represent drivers team A.



Mark undertaking his daily signing requests. The lithographs are flying out the door so this is a regular occurrence.



We ran a few of the songs that we haven't been playing in the set today, just to keep them familiar for when we do start changing the set-list.





As seen here, I like a volume pedal or two Because I tend to blend synths I like to have complete control and the pedals give me that. The down side of course is the extensive wiring looms and the potential for problems. The pedals don't actually last all that long before they start to crackle under operation taking on board the dust from some of the shows like the one recently in Granada. Notice also the recessed slot for the stand. This give extreme stability and consistent positioning although Laurence sets up the keys every day as if they were never broken down.





show pics Dr. Dirk Stroeder