Tuesday, 24th May 2005 in US Tour 2011
Left early again in a rain cloud which fortunately eased as we headed west towards Amarillo. The same long day driving. We stopped at a rest area and could hardly stand up, the wind was so strong and by the time we got to the hotel there was a huge dust cloud forming. So glad […]
Tuesday, 3rd May 2011 in US Tour 2011
Was a tad inconsiderate of Obama to have Osama killed the day before we fly out to New York. But as friends reminded us – it was too soon after the event for major reprisals – or even minor ones, they added – a little uncertainly for my liking. But at least he did not […]
Friday, 6th May 2011 in US Tour 2011
A longish drive down to Washington DC, stopping at a service area to find fresh fruit, sandwiches and good coffee. Things are looking up. The gig was at Jammin Java in Vienna, but Bob Bollen from NPR had asked Neil to do one of his Tiny Desk Concerts earlier in the day. We really didn’t […]
Saturday, 7th May 2011 in US Tour 2011
I think today we both feel slightly down and tired – it hits you around the second or third day. Things get tedious, we start getting tetchy, we forget how incredibly lucky we are to be able to work our way around this amazing country. We forget to look at the trees. We forget to […]
Sunday, 8th May 2011 in US Tour 2011
We had a great breakfast – a huge fruit bowl with melons, strawberries, grapes, as well as natural yogurt, walnuts, scrambled eggs and coffee. Then checked out and left for an early gig in Ocean City Library. The drive took about an hour and the GPS took us through back streets and away from any […]
Monday, 9th May 2011 in US Tour 2011
Back to the city and a hotel in New Jersey not far from the Lincoln Tunnel. I booked the hotels so that, in the mornings, we were virtually on the road out to the next venue –nice to hit the road without having to wait in queues of traffic. We parked the car near the Imperial […]
Tuesday, 10th May 2011 in US Tour 2011
Hey ho, now sitting upstairs in The Highline Ballroom listening to Mark Howard, the opener for Neil. The ballroom is a smaller cosier place than BB Kings, though run by the same lovely people – beautifully friendly from the start, offering food, wine, anything, within reason, we ask for. Neither of us are drinking at […]
Wednesday, 11th May 2011 in US Tour 2011
Woke up happy with the thought that in an hour we would be out of that hotel. Usual breakfast of cold boiled eggs, or cheese omelet or muffin or bagel, orange juice and coffee. Then out and away to Northampton which took about 3 hours. Northampton is a cool place and the Iron Horse is […]
Thursday, 12th May 2011 in US Tour 2011
And on to Lexington to an Aloft hotel which I can thoroughly recommend. Leland Stein found the hotel. Smiles and a welcome as we walked in, nice new rooms, good bed and good food – just sandwiches and salads but really good. Thought we would try and book more of these instead of risking Holiday […]
Friday, 13th May 2011 in US Tour 2011
In the morning two guys come to do a filmed interview about Ian Wallace – the legendary drummer from Neil’s first band after the Bonzos called The World. We were all very young and Ian used to have a full drum kit set up in our living room for rehearsals. It says something about the […]
Saturday, 14th May 2011 in US Tour 2011
Usual breakfast then spent a useless two hours, first at a pharmacy where I was told the pills I used for IBS could not be got over the counter. So went to a ‘Walk-in’ clinic where I waited for ¾ of an hour to be seen by a doctor who recommended the pill mainly used […]
Sunday, 15th May 2011 in US Tour 2011
New Hampshire is known not only for its breathtaking scenery but also for the artist Maxfield Parrish who lived there most of his adult life, his work influencing many 1970 album covers notably Elton Johns ‘Caribou’ and Enyas ‘The Memory of Trees’. We arrived there with the rain. Big rain – huge heavy drops which […]
Monday, 16th May 2011 in US Tour 2011
Come morning we both still felt bad about this gig, but the owners of the Home Hill Inn spoiled us at with fruit, granola, yoghurt and croissants and though it was still raining, we agree to forget the gig and think about the next one. We scrambled into the car remembering we still had the […]
Tuesday, 17th May 2011 in US Tour 2011
Drove from Montreal to Gananoque. It wasn’t raining while we were driving, but it started as we reached the hotel so put a stop to any walkabouts we hoped to do. Thought about a boat trip but as we drove past the lake watching the rain-lashed waves, we thought better of it. So in the […]
Wednesday, 18th May 2011 in US Tour 2011
Today a drive to Toronto. Was Ok, just wet wet wet but we had another CD ‘The Midnight House’, to listen to, this time in 9 parts, so the hours flew past. The only slight worry about the hours flying past like that, is getting so absorbed in the story that you cant remember anything about […]
Thursday, 19th May 2011 in US Tour 2011
No gig today – all we have to do is change hotels and get half way to Cleveland, so we wind up in Hamburg on the outskirts of Buffalo. We got so absorbed in The Midnight House while we were driving, that we took the CDs into the hotel to listen to later. Would make […]
Friday, 20th May 2011 in US Tour 2011
A drive to Cleveland – boring but easy, lulled by a new talking book ‘The Paris Wife’ – a story about Earnest Hemingway written from the point of view of his wife and about their meeting, marriage and their time in Paris. So, again the journey passed quickly and we checked in at the hotel, […]
Saturday, 21st May 2011 in US Tour 2011
A long drive to Chicago where we get more deeply into The Paris Wife. Beginning to be a little like what we in England call “an Aga saga’ – a sort of chatty, gossipy novelette, but we persist with it. Neil’s gig is at Martyrs – he usually plays at The Abbey, but last year […]
Sunday, 22nd May 2011 in US Tour 2011
Another long drive – this time to St Louis – a new one for us. On the way we hear rumours about tornados and huge hailstorms. In St Louis it is hot and humid and a warm wind tussles the trees. Our hotel is, as usual, out of the main town, so have no idea […]
Monday, 23rd May 2011 in US Tour 2011
Technically we are on holiday now, but we rise early, not at all sure whether we will be able to get through to Tulsa, the first stop on our way to Santa Fe. The rain beats down on the car, the sky the colour of lead and by then we have heard about the devastation […]
