Diary of a touring musician: day 12 - part two
In September & October 2023, we took to the road in the UK to introduce our new album STARLITE.ONE. This is part 14 of the warts-and-all-account and all about The Met, Bury.
If you happened upon this episode for the first time, we suggest you check out the other articles in the series by heading over to:
Time for lift off…
What a gig!!! We loved it and the audience was fantastic!!! The night when all our hard work paid off in grand style.
Here is a selection of photographs from the multimedia concert with special thanks to photographer Stuart Bebb of Oxford Camera - who took all the shots - NASA, the team at The Met and of course all who bought tickets and made the evening such a special experience.
Welcome aboard STARLITE.ONE - we hope you enjoy the ride.
Buzzing!
After the concert we met our friends, family and supporters - everyone was buzzing!!
Those post-gig moments are so dreamy as the adrenalin is pumping like crazy and you are so joyous meeting up with everyone - it’s almost overwhelming and incredibly humbling. Signing albums, catching up with old friends and new fans, is the best time. We just wished it could last a little longer.
#Gratitude
The get-out
With Teutonic efficiency, the team at The Met began de-rigging the stage the moment the concert had finished.
Then it was time to pack all our gear back into flight cases and the stage was a flurry of controlled activity like worker bees, each person knowing what to do and how and when to help. A line of gear soon appeared next to the lift and systematically the stage and room were cleared and all equipment escorted down to the foyer on the ground floor.
We changed, cleared the Green Room, drove the Van of Rock around to the front of the building, ramp down, gear in - assisted by four staff members! A dream get-in, gig and get-out!
Did we tell you we love playing The Met. Hopefully, you now know why.
A dirty kebab
If you remember from Day 12 - part one, the one thing we didn’t have time to do before the gig was to eat. When the adrenalin starts to calm down the hunger kicks in! We were all bloody starving.
On the recommendation from the guys at The Met, we parked the van up and walked down Bolton Street which was bristling with activity with lots of people in various stages of drunken celebration hanging outside complimented by a healthy dose of (unarmed) police presence.
Munchies Kebab shop had a few questionable characters inside but we came in peace and were primarily interested in that big fat dirty chicken kebab with extra chilli sauce. “Do you want salad? “Everything please, just drag it through the allotment”
It was good to see people out enjoying themselves though it did feel a bit crazy out there at night. Better than a ghost town hey?
Falling asleep at the wheel - nearly…
Satiated, happy and very, very tired.
We still had an hour’s drive to our accommodation for the night, a quaint terraced cottage that we had rented for the week through Air BnB in the tiny village of Embsay near Skipton: a perfect base for the forthcoming week of concerts.
We set off well and then the tiredness kicked in big style.
Suzy knows when Simon is tired and there was a really tense moment when she thought he was falling asleep at the wheel. Even though she is not fond of driving down unlit narrow country lanes Suzy took the wheel…
The main thing is we made it to our destination alive and in one piece. Phew!! That was tough!!!
The keys to the cottage were in a lock box outside the house. We melted with relief into the house and brought our suitcases and valuables inside. Heads hit pillows like blowing on a dandelion - night night.
Next up. The long wait, flu and family.