Reality Check In The Form Of A Cruise-ship Cabin
Glasgow, Birmingham
We awoke in Cologne still stinking of German-cigarettes and karaoke and Jaeger when it was time to fly to Glasgow. The ride was fine, the flight was fine… and then we arrived.
It was gray and rainy in the tiny regional-style airpot; the cab we were put in was small and decaying - our bags hardly fit (foreshadowing of the days to come) and it was a little bit of a ride. We arrived at one of those “independently owned and run” Best Westerns. The room was the size of a one-car garage; the floors creaked at every step, and you could hear what every room around you was getting in to. The toilet was practically in the shower and reeked of potential injury; the “free internet” was busted and the colorful characters working the hotel were nothing short of scary.
No fun food adventures here my friends… we were able to do a really fun listening session with some great Trivium fans - and that was it. Back to the hotel where I messed with Lightroom and bought my first calling card in years to attempt to call home. I sterilized the phone with hand sanitizer and a tissue and called home.
We awoke hungry and tired, climbed into a tiny cab and flew to Birmingham.
Optimistic at the next hotel’s lobby (and promises of free internet) - I then arrived at quite possibly the most Spinal Tap hotel in my life. I believe it was called the “Nite Nite” - a hotel based off of “cruise-ship cabins.” This was the smallest room I’ve ever been crammed into; the room was the bed, a small bath for ¾’s of your bag to fit, a toilet in the shower, and a chair.
We dropped our stuff, cleaned up, and headed to The Asylum in Birmingham to do a 300 person tiny show to promote “In Waves.” The venue was located in a very run-down industrial area of the town - and had nothing really around it. We busted out a small version of a soundcheck, then me and Justin (manager/buddy) decided to march out to find anything.
We initially decided that whatever we found, we’d eat - so we wanted to see our options. We walked quite a while, joking over the fact we would find nothing… then… an oasis.
It was an international food festival with a museum directly next to it! They had it all: Polish, Indian, German, Vietnamese, Japanese. Justin opted for Thai, I got Indian. Of course - since I wasn’t expecting to find good food, I had no camera or anything on me… oops.
The museum miraculously also had an exhibit on metal. (Does this day sound like destiny yet? Or a bone-thrown due to all the hardships of playing a sardine for the last few days?) It had bits of history all about Judas Priest and Black Sabbath - several Trivium magazine covers from Metal Hammer UK also adorned the exhibit.
Full and happy - J and I headed back to the venue for a proper soundcheck. This was the first time Trivium had played together in a month or so; so we braced for a long soundcheck.
The show went amazingly. It was disgustingly punk rock in every sense of the word - but basically it ruled. It was great to see so many friends and familiar faces.
I hit the sack that night in some major soreness and slept hard.
I awoke grinding my teeth like a meth-addict. It wasn’t enough sleep. (At home… I’m used to 8/9 hours of sleep and not drinking heavily… here? 2-4 hours of sleep and lots of booze.) My body and brain were on the verge of a breakdown… it was a long press trip.
We climbed into a shuttle bus and departed for London.