Friday morning ... Early call to India for work.. I was up and in the van by 8 am, and listening in while eating some Welsh cakes from last night. The calls went on until noon, although I did get another hour sleep in between the early calls.During this time Jay had picked up the van, and after a quick stop at Tesco's for food, by 1 pm we were on the way to Birmingham.
A short comfort stop at the M5 motorway services and some rolls, and before long we were driving into the heart of Birmingham. not really sure where we were heading, just following the "idiot box". we effectively traversed the middle and past the bullring, before ending up in an industrial area. It is hard to tell whether this was empty because of Friday half day early finish, or just run down clothing and manufacturing.
The Asylum was an industrial building turned into a couple of venues and a suite of rehearsal/ recording studios. There would be no entry until 5 pm, so we parked up in the impressively convenient car park, and waited for the others.
Gareth arrived next with Noterminus in his car, we occupied ourselves while the time past waiting for the venue to open and the van to arrive.
Simultaneously the van and the sound guy arrived. SO we all traipsed into have a look at the venue. Upstairs (again), with a tight turn on the stairs (again). This lead into a reasonable length room, with a low stage at the end ... so no worries about being cramped into on corner. The other notable thing was the floor ... stand still for five minutes and you would be glued to the spot... even the carpet by the door was in such a state that the stools were permanent fixtures, impossible to move once they settled into the gooo.
Load in was easier, as now everything was in the van, and with the logical order of things, it was simple to move from van to floor to stage.
During Soundcheck, KT and I went off to find something to eat, and also the local supermarket, for late night snacks.. after wandering around and asking a few people we found the local Tesco's and then back via the Chippie (where we bumped into Gareth and jay doing the same thing).
For the first time this tour there was actually a dressing room .. and was large enough for all bands. I must remember in future to carry some disposable mugs for Coffee/ Tea as there was a kettle, but nothing to put it into.
The show went similar tot he night before as the pattern settled in, and it was soon time to load up the van again. This was equally as simple as load in ... the van was right outside the front door.
After everything was packed up, some idiot (to remain nameless for now - but would crop up again) wanted to go to the pub ... the nearest likely looking place as no longer a pub but a Lebanese restaurant. After walking up past the Tesco's we ended up in some place, which I guess would be OK in Daylight, but all I really wanted was some sleep. The party fiends were still at it at 1:30 am before I gave in and announced I was leaving and the person needing a lift needed to leave with me or walk .... suddenly everyone was going - I wish I had made the statement and hour earlier!!!
We walked back to the van in pouring rain - another reminder we should have left earlier, and then negotiated our way tot eh Travel lodge on the M5 services. We have 3 rooms and 11 people, Jay and I would sleep in the vans, top keep an eye on the kit, and KT opted to stay with us too .. it was a bit obvious to put the roof up so we arranged the seats to face each other and slept across them.... not entirely successful, but meant the next night we would try plan B. I was so tired I did not care and was asleep very quickly.
Tomorrow Sheffield.
