The day begins with me rummaging, it's going well, in the zone again, then this tall bald man tells me he doesn't like it, hang on where am i? i don't recognise this place, well maybe it's the venue tonight, no wait it's meant to be on a beach, hang on am i dreaming, think i am, yep i am, better wake up" .. i wake up with a hazy head as i couldn't get to sleep the night before and touch the trackpad on my laptop to acquire the time .. SHIT!!! It's 11.14 am and my bus leaves in 1 hour. In a right panic i try to get together all my stuff, find out where the bus station is. Predictably i get lost and miss by bus. This is just the start of a day of ma journée de tracas et les erreurs.
Trying to find and connect to wifi is proving a ball ache but eventualy i'm connected only to find i'm unable to get a refund and the next bus will get in too late. So i search trains, 65 freaking euro to get to Angers, my destination to get collected from. Fuck that's quite a lot to fork out, like 65 pan au chocalits to be precise but it's my only option. I make my way to the station and try to buy ticket, card declined so I'm forced to travel ticketless. Bunked up in the train toilets for a few hours i make good use of the time, tidying my bag up, listening to a couple of albums and being anxious about getting busted. Luckily i get there with no problems, in time to meet my friend who will collect me.
The sun pummels me as i wait at the train station for my ride. Thirty minutes pass and i start to think maybe i'm in the wrong place or he didn't get my message about missing the bus. I scope out the station unsure of what my driver even looks like, once again trying to get connected to the wifi with no luck. I decide to grab a baguette and charge up my lappy at the pomme de pain cafe. Once connected i send messages at all angles (email, facebook, text, phone calls) to my Arnol, my tour mate who arranged the ride. No luck and i'm starting to freak out that i will not make the gig and have to sleep in the park. After more faffing about i decide my lift aint coming and look up where the nearest town is to the beach location I'm playing.
I jump on a bus to Ingrandes and get off in what seems like a ghost town. I head to the river to find someone who might know where the 'Plage de auf de boeuf' is. The people in the pizza place have no idea but this drunk old dude in the pub says he knows and can drive me there. I jump in his car thinking yay, why was i freaking out so much earlier. He drops me off, i hear no music as i walk towards to river. Nothing there, fuck, i drag my rollercase across the grass verge when i spot the old dude that dropped me off five minutes ago. I make my way back and he says he's sorry but he got got the wrong location so i jump back in his car and get off at the spot he says is correct. As soon as he drives off i know it's not, no amplified sounds can be heard. I make my way to the river and my heart sinks. I'm now stranded in the middle of nowhere and the old dude isn't coming back.
As the sun starts to disappear i start freaking out again, i have no water or food, I'm phoneless, there's no wifi and no chance in hell i'm getting to the show. I decide to not give up and go knock on the door of the only house around and ask them if they know of the 'Plage de auf de boeuf' .. "Bonjour Monsieur" i hear from the garden. There is a family sitting round a table having some food and drink and they smile and invit them to join them, thank you French hospitality!
A whisky or water for you? .. The man, fabrique could see i needed refreshments. "Both please" i answered with a grin. Some food, bread, sausage ? "Both please" i answered once again with a grin. Cassey and Fabrique got out a map this time and with i knife pointed to exactly where 'Plage de auf de boeuf' was. I tried to hold in my excitement until i actualy got there this time, Cassey, fabriques partner explained she could drive me there but first more whisky and food, "Qui si vou plait" i said with a grin. On the off chance i thought it may be worth trying calling arnol again, ring ring, ring ring "bonjour" .. He answered! Yay! And is coming to collect me.
After a broken conversation about brexit and other topics, and a couple more whiskeys with my new friends, i leave the family and they wish me luck on my travels. In the back of Arnols car i explain what happened, we laugh and make our way to the mysterious 'Plage de auf de boeuf' .. By this time it's pitch black so it's hard to appreciate the beach as much as i would have in the light, but i don't really care, I'm here and can't believe i made it. I grab a bottle of wine from the communal box, neck half of it and get acclimatised to my new situation. My other tour buddy Chris is playing his set, a thousand flies and mosquitoes swarm around him as he rocks out on his guitar, noisy, psychy and just what i needed.
I end rummaging after the the super loud/mental Liverpudlian grindcore band chinsniffer which meant my set just did not have the impact it would have done soundwise. I started playing to audience of zero, eventually people migrated towards the speakers as the shitty table i was playing on collapsed , forcing me onto the course sand which ending being stuck in every orifice of me for days to come. With more wine and smokes and I end up crashing out soon after in the tour car after a stressful but funny day. Looking forward to the adventures ahead!
Trying to find and connect to wifi is proving a ball ache but eventualy i'm connected only to find i'm unable to get a refund and the next bus will get in too late. So i search trains, 65 freaking euro to get to Angers, my destination to get collected from. Fuck that's quite a lot to fork out, like 65 pan au chocalits to be precise but it's my only option. I make my way to the station and try to buy ticket, card declined so I'm forced to travel ticketless. Bunked up in the train toilets for a few hours i make good use of the time, tidying my bag up, listening to a couple of albums and being anxious about getting busted. Luckily i get there with no problems, in time to meet my friend who will collect me.
The sun pummels me as i wait at the train station for my ride. Thirty minutes pass and i start to think maybe i'm in the wrong place or he didn't get my message about missing the bus. I scope out the station unsure of what my driver even looks like, once again trying to get connected to the wifi with no luck. I decide to grab a baguette and charge up my lappy at the pomme de pain cafe. Once connected i send messages at all angles (email, facebook, text, phone calls) to my Arnol, my tour mate who arranged the ride. No luck and i'm starting to freak out that i will not make the gig and have to sleep in the park. After more faffing about i decide my lift aint coming and look up where the nearest town is to the beach location I'm playing.
I jump on a bus to Ingrandes and get off in what seems like a ghost town. I head to the river to find someone who might know where the 'Plage de auf de boeuf' is. The people in the pizza place have no idea but this drunk old dude in the pub says he knows and can drive me there. I jump in his car thinking yay, why was i freaking out so much earlier. He drops me off, i hear no music as i walk towards to river. Nothing there, fuck, i drag my rollercase across the grass verge when i spot the old dude that dropped me off five minutes ago. I make my way back and he says he's sorry but he got got the wrong location so i jump back in his car and get off at the spot he says is correct. As soon as he drives off i know it's not, no amplified sounds can be heard. I make my way to the river and my heart sinks. I'm now stranded in the middle of nowhere and the old dude isn't coming back.
As the sun starts to disappear i start freaking out again, i have no water or food, I'm phoneless, there's no wifi and no chance in hell i'm getting to the show. I decide to not give up and go knock on the door of the only house around and ask them if they know of the 'Plage de auf de boeuf' .. "Bonjour Monsieur" i hear from the garden. There is a family sitting round a table having some food and drink and they smile and invit them to join them, thank you French hospitality!
A whisky or water for you? .. The man, fabrique could see i needed refreshments. "Both please" i answered with a grin. Some food, bread, sausage ? "Both please" i answered once again with a grin. Cassey and Fabrique got out a map this time and with i knife pointed to exactly where 'Plage de auf de boeuf' was. I tried to hold in my excitement until i actualy got there this time, Cassey, fabriques partner explained she could drive me there but first more whisky and food, "Qui si vou plait" i said with a grin. On the off chance i thought it may be worth trying calling arnol again, ring ring, ring ring "bonjour" .. He answered! Yay! And is coming to collect me.
After a broken conversation about brexit and other topics, and a couple more whiskeys with my new friends, i leave the family and they wish me luck on my travels. In the back of Arnols car i explain what happened, we laugh and make our way to the mysterious 'Plage de auf de boeuf' .. By this time it's pitch black so it's hard to appreciate the beach as much as i would have in the light, but i don't really care, I'm here and can't believe i made it. I grab a bottle of wine from the communal box, neck half of it and get acclimatised to my new situation. My other tour buddy Chris is playing his set, a thousand flies and mosquitoes swarm around him as he rocks out on his guitar, noisy, psychy and just what i needed.
I end rummaging after the the super loud/mental Liverpudlian grindcore band chinsniffer which meant my set just did not have the impact it would have done soundwise. I started playing to audience of zero, eventually people migrated towards the speakers as the shitty table i was playing on collapsed , forcing me onto the course sand which ending being stuck in every orifice of me for days to come. With more wine and smokes and I end up crashing out soon after in the tour car after a stressful but funny day. Looking forward to the adventures ahead!
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