Oxfam Europe Tour Blog: 31 August 2008
From WikiColdplay
I'm on the road again.
Bonjour, Nazdar, Hallo, Hello’, Salve, Hola!
After a few weeks to get some sleep, rest a bit and catch up on life at home (where I lay my hat..), i’m back out on the road again with Coldplay. The crew room has a strangely orange glow. Light fittings, chairs and floor are all a matching ’Dulux’ tangerine colour. That’s in keeping with the awkward-but-stangly-interesting-tango-tent-like structure that is the Strasbourg Zenith, home of tomorrow night’s show. It sort of looks like a pile of bright orange plates.. Nothing like the sports arenas of North America. This is yet another strange and interesting place I have seen on this Oxfam/Coldplay tour. It feels very clean. Quiet too. No voices, ringing phones, truck engines, bleeping radios, running feet, sweating or busy atmosphere that usually fills these places on show days. Not forgetting the amazing music and live shows of Coldplay and their support acts. Mind you, there are a pile of bath towels on the floor, which suggest the crew who arrived a few days ago for tech rehearsals, have been working up a sweat getting the venue ready and the stage set. Thank you to them.
It was another early start this morning. Shower, mango breakfast, lift to the station, train, tube, another tube, then another airport. I stepped out onto the runway to walk towards the plane, and suddently felt what touring feels like. For some reason, the idea of rock stars throughout history stepping out of aircraft onto runways is a resounding image of life on tour. I walked up the 5 small steps into the cosy plane, took my seat, grabbed my cheese sandwich and looked out at the old-fashioned looking propellors that would whisk us away for Round 2.
We flew out over a rain-drenched London, patchwork fields, the English channel and over into France. The airport was fittingly quiet for a Sunday afternoon. I went to the toilet only to come back and see the crew walking out of the hall, and my bag the only one left drifting around on the console (cue mild panic and silly run). Then we headed out (on the other side of the road) in the direction of the aforementioned ’stack of plates’ Zenith..
I’m excited about meeting Amelia from Oxfam France -agir ici with her group of volunteers tomorrow night. I hope that Europe will match the success Oxfam had around North America. I had better go and find the Oxfam hamper, and start setting up. I just wanted to say ‘Hi’ (in a few different languages). Get the ball rolling again. Coldplay will be rolling into town soon, and we need to be ready.
Is that a radio I hear in the distance??
p.s. Here’s a peep inside the crew room (my ‘office’ at the moment). Please excuse silly looking blogger.
http://www.oxfamblogs.org/coldplay/?p=44
