The Front Bottoms - Tour Diaries Sept-Oct 2013 | Page 16

Thursday 3rd October - Berlin, Germany (Comet Club)
This morning we woke up after a relatively good sleep in the hostel in Copenhagen. Brian's back is
really playing up and he didn't sleep well, but it didn’t seem to be outwardly effecting his mood. I
agreed to do a chunk of the driving today. Adam decided to drive from the hostel to the ferry and I
would drive for a few hours in Germany just to break the drive down a little bit.
We had decided that today we should do a power hour (centurion) on the way to the venue so we
stocked up on beers on the ferry. I then drove from the ferry for about an hour and a half. Everyone
slept whilst I drove and listened to The Lawrence Arms and The Smith Street Band.
When it was time for switch, Centurion started. A shot of beer every minute for 100 minutes. Tom,
Mat and I were in it for the duration, Brian tapped in and out, Ciaran chilled at the front with Adam.
I quickly felt myself becoming drunk. All was going so well until shot 53. For some reason I decided
to put my head out of the window without removing my glasses. The wind speed did it for me,
sending them 100mph away from my face and up the autobahn. Adam pulled over and Tom and Mat
dove out of the van and ran back towards where my spectacles escaped my head.
I felt there was no way they would find them, I was certain they were lost for ever. I was drunk and I
felt like a fool. I can't drive without glasses so this now meant that Adam would have to drive for the
remainder of the tour. Four brutal seven hour plus drives. A few minutes later, to my surprise, Mat
and Tom come running back, both wearing glasses. Tom was wearing his, Mat was wearing mine and
they were totally undamaged. Insane luck. I couldn't believe it. I still felt like a fool.
I was instructed to drink a shot of beer every mile until we got to the venue. We had 100 miles to go.
I did my best. When we got to the venue I was a state. I just about managed to throw the Merch out
and find the backstage room before passing out on the sofa, using the towels provided to us as a
pillow. Two hours later I woke up still very drunk. I had four slices of bread and a litre of water
before grabbing two bottles of beer and making my way to Merch.
Unfortunately the venue we were in was a crazy fucking maze of black corridors, doors that locked
behind you, and dead ends. I quickly became lost and trapped in a corridor. Nightmare situation.
Luckily we had Wi-Fi in the venue so I was able to Viber Brian and ask him to come and find me. A
few minutes later he did. However, this just meant that two of us were now lost in the venue rather
than one. Eventually, after jumping over the cloakroom desk and wandering through some Staff Only
doors, we managed to find the stage. I had no idea how to get back to backstage, but thankfully at
this point it didn't really matter.
Stumfol opened with another cracking performance. Great guy, nice songs. The show was great.
Around 60 people were there, many of them singing along, and a few buying Merch. Brian told the
story of my glasses and again announced it was my birthday.
We had nowhere to stay tonight. Adam had tried to get a hostel on the way to Vienna but
everything was far too expensive. After the show we drove for two hours. I stayed awake in the front
with Adam and we listened to the Bronx.
Eventually we pulled over just off the border of Germany and the Czech Republic. It was incredibly
windy. Seven of us (Becka had flown out to Berlin to join us for the remainder of the tour) had to
find a way to sleep on the goddamn van. Adam slept across the driver’s and passenger seats, Ciaran
slept behind those seats on the floor. Brian slept on the next bench. Mat and Becka slept on the