The Front Bottoms - Tour Diaries Sept-Oct 2013 | Page 17

floor under the table. Tom was on the back bench and I laid on the floor between the back of the
bus and the back bench. It was so narrow that I couldn't get a sleeping mat down there or even lie
with my arms by my sides. I just laid on the floor with my coat and shoes on and my hat covering my
face.
It was very windy, whistling through the windows, violently moving the bus with every strong gust.
I'm not ashamed to say I was a little terrified and very miserable. The toilets where we stopped were
foul and had no seats, so nature would have to wait. I simply laid at the back of the bus, feeling sea
sick, with my fingers and toes going numb, my legs cramping up and heartburn from a diet of beer,
and pizza setting in.
Rough with the smooth. Tour life.
Friday 4th October - Vienna, Austria (B72)
After spending five hours trying to sleep on what felt like an ice block made from everyone I've ever
loved's tears, we made our way to Vienna. It was another five and a half hours drive through the
Czech Republic. From the back of the van the highways felt like cobblestone roads.
This was the worst I'd felt all tour. I had the shivers and desperately needed sleep. Tom told me to
get into his super cosy sleeping bag and pass out. That I did. I only got out of the van once for the
rest of the journey, to take a piss. I was seeing double and had a terrible headache so I took maybe
too many tablets. As soon as I got to the venue I puked. Adam told me I couldn't hack it, so I drank
some water, had some bread and opened another beer.
After soundcheck we went to check out the hotel room and hopefully take a shower before doors.
We had three rooms booked and expected there to be two beds in each. Wrong. Each room had four
beds and a double. I had a shower and felt 100% better.
The doors opened and I was stoked to see some friends I'd met on previous travels. Verener and
Poodle both came down to the show and hung. Both Poodle and The Liberation Service wanted to
open the show, but the promoters insisted on a local band called The Red Island playing, which was
a bummer; it would have been nice to see either of them play. Before the band started Ciaran
brought me a falafel sandwich which Tom had labelled "the best thing I've ever eaten in my life."
It didn't take long for me to be drunk again. The show flew by for me, which is surprising considering
I was in a separate room to the band. By the time the band was finished Adam was drunk as well.
Ciaran decided he was going to continue the party and go out somewhere. He had his hotel room
key and would either meet us by the van for 6am or at the hotel before then. After we loaded out
we walked to the hotel room to crash out. There was a strip club on the way back to the hotel which
I briefly considered going into as I've never been to one. But when Tom pointed out that I had a
pillow under my arm I quickly realized it probably wasn't a great idea. As soon as I got back to the
hotel room, I passed out.