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Rich euroblog 05 March 2012

london / friday / 1515

i really enjoyed the a camp set - there are some really beautiful songs on colonia and they had a pretty big crowd there to enjoy them. after a bit of food we wandered over to catch the start of lykke li's set (only the first three songs though - then we had to head off to warm up for our set.) i really enjoyed what i saw - i'd love to see a full gig. our show was fun, though it felt really late, but confusingly still light! the crowd were great - loud and full of energy. we played a pretty rocking set, which is always fun. sorry there was no encore, but we had a limited amount of time so we thought it was better to just play straight through, instead of wasting time coming off stage only to come back on again...

three hours is not enough sleep. it was getting light again as we left the stage at 1.45, and we had to get a plane at 7.55 from arvika, so we left pretty much straight away, and before we knew it we were back up and checking in... it's been a really fun tour, and i can't wait to get to beirut - you can bet i'll be taking photos there!

ok, not funny! i make a joke about the lift danger sign, then i come back and it's broken...

more pics of that cool building - and the amazing sign above the door

lykke li

last few pics from København

that amazing venue - my view

peace and love festival, Borlänge / thursday / 1830

about to go and watch a camp, so i'm just gonna post a few pics from the last couple of days...

from København:

that owl again, close-up!

from Borlänge:

another owl!

i love this building too

please don't think about this one too long:

København / tuesday / 1630

what a magical city. i love it here. the fact that it's summer and the sun is shining helps, but even when we were here for the mtv awards (in winter) it was still great fun. jesse and i have new hats, and everyone is looking a little bit more tanned than last week. we're in the studio again today, and a great one it is too... lots of lovely musical toys for tim to play with, and a good vocal booth for us all to sing in. i've just done some bvs, and tom is doing a couple of vocals. more on all that soon.

finally, we are supporting love music hate racism, which is why a banner will be appearing shortly - for more info see http://www.lovemusichateracism.com/ - we hope you'll give it your support too.

i really liked the owl

i assume you choose a post box depending on how large the letter is that you are hoping to receive.

german strawberries in denmark... "jordbaer", apparently!

i love this building!

this place is a school called SOSU (i didn't want to take a picture of the whole front of it because there were tons of people on the steps having their lunch).

there are loads of these really old buildings here - lots of them painted an amazing deep red - it gives the town a great, vibrant feeling.

i bought another hat here... www.susannejuul.dk/ these wooden moulds are fantastic!

København / monday / midday

howdy. sorry for the lack of updates - yesterday's festival internet wasn't interested... we've had three fun shows in a row - even winning over a fair few of the crowd who were wating for die ärzte (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Die_ärzte_Köln_1998.jpg). i don't think they knew what to expect, but even the hardest of rock fans seemed to enjoy some of the set.

at werchter, tim, jesse and i went out into the crowd to watch depeche mode, tom staying at the side of stage until the bass became too loud! it was great to see them back out and playing again. there was a lot of love for them out there.

we also watched most of lily allen's set at hurricane - it was brilliant. she is such a sweet girl, popping into the dressing room to say hi afterwards. her cover of womanizer was a bonus, and i've got to say, her band are pretty awesome too.

we've got a day off today, so i'm gonna head out for a wander. it's a lovely sunny day, and it's a really enjoyable place to walk around. the waterfront is beautiful, and i seem to remember this is where tim and jesse got their white jeans... who knows what they'll be wearing tomorrow!

apologies for the crap pics - it was dark and i didn't have my big camera...

DM:

werchter festival site / saturday / 1320

what a contrast to yesterday! it's not pouring with rain, there is hot water in the showers! the internet works... this is our third time here (i think) and i have many fond memories. last time we played here it was the best line-up for a day on a stage that we've ever known. it was really cool hanging out with the killers, sharing a few drinks with ronnie and scott (my drum tech, who has also worked with ronnie), and meeting the klaxons for the first time. ronnie and i went to watch the chemical brothers from the side of stage, but it was too darn loud - we had to retreat.

really looking forward to playing, and also to watching depeche mode. i was given a sony discman http://www.hificafe.net/kolumne/images/sony_discman.jpg for christmas in 1990 or 1991, and i only had one album to play - it was depeche mode's violator - one of the all time great albums. i must have listened to it thousands of times. i love everything about it. i really hope dave gahan is well - he is one of the great front-men. i've only seen them a couple of times, so it's gonna be a real treat.

oh, and good luck jenson!

pics from yesterday...

did he jump or was he pushed?

i will never ever do this...

the festival was on an old military airbase (now a private airport), but it still had the old control tower, and, unbelievably, the kind security man let me go up there and take a couple of snaps of the site. i couldn't believe it - people always say no, and that's why rob and i always just wander into places til we get thrown out. i didn't get his name, but thanks, pal - you were a star.

the festival site from the control tower

southside festival site / friday / 1115

our hotel internet wasn't working, so here are a few snaps from berlin. both shows so far have been ace, and we had a great time in berlin. tim, jesse and tom had a day in a studio yesterday - i guess it's hard not to want to be in the studio when in berlin! i managed to pick up a stomach bug so steered clear. sounds like they managed to get lots done...

it's a bit cold and pouring with rain here at the festival, so i hope it clears up a bit for the hardy campers. we're not on for ages so there should be time to have a wander and check out a band or two. if you're coming down, bring a raincoat!

Köln / tuesday / 1549

just a few snaps from town this morning. soundcheck in a few mins...

Köln / tuesday / 0048

we made it, powered by cheesy / great pop music. blink 182 was indeed me (along with many of the others) - definitely gonna go and watch them play now they have said they are re-forming (beth and i both really liked the angels and airwaves album too). it took about 18 hours to get here from oslo, and both tim and i feel a bit wobbly - it's like slight motion sickness from being on a moving bus for so long. norwegian wood was a really fun show - norwegian crowds are always so up for a good time, it's great to play there.

tim and i just went for a wander, and dinner at a little italian place called trattoria toscana, in what seems like a cool area of town. we're all on a health kick, so it was salad and grilled fish for tim, and asparagus and pasta with pesto for me. no dessert, no wine, no beer, nada... then straight home to sort out these photos - turns out blogging is good for me!

took a few photos en route, and then of the cathedral, the rhine and the railway bridge... including a couple with the new lensbaby. hope you like them.