Positively Patsy Part 5

When we went to get dressed for the first show on the Friday evening we found that Maxine had supplied us with outfits with a Japanese flavour. All the girls were in variations of the ‘Lolita’ fashion so loved by young Japanese girls, while the boys had button-to-the-shoulder tunics with dragons front and back. On any other day I would have thought it over the top but, having walked around Tokyo and seen what was being worn in the street, I was interested to see what the audience, and the media, thought of our gear.

We went through the usual preshow ritual and were entirely ready for the moment we walked on stage to play the first song. What we were not ready for was the roar of approval when the audience saw us. We worked through the set as usual and did the ‘Dancefloor’ encore and left the stage. Down in the rooms I said “That was different”. As usual, ‘Primal Purge’ did its best to demolish the far wall of the stadium and then we were back up on stage with them and the ‘Pillsplitter’ finale. We got the Doppler Effect again when we soloed which was odd, as we had not got it in Singapore.

Next morning we were having breakfast when a hotel undermanager came up to us and told us that there were about a hundred reporters and photographers wanting to talk with us. He said he had already organised a large room, so when we had finished we made our way to the room where a horde of eager reporters awaited. The main thrust of the questions came down to two topics, the tour and how it was going; and our outfits last night. The common question was ‘who made them?’ so we allowed Lucy to describe the process of how they were made and the input of a Japanese designer working for Madame L’Estrange. We said we had similar for the next two shows in Tokyo and told the photographers that we would allow a half an hour before we leave for the venue tonight so they could snap away. I could imagine Maxine chuckling over her tea when the reports filtered back to New York.

After this it was a steady weekend; we did the photo shoot, played the Saturday and Sunday shows and on Monday we were again bombarded with requests for interviews. It was un-nerving to be interviewed by morning show hosts in Japan, they seemed cast from the same insipid mould that they used in the states but they were so damned polite it was impossible to get mad at them.

Tuesday saw us fly to Sydney for a three night gig. On the plane I asked Grog about the weird effect when we jammed and he said that he had been thinking about it himself. I pointed out that both times it happened was with the number one stage and that we may get it again in Auckland. He said that it would be nice to be able to call it up at will so sent a text to the tour freight manager asking him about any differences in settings or positioning of the amps.

In Sydney we were to play at their Olympic Stadium so the weather was a factor. Luckily it stayed fine for the weekend after a bit of rain on the Wednesday. We spent some time on a private yacht on the Harbour on Wednesday afternoon and then had a private tour of the Opera House. Thursday we were supposed to have been taken for a tour of a local wine region but this was altered after it was pointed out that none of us drank wine. Instead we were taken to the Taronga Zoo where the media got lots of nice pictures of us petting furry, and some not-so-furry, animals. On Friday we did the sound check and relaxed until show time. Maxine had given us outfits that featured the colours of Australia, yellows, greens and rusty reds so we looked quite ‘ocker’ when we walked onto the stage. The shows went as well as we now expected and both Monday and Tuesday saw us on TV again. The Auckland gig was just the two nights so we flew over on Wednesday.

Auckland was a smaller venue, as befits a country with a much smaller population, but Grog had played here in the past so was much revered. This I found out when we left the airport in the buses with a supporting convoy of very large guys on big motorbikes that rode with us to the hotel and created an avenue we had to walk down when we got out of the bus. As we reached the steps of the hotel a group of them formed up in front of us and did what could only be described as a war dance. At the end, Grog went up to the head man and they rubbed noses. After that it was all smiles. Some greeting, I was almost pooping my pants!

On Thursday, they flew us down to the South Island to Taupo where we got on buses to go to the Milford Sound. We had a very relaxing boat trip on the Sound among the most beautiful surroundings. Back in Auckland on Friday we went to the venue for the sound check. Try as we could, we did not get the effect we were looking for. We asked the stage manager and he told us that they had checked the manifests for both stages and the only difference between the set-ups was the placing of our radio receivers into the amps but he had fixed it now. We asked him if he could put them back the way they were and, after he had consulted some paperwork, we tried again and magically the effect appeared.

It looked like Grog and I were plugged into the same amp here but not on the other stage and, with the mic’ing up of the speakers to be relayed to the PA system, we set up a sort of audio strobe that didn’t happen when we were going through two separate amps. We asked the stage manager nicely if he could arrange for the other set-up to be altered to be the same. The effect did not change our individual sets, only when we played together. The two nights in Auckland went well and we spent our, now usual, Monday being interviewed and on Tuesday took the longest hop so far, to Hawaii.

By now, we had settled into a routine, only broken by having to play. On the flights we could sit and chat or hit the gym machines. I tended to use the treadmill more than anything else but it did help with my fitness. It was a funny feeling to be running on the spot while tens of thousands of feet in the air and going forward at several hundred kilometres an hour. We had got into the routine of using hotel laundries while we were on the ground and it did keep us all looking and feeling good.

Hawaii was our first show on the US soil and it was a two night event. We did the tourist stuff with the media in tow on the Wednesday, relaxed at the beach on Thursday and went to the venue on Friday for the sound check. We were happy that we got our effect again. Now we were in the US, ‘Amazon’ was as big as ‘Primal Purge’ so there was intense media coverage for both bands. We had to do a meeting with the press on Friday afternoon and it was a relief when Saturday came around and we could claim that we were mentally preparing ourselves for the show. It was good to see our vendors had set up here. The two shows, Saturday and Sunday, went well again. I was almost thinking that it all seemed too good to last but hoped it did.

Come Tuesday we flew to Los Angeles for a three night gig. We caught up with Lorraine and her leading man, a real hunk called Burt Jackson. On Wednesday evening Hector Vickers the Third (her Producer) threw a party for us with a fair number of film and TV actors in attendance as well as the well-heeled of Hollywood. We mingled, nibbled, got our pictures taken by the press, and generally had a good time, especially watching those who made good use of the liquor provided. I am sure some were primed before they arrived. When we left there were a few draped over couches and other places and I wondered how they managed to actually work their craft. Maybe it is all a con; the stars on the screen are all stand-ins who are teetotal while the names are all in rehab. I hoped that Lorraine could resist the pull of the pushers; she seemed to have done so to date.

Part 6

The gig in LA was three nights so we were able to keep ourselves from the press over the weekend but, come Monday; it was wall to wall invitations for interviews. We spread ourselves out and we satisfied most of the stations that wanted to talk. Tuesday we flew to Miami for a two day gig so had plenty of time to meet the press and relax before the weekend. However, there was bad news for Grog as he was told that one of his ex-wives had died over the weekend and that the funeral was Wednesday of the following week. He, Peggy and the rest of his band except the girls, decided they needed to be in the UK for the funeral so arrangements were made for them to fly from Miami to Heathrow on the Monday morning after the shows. If everything worked well they would be in Seattle for the next gig by Saturday morning. The rest of us still had use of the 747. We did the Miami shows and they flew off on Monday morning, leaving the rest of us to do the morning shows.

Seeing where we were, we got our pilot to fly us to Nashville on Monday afternoon where we checked our mail, renewed our underwear and, in the case of the band and I, did a couple of practise sessions of Grog’s finale song. As promised, the Fender had been delivered to K Beat and Jake handled it like it was a goddess. I told him to treat it like it was a battle-axe and he was amazed at the sounds he got from it. Over the Tuesday and Wednesday we got it down and recorded it to a CD so Grog could get the timing. Thursday we flew to Seattle and Friday we did the sound check. To make it easier for the audio guys we did ‘Pillsplitter’ at Purge Volume so they could get the settings close. We fielded the press and told them that the others were due back Saturday and the show ‘will go on!’

Come Saturday we made sure we had everything right for the shows. When we arrived at the stadium the stage manager was beside himself. It seemed that the flight the boys were to take had been diverted to New York due to a technical problem. This put them needing a different way to get to Seattle and the timing seemed to indicate that they would not be at the stadium until about a half an hour after they were due on stage. We sat around and discussed the problem. Jake suggested that we did an extended set and listed a few songs we could add as well as pushing the timing on our dance numbers.

I suggested that an announcement was made just before the show that, due to a technical problem, the opening act would be delayed for fifteen minutes. We could put some screams and squeaks through an amp to back that up and have a couple of techs pull the back off it and look worried before smiling and giving a thumbs up to the crowd. I told the stage manager to let us know when Grog and the rest are ready for the stage and that we will start playing ‘Dancefloor’. The other band can then join us in a jam and, when it finished, we could remove ourselves from the stage so that they could start their own set. That would allow us to finish close to time. I was wondering what it was about Seattle that changed our shows as it was here that a lot changed in our previous time on stage.

In the end, it all went as planned. The techs put on a bit of a show with some interesting sounds from the amp and got a big round of applause when the showed that it was all fixed. We were kitted up and went on stage with the stage manager giving us the countdown to match the light show and we were away. The lighting guys had been told where we were adding bits and they were able to make it all look as if it was part of the show. We did extended versions of ‘Bounce’ and were just about ready to play ‘Maximum Dance’ when the stage manager told us that the others had arrived and were getting kitted. We did ‘Maximum Dance’ and bowed to the crowd who, luckily, wanted more so we started playing ‘Dancefloor’. As we got into it I heard extra instruments, firstly Marion on the extra keyboard and then Janet and Libby on vocals. I didn’t have to listen for when the rest of the band joined in as the roar of the crowd told me they were there. We jammed to the end and, as the crowd were roaring, ‘Amazon’ left the stage waving and Grog led his band straight into their set. At the end we were brought back on the stage to jam with ‘Pillsplitter’, leaving the audience tired but happy. We did a bow and waved to the crowd as we left the stage.

Down in the dressing room we all took our buds and mics off and put them in the satchels. Grog came over and shook hands with the guys and gave all of the girls a hug. “Thank you for that, it was an amazing catch that, once again, saved the day. You guys are really the best to have on tour with your ideas and ways to make it look good when all around is falling apart.” We all went back to the hotel and a welcome night’s sleep. The Sunday gig went as per the usual sets and we were surprised on Monday morning when no-one on the TV or radio shows noted any different between the two shows. I am sure the fans knew, though.

Tuesday we all flew to New Orleans for a three night gig. When we checked into our hotel we found our ‘support crew’ and other friends already there. Alice had organised tickets for everyone and K Beat paid for the accommodation and flights. I was able to spend some time with Ruby and Jim was in his element talking to Grog and the band. Roger was chatting with his buddies and showing them some of the photos he had taken. I introduced Peggy to Jim and, once again, she was amazed to meet him has he had featured in her ‘Great Producers’ course at Uni. Grog was telling everyone how we saved the day in Seattle and Alice told him that this was ‘situation normal’ for Patsy.

I had a chance to speak to Peter and his family and he told me that the car sales were holding well with the new outlook. He looked ten years younger and when I mentioned it to his wife she said that she prays every day with thanks for sending me. Her daughters were beside themselves, as usual, to be in our midst and I made sure to introduce them to Grog and the others. They were taken aback by the exposed tattoos on the band as we didn’t see much of that in Nashville, yet! Wednesday and Thursday went well, with us all doing some tourist things with the press in tow and then came Friday and the sound check.

It all was good and we had our first look at the enormous stadium. Friday evening was the first show so we went through the usual salon and dressing rituals. Maxine had supplied some Spanish inspired stage gear with big skirts and boleros. The show went as usual and we got back to the hotel well before any of the audience. At breakfast the friends from Nashville came in looking like they had been in a war. “How on earth do you put up with that volume?” asked Jim. Of course we all put a hand to our ear and said ‘What!” He laughed and told us that his sinus was clearer than it had been for years.

Saturday and Sunday shows went well and, as the Nashville group went to fly home, we did our usual interviews. Tuesday we flew to Saint Louis for a two night gig and the following Tuesday was Chicago for a three nighter. We were getting old hands at the system now and the shows all went well with full houses. After Chicago we had a three night gig in Washington, DC. We were surprised to get an invitation to meet and greet with the President but I was not surprised when everyone said no as we were too busy. I expected that he would have been able to hear us from the White House.

On the Tuesday we flew to New York for our last US show. It had been fun and I am sure we had sold a lot of albums. Simon came to see us at the hotel in the afternoon and told us that we had, indeed, sold enough albums to push us into the platinum disc area. Actually, both bands had made the grade. He told us that sales in Europe were going through the roof as well. He took me aside and told me that Gerome had sent him a CD of the folk and cabaret songs and that he wanted me and Joanne to do an album of cabaret songs with an orchestra as soon as we finished the tour.

Marianne G 2020