tour diary part two (the evils of wine)

I'm sitting in my hotel room in Brussels feeling very contented.. We had an amazing gig last night, and I have made the startling discovery that I sing way better without any kind of alcoholic substance passing my lips before the show.. Which is very weird to say the least.. I think I got into the habit of always having a glass of wine before a gig, and it always seemed to work for me - taking the edge off my nerves and all that.. But this tour has brought with it a whole new level of nerves, which all singers out there will know seriously screws with your voice.. Another thing that really screws with your voice is alcohol - it drys your throat out like nothing else, and its usual calming effect disappears if you have nerves that just won't be calmed. So... as a result I had a terrible show in Dublin - nerves, exhaustion, and the big mistake of knocking back a big glass of wine before I went on stage.. what a terrible mistake.. The audience were lovely, but I felt I had no control over my voice.. really quite disappointing...

SO.. come Sunday night in Shepherds Bush, I really felt I had to bring it all back with a great performance.. and thank god it was awesome.. it really was a big help I had so many friends there.. and my mum had flown in from the States.. so there was a great atmosphere, and I loved it.. I knew when I saw the huge grin on my manager's face afterwards that it was a good one.. :-)..

We took the Eurostar to Paris the next day, and luckily courtesy of my auntie and uncle had a great flat to stay in in the latin quarter.. The gig was at a beautiful venue called La Cigale, and the audience were great... I'd half expected Parisians to be like a London crowd.. you know.. too cool for school.. but they were so friendly, and made me feel totally at ease.. although because I am a MORON I decided yet again to have some wine before I went onstage.. So again I really felt like I wasn't at my best, although hopefully it didn't show.. I got some nice compliments on the Metro afterwards, which did me the world of good.. :-)..

Plasticchair

it is my belief that every dressing room should have a yellow plastic chair..

We took the train from Paris to Brussels the day after the gig.. our hotel is actually lovely and very comfortable, although it's next to a gay sex cinema.. I haven't checked it out yet.. :-).. Anyway I decided to try an experiment last night.. I went on stage stone cold sober, and for the first time I felt truly confident, and shock horror, my voice gave me no trouble.. no croaks, no phlegm, no bum notes.. So for the duration of this tour I am giving up wine... now that my friends, is amazing...

Off to Amsterdam today.. it's a day off... YAY!