France, you really don’t seem to like us do you? It’s like it’s a body and we’re a foreign invader, and it’s trying it’s hardest to get rid of us. The weather is absolutely shit today, it is pouring it down and so grey that it’s hard to see anything. We crawl to Paris in yet more shitty traffic and it’s definitely fair to say that Morale is low. We are tired, all have a cold, the van is overcrowded and full of junk, and we are late. Not a good place to be right now. Despite all of this, I’m really looking forward to tonight. We’ve only played one show in Paris (with Madina Lake earlier this year, in a smaller venue called Glazart) but things just seemed to click and we’re hoping for the same tonight.
The venue is called Elysee Montmarte, an amazing old venue that I’ve actually been to once before. Me and my brother went to see The Dillinger Escape Plan and Poison The Well here a few years ago and it was fucking awesome. Pretty mad that the next time I’m here it’s ‘cos my band and me are playing.
We get to the venue in darkness, and park the van on what feels like a 70-degree hill, haul all the stuff out the back in the pouring rain and take it in. We’re all soaked by now, ill, all our clothes are dirty and despite being excited about being back in Paris, the general mood isn’t great. We soundcheck and it sounds wicked on stage, which cheers everyone up a bit.
More interviews.
We play the show and it’s another good one, awesome! Fully happy now and really excited to go out to dinner and meet some friends in town.
We go out to some bars for some drinks, somehow end up in an Irish Bar (there seem to be tonnes of these all around Europe) with a French dude singing Radiohead songs with an acoustic.
We get merry, then head out into La Pigale. We search for the Moulin Rouge because we really want to get a picture outside the famous glowing windmill - We’ve not managed to see many famous sights on this tour, and though the most obvious one would be the Eiffel Tower, we saw that last time we were here, so seeing as it’s nearby we’ve decided this is the best option. After searching for what feels like an age, we see it in the distance and trot up the street to it. We position ourselves across the road so we can all fit in with the windmill, get someone to take the picture and then eagerly take a look at the photo.
Strangely, it’s pitch black behind us. Odd. We turn around and it turns out that the place shut down for the night a split second before we managed to actually get a picture. Shit.
This area is a bit rough (How does this keep happening…?) so as all the bars are closing up we say goodbyes to our friends and go back to the hotel for some sleep. I’m sad that our time in Paris has been so brief, so plan to get up mega early and go to Montmartre, which is nearby. Unsurprisingly, this doesn’t happen.
-Gus
