Doppler, A Roadies View

Sleep......what's sleep?!?!

So the Five For Fighting tour has come to an end. We spent the last three days flying around on Northwest airlines. Staying in some wonderful hotels and getting no sleep.

Everyone arrived in Detroit on Thursday evening, where two vans took everyone to Lansing. After an 85 mile an hour trip from hell, we get to our hotel. The festival is in full swing and has been for several days. Kansas is playing on one stage and Blues Traveler on another. However, food is a priority and we do that instead of attending said show.

Friday morning comes around. The weather is great. The people running the show are professional and very curtious. The show comes off nearly flawless.

Now the no sleep part. We head back to Detroit immediately after the show. Why? because we have a 7am flight for the crew to Minneapolis. We get to the Westin at Detroit International around 1:00am. Again after a crazy 85 mile an hour drive. The drivers think this is a NASCAR race I guess. This time the van driver doesn't remember how to get to the airport. We help her by saying take the exit with the sign that says AIRPORT!! She can't seem to grasp the concept.

After a shower I get a wonderful 3 hours sleep and rise at 5:45am to catch the flight to Minneapolis.

We arrive on time and check into another hotel. We have an hour and half till load in. You don't need to tell me twice, so I grab an hour nap.

At 11 am we arrive at the stage. For this show I rented some extra lighting which needed to be hung and programmed. Of course the day is extremely sunny and hot. This make things even more interesting because I can't really see what the show looks like. So even I will be surprised during the show.

Pat McGee and his band also appreared on our stage right before us. These guys have really become a tight group. The put on a great show. The crowd was loving it.

Just after the sun went down it was our turn. Minneapolis didn't disappoint. A great audience and the band gave it their all. Everyone had a blast.

So now we are off for a period of time. The band have a couple tv appreances and there is a radio show or two. A new single will be released in the coming weeks. Then hopefully a fall tour.

In the meantime, it's off to Hartford CT tomorrow to join up with the Blue Epic guys and five weeks of shows.

So the road tales will continue.

posted by Doppler at 7:31 PM