postcard from tour (Patreon)

HEY Y’ALL :) greetings from Philly my angels ! cheesesteaks ! etc. I’ve been mainly taking film photos but here are a random selection of pics, including some from our very own Alan

we’re 4 shows deep on this long awaited north american run and I am having an absolute whale of a time so far. some thoughts include:

• these crowds have been absolutely exceptional. attentive during the quiet songs, rowdy and fun in the biggies. there’s a real buzz in each room; how long some people have waited for me to come through is a powerful feeling and I feel honoured to (hopefully) be providing a moment of distraction or escape during this mad time 🫶🏻

• the bandwagon (vehicle we’re travelling in) is challenging for sure - as expected. it has no suspension so it’s basically just like sleeping in a big car :’) we’ve developed a system whereby we do part of the drive after the show, park up at a truck stop for a couple hours so we can try get a couple hours of sleep in when stationary - then do the rest of the drive in the morning. it’s working OK so far and luckily the tour is routed in such a way that there are v few occasions where we have to fully drive through the night !

• US radio is diFFERENT i’ve been going on little side quests to play live sessions for diff radio stations and it’s so interesting, works so differently to ireland & the UK! student / alternative radio is such a thing here and it’s v different to pop/commercial radio (whereas in the UK there are far less stations and the BBC etc sort of vaguely cover all those genres within their set of stations, rather than it being as separated out as here!)

• Emma Harner - our support - is the best ever, both as an artist and as a person. she has immediately become part of the family and I have loved having her w us! go listen to her new single 'do it', she is next level

• why are all the delicious things so carby I swear I want to try them all but this country will kill me it I don’t go for a veg hunt now & then

**UPDATE** Postcard continued from Montreal -

time gap alert - I wrote the above just before the Philly show (monday) and i’ve jumped back into resume it after the philly show (wednesday eve) and WHAT A 24 HOURS WE WENT ON TO HAVE ! so after the Philly show our trusty bandwagon we were travelling in broke down & after a few hours the garage deemed it beyond repair 🥲 we left the broken bandwagon in Philly, limped up towards Canada with the trailer attached to the back of a big car & then the bus company got another bandwagon up to us in Albany, upstate new york. our tour manager Jamie absolutely kiiillled all of the on-the-fly problem solving & by yesterday morning we were driving towards Canada in a new bandwagon, on time for the Montreal show

I assumed this was the last of the drama but the travel mares continued - road closures and the bus being too tall go to through a lot of the alternative routes meant driving for an extra few hours before reaching the border; we were watching the clock during the day thinking MAYBE WE CAN DO IT - but with each passing hour our hope was dwindling. the final straw came when we were held at the border for much longer than expected (I didn’t want to say this in the public post but our driver got denied entry into Canada because of an old US parking ticket - poor guy). So we had to leave our sweet driver at the border & our tour manager Jamie stepped up last minute to drive the frickin bandwagon (this man is a hero - everybody needs a Jamie, fr). by the time we had made it through the border, got the carnet stamped & were ready to complete the drive we realised we simply wouldn’t make it to the venue on time to do a show and so after almost 10 hours of travel, we had to admit defeat 😞

in a miraculous twist we were due to have a night off tour the next day (tonight) AND the same Montreal venue is free; so we changed our travel plans and made a plan to play Montreal tonight (the 14th) instead, one day later. it’s still such a shame (many of the ticketholders can’t make the new alternative date) but in my eyes it’s better than coming all this way and playing no show. playing tomorrow (rather than just cancelling altogether and admitting defeat) will cost me some £££ (i’ll have to cover the venue staff costs for the extra day, ticket refunds etc) BUT man it was just a no brainer. y’all know I don’t do this for the money (if I did i’d be v much in the wrong industry lol) at this point it’s about bringing a show to people who have waited a long time to see one ❤️‍🔥

so yes - now we brace ourselves for an unexpectedly gnarly 4 shows in a row (Montreal > Toronto > Detroit > Chicago); but spirits are surprisingly high in the camp! last night Jamie drove us towards Montreal, we got Tim Hortons, parked the bus up at a truck stop, put some music on & danced on the bus - after the day everyone had had it was just so pure. bless our Jamie who is now holding this tour up almost entirely on his shoulders - driving the bus, tour managing AND mixing front of house sound for the audiences. if you come to a show & see Jamie at the sound desk in these next few days, do give him a smile or friendly wave of support 👋  he has been absolutely amazing

TOURING IS CHAOS. I’d almost forgotten that - but man, I do feel alive/present in amongst it all. it’s like the opposite feeling than I get at home sometimes, that floaty dull feeling when life falls into that repetitive rhythm & you sort of sleepwalk through the days. some of this is highly uncomfortable but all of it is v much HAPPENING & I can feel my feelings in a big way. yesterday was by no means a fun day, but it was a beautiful bonding experience for our small but mighty team; everyone stepped up, everyone looked after one another. man, it’s like being a frickin soldier in the trenches together - the trenches of DIY touring !!! the bottom line is i’m delighted to be out here - travelling with this gang, problem solving, loading gear in & out of these rooms, meeting so many great people.

so - how are you guys? who’s been to one of the shows already? who’s coming to one in the next 2 weeks? : )

everyone back on my side of the pond - don’t forget my UK/EU tour for next year is on sale (tickets here) - ! so if you live back on my continent please do grab your tix for that ASAP (and note that the VIP/ early access tix you might see on sale - both the same thing - include a signed poster & early entry to the show so you can get the perfect place to watch from)

love you all so very much - here are some photos from the adventure so far, many more to come

OG xxx