POPMART Leg 2: 1997, Europe

Turin.  Production rehearsals.

The first morning that I woke up, got out of bed, showered and got straight back in the same van which delivered me home last night.  Such will be the pattern of the remaining rehearsals, I think, which certainly wouldn't be far from the norm.

It was a cloudy morning, which proved to be transformational at the gig as far as operating conditions was concerned.  It was almost possible to walk across the stadium floor without getting snow-blind from the glare and even the mix position was less of an oven than previous days.

Over the years I've noticed that the closer we get to show day, the shorter distance I am able to walk without somebody asking me a question about some aspect of the production or the show.  We're still a week away from the show, but this morning was pretty intense on that front, as it seemed that every other person I ran into needed answers to some burning issue or other.  As a result I didn't get any more work done on the audio sequences for the show, but on the bright side it was nice to catch up with so many people.  I have long been aware that I am the conduit between 'the brain that plans and the hands that build' (as Fritz Lang put it), and it's a privilege to have so much contact with both groups of extraordinary individuals on the tour.

I did end up hiding for a little while this afternoon, just to get through my in-tray before the band got back to the stadium.

Band in the rehearsal room playing Hold Me Thrill Me, Miss Sarajevo, Arms Around the World, new songs... struck again by the ability of these people to produce such life-altering music at will.  An ability the power of which they seem endearingly unware.