Buenos Aires. Day off.

I spent the morning getting myself ready for a band meeting later in the day. A useful tool for me on such occasions is a big pad of paper. Being able to write and draw helps me to think things through and rationalise the sometimes disparate strands of ideas that float about in my head. I didn't happen to pack a large pad, so headed out to find an art supply store.The concierge gave me a bit of a bum steer so I had to make do with a tiny, cramped stationers and photocopy place. My Spanish is all but non-existent so it took a little while to make clear what I was looking for (not helped by the fact that apparently when I was asking for 'big paper', I was in fact asking for 'a large cake.')

There are several new show ideas in the works, six of which were on the agenda for the afternoon's discussion. The most precious to me are the remixes of Magnificent and Even Better Than the Real Thing, and I was a little concerned to realise that I've actually fallen in love with these mixes, especially Real Thing which is just mega. This is always a dangerous position to put yourself in, as heartbreak awaits if things don’t go well at the meeting.

Bono has a gang of friends over from Dublin so is staying in a house out by the water. It's a bit of a trek to get there (the best part of an hour) but it's a beautiful place so not too much of a hardship.  All four band members came along and we got into the discussion. I almost felt a little nervous playing back Dec's mix of Real Thing and a reworking of Magnificent. Happily, both were received extremely well, so much so that Larry suggested opening the show with Real Thing, which is a brave and exciting move. We’ll try it at sound check on Wednesday and see how it goes.

Back at the Hotel Fabulous we felt the need for a nightcap and debrief. The hotel concierge (whose judgement I am learning to question) sent us to a 'wonderful, quiet, relaxed bar' about ten blocks away. On arrival it wasn't so much 'quiet' and 'relaxed' as 'deafening' and 'crawling with hookers', though I suppose the pimps handing out cards on the street for several blocks in each direction should have been a clue. We persevered, however, and did find an innocent-looking corner pizza place with seats out front where we could get a few beers and empanadas, unmolested. An important day for the ongoing 360 show, and I think we did well.