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SOUTHAMPTON — Proper throbbing headache. Sweaty figure crawls out from the bunk in the same smelling stage clothes while Paradise Lost guys go jogging. Nice backstage with internet, shower and own kitchen.
Sound check: Peavey's FX loop is broken and the amp sounds pretty bad in general. Probably the tubes are going off soon. The poweramp section is still good and Vreid guys kindly loan me their Line 6 PodXT preamp. Quick tweak with soundbank and I was set to go.
Note to self: Need to buy some preamp for a backup for future shows, something small that goes with cabin luggage. TC Electronic's Nova System or Line 6 M9. Should work fine with festivals as well....
My reborn success with guitar gear was soon overshadowed by the broken Mesa Single Rectifier. Luckily, Markus was able to loan Paradise Lost's spare head, and we were able to complete our sound check. Despite minor fuckups, the show was much better. We're getting there bit by bit. Big thanks to guys in Vreid and Paradise Lost for helping us with our broken gear.
FOLKESTONE — Quite a nice venue and right in the center. First thing's first: Refreshing morning beer at the local pub and then some sightseeing. Pretty awesome waves and nice views to white cliffs of Dover. Again we were struggling with equipment. This time there was some hassle with the cabinet inputs. Weird shit, I must be cursed.
Our tour manager, James, was able to get us new Peavey heads, but because of all the problems, I still stuck with the Pod XT. Today, we even managed to get some food. To be blunt, catering in UK sucks big hairy balls. It's really tiresome to fight with promoters night after night. Money is tight and economics are not what they used to be. However, one still needs to eat every day, even if you are only in a support band.
The gig was solid. Really good crowd and we were in fire. We also had the first proper bus party with the whole crew. Good times. It's not that often that you get inked by Gregor Macintosh.
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COLCHESTER — Colchester Arts Centre. An old church with graveyard and painted glass windows. Cool venue. Lots of room on stage as well. Today's agenda consisted of some pubbing and emptying nearby Sports Direct of Airwalks. Nice little city.
Today, I finally got my own setup to work properly. On this tour, I'm using Peavey 6505 Plus head and run some basic effects to FX loop: Eventide time factor, Line 6 Echo Park, Line 6 Verbzilla, tuner and noise reducer. Simple setup and I really love the effects. Show was again really solid and we had fun onstage. People were a bit tired, so the evening was spent with a relaxing UNO session (card game). This is how we rock and roll folks.
Insomnium are on the road right now with Paradise Lost in the U.K. The full list of dates can be found here, and you can pick up their new album, One For Sorrow on iTunes now.
