EliasMooseblaster Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 (edited) Well, not even your favourite band, necessarily, but just for a gig you really wanted to see. You kerrazy kids must have a few stories to tell, so I thought I'd share my own story to get the ball rolling. The gig: Hooverphonic, live at Aula Magna, Louvain-la-Neuve Universite, December 2008. Good god, was it really six years ago? I'd (re)discovered Hooverphonic a couple of years prior to this, but as they never really broke into the UK, material was limited. I managed to track down CD copies of [i]The Magnificent Tree[/i] and, with a bit more effort, [i]Blue Wonder Power Milk, [/i]but I'd long since accepted that I was going to have to look for their other albums abroad. (Yes, I probably could have ordered them online, but that would feel like cheating!) So I was reduced to enjoying these two albums and occasionally finding tracks on Youtube or similar, and it was becoming increasingly apparent that they weren't going to come and play over here. Earlier in 2008, they released [i]President of the LSD Golf Club, [/i]which was followed shortly by the announcement that Geike Arnaert would leave the band at the end of the associated tour. This, I decided, would not do: I had already missed out on a chance to see The Who before John Entwistle passed away. I [i]had [/i]to catch Hooverphonic in concert with Geike Arnaert on vocals. I looked through the list of tour dates and decided my best bet was to go to Belgium. From this point onwards, Google Maps plays an important role in the story. I looked at Louvain-la-Neuve Universite on a map and thought "it's not that far from Brussels." And, strictly, it's not - the SNCB website indicated plenty of fairly regular trains out there. I could get the Brussels by Eurostar, catch the train out to LLNU, enjoy the gig and get back to a hostel in Brussels the same night. I asked around my friends to see whether anybody else was interested. A couple of people had listened to the albums I had and were definitely interested when I first mentioned it. Oddly enough, when I explained it would involve a trip to Belgium, they lost interest. Gradually I reached the conclusion that I would have to go by myself. Oh, well. Undeterred, I booked a Eurostar journey and a hostel. And to begin with, everything went very smoothly. On the train over to Brussels, I ended up talking to the elderly businessman sitting opposite me, who seemed intrigued by my little adventure, and warned me that the area around my hostel (close to Gare du Nord) was a bit dodgy, and I should be careful after dark. I found my hostel without incident, checked in and put my bag in a locker in an unoccupied room with six or seven bunks. Was I the only person booked in the room that night? The journey to the venue was a bit trickier. It began with a moment of slight panic, in which I mis-read the timetables and thought my trains to LLNU had disappeared. Then a moment of greater worry, as I located my train and realised that, although the intercity trains are very modern, and frankly put British services to shame in terms of space, comfort and punctuality...the same could not be said for this little stopping service. It was probably on a par with some of the old slam-door rolling stock that was still common in the south of England during the '90s...except that there were no announcements for the stations. By this time, it was pitch dark outside, and I had no idea how many stations there were between Gare du Nord and LLNU. Peering frantically out of the window at each stop, to try and read the sign on the platform to identify the station, was certainly not the most relaxing train journey I've ever had. But I got there. I emerged, triumphant, from the station, and pulled out my Google Maps printout to navigate a strange little town which felt a bit like an overgrown shopping centre. I must have been wandering around blindly for half an hour...even briefly following what looked like a slipread onto a dual carriageway - [i]surely I must be reading this map wrong? Is it the right way up...? [/i]I went back towards the centre of the complex and tried to reorient myself from there. Eventually I did the highly un-British and definitely-not-very-manly thing of asking a local for directions...the venue was just around that corner. It transpired that, whilst Google Maps had comprehensively mapped out a large proportion of major European cities, it had not quite so comprehensively mapped out the smaller towns. Not entirely their fault, these things take time, but if I'd followed their directions, I would have ended up looking for the venue in a layby on this dual carriageway. It was worth the journey. Hooverphonic were excellent, and I remain glad to this day that I made the effort to catch what, for most fans, is the definitive lineup. The journey back was far smoother - being more relaxed, and more confident with the trains, I caught an earlier train and changed at Ottignies, onto one of the fancy modern ones, and realised how much more pleasant my train journey could have been. Gare du Nord was not as dodgy as the kind old man had warned me. And my hostel room was not as unoccupied as it had been earlier - turned out I was sharing with five American girls, which wasn't in the least bit awkward. The following day, I went out in search of CD shops and stocked up on the band's back catalogue as best I could. Then I gradually ran out of things to do and had several hours to kill before my train back, so I found the Delirium bar, where I got talking to a Frenchman who drank with me for most of the afternoon, took my number, promising he'd come to London early in the new year and we should hook up for a beer then, and staggered off half-cut, never to be heard from again. I was probably a bit wobbly myself by the time I got to Bruxelles-Midi, but damn it, I'd had a great weekend. Edited February 20, 2015 by EliasMooseblaster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 (edited) [sharedmedia=core:attachments:166776] Could have done with a few more photos (of the Americans..? ); otherwise, an excellent narrative. It makes my early-morning walk back from Chalk Farm's Roundhouse to Bedfont (Heathrow...) seem a doddle. Still, the all-night sitting featuring Jefferson Airplane and The Doors were worth it. Ah, the '70s... Edited February 20, 2015 by Dad3353 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevB Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 In the mid 90's I flew to New Orleans for a week mainly to see Deep Purple play 2 shows back to back at the weekend in the House Of Blues venue there. It had been organised via one of the old pre-internet 'alt.music' newsgroups and one of the main people involved got us all backstage passes to hang out with the band after one of the gigs. Spent some time having a nice chat with Ian Paice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ras52 Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I went to Rome to see a gig that didn't happen When Van der Graaf Generator set off on tour in 2005, it was by no means clear whether their re-grouping was to be ongoing, so this was potentially a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see them. I did Leicester, Shepherd's Bush, Amsterdam, Milan and Rome - except that the Rome gig was rescheduled to one night later, and I couldn't change my plans. Ah well, The Vatican, ice-cream by the Trevi Fountain and a quiet meal at the hotel in the evening. *Almost* as good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I saw Polysics at CBGBs in NYC and Fra-Foa in Kyoto, Japan. Neither visit was specifically to go and see the bands but I did alter the timing of my trip to NYC to make sure I was there when Polysics were playing. The Fra-Foa gig was just a happy coincidence that they were on tour to promote their second album while I was in Japan. In the late 70s and early 80s I would often go to gigs away from home with no means of getting home after the gig and no accommodation booked, just hoping that I would find either a suitable all-night cafe or somewhere safe to bed down until the first train/bus back in the morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 My daughter regularly flies to the States purely to see her favourite band. She's flown in and out just for a gig with only an overnight stay and has also followed them around on 15 - 20 night tour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrammeFriday Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I'll be going all the way from Birmingham to London to see AC/DC later this year. But only cos the lazy sods aren't playing the NEC! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I have never left the UK to see a band. The only time I've left Scotland to see bands was when I went to Download 2007. They can come to me - even Maiden did in 2011, first time since 1990. I'm a patient man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartelby Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I saw H2O, Sick Of It All and The Misfits in Chicago House of Blues in 1997. I was going over there to see my girlfriend so timed my visit for this gig. Last year I drove from Pontypool to Aberystwyth then to Diksmuide in Belgium to see Einstürzende Neubauten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Helsinki to see Metallica, many years ago. Hardnosed vodka drinking Finns were nowhere to be found, the gig was all earplugs and rucksacks. And they stop serving alcohol once the band came on. Seeing a band in a stadium where it doesn't actually get dark is a strange experience. All in all, boring city, quite boring gig. Never seen either since! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toneknob Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 (edited) My overseas gig itineraries... 1996 - The Musical Box, Atlanta (early incarnation of the Genesis tribute band) 2000 - King Crimson, Prague (their tour didn't originally include a London date. guess what happened) 2007 - Genesis, Prague (one of very few standing gigs on the "reunion" tour) 2007 - The Police, Vienna (ditto) 2008 - King Crimson in Chicago/Dave Matthews Band in Alpine Valley (and folk I met at the KC gig took me to see Extreme at the Chicago House Of Blues, I turned down their offer of the Scorpions) 2008 - Dave Brubeck, San Francisco Symphony Hall 2011 - Phish, Denver (3 shows) 2011 - Kraftwerk, Munich 2013 - Kraftwerk, Dusseldorf 2014 - Alain Caron in Paris (on honeymoon, still trying to work out how I managed this) Edited February 20, 2015 by toneknob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 [quote name='toneknob' timestamp='1424450427' post='2696494'] My overseas gig itineraries... 1996 - The Musical Box, Atlanta (early incarnation of the Genesis tribute band) 2000 - King Crimson, Prague (their tour didn't originally include a London date. guess what happened) 2007 - Genesis, Prague (one of very few standing gigs on the "reunion" tour) 2007 - The Police, Vienna (ditto) 2008 - King Crimson in Chicago/Dave Matthews Band in Alpine Valley (and folk I met at the KC gig took me to see Extreme at the Chicago House Of Blues, I turned down their offer of the Scorpions) 2008 - Dave Brubeck, San Francisco Symphony Hall 2011 - Phish, Denver (3 shows) 2011 - Kraftwerk, Munich 2013 - Kraftwerk, Dusseldorf 2014 - Alain Caron in Paris (on honeymoon, still trying to work out how I managed this) [/quote] Kraftwerk in thier hometown sounds amazing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameronj279 Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 (edited) If I had the funds I'd pay to see Tool wherever they played. So far I've been to Manchester to see Primus and Rammstein and London to see Primus (2 dates at Royal Albert). Mainly due to money as there's lots of bands I'd travel much further afield to see. Edited February 20, 2015 by Cameronj279 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karlos69 Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Around 10 years ago I rode my motorbike to Berlin to watch Rammstein. Ace gig and experience! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Back in the mid '80s, I went to the monsters of Rock one day festivals over here. On two occasions, I went to the equivalent in Germany . In 1987, Bon Jovi headlined the uk one .( mismatch or what?) A week later, I went to the equivalent in pforzheim( Mannheim) where Deep Purple headlined. Loved it there. In 1988 Maiden headlined here, and inGermany on fc Colognes football pitch. Gig wise, I preferred the cologne gig. Testament replaced megadeath , while mustaine was drugged out of his eyeballs apparently. Testament were close to being the best band of the day. The week before, was where guns and roses were too low down on the bill,and somebody died in the crowd. Would I go anywhere else other than uk now ? Well, often thought about the states, but with security issues I don't fancy waiting ages if any possible terrorist threats occur. However, seeing ram stein in Germany looks very tempting . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miles'tone Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I left the country once to see the Violent Femmes play. Drove all the way from Cardiff to London and back! :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitzy73 Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 (edited) Flight to London from Ireland to see primus in the mid 90's .got really drunk.fell on to tube and sat some English bloke who never met before who turned out to be a ex of my sister . Edited February 20, 2015 by Fitzy73 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceChick Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Not me, but hubby went from South Wales to Australia for Crowded House "Farewell to the world" tour in 1996. He's even on the DVD extras being interviewed on Australian TV about how far he'd travelled Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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