Noisecreep

Bigelf Progressive Nation European Tour Report: End of the Road

Ace Mark — 2009-11-10T18:00:00+00:00

Ace Mark from Bigelf is currently on the road with the Progressive Nation 2009 European tour with Dream Theater, Opeth and Unexpect. He hates people who write about themselves in the third person.

Rome
I guess it is true what they say: all roads lead to Rome. Once again, the parking lot was filled the bootleg stands. After breakfast it was time for a family photo shoot with all the bands and techs on the tour. The show went really well, and the crowd was awesome even by Italian standards. Seems like Italians don't believe in air conditioning though, again there was absolutely no air on stage. Anyway, a killer show and a great bus party with Opeth and Unexpect afterwards.

Bologna, Italy
After a great day off hanging out in bars and restaurants -- and way too many JD's and Absinthe shots in Bologna with Unexpect -- it was back to work again. The crowd was really rocking, there's something about those Italians. They were singing, chanting and putting up lighters and cell phones on 'Money It's Pure Evil.' Being on Progressive Nation really doesn't suck too much.

Bigelf Progressive Nation European Tour Report: Back to the Grind

Ace Mark — 2009-10-30T17:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Tour Diary

Ace Mark from Bigelf is currently on the road with the Progressive Nation 2009 European tour with Dream Theater, Opeth and Unexpect. He hates people who write about themselves in the third person.

Brussels, Belgium
After our own little club tour, it was back to playing venues on the Progressive Nation Tour again. Unexpect had had a few days off in Brussels, half of Dream Theater had flown home to the U.S. to their families, and Opeth had done shows on their own in Ireland. They had the misfortune of being in car accident as well. Some car had hit their bus in Belgium, thank God everybody in the band was OK. Their second driver had some severe scars from broken glass and had to take a sick leave. Everybody else was physically healthy, but understandably still shaken by the incident. As Mikael introduced the band at the show: "Good evening. We're Opeth and we just almost got killed." Like the true professionals they are, they played an amazing set as always.

Our show went fine as well, despite of the not-so-rare technical problems. After getting the Hammond fixed in London, a new problem with the volume pedal presented itself. Duffy's bass amp was making weird noises as well. And top of everything, Froth's kick mic dropped inside the kick drum, and the kick pedal got totally loose in the middle of the set. Miraculously, the guitar gear was working just fine when everything else was falling apart. I thought we played well though. Despite of some frustrated Elves backstage, I don't think too many people in the audience noticed anything being wrong. After the show it was time for a happy reunion with Unexpect at the buses, both bands had been missing our nightly parties during the break.

Bigelf Progressive Nation European Tour Report: First Time in France

Ace Mark — 2009-10-23T13:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Tour Diary

Ace Mark from Bigelf is currently on the road with the Progressive Nation 2009 European tour with Dream Theater, Opeth and Unexpect. He hates people who write about themselves in the third person.

Paris
Having never played in France before, we were totally taken by surprise by how the crowd was totally rocking. Definitely one of the better shows on the tour. After the signing session, we took the metro to the the city centrum for a taste of some nightlife, Paris style. And let me tell you: the rumors of people there having stiff upper lips and not speaking any English are absolute rubbish. Everybody there was so nice and friendly. Luckily the next day was a day off, so we got to stay in Paris one more day. We did the tourist thing and saw Notre Dame, Pere Lachaise and Monte Martre district with the guys from Unexpect, tons of fun.

Lille, France
After getting caught up in the rain in Paris with a thin velvet jacket, I had a severe cold the next day. Thankfully Jamie the tour manager hooked me up with some pills. The Lille show had an amazing audience as well, France just seems to live and breathe rock. Before our set, I was checking out Unexpect, and once again they drove yours truly and the Frenchies into a frenzy. Our show was good, and the crowd loved it. God bless France, what a cool country.

The Bigelf Progressive Nation European Tour Report: Mellotron, Crowns and Casualties of the Road

Ace Mark — 2009-10-08T19:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Tour Diary

Ace Mark from Bigelf is currently on the road with the Progressive Nation 2009 European tour with Dream Theater, Opeth and Unexpect. He hates people who write about themselves in the third person.

Helsinki, Finland
The Ice Hall in Helsinki is a very special venue for me. This is where I've seen so many shows that I'll remember for the rest of my life. Although I do have a confession to make: I absolutely hate hometown shows. Knowing that your friends and family are there in the audience is not good for the nerves. Thankfully, we had time for a long sound check.

For some reason the mellotron was acting up, and on top of that the guitar amp blew all of a sudden. Our excellent techs got it fixed in no time, but the mellotron was still sounding weird. The show had some technical problems, but went well otherwise. After the show it was bar time with some friends. The bus was leaving early in the morning, so I slept on the bus instead of going home.

The Bigelf Progressive Nation Tour Report: Bums, George Clinton and Steve Vai

Ace Mark — 2009-09-22T20:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Tour Diary

Ace Mark from Bigelf is currently on the road with the Progressive Nation 2009 tour with Dream Theater, Zappa Plays Zappa and Scale the Summit. He hates people who write about themselves in the third person.

Denver
After a day off in Omaha, Neb. we were once again in Denver. A great venue, but unfortunately the show suffered from technical difficulties. It turned out that a circuit board inside the Echoplex was loose, so the echo didn't work, and what's even worse we had no Mellotron. Anyway, Damon did a really good job using just the Hammond organ and the Mini Moog, considering. Luckily also the audience seemed to appreciate their dose of 'Mediumelf.' After signing some merch, we disappeared into the night with the Zappa boys once again, this time to the local Rock Bottom Brewery. Some local fans were ordering us beers and shots, but somehow they ended up on our bill after they had left. People in Denver are generally really cool and friendly, but some of them seem to have a weird kind of hospitality...

Drive to St. George, Utah
The bus left at 4 AM towards St. George. Duffy and me were in still in a party mode, so we ended having beers and drinks in the front of the bus and playing country music to our driver Jerry. Them sad old songs was a perfect soundtrack to the mountains of Utah bathing in the rising sun. Jerry is an older guy from Tennessee, so he was into it. At least he said he was. The country session went on until 8 AM, but we're still on speaking terms. I think.

The Bigelf Progressive Nation Tour Report: Canada, Transatlantic and Nightlife

Ace Mark — 2009-09-07T14:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Tour Diary

Ace Mark from Bigelf is currently on the road with the Progressive Nation 2009 tour with Dream Theater, Zappa Plays Zappa and Scale the Summit. He hates people who write about themselves in the third person.

Winnipeg, Manitoba
After a dreadful 24-hour drive from Toronto to Winnipeg, we finally got to the Burton Cummings Theater. It's truly amazing how a nice cold shower and decent food can make your day ... We were late as usual, but luckily for us the schedule had been pushed back by one hour. Despite all the stress and hassle, the show went really well, and the crowd was amazing. After the show it was time to start heading for Calgary, Alberta.

Calgary, Alberta
The MacEwan Hall is located at a university campus in Calgary. The hall was all concrete and steel, a sound engineer's nightmare. Thankfully, a lot of people showed up and made the sound a lot better. The sound check was ... interesting. I was exhausted, and half of the other guys were struggling with some kind of bacterial flu that's been bugging just about everybody but Damon and me on this tour. By some miracle, the show sounded good anyway, I guess you never know ... After he show, it was time to explore the nightlife of Calgary, this time on our own since the Zappa bus had already left for the next show.

The Bigelf Progressive Nation Tour Report: Breaking Gear, Cheers and Beers

Ace Mark — 2009-08-24T17:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Tour Diary

Ace Mark from Bigelf is currently on the road with the Progressive Nation 2009 tour with Dream Theater, Zappa Plays Zappa and Scale The Summit. He hates people who write about themselves in the third person.

Asbury Park, N.J.
After a well-needed, relaxing day off in New Jersey, it was time to drive to the Convention Hall by the beach. On the way there we were double-parked while grabbing some food for the road, and these cops had us stand outside the bus while they were searching it from the floor to the ceiling. Of course they found nothing. Anyway, the weather in Asbury Park was great for a little bit of tanning and swimming. Of course we did none of that. After 90 minutes of trial and error, I had to admit that there was no way to buy cigarettes on the Boardwalk. They had lighters, though ... somebody please tell me why!?! Well, after all I managed to purchase a pack for $9(!) at Wonder Bar. Oh well.

Nevertheless, the load-in, line check and pre-production of the show went really smoothly. Every one the bands and the tour crew seems to be extremely cool and professional (well, there was that one night when Bigelf almost missed a show in Virginia for being late). Anyway, after the show we all went to Stone Pony, where Bruce Springsteen (among others) started his career. Their head of security, Tommy, took a really good care of us. Almost too good actually -- had a headache the next morning. Thanks Stone Pony, thanks Tommy!