One Night in Manchester

Lightspeed Champion Theme Week Day 5

The printed itinerary from Dev's manager Rene alloted us two hours to make it to Manchester from London, but knowing better we arranged an earlier departure time the night before so that we'd make it to scheduled radio sessions in time and perhaps have time to shop - Footballer's Wives style as Fifi referred to it as. Since there had been a day off in the tour schedule, we'd all headed back to London. Originally Patrick was going to ride the rails up to Manchester, but opted to come along in the car with Dev, Fifi, driver Tom Page and I. Needless to say it was a full load when we eventually took off, however our take-off was hampered by an hour as Patrick was late arriving to Dev's flat. Already bringing along a dollhouse for all the tour dates, Patrick showed up with a menagerie of instruments and odd toys bought at Shepherds Bush Market including an unfortunately sized goldfish balloon that took up what free breathing space there was in the car.

We made it to the University of Manchester radio station early! A first! Fifteen minutes after our arrival the station attendees came out to meet us and take us down to their lier adorned with posters that decried songstress Kate Nash. A recording session ensued including Patrick joining in for a Lightspeed Champion rendition of Wolf's song "Souvenirs" after an interview.

Then we hopped it over to the venue - a proper venue and seated as Patrick had requested. Many of the venues were being upgraded to standing to allow for people to make more money which Patrick didn't like. The hall was actually located just on the fringes of Manchester and apparently designed by someone with an obsession with the color pink. Everything was pink! From all the seats to the walls.

The promoter was especially generous with Dev's rider for the night - setting out a sole bag of crisps (aka potato chips) on a plate in his mirrored dressing room while tables overflowed with food in Patrick's allotted space.

Dev filmed it as apart of his video clip of the day - it appears just a little more than half way through. Note all our disbelief as he pans his camera around haha:

(And of course the above clip was filmed via his Fuji camera. He got it cos both Fifi (see) and Patrick(see) are sponsored by Fuji - to the point where Patrick randomly sang "Fuji-la-la" - the the tune of the Fugee's "Fu-Gee-La" pretty much all the time)

A few seconds later in the video I'm going crazy with Patrick's children's "terrorist training toy." Seriously - it was the best thing EVER! He of course bought it at Shepherds Bush Market and was convinced of it being a terrorism tool as each button says something else and one says "war" repeatedly while another says "New York, New York" hahahahahaha. I used to be OBSESSED with found sounds and still carry an affinty, so I recorded some of it. I don't know if I'm convinced of it's message, but it sure is fun! Can anyone translate it?

Patrick Wolf's toy MP3 (1 min and 27 sec)

Dev took to his practically sold-out merch table as Fifi manned Patrick's. Two girls dressed in capes approached Dev. We couldn't decide whether they had simply chosen to dress up as casual super-heroes regardless of where they were going or if they'd dressed up in homage to Dev's frequent caped crusades on the many concert stages of the world.

The audience was rather subdued throughout both Lightspeed Champion's and Patrick Wolf's sets. During Patrick's encore the duo finally played their "Souvenirs" duet in the live setting in front of a crowd. Patrick messed up on the lyrics, but it was still a treat.

"Souvenirs" (Patrick Wolf Cover) Lightspeed Champion MP3

After the show we headed back to Patrick's hotel for a few drinks. While Dev is a teetotaler, he did take a tiny sip from Fifi's white Russian from a straw. An exposed nerve in his mouth has made it so that wherever he goes, so does a handful of straws should the occasion arise that he needs to drink. The bar just off the lobby closed soon after our arrival so within the hour we caught a black cab to our castle for the night - ie Travelodge - a rite of passage for any band touring in the UK and residence of Dev's so often that he recognizes the staff members now.

Yes - Manchester also brought about the first date on the tour in which there was a hotel room! Oh the luxury of Travelodge. No internet - unless you want to pay five pounds per hour (!), no TV, no microwave, wonky heating, but three beds - one in the form of a couch. Now that's accommodation.

We had until noon the next day to check-out, so Tom took off for a walk, Dev hunted down Subway, and I got lost looking for a bottle of water as the hotel's vending machines were throughly under-stocked.

Now it was off to satellite town of Leicester! To play the Y Club. Where does the name come from you ask?

Well, it was actually part of the YMCA - it's doorsteps decorated with kids in tracksuits and not looking especially welcoming i.e. chavs. Dev looked on with indifference, inside his head and with Lil' Wayne cranked to deafening levels.

Comments

[hannah]

I was at this gig...really amazing stuff. The duet was beautiful.