What a tour so far. Just finished up the West Coast and now heading down to the good ol’ South. It’s been a while since the last update on the escapades of M&S and for that, we’re sorry.

After the hectic schedule in New York we headed West and along the way had some rather wonderful adventures. Gigs in Ohio and Washington D.C were followed by a day off in Chicago, the home of all things John Hughes (R.I.P.). We went sailing on Lake Michigan and played some football before a BBQ in the evening. Ate way too much. Perfect. Minneapolis next, an eagerly anticipated gig (the first to sell out apparently) - beautiful venue and a great crowd.

Another day off was spent in Montana where we went ashooting guns in a failed attempt to become Real Men. Standing next to a giggling, shotgun wielding Winston was a particularly frightening experience, believe you me. Turns out however we were all rather good, particularly Ted - I guess all those years playing computer games wasn’t wasted after all. That evening whilst driving through Big Sky country we sat transfixed by the most incredible panoramic thunderstorm. Sublime. Very scary and very humbling. In the morning the consequences of our rural activities were evident; Ben woke up with a swollen hand from a spider bite and Marcus had a tick in his back. Marcus, the man that he is, burnt the critter off with a match whilst Tom took Ben to the hospital in Billings. $200 for a bottle of pain killers. Absolutely mental. You guys desperately need the NHS.

Moving further South on our mammoth journey, we spent the day in Yellowstone Park. Ben, Marcus and Winnie decided to buy one of those racoon hats, the ones with a tail ala Davey Crockett. The rest of the group scoffed at this decision but secretly were bitterly jealous. The boys looked tremendous. Ben sensed this and, along with the smug look on his face, wore it for the next few days. Winnie, Ted and Polly also claimed they saw a wild bear. No one believed them. Standing on the precipice of a canyon, Tom discovered he has pretty extreme vertigo. No one believed him either. Brutal.

On arrival at Sasquatch the M&S crew were reunited with some old friends from the Laura Marling bandwagon and everyone was in high spirits. A truly beautiful festival on the edge of another gut-wrenchingly steep gorge. Beer was drunk as we laughed and waltzed away in the pink light of the evening dusk. Great day. On top of this we were re-united with our tour manager George, ‘The Sheriff’. It felt like an episode of ‘Surprise Surprise’ when a long lost family is brought back together. Tears. Were. Shed.

From Sasquatch we went to Vancouver, Portland and San Fran; obviously there is tonnes to be said about these fine places but i’m forced to be selective. Lots of nice people were met and the gigs were great.

In Redding, Northern California, we played a round of golf organised by our driver/hero Charlie Lamb. He played 18 holes (and played them well) after having driven for the previous 30 hours straight. Legend. Marcus finished 18 over par but the bookies favourite Tom had a nightmare, putting him in a bad mood the rest of the day - he should never have bigged himself up so much and he knew it.

In L.A. we awoke to see the Hollywood sign looking right back at us. Like all iconic things, it was less impressive than on telly. Later that day Paris Hilton had to stop her car for our tech Adam to cross the road. Surreal. We ended up staying in L.A for two nights and for two gigs. The first evening King Charles happened to be in town and joined the support acts. Being true Englishmen we cut his head off post gig and so our good mate Adam Stockdale from Albatross stepped in for the second night. Armed with nothing but an acoustic guitar he managed to silence a room of over 1500. Impressive. The Middle East were as sublime as ever. Standard. Quickly becoming my favourite band.

Next destination was Solana Beach outside of San Diego. Reminded me rather of the O.C. Not the actual place mind, rather the hit T.V. show featuring the troubled adolescent adventures of rich brats (none of which were seen in Solana by the way, merely the place itself was somewhat reminiscent). Some of us tried to surf whilst others decided to keep their dignity, opting out of the two hour falling over session. Anyway, California done. Tres Vibe-y place. 

Today is Arizona. Driving here felt like going through a Cormac McCarthy novel. Desolate and bare but extremely cool - metaphorically speaking, of course- in reality it was flipping hot. Too hot. Sweltering even. Turns out that everything is bigger in this country including the sun. Upon leaving the air conditioned bus I felt as if i’d been hit in the face by one of those hot towels you get from Indian restaurants. The most suffocating, intense heat i’ve ever experienced. I yelped, retreated and decided to write the blog instead, only to discover five minutes later that the air con had broken down. Nightmare. No blood went into this blog, but sweat and tears most certainly did.

Hope yawl are gud.

Strength and Honour.

M&S HQ and TEDWINNIEMARCUSBEN

x


p.s. Seeing as people seem to be interested in this, here is a list of books presently being read on tour:

Winnie: Damian - Hermann Hesse
Marcus: Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglas
Ben: Works of Love - Soren Kirkergaard
Ted: Siddhartha - Herman Hesse