Johnny A. | UK Tour Diary

TOUR DIARY | UK TOUR 2006 | IN SUPPORT OF JOE SATRIANI

Cardiff
- Nice drive this morning from Bournemouth to Cardiff. Johnny received a drop shipment of CD's at the hotel this morning so we have more to sell as we ran out at Bournemouth! Just a reminder to check back here for our UK friends for more information regarding CD's, DVD's, t-shirts, and other merchandise for our UK friends.

We crossed the bridge into Wales and immediately saw the signs written both in Welsh and English. We loaded into St. David's Hall and got situated. We did soundcheck and then came picture time! we did crew pictures, both band pictures, band and crew pictures- Whew! It was sad to think it was coming to an end.

Time for the show and what an audience! I have to say, the Welsh audience was very appreciative and supportive! The set went well, and Johnny and the boys really played their hearts out for the crowd. The audience clapped along to Oh Yeah and even Jimi Jam. The set this week included: I Had To Laugh, Sing Singin', Tex Critter, Krea Gata, Two Wheel Horse, Up In The Attic, Wichita Lineman, Oh Yeah, Jimi Jam, and Memphis Tennessee.

After Johnny's set, he went up to meet fans new and old, and sign CD's and tickets. Joe and his band came out and really tore the place up. They had a fabulous night and were in top form!

Backstage, after the show, we had a cake presented to us from Joe in appreciation of the week in the UK. Really good chocolate cake! We sent thank you cards and champagne to Joe and the band, the crew, and catering to show our appreciation for everything they did for us this week. Then we said our farewells, and piled into the van for our hotel at Heathrow. Tomorrow we fly back to Boston and immediately go to Natick to the Center For the Performing Arts gig we have! Johnny A. World Tour '06, baby! ... and Japan is coming up soon, too!

Lots of photos from Cardiff so there are two galleries! signing off.
Diolch Yn Fawr! Hwyl am nawr...
Billy Claire

Click here for the first gallery from Cardiff...

Click here for the second gallery from Cardiff...

Bournemouth
- Sure is nice to see the Atlantic Ocean from this viewpoint! The seaside city of Bournemouth is very pretty. we got into Bournemouth and checked into our hotel, and zipped off to the Pavilion for lunch. Our caterers are fantastic and check out their picture in the Bournemouth gallery. Thanks to Susie, Sue, and Sanchez for keeping us well-fed and happy! We took a walk around town and hit some of the shops. Chris bought some sharp new shoes, and Johnny got some gifts as well.

The Pavilion is a beautiful old venue with great sightlines and incredible acoustics. I think this is the best sounding venue so far! The soundcheck went smoothly, Johnny tweaked a few of his settings and got a better overdrive sound out of his new setup. Patrick, aka The Chief, came over from Belgium to work his photography magic for Joe and Johnny. Click here for a few of his pictures from the past two days. Thanks, Patrick!

Showtime went very well, and Johnny added Memphis, Tennessee- the Chuck Berry classic- to tonight's set replacing Sing Singin'. The crowd was very receptive as told by the sell-out of the rest of the CD's! Sound-wise, tonight's show was pristine, and as always, Randy's mix was stellar. Wish we could clone Randy. Jimi Jam soared to new heights...

We're already sad that this tour is coming to an end, as everyone has been fantastic! We're looking forward to going home, but it is with a heavy heart that we'll say goodbye to our friends.

Cardiff, here we come!

Click here for pictures from Bournemouth...

London
- Hoo boy. After last night's show, we joined Satch's crew for a night out in Birmingham. Many many many pints, and we ended up at a dance club late.... There's a mental image for you. Fortunately, Billy kept the camera put away to prevent blackmail pictures ;-)

Johnny drove the Vdub van to London this morning while the rest of us sprawled as best we could. Getting into Hammersmith is really cool. Great buildings and architecture, and shops. Made it in time for lunch which was splendid as usual, then off for a walk by the Thames, and a little shopping. Soundcheck was great and the Apollo is such a cool venue with a great history: Beatles, Stones, Bowie, Hendrix ,to name a few, all played there and one can't help but FEEL the history in the room. Randy's mix was spot-on as usual, and Johnny, Jesse, and Chris had a good warm-up in soundcheck.

It was good to see some friends, too, in London for the gig. Showtime came, and the set was excellent- a lot of people got to see the set, fabulous crowd reaction, and Jimi Jam (set closer) wowed the crowd. It certainly is the perfect song for this venue, paying homage to many who came before who all played there!

Johnny went out to merch and signed CD's again- best comment so far on the tour was from a bloke who said "Wow, that was brilliant, mate- I've never seen anyone rock proper sitting on a stool before!"

Afterwards, some of us ducked out to the Duke of Cornwall pub to catch the rest of the England v Sweden game. Who knew Sweden was that good- England's goal with 6 minutes left certainly looked to be the winning goal, but Sweden managed to tie the score with 5 minutes remaining. Rats. Well, at least it's not a loss...

See you tomorrow in Bournemouth!

Click here for a gallery of on-the-road and London Hammersmith Apollo pictures...

Birmingham
- Left Glasgow this morning for the longest drive we have in the UK... we think. That's, of course, if we don't get lost. We're starting to get the hang of the combination of roundabouts (rotaries, for New England folks), blue road signs, signs written on the street itself, and how highways can go from A1 to M1 to A1 again for no apparent reason.

And, by the way, Mapquest is the devil's work. Yesterday, our hotel was four blocks from the venue, yet Mapquest sent us on a 45 minute drive to get there. Up this street, down that street, around the roundabout, swerve right, and a few car tricks that you only saw in old Looney Tunes cartoons. We parked, looked up the street, and saw our hotel. Crawling would have been faster. Hmmm.

Got to Birmingham finally- did a fabulous soundcheck, and time for an interview with Guitarist GTV. They videotaped an interview with Johnny, and filmed the first three songs. Fantastic set, and the Birmingham crowd was awesome. They were really listening to every nuance of the show. Johnny met a lot of folks after the set out at merch and signed a lot of CD's and tickets, as well as posed with fans for pictures for the website.

Click here for a gallery of on-the-road and Birmingham pictures...

Glasgow
- Nice drive this morning from Newcastle to Glasgow. Took the A69 to Carlisle, which was a picturesque drive. Drove by some beautiful stone houses, lots of green fields and hedgerows, saw signs for Hadrian's Wall, which we'll have to look up online as there was no time to investigate, nor could we go to the ruins of a castle we spotted off the motorway either. Lots of sheep and cows. Mooo.... Got to Glasgow, and wove our way through the maze of one-way streets to the Royal Concert Hall. A beautiful, new venue with excellent acoustics.

The Thistle Hotel is unbelievable. We could move into these hotel room, and the writing desk is a nice touch. We're still following the World Cup and tonight's Brazil v Australia should be awesome except for the fact that it's on a half an hour before set time. No TV in the dressing room but we managed to run in to The Iron Horse (not Northampton but Glasgow!) for the tail-end of the World Cup match to see the last five minutes when Brazil won. Jesse was psyched!

Speaking of Jesse, he found the most ridiculous thing backstage- the "emergency fire microphone." Got a funny picture of it in the gallery. Not sure what to make of it....

Johnny soundchecked with Satch's band, playing Joe's guitar.... and standing up! Don't see that too often. Johnny, Jesse, and Chris played a phenomenal set tonight, and got a standing ovation from some of the crowd. They've been getting a great reaction from the crowds at all of the venues, and tonight was one of the highlights!

Joe's set was amazing tonight and we watched from the wings for a good deal of it. His new single, Super Colossal, is a great song! and not to mention what a great guitarist, and killer band with Jeff Campitelli on drums, Dave LaRue on bass, and Galen Henson on second guitar. Fabulous!

Have to say again how incredible everyone has been- catering has done a splendid job of keeping us well-fed, with an awesome selection of food. Rick Reith, Satch's production manager for the tour, has been on top of everything and looked after us as well.

Check out the photos from Glasgow and our drive there...

Newcastle
- Got up early this morning for the drive from Manchester to Newcastle. Almost got hit pulling out of the hotel when we looked left instead of looking right. Whoops. Didn't get lost too badly this time and our trusty steed, the VW Touran was a smooth ride for our journey. The countryside along the way was just beautiful and so green. Lots of sheep, too. Fortunately we have our 'EASY' button to make things go more smoothly...

City Hall in Newcastle is an incredible room. Awesome sound, and we have to give a nod to Randy Lane, who's doing sound for us and Satch, for the amazing job he's doing with the mix. Great crowd reaction, and lots of kinds words from folks out at the merch booth. Speaking of merch, Stuart, who is in charge of all merchandise, celebrated his birthday at midnight! Happy birthday, Stuart! We tried to join the crew for some birthday drinks, but our rendezvous bar was closed and we couldn't find them.

Check out the new photos from tonight- some of the audience is there, too!

Manchester
- What side of the road are we on?! Flew into Manchester a day early to get acclimated to the time difference. Sorted out hotels and the venue, and wandered around Manchester downtown for awhile- checked out the music stores and then ducked into a pub to watch England v Trinidad/Tobago in World Cup action (rooting for England of course!). Awesome match. Friday, we headed out to the Apollo- met some old friends on the Satriani road crew and made a lot of new friends! Great bunch of guys and you couldn't ask for people who are more willing to go out of their way to help out. Soundcheck went beautifully and the venue opened. Full house and what a great response from the Mancunian audience! Johnny went out to the merch area for the break between his set and Satch's, and met many people and sold quite a few CD's Hopefully we brought enough...

Then Joe Satriani and his band came out and were fantastic. Great show and we watched for quite a while from the back of the room before moving sidestage. Overall, it was a terrific first night and hopefully an indication of how good the rest of the UK gigs will be.

Click here for a gallery of some load-in and soundcheck pix...

Tour diary and photographs by Billy Claire