SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27 – CAPE TOWN TO JOHANNESBURG:
Another late night and early morning. Flying and performing 3 shows in a row with jet lag and very little sleep is “hard” on everyone.
I got up at 5 am today instead of 4 am. Had time for a very quick breakfast before meeting everyone in the lobby to depart for our flight back to Johannesburg. The ones who took a few minutes and walked around Cape Town yesterday were really bummed to be leaving so quickly.
Our drivers pulled into the parking garage to let us off at the airport when they could have pulled right outside the terminal and dropped us off. And, they were going to park at the far end of the garage like they did yesterday until I asked them to get as close as possible to the doors. Yesterday, we hike a very long way to the vehicles and it’s not easy with 6 or 7 carts loaded with heavy equipment and suitcases.
Check in was slower today and everyone was only allowed to check one bag without having to pay excess. At least we don’t have to go through Immigration and Customs today since Cape Town and Johannesburg are both located in South Africa. We boarded on time and it was kind of a “funky” plane. The seats didn’t seem to be bolted to the floor securely and sort of “rocked” back and forth. Maybe the “rocking” was supposed to make up for the fact that the seats would not recline at all? I was supposed to be sitting right across the aisle from Howard and David but I noticed that a man was sitting in Howard’s window seat. I politely asked him if he was supposed to be sitting in 4A and he got really belligerent and said, “This is MY seat!”. He pulled his boarding pass out of this pocket and he was in 4F – which was next to me. Nice. ☹
I was stressing about the flight because the one yesterday was so turbulent and the wind was really bad on the drive to the airport today. Fortunately, while it was definitely turbulent, it was no where nearly as bad as yesterday’s flight! We landed Johannesburg and it took longer than usual for our bags to come to the belt. I figured they were going through mine and stealing things again. We finally received everything and made the 30 minute drive back to Carnival City Hotel. It’s a really nice place and from what we are told, one of the nicest ones in Johannesburg. But, after the show today, we are here Monday and Tuesday and until 4:30 Wednesday with nothing to do. It’s too dangerous to leave the complex and since most of us are not gamblers or bowlers, nothing much to do. We are going to plan an excursion for Tuesday to go to an Elephant Park and go on a “Safari”.
Upon our arrival this time, we weren’t quite the “stars” that we were when we arrived on Tuesday. Our rooms weren’t ready and they didn’t have me on the same floor with Howard and David. Took over a half hour just to get our 3 rooms. We had to go ahead and send the band to sound check at the “Big Top” which is connected to the Casino. I told them I’d have their luggage placed in their rooms and bring the their keys. This was at 1:15 pm and it was after 2:30 pm before I could even begin checking them in. Then, it took until 3:30 pm just to get the 7 room keys, put the bags in the room, and walk over to the venue to deliver the keys.
I got a smoothie for lunch and worked until time to go to the show. There is no overhead light in my room and only two small lamps – one on the desk and one by the bed. The bulb in the one by my bed was blown and it took me 4 phone calls and 2 hours just to get someone to replace it. That’s pretty typical of the way things move in this country – SLOWLY!
There were over 2,000 people in the audience tonight and they were definitely Bellamy Brothers fans. They applauded and sang along with every song. The sound was really good in the venue, too. The band sounds so tight and Howard’s and David’s vocals are just as strong as ever despite working them so hard.
After the show, the guys did a “VIP Meet and Greet” backstage with about 150 people. There were several famous African artists there who had attended the Bellamys’ concert. Frans did a great job of keeping things moving and we were able to take photos with everyone in 30 minutes.
Howard, David and I went to eat at one of the 2 restaurants where we can charge to our rooms and Dink and Jim were already in their eating. Howard and David got stopped several times walking to the restaurant and took photos and signed autographs with fans. This continued throughout and after the meal in the restaurant, too. A little boy near our table was having a birthday and the staff sang to him LOUDLY and gave him some ice cream. Howard talked the waitress into bringing ice cream and singing to Dink – even though it really isn’t his birthday. He was so embarrassed but it was so funny! We told him we thought he needed comforting after the tremendous loss of Alabama to Auburn last night. There’s a video of the “prank” on my Facebook site.
Got back in the room before 11 am and hoping to finish this “blog” and get in bed by 1 am! Looking forward to the day off tomorrow.
Jude
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 27TH – DAY OFF AT CARNIVAL CITY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA:
Well, I finally got 6 hours of sleep…a record for this tour! Before I could dress and go downstairs for breakfast, my son called from Tokyo where he had just landed with the Aaron Lewis tour. The flight that they were booked on from Narita to Hiroshima would not allow them to fly their suitcases and equipment with them because it was a small jet and there wasn’t enough room. What a nightmare! The airline put them on a bus and sent them to Haneda airport (about an hour and a half drive) and they barely arrived in time to take the only flight out of Haneda to Hiroshima today. After landing, they had a long bus ride to Iwakuni. They arrived just before midnight and hopefully all is good now.
I had an omelet and then came back and worked (mostly with Chris) for several hours before I could slip away and jog. Galen’s air conditioning wasn’t working in his room. The hotel is sold out except for smoking rooms, so it wasn’t an option to move him. The hotel said they would have it repaired for him. Since it took me 2 ½ hours just to get a light bulb changed, I’ll be amazed if they can fix his air conditioner before we depart on Thursday. This time there was a security guard in the parking lots where I have to jog and I felt much safer. Guess it paid off to wait so late to go. Got in a 45 minute run and it felt GREAT!!
Rocky was excited about getting a 90 minute massage today for $40 U.S. He asked if we wanted him to set an appoint for any of us but Howard and I decided to wait and see if the massage he had was any good. I saw him immediately after his massage and he said it was just okay. Like most massages I’ve had in foreign countries, they insist on doing a “soothing” massage as opposed to the deep tissue massage that I request.
I skipped lunch but had another smoothie and then talked to David for a while and worked until dinner time. Had dinner with David, Howard, Dink, Tim and Jim. The food here really isn’t terrific. I think we had the only good things on the menu when we first arrived and now it’s a challenge to find anything to eat. We are only allowed to charge to our room at two of the restaurants so that the buyer covers the cost. I’m going to pay for my own meal tomorrow night and eat at another restaurant within the “compound”!
Tomorrow is another day off and Jason arranged a visit to an Elephant Sanctuary and Safari. I really, really wanted to go but they are departing at 7:45 am and will be gone all day. Just too much going on “work wise” for me to be gone all day. ☹ It’s almost 2 am and I’m still working now…on my “day off”….HA!
Jude
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28TH – ANOTHER DAY OFF IN JOHANNESBURG:
Woke up to beautiful weather and depression that I couldn’t go sightseeing with the guys today. After breakfast, when I returned to my room, the WiFi was down. I went to the front desk and told them and they made a call to their IT guy. When I went back to my room, my door wouldn’t close. It had been really hard to close since I checked in. It wasn’t the bolts sticking, it just seemed to be “off” and no way I could get it closed. Maintenance was called – 3 times – and they finally arrived. They worked on it for a few minutes and then said it couldn’t be fixed and showed me a crack in the wood by the bolts. They said I needed to change rooms. I told them the hotel is completely sold out!
I went to the front desk and told them and they confirmed that every room is full. They called maintenance again and this time two different workers showed up. They had two hinges in their hands so I guess they were going to try that. I had to go back to the front desk to tell them the WiFi was down again and when I came back downstairs, my door was closed!
I finally got in a work out with my “rubber bands” in my room. Will try to jog again tomorrow.
I told the Bellamys instead of the “Let Your Love Flow Tour”, we should re-name it the “Renovation Tour” because of all the work being done at the hotels where we are staying. The swimming pool is under renovation here. It wouldn’t be a big deal but Howard, David and I are on the ground floor so we get to listen to the drill during the day. We have been watching the workers take the tile off with a jack hammer. There are 3 guys but one is just “watching”. They will work for about 10 minutes and then take a 15 minute cigarette break. Obviously they are getting paid by the hour.
I skipped lunch and worked all afternoon. The WiFi continued to go off all afternoon long. A huge thunderstorm rolled through again and this time the power went off for a few seconds.
David, Howard and I ate at the Seafood Restaurant tonight and it was by far the best restaurant we’ve been to so far. I had the grilled calamari and shrimp again with a salad and it was delicious.
The guys didn’t get back from their excursion until around 7:30 pm and they had a blast. Makes me even more unhappy that I couldn’t go. Sucks to come all the way to Africa and spend my two days off looking at a computer screen. ☹ The last thing they did was play with tiger cubs and they came back with scratches all over their hands and arms. Jim even had a big tear in his t-shirt and a scratch on his chest!
It’s almost 2 am again. No idea where the time goes! We have a show tomorrow night and then fly to Sri Lanka on Thursday afternoon.
Jude
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29TH – LAST SHOW IN JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA:
Woke up to more issues with the tour in Japan and spend most of my time dealing with that all day and night. I did take a break and go for a jog again to relieve some stress! I had just gotten started when I saw Tim in front of me taking a walk. We are all very aware of our “safety” here and always on the lookout as we should be. I didn’t want to scare Tim and normally I would just say “On your right” as I approached him. However, I was afraid I’d scare him and he would take a swing at me. When I was about 5 feet behind him, I said in a normal voice, “Tim, I don’t want to scare you.” Before I got out more than “Tim”, he jumped about a foot in the air, grabbed his heart and turned around and said I had scared the life out of him. So much for my plan! He did admit that he would probably have taken a swing at me if I had just come up beside him and spoke. LOL
The WiFi was out at the hotel all day. It would come on for maybe 5 minutes and then go off for hours. So frustrating. It’s a lot like all of our showers. The water cycles from scalding hot to freezing cold about every 20 seconds. Some of the guys are just taking baths. It’s really miserable and painful! And, cleaning the rooms each day is about a 6 hour or more process. The maids come in and strip the beds and leave. Then they come back about an hour later and take all the dirty towels and leave. Then they come back an hour later and clean the bathroom. Another hour goes by and they come back and make up the bed and clean the bedroom. Then it can be anywhere from 1-3 hours before they bring you towels! Very, very different culture here.
Again today — as we have every day – had a thunderstorm and lots of rain at 5:30 pm. Lot like the weather the Bellamys have in Florida. Then the temperature drops significantly.
Howard, David and I left the hotel at 7:30 pm and drove to the venue about an hour away. Jason was still performing when we arrived, so I got to hear a few of his songs. Really good singer, too! There were several people that Frans brought in for a “meet and greet” and then the Bellamys took the stage about 15 minutes late. That seems to be normal here too – starting 15-30 minutes later than scheduled.
This is a beautiful “theatre” and I believe there were about 1,000 people in attendance. Nice crowd for a Wednesday night. It was a much more “subdued” crowd than our other shows but the Bellamys got them singing and clapping before the end of the set.
We had a “farewell” toast with Lefra Productions backstage and they gave everyone a beautiful plaque. They had an artist draw caricatures of everyone standing in a group and the artist did a really good job. Only mistake was, he drew a picture of Jason’s wife (our opening act) instead of me! He says he is going to have a new one made for me. Thankfully, he is going to ship these to everyone.
Drove back to the hotel and arrived at midnight. I worked until 3 am and still wasn’t caught up. Didn’t even have time to write this road report! Promoter told us the hotel had decided we had to check out at 11 am instead of 4:30 pm as planned. But, he had negotiated for 5 rooms to check out at 2 pm. I told him we were all just going to stay in our rooms and they would just have to deal with it.