PHOTOS (Courtesy of Doc Schulze)
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5TH – GERMANY TO DENMARK:
Well, all the “interesting” things today happened between 3 and 4 am. I went to bed at a little after 3 am and at 4:20 am, I woke up because the TV was on….no picture, just a “gray screen”. I knew I had turned it off and was so tired I just left it on. When I got up at 7, the TV was off. David said a little after 3 am, he heard loud banging on the wall that separates our rooms. He thought my bathroom was on that side of the wall but it’s not. The bathroom is on the opposite side. And, there is NOTHING on that side except a closet. It sure wasn’t me because I had gone to bed by then. He said it was so loud, he went out into the hallway and looked around. There were a lot of battles fought in that area throughout the years. Guess there’s lots of “ghosts” still around!
I got dressed and went down to have breakfast at 8 am. When I walked out into the hall, there was a little Asian lady running around and she said, “Missy, missy, you have key to 123?”. Huh? I guess she thought I was the maid! And we we’re on the 3rd floor so I don’t know why she was looking for 123.
Our bus was early and we got loaded up quickly. Checking out of the hotel was another matter all together. We were paying for one night of rooms and the promoter was covering two nights. Had Andy (our host from last night) not been there, we would never have gotten it straight. Glad we decided to leave earlier though because it took us over 2 hours for the trip. There were several detours.
On another note, there were two riders killed last night in the motorcycle accident. Our friend Tom Jeier emailed me about it today. So very sad. I hate motorcycles (Yes, Stan, almost as much as I hate smoking!). It was great to see Tom and Christa last night at the concert.
I checked everyone in yesterday and printed boarding passes. We are on KLM (the nice airline that lost all our luggage on Craig’s tour a week ago!) and as I checked everyone in, I looked at their baggage allowance. I was allowed 3 pieces and everyone who is Platinum was allowed 2 pieces. We only have 2 guys who aren’t Platinum and they were not allowed to check any pieces free of charge! When we started checking in, the agent allowed me my 3 pieces and then he left and someone else took over. He would not allow the guys to check but 1 piece free of charge. I got on the phone with the Delta 360 Line but they left me on hold so long, I had to hang up. We decided to pay the fee and write KLM a letter later. It was supposed to cost 30 Euros for each extra bag. But, because the guys are Platinum, the agent said they get to check one bag free but the second bag is 70 Euros instead of 30 Euros. First time I’ve ever heard of penalizing a passenger for being Platinum Elite. There WILL be an email going out when I get home.
The lady in the Lounge was super sweet and very helpful. Of course, she was not a KLM employee. When we got to the plane, Howard and David had been upgraded to business class – compliments I’m sure of the nice lady in the lounge.
We landed Amsterdam and only had 1 hour to make the connection. I tried to get KLM to scan the baggage tags and make sure they made the flight but they said it wasn’t possible. On the flight from Amsterdam to Billund, a large Asian guy in the coach section, came into business class and went into the toilet. Thirty minutes later, he was still in the toilet. I gave up and went all the way to the back of the plane to that toilet. When I came out, my flight attendant whispered that I should be glad I didn’t go into the toilet up front. The guy had stayed in there so long, she knocked on the door to make sure he was still alive. He came out and said he had a “little diarrhea” and she said that was way more info than she needed. Turns out the guy was sitting by Frank. We both think he just went into the toilet for the entire flight because he was so large and overweight, he was uncomfortable in his airline seat!
We landed Billund on time and all our bags made it! Our bus driver was waiting for us and it was about an hour drive to the hotel. The hotel that we always use is under renovation, so Jytte put us at the Radisson – great hotel! I have not been to this event for 3 years and it was wonderful to see Jytte again. The hotel had our rooms ready and I got the buyout money from Jytte and paid everyone. When I finally got to my room, it was another TINY room – could not open even one suitcase. I looked at all the other guys’ rooms and they were BIG! I had to go back to the desk and have them move me to a larger room.
Met some of the guys for dinner at a restaurant connected to the hotel. Some of them sat on the water, but I sat farther away because it is COLD on the water. At least this hotel is air conditioned.
It’s after 3 am again and I’m still working. At least I don’t think there are ghosts in this hotel! Tomorrow our friend Stig is coming to film the Bellamys for his TV program but other than that, we have te day off!
Jude
THURSDAY, AUGUST 6TH – DAY OFF IN SILKEBORG:
No “ghostly” visits last night. J Got up and went for a great jog in beautiful weather, quick breakfast, shower, and met Stig (our friend and promoter in Denmark) to film the Bellamys for his TV show. He did a great job with the interview…very articulate and “funny” as well. Afterwards, we all had lunch and caught up on our “lives”. He has a beautiful wife and 3 year old daughter that I thought was coming with him. I was so disappointed I didn’t get to see his daughter. She is adorable. We come back in March to perform for him so maybe I’ll get some time with her then! While we were eating lunch, Don Powell the drummer from the group “Slade” came into the restaurant. He is on his way to Russia for performances. Got a great photo of him with the Bellamys and Stig.
David and I walked over to the center of town for some shopping this afternoon. I found a few of the things I wanted for Zac and Zoe but will have to finish up in Norway – very quickly! Years ago, I would spend hours and hours shopping for clothes and shoes for myself. Now I only shop for the Z’s. This is the town where I had the horrendous bike accident several years ago. Walked past the “accident” site a couple of times today. I won’t be riding any bikes here!
Came back and worked most of the afternoon. Around 7 pm, I decided to walk over to the Mongolian Barbeque Restaurant for dinner. Sent David and Howard a text but Howard had just eaten so David and I walked over. It was as good as I remembered from years ago. I like being able to select exactly what I want in it, even the sauces. And, it was “all you can eat” for 79 DK. On weekends it goes up to 99 DK. It also includes asparagus soup and an ice cream bar (which we didn’t partake of!).
Back in the room to work. The festival actually starts tonight and several of the band members were going over. I’ll wait until sound check tomorrow.
Jude
FRIDAY, AUGUST 7TH – PERFORMANCE AT SILKEBORG COUNTRY FESTIVAL:
Hard to believe I’ll be going home in only 2 days! I got in a good workout with “bands” this morning although the temptation to go jogging again was really strong because of the beautiful weather and great running route. Had breakfast with some of the guys then showered and headed over to sound check.
So nice to see all the people I’ve worked with for years and years. I haven’t been here in 3 years and very nice to return. I checked out the backstage, cd sales, etc., and then since sound check was going well, I left to go back to the hotel to check everyone in and print boarding passes. I had started that process when I left but ran into a “snag” with Wally’s check in. I did make a quick stop in town to pick up a couple of toys I was looking at yesterday for Zac and Zoe.
As I checked everyone in, I took a photo of the screen with my camera. It clearly says that each person can check in two bags free of charge plus have a carry on bag and an accessory bag. I am more than ready to do battle with KLM tomorrow morning. Of course, this will be the one time they don’t try to charge us excess!
Howard and David had a Press Conference at the hotel where we usually stay at 4 pm. They were the only ones participating. They signed autographs and did some radio liners afterwards.
Then it was back to the hotel to work until dinner time. I hiked into town and got Thai takeout (without the rice). I think some of the guys took my advice and went for Mongolian Barbeque.
The bus driver was told to pick up the band at 8:30 pm but we were expecting them to be picked up at 8 pm. Peter – the limo driver – showed up at 8:15 pm for the Bellamy’s 8:30 pm pickup so we put the musicians in the limo and sent them to the stage. Howard, David and I rode the bus up when it arrived.
The venue was totally sold out. It was another fantastic audience who sang along with EVERY song. I walked to the back of the crowd to take some photos. There was a lady dressed in red, white and blue standing and talking to a couple who were sitting down. She was very animated and just as I got almost even with her, she shot her fist out and popped me right between the eyes. Startled me more than it hurt but I did have a “mark” for a while. LOL
Our record distributor had shipped 3 boxes of cds to the buyer and all 3 boxes were sold before the show was halfway over. People were upset that there were no more for them to buy. Bellamys signed autographs for everyone but this was the only part of the festival that was not a “great” experience. The autograph signing took place right beside the other stage and a band was playing very loudly. Meant Howard and David could not hear anything the people in the autograph line were saying.
Bus took everyone back to the hotel but I had to go back and settle up with the CD sales. I should have done that while they were signing autographs but completely forgot. Took me quite a while to find the lady who had sold the cds but eventually we got everything settled. I said good-bye to all my wonderful friends – Jytte, Snif, Bibbi, Peter and lots of others. Took my shower when I got back to the hotel and will get about 2 hours of sleep…maybe. We’ll be back in Denmark in March for another show.
Jude