Manchester-Montreal,
3rd December 2005
So
this is it. Touring The Angel begins
for me at Manchester airport at
6.30am on a cold Saturday morning
in December. Ahead is a full day
of travelling to the Canadian city
of Montreal. The first flight takes
me to Heathrow where I will meet
up with my usual travelling companion
on these trips - Nigel.
Everything
goes to plan and we meet in Heathrow's
Terminal 4 in good time for our
flight to New York. We haven't seen
DM in North America since 1993 so
we have more butterflies than normal
as we contemplate the next few days.
Although I've heard a few audio
clips and seen one or two bits of
video I still have that excited
'first gig of the tour' feeling.
Nigel hasn't seen or heard anything
although he does know the set list.
The
one thing that is causing us a bit
of stress is that tickets for the
Summer Berlin gigs went on sale
while I was in the air and Nigel
was on the road to Heathrow. By
the time we find an Internet terminal
in the departure lounge the first
date has already sold out. A second
show was duly added so Nigel does
the business and buys 2 tickets.
Relief all round!
The
flight to New York lands on schedule
and we arrive at a chilly JFK in
good time for our final flight of
the day to Montreal. After being
sent on a wild goose chase by various
members of airport staff we eventually
find the correct terminal for our
American Airlines flight to Montreal.
The flight is delayed and for the
first time the excitement of the
day gives way to frustration and
boredom as we sit and wait….and
wait. When we finally board the
captain seems to take great delight
in informing us that the fuel gauge
isn't working! However he has checked
the wings (??!!) and assures us
that we have enough gas to get us
to Montreal. The plane is no bigger
than the average bus but an hour
later we touch down safely at our
destination. Good evening Montreal…
Montreal, 4th December 2005
The
Hotel Omni in Montreal has 27 floors
and several dozen rooms. So it is
with great surprise that we end
up in the very next room to Agnes
(Blue_Dress) and her boyfriend Earle!
We meet for the first time around
12.30. Although the gig is some
9 hours away the excitement and
nerves are beginning to build. We
decide to go out and have some lunch,
which is a great opportunity for
Agnes to show us her great photos
of the Toronto show. Following lunch
we have a quick look around some
shops. Nigel buys Flaunt Magazine
in a bookstore and the assistant
informs him that he looks like he
should be in Depeche Mode. This
leaves Nigel rather pleased with
himself until Agnes says he looks
like Sting! He was less pleased
with this comment! Agnes then stocks
up with five rolls of film for tonight's
show. She seems to be a very keen
and capable photographer.
Around
5pm we leave the hotel and head
for the pre-show meeting at a restaurant
close to the Bell Centre where DM
are playing. As we walk through
the door we can hear Precious blasting
out over the restaurant's sound
system. Already there are around
a dozen fans sat at the tables reserved
for us. We introduce ourselves and
as usual I forget people's names
as soon as I'm told them! It's great
to share DM stories and experiences
with other fans. It's a part of
the touring adventure I always enjoy.
Everyone is in good spirits and
the video jukebox has DM on heavy
rotation.
It's
around 7.30pm when we leave for
the Bell Centre. We briefly check
out the merchandise but decide not
to part with our dollars at this
stage. Agnes buys a t-shirt and
programme. We bid farewell to Agnes
and Earle who are sat near the front,
and make our way to the back of
the floor where we are seated. The
Bravery are on stage, and although
I do like them I'm not really in
the mood for them tonight. They
finish and the pre-gig warm up music
kicks in. As usual it seems to take
about 3 days for 9pm to come around!
The
gig was faultless. Dave sounded
great and was very energetic on
stage. The crowd were really into
it from A Question Of Time onwards.
During the opening two tracks a
lot of people were still flooding
into the arena. Don't they know
DM shows always start at 9? Anyway
we sang, or rather shouted, our
hearts out and I must mention the
little 'choir' behind us who sang
along with us and made I Want It
All and Damaged People even more
special!
The
gig went by in a flash and before
you know it we were in a cab on
the way back to the hotel for a
much needed beer. Agnes and Earle
joined us soon after and we began
to recount the concert. Everyone
seemed to enjoy it and I was enjoying
my beer until the bar man told us
the bar was closing. "Its ok
we're residents", I said. "That
doesn't matter", said the barman,
"Its time to close the doors".
It was only around midnight! Thankfully
Agnes had the details of the after
show party so our evening wasn't
over yet. We hailed a taxi and headed
for the club. The turnout was pretty
good for a Sunday night and we spent
a good two hours dancing aw ay and
downing Corona like it was lemonade!
A good end to a great day!
