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QueenOnline on Tour: Notes From The Road South America Part 9 -
www.queenonline.com/en/news-archive/queenonline-on-tour-notes-from-the-road-south-america-part-9/ …
30th September 2015
QueenOnline on Tour: Notes From The Road South America Part 9So here we are, the last show of the 'Don't Stop Them Now' tour of South America, well, Brazil, Argentina and Chile anyway.
I am sat backstage here in Santiago in our 'offices' that resemble the sort of white draped marquees that you get at weddings; it's certainly different. My soundtrack to me tapping away at the keyboard is Rhianna...not out of choice I must stress, she is 'playing' the venue next door. I can honestly say I have never listened to this much of her music EVER. This will be a unique one-off experience, I can confirm.
Let's back track a little, we must not forget Cordoba, our previous show.
I have to admit it was the one show that was quite a blur for me, not sure why, I think I was quite busy, bopping around backstage, but the stand out moments are very clear. The Cordoba crowd was the most tuneful audience I have heard on this trip, not the loudest or the most vocal, but the audience that hit the notes best, 'I Want To Break Free' was particularly good. 'Fat Bottomed Girls' is real favourite of mine and I enjoyed watching it from the video deck that was situated behind the stage and marshaled by Baby Jesus (aka Steve Price), watching what all the band AND the crowd are doing at the same time is really quite fun. 'Love Of My Life', as it has been at all the gigs, was the showstopper; Neil and myself exchanged a nod and a knowing glance as we stood at the back of the stage watching Brian, Freddie and the crowd raise the roof. I always make a point of going out into the crowd during every show, just to enjoyed it like a fan and my choice of song at the Orfeo Superdomo was ‘Tie Your Mother Down’, I then made my way to the sound desk and stood there with some of the crew for ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’, after I got told off by security for touching the barrier surrounding the team working the sound, much to their amusement.
Back to Santiago and the Pista arena then, and the final gig. There is a nice relaxed feel today, the sun is shining, the catering is really great and suits our marital tented surroundings, there are birds singing inside the backstage area and some local venue dogs walking around looking for attention. The venue itself sits in the foot of The Andes, so the view is spectacular and we have just been told that there are free massages available for the rest of the day - all very pleasant, I must say.
Santiago was a pleasant surprise to be honest, the most Western feeling city we have visited, all very modern and clean - it then dawned on me why everything looked so new; earthquakes. There was tremor about 3 weeks ago and was even an aftershock on the day we arrived, I just hope our there is no physically clash between the Classic Rock and the geographically kind tonight.
People have been talking about home in the last couple of days, myself included; what they aim to do when they return and planning their next gigs, lots of mentions of family and kids - plenty of Facetime, Whatsapp-ing and Skype is always being had in between shifts.
The band is due to sound check at 4pm and has just arrived. About an hour ago, and as per my request, Pete has finally played some Status Quo in his warm up of the Red Special. This all came up when we went out the other night and during taxi ride to a quite bizarre seafood restaurant (waiters dressed as sailors, walls dressed with Second World War helmets, mortar shells, sandbags and a camouflage table cloth) I, Pete and Will (Monitors) discussed our love of the Quo, ELO, the Bee Gees and Abba - I told him I was rather disappointed I have not heard him crank out some denim clad boogie. It's just great be surrounded by true music fans and geeks, Will also confessed to being a former member of the Queen Fan Club.
Soundcheck: They played ‘Let Me Entertain You’ from Jazz instrumentally. Wow. What a treat. Neil was beside himself when we caught up later.
The latest set lists were delivered and saw me enjoye a nice chat with Brian about his visit to the Paranal Observatory, and then discussing Bob Dylan with Rog and the forthcoming 'Bootleg Series' release that covers of Mr Zimmerman’s golden era between 1965/66.
I was just about to post this up with an image of the stage in it's current state, but then Robin (Lighting) popped in with this shot of his view up in the up in Q or the 'Hamster Wheel' as its called by those who work closely with it - the sights you see on tour.
And who would have thought I would find myself in Chile, underneath The Andes, in a white draped room, having a massage and being serenaded by Roger Taylor as he hammers the living hell out of his drum kit. It's A Hard Life, sometimes.
Santiago, you are the encore tonight, send us all home with a good one.
In (seismic) rock we trust.
Nick
