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tagged: Sasebo, Seoul, Singapore
Posted by Charlie in 2002 VCR Far East Tour
Yesterday morning, we left Seoul bright and early, in a tropical downpour. At the airport, we had to negotiate the rules and regulations of Asiana Airlines, who decided we were all overweight. Quite how THIS happened when we have already taken half a dozen flights around the Asian Rim without a problem, is beyond me, but there you have it. Jeff Thornton had to bargain with the check-in staff for a while. In the end, the most overweight bag (Joe Lynn’s) had to be partially emptied, and Joe had to buy an extra bag to carry all the bits he took out! I got away with it, being just 0.6 of a kilo under with one of my 2 bags (the other bag is basically my cymbal bag, and is only about 40 pounds in weight.
We made it to Fukuoka, where we were picked up for the bus drive to Sasebo, a journey of around 2 hours during the Midday traffic. We arrived in Sasebo with the festival we are playing at in full swing. There was “Battle of the Bands” going on when I went to check out the kit…. which didn’t make it easy for me. The kit – what can I say? in a country that MANUFACTURES some of the best musical equipment in the World, not to mention great drums, this Yamaha kit was one step better than the kit I had to play In La Paz, Bolivia (which belonged to a local guy and had not had new heads since it was first bought in a music store). I did what I could to tune the drums, and adjust the stands. Then I tightened every nut & bolt I could see, before dashing back to the hotel (very nice brand new Holiday Inn ). In the lobby, I was ‘recognised’ by a young chap by the name of Nori. He handed me a wad of CD covers, including a Kate Bush album, and Elton album (of course) and a couple of Gary Moore albums! He is really big in Japan. Then I dashed upstairs to shower and change. By the time we got back to the park, the crowd was really starting to gather, and it was beginning to get dark. We managed to do a rough level check, and get SOME sort of monitor mix (albeit rather dodgy – I am NOT on in-ears here, as I thought it might complicate things more than necessary). Then we were introduced in Japanese (this is part of a Japan/USA cultural exchange festival, by the way). Pat started the show, and we launched into “I LaLaLa Love you”, much to the crowd’s pleasure…. AS the gig progressed, the sound on stage got better (Thank Goodness). I had a hard time holding the kit together: the toms were detuning in the middle of songs, and the cymbal tilter mechanisms kept coming undone, despite my little tightening exercise earlier! All in all I had a tough time keeping my concentration. It was a struggle to get ANYTHING out of the kit, let alone any attempt at excellence. But we went down a storm, and I eventually shrugged my shoulders, smiled and had a good time, rather than worry about the chaotic state of the drums.
We were joined onstage for our encore “Smoke On The Water” by a group of NFL cheerleaders, which gave us some welcome “eye-relief”. After the gig, we were taken to the Navy Club on the base for a meal, which was great, apart from a minor misunderstanding about who was paying for alcoholic beverages. We mistakenly thought it was like last night, but sadly the protocol had changed. Nevertheless, we were very thankful for the hospitality of Sasebo Navy base. All the people we met were really great. Thanks once again guys. You do a great job, and we appreciate it!
Monday morning – 5am OUCH! Lobby call, to take the bus back to Fukuoka. As the sun rose over the hills (what a wonderful sight – ALMOST worth getting up for – ALMOST), we were on our way back to town. This is some of the most spectacular, unspoilt Japanese countryside I have seen. This is an area I have not been to before. We played in Fukuoka in 1998, but never came this far west. I am glad I got to see the countryside, though.
After being dropped at the WRONG terminal (domestic), we then fought our way through the early morning rush hour to the International terminal, then fought our way through the security line to group checkin – where we discovered the Japan Airlines luggage limits are less than anyone else – They allow 2 bags of 25 kilos each (as opposed to 30). SO this time we were ALL overweight. Jeff had to really do some fast talking to get us through! The flight back to Seoul was an hour and 10 minutes, after which we had to stand in line at the transfer desk, to check in to our flight to Singapore (Korean Airlines again). I ended up at the back of the line, and got a crappy middle row seat – remember, this is the busiest holiday week on the Korean calendar? In the end, I kept going back to the desk and asking (nicely – always pays to treat the person who holds the power to make you miserable – nicely) if they had any change of seating. In the end, I got an aisle seat on an exit row, next to Lane. I could not really ask for more!
And so, I write as we fly over the Philippines, in a plane groaning with passengers….. we come full circle!
Singapore tonight – and on to Diego Garcia. Not sure WHEN I will be able to log on again after tonight, but I’ll do my best.
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