Fruit Bats European Tour Diary Pt.14 Bilbao
By: Eric D. Johnson
Vetiver’s van broke down at a toll plaza today, just north of Pontevedra. We did a cross-load of the two vans but couldn’t fit both bands. We also had to send an “away team” to a nearby van rental place to get a replacement. This meant that we had a long four hour sit on the side of the wet Spanish highway. One and a half of those hours was spent with no extra van, just a handful of us standing on the side of the rainy road. It was like being stranded on a desert isle; we eventually developed our own society with strange games and rules. A couple of highlights include the football-like sport of “kick the screw,” a failed dance routine, and lots of single entrendres. Ahh, boredom. If it had been much longer, we feared it could have turned into a “Lord of the Flies” type situation. Or worse yet, the Donner Party. When we finally got the whole van situation (sort of) worked out, we were four hours late. We loaded onto the stage with five minutes to spare before our set time. Three hundred or so people were standing there as we strapped on guitars, not having even taken our jackets off or stretched our legs. Lo and behold, it was a great show! Graeme and I both agreed that pressure can help you sometimes, a bit of tension made us explode out of the gates. One of the best meals of the tour, as well as many bottles of vino were waiting for us after our set. Plus a really nice hotel right next door. The day’s troubles were erased pretty quickly by the hospitality in this great city. Bilbao is a big clean pretty place - the realm of the Basques and their beautiful and mysterious language. My paltry Mexican Spanish was of little use here, though I managed to order one of the best coffees of the tour while wandering the streets of the old town there. Goodbye for this tour, Spain, mucho gusto y hasta luego!
Artists in this article: Fruit Bats