Will You Please Come To The Front Of The Class? (Installment 2)

I am spending the first part of my day today responding to fan mail (life's not so bad!) I was replying to this message when I realised I have no direct address for this person. So, Keith of Derby, England, you might say you are being singled out! Enjoy your newfound fame. See my reply to your email below.

-KR.

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Hello Keith,
Yes, I did know that David Bowie had sung on Butterfly's cover of his song, Changes. Lucky girl! His new live DVD was filmed at the Point in Dublin. We performed at the Point on our recent tour. The venue looks bigger on his DVD, which made me wonder if it was the same place, but that could have been a camera illusion.

I'm sure I don't know if the reason Steve Winwood did not play Valerie in his Birmingham concert this year was due to his split with the said Valerie, but I can tell you that I heard Steve Winwood actually went into the studio to re-record his vocals for Eric Prydz' rehash of the song, because the new version has different lyrics from the original. Guess he's getting his song royalties...

Thank you for picking up my CD at the Bristol concert. I am not at all offended that you say it needs a couple of listens before you really enjoy it. Sigh, I guess I'll never be a flavour-of-the-month artist... (I'm okay with that). The video for Life Luxurious that appears on the enhanced re-release "My Little Flame" CD was filmed in the Toronto Beaches at dawn and dusk by Lake Ontario.

Yes, quite often our buses drove off directly after Sarah finished playing Angel. I remember that night in Nottingham you mentioned. The Hallowe'en revellers on the street were indeed a weird sight as we pulled away.

Well, Keith of Derby, England, I'm very glad you enjoyed the concerts. Thank you for the tour diary compliments.

All the best,
KR

"You must not make a party"

Tuesday, November 30, 2004.

As most of you might know, we played the last show of the European tour in London on November 19 and are have now all scattered back to our respective burrows.

I had a busy first week back. Sang backups on someone’s album, did some jingle pitches and had my new album mastered. For those who are unfamiliar with the process, this is the final step in preparing a CD for manufacturing. It’s the sonic polish on the Ferrari, the proverbial icing on the cake, the shine on the apple, the light in your lover's eye, the Pope’s blessing, the, well, you get it. And I hope you do, as soon as it comes out in early 05.

MEMORIES OF THE LAST FEW WEEKS:

MUNICH:

In our hotel, rooms in the 300s and 400s were on the same floor, as long as one followed the twists, turns and mini-staircases. Looking for my room I felt like I was staying in the Being John Malkovitch Hotel.

ZURICH:

In Europe Mr Clean is known as Mr Proper, but I knew this from my Mr Clean jingle sessions. Still it was funny to see it in the supermarkets. Took a train to Luzern on our day off. Was reminded of the TV program I saw the day before (hallucinogenic view of the Alps). Back in Zurich, ran into Ash and Sarah while shopping. She cooed over the lambskin baby booties I bought for my friends' baby.

AMSTERDAM, IN REAL TIME:

Just outside, a clock tower is chiming in the courtyard by the canal. Can't say that everyday. Or 3 times fast. A number of years ago Ron Sexsmith came back from a European tour and he and some of the guys in his band told me they saw a neon sex show sign here of a silhouette of a woman that looked like me. I remembered that today as I walked around in the Red Light district. Found myself keeping an eye open for it. (Hoping I still looked like that).

Took myself out for dinner and took a wrong turn on purpose on the way back to the hotel so that I could walk around the block. Turned a corner and policemen waved me to the side. Bright lights, barricades, paparazzi. I joined the crowd across the street from the Tuschinski Theatre and in a few moments a limo drew up to the theatre and a fancy lady stepped out. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands was going to the movies.

BEST IMPROVISED MONOLOGUE:

I suspect we would all have to nominate Sarah's spontaneous impression of her French Canadian producer for the Paris audience. Went over like beans on toast.

I'LL TAKE CELEBRITY-NO-SHOWS FOR 500, ALEX:

- "Sarah McLachlan's European Afterglow Tour, 2004".
- "Who are Gwyneth Paltrow and Brian Adams?"
- "Correct!"

BEST QUOTE OF THE EURO TOUR:

We all became very fond of our German bus driver Michael. He took good care of us. Every night after the show we would board the bus to find little snacks in bowls and baskets, laid out with care. He became quotable for us very early on in the tour. We had a number of overnight ferry crossings. By law each vehicle must be empty of passengers for the crossings. Most people on the tour wanted to stay asleep on the bus. Personally, the idea of being in a bunk on a bus with the power turned off, in the locked hold of a ferry on open water at night is how I spell C-L-A-U-S-T-R-O-P-H-O-B-I-A. but that's just me. I went up on deck. The first time we had a crossing, Michael drove the bus into the ferry hold and told everyone who wanted to stay on the bus undetected to go in the back, saying, "you must not make a party." His accent and syntax and probably the aftershow beers made this very funny to everyone. There was a lot of slumber-party-like giggling and repeating of, "you must not make a party, do not make the parties!" in the back of the bus that night, and for days afterwards. That expression lived on for the whole tour really.

WILL YOU PLEASE COME TO THE FRONT OF THE CLASS:

To Claudia who is Italian, who grew up near Zurich and who wrote to me on Nov 14, thank you for your nice note. Feel free to write again with your email address.

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR HA HA HA:

I have truly enjoyed having this tour diary as a place to collect and organise my thoughts. Even though the tour is on a break I will write in from time to time. Thank you everyone, for contributing to my touring experience with Sarah and for getting behind my music as well. Just remember 2 things:
1) The Afterglow live DVD is now out, and
2) Save a little money for the new KR CD out early next year!

Best holiday wishes to you all.
xo KR