SECC, Glasgow
Feeder sounded great the other night, in an impressively widescreen way. Aside from all the stress there is a very positive atmosphere surrounding the tour. You get the impression that Feeder are excited about it, and so they bloody should be.
Despite the positive feelings, it is still possible to become ferociously bored during the day. Arena backstages largely consist of small breezeblock rooms without any windows. There is no soft play area, no sporting facilities, no libraries in which you can advance your research on Urban Beetles And Butterflies. It's too cold to go outside, and if you did you'd be in Birmingham. Inevitably you turn on each other, especially if you are brothers.
Soundcheck, when it eventually comes around, is extremely brief, but at least we get to play a song this time. Matt is still suffering from the robot sound, though, which is unfortunate. Somehow technical problems know to home in on the most vital things. They're attention-seekers, but there is still no time to attend to them.
There seem to be even more people there tonight, and the seating curves right round to the sides of the stage. It's a strange thing to play to that many people. I wonder how it would feel to know that all of those thousands had come to see you, rather than you inflicting yourself upon them. It might be pretty close to the best feeling in the world. We get a taste of such things during Strange and Beautiful tonight - there is an almost visible wave of recognition and much cheering, but I never quite get over the feeling we're being tolerated more than enjoyed.
Naturally, afterwards I discover that everyone else had a great time and felt like we went down a storm. It happens quite often that five people can feel completely different about the same performance, so I guess the same goes for audiences.
