This page features my blog kept during the South American leg of Roger Waters 2007 'Dark Side Of The Moon' tour.

Some of the other Roger Waters band members and crew have websites :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Tuesday 27th March - Tuesday 10th April 2007 : London/Parbold/London : Dropped off a few Brazilian comestibles at Candle. Had a great fish at Sheekey's and great Thai food at the Churchill. Visited the Tate Modern. Did a bit of cycling. Played some jazz at Bar Music Hall. Went up to Parbold in Lancashire to see my parents and have a few beers with Alistair, my brother. Did my VAT returns. Recorded a couple of commercials for the Bank of Scotland .................

Monday 26th March 2007 : London : Arrived at Heathrow at 1.30pm. I said my goodbyes to as many of the band and crew that I could find then headed to Willesden Green. I have about three weeks in London before the European leg starts in Zurich.

Sunday 25th March 2007 : Sao Paulo/London : Flight at 2.00pm so we left the hotel and arrived at the airport to find that the flight had been delayed by 5 hours. Fabiana took us to a nearby hotel where we had a pleasant afternoon hanging by the pool, chatting and playing table tennis ( apart from Andy, Snowy, Katie and Graham who preferred to stay at the airport! ). We finally got underway and left Sao Paulo at around 10.00pm.

Saturday 24th March 2007 : Rio De Janeiro/Sao Paulo : Flew to Sao Paulo in time to relax at the hotel for a couple of hours before going to the venue....... One of the best gigs of the tour. A great way to finish this leg. After the show we went to a restaurant that featured a giant tree inside. Most of us stayed up rather late and had a good sing led by Roger and Pat.

Friday 23rd March 2007 : Rio De Janeiro : Another fab day in Rio. Had a good swim in the sea before setting of for the gig by a circuitous route avoiding tunnels ( dangerous apparently, in spite of our police escort ). A tremendous crowd and great gig up until 'Perfect Sense'. Trip pushed the p.a. just a bit more than the Rio generators could handle during the explosion towards the end of the song, and all the power to the stage and lights went out. The crew did brilliantly getting the power back on and everything up and running while Roger signed tee shirts for the fans. The rest of the gig passed without incident apart from being great. We had some pizza under the stars before bed.

Thursday 22nd March 2007 : Rio De Janeiro : After coffee by the pool I had a swim in the ocean with Dave and Jon. Holly and I strolled down to Ipanema beach, had a look around, drunk some coconut milk from coconuts, got our feet wet and strolled back to the hotel before sunset. I had a hunt on the net for jazz dives in Rio. A couple looked promising but were very hard to get on the telephone. Eventually we decided to chance our arm and head for Jazzmania in Ipanema. Pat, Harry and Bob all bailed out on us so we took a cab to Rua Rainha Elizabeth 769 only to find the club shut down and the rain starting. Our cabbie tried to persuade us to go to a dance club way on the other town, but we opted for a restaurant at the end of Copocabana beach. It was a traditional Brazilian barbeque ( Churrascaria ) place called Marius, where waiters circulate with various cuts of beef, pork, lamb and sausages and slice off pieces to order at your table. We had a very nice meal ( including frogs legs! ) and a good Argentinian Malbec. After dinner we walked of our meal by wandering back along Copocabana past Help and the just closing market. Cab home. A marvellous day.

Wednesday 21st March 2007 : Rio De Janeiro : The first of 2 days off in Rio. While I was at breakfast Holly arrived with tales of miraculous visa getting exploits. After a quick look at the beach there was a band outing up Corcovado. Amazing views of Rio from the shadow of one of the most amazing religious folly's on the planet. After a quick snack on the Copacobana beach we just had time for a frolic in the surf at the beach near the hotel and a cocktail before dinner. Most of the band went out to a great dinner in a restaurant just off Ipanema beach. The end of another gruelling day on the road. More tomorrow.....

Tuesday 20th March 2007 : Buenos Aires/Rio De Janeiro : Things started badly.... On the way to the airport I found out that Holly ( being American ) needed a visa to get into Brazil. The story at this point was the visa would take at least 2 days to get. Holly's bags were bundled into a van going to the Brazilian embassy as we rushed to catch the plane ..... Just arrived in Rio. It is rather wet but still very warm. As I was checking into the hotel Andrew informed me that Todd ( Fox ) had managed to get Holly a visa and she would be on the 5.00am flight to Rio. Well done Todd!! The drinks are on me .....

Monday 19th March 2007 : Buenos Aires : Got up just in time to jump in a cab and go to the Cafe Ideal. The Tango class had just started when Holly and I arrived around 1.10pm. The cafe is a great old building reeking in atmosphere. We spent the next 2 hours trying to pick up the basic Tango steps and attitude. We struggled with 'Ocho' and the basic sequence of 8 steps. Just about enough to get the bug to learn some more elsewhere. Needless to say Harry bailed out so Richelle missed out on the opportunity of starting to Tango in the home of the dance. The lesson took 2 hours so by the time we had a sandwich and a coffee we had just enough time to have a walk in the park, a quick spin around Recoleta then I had a swim while Holly visited the grave of Eva Peron. In the evening we had the best steaks of our lives at the Cabanas Las Lilas accompanied by a splendid bottle of Mapema 2000. ......

Sunday 18th March 2007 : Buenos Aires : Slept quite late then had a stroll down to San Telmo where there is a Sunday market and many street musicians playing mainly Tango. Had a lovely afternoon with Holly then returned to the hotel in time to leave for the show at 6.30pm. After a quick visit to catering it was onstage. Another fab show. After the gig Holly and I had a nightcap at Filo, just round the corner from our hotel........

Saturday 17th March 2007 : Buenos Aires : The day of the first show, so took things easy and went to the stadium quite early. Some of the band returned to the hotel after soundcheck, but Snowy, Andy, Graham, Dave and myself stayed. I got a good bit of practising done and took on Snowy and Dave at table tennis. We have to raise our standard a bit in order to give Harry a decent game..... We have a long way to go. Some of the band were feeling a bit tired but show was great. A good audience, though not quite as wild as Mexico. After the show everyone retired straight away.

Friday 16th March 2007 : Buenos Aires: Slept till after midday. I obviously needed to catch up on some sleep. Holly and I saw some of Buenos Aires. Ran into a local in a cafe, Julio, who gave us good info as to what to see and do in town. We know what do do over the coming days in B.A. In the evening we went to a local restaurant with the rest of the band and had steaks. Made a date with Harry and Richelle to take lunchtime tango lessons at the Cafe Ideal sometime over the next few days...... Later we saw a tremendous Tango show. Great dancers and a cool band of 3 bandoneon players, 2 violinists, piano and double bass. .....

Thursday 15th March 2007 : Santiago/Buenos Aires: Thanks to Bernardo Pérez Narrow for sending me more Monterrey pictures. Harry's website is up and running and can be found at the link above ...... Arrived in Buenos Aires around 5.00pm, preceeded my Richelle, Holly and Laurie. Holly and I had a wander down the waterfront and had a lovely dinner in a riverside restaurant. I had to restrain myself from ordering what looked like fantastic steaks, as I suspect we will be in more than one steak restaurant over the next few days!

Wednesday 14th March 2007 : Santiago : Thanks to Miguel Torres for sending me the Bogota pictures and Josue Sanchez Tapetillo for the new Guadalajara ones. Gig day, but will still try to see a bit of the city before going to the venue at 5.00pm.......... saw a bit of the center of Santiago. Went up the hill in the middle of the town where the oldest streets start. Thanks to Big George for showing us around. Another good gig in the evening even though a few of the band ( Roger, Jon, Harry and Snowy ) were suffering from stomach upsets since something eaten in Lima ( along with quite a few of the crew ).

Tuesday 13th March 2007 : Lima/Santiago : No problems flying to Chile. Got to the hotel around midday. Just in time to pick a few things up from a local mall and hang by the fantastic pool with Dave, Andy, Graham and Katie. We are out of the centre of town so didn't see very much when I walked around. Had a great dinner with Andrew, Mark, and Trip. Fab Chilean wine and great beef. Afterwards I checked out the tango band in the bar. Just bandoneon and piano with occasional singing. Great sound and feel. A number of people were dancing. Everything was going very well till one of the dancers requested some music to jive to. Everything went downhill, so I retired to bed.

Monday 12th March 2007 : Lima : Day of the gig so I just did a little more light siteseeing around the old town in Lima. Unfortunately my camera exploded so no pics....... We played in the car park of the Estadio Monumental, which did not stop 20,000 people turning up and having a great time. We have a 7.30am flight to Santiago so will pack tonight and try and get a few hours sleep before the trip.

Sunday 11th March 2007 : Lima : A day off in Lima. Wandered around and soaked up the local atmosphere. Helped Harry finish off his website, which I will link to as soon as it goes live. I found a room in the hotel where I was able to practise so did a couple of hours before dinner. No one around so, had room service bring some stir fried beef and ostrich and watched Andy Fairweather Low playing with Eric Clapton on the tv. Thanks to Renate for sending me new pics from Monterrey and Bogota.

Saturday 10th March 2007 : Bogota/Lima : Left for Lima around midday. We were met at the airport by crowds of fans wanting autographs. It is a big deal for the people here that Roger decided to play Peru. We got to the hotel in time for a quick shower before the band and crew dinner. We had a fantastic meal and a couple of Pisco Sour's ( excellent Peruvian cocktail ). It was great to get to know a few of the road crew a bit better. Eddie told me about his experiences on tour with Tina Turner, which was fascinating. After the meal Roger stood everyone $50 of poker chips to gamble at the casino in the hotel. I managed to lose my stack to Mike Zweck and Dave Hall, who have obviously played this game before!

Friday 9th March 2007 : Bogota : Since we are having a relatively early show we left for the venue at 2.00pm. Spent a pleasant afternoon practising and playing table tennis. The gig was another great one. After the show we retired to the hotel restaurant. Harry got on the piano, so I picked my sax up from the room and we played a few tunes. This seemed to go down well with a few concertgoers who were staying at the same hotel. ( President Bush was also staying at the hotel but didn't attend the gig or our impromtu concert in the restaurant! ). It was Graham Broad's birthday so we finished up with a rowsing version of 'Happy Birthday' joined by the entire room. I was feeling like I hadn't seen anything of Bogota. Luckily, as I headed back to my room I ran into Claudia who was working with another band due to perform tomorrow night. She was heading to a local club for a quick drink, so I tagged along and got to hear some cool local band and meet a few people who had been to the show. Many thanks Claudia.

Thursday 8th March 2007 : Mexico City/Bogota : Travel day. Arrived in Bogota around 8.00pm local time. Had some dinner at the hotel with Harry, Carol and Jon then had an early night.

Wednesday 7th March 2007 : Mexico City : The local promoter organized a van to take Carol, Dave and me to Teotihuacán. We had a great time seeing the Pyramids of the Moon and the Sun and the Avenue of the Dead. All this built around 100 B.C. by an undetermined civilization. Very interesting. After all the pyramid climbing we retired to the pool for a swim and a well earned margaritta. In the evening we had an excellent band meal at Phillipa. I had a nightcap with Roger, Trip, Andrew and Andrea before retiring.

Tuesday 6th March 2007 : Mexico City : The day of the gig. I had a wander round the nearby park, had a swim and got ready to go to the venue. We have some local school kids along to sing on 'Brick'. The show is fantastic. After the gig Harry and I meet up with his friend Elizabeth and we go to Papa Beto where there is a jam in progress. We got straight on stage and had a great time playing with some great local players. By 3.30am we were starting to fade, so it was time to go ......

Monday 5th March 2007 : Mexico City: Thanks to JP once more for a couple more shots of me in Sydney. We have today off so I intend to see as much of the city as possible........... Around 9.30am I thought I'd go for a quick stroll before breakfast. Three hours later I found myself completely lost and so I decided to get a cab back to the hotel. I tried four cabs and not one of them knew where the Four Seasons was located. Finally I remembered that the hotel was near Torre Mayor and managed to communicate this to the final cabbie who got me back to home base. After some pottering around and a bit of a swim I called Dave and Harry to see if they wanted to go out for dinner later. When the time came to go out they were too tired to leave there rooms so I ended up dining alone at the excellent Fonda El Refugio in Liverpool Street. Had a nice chat to a couple at the next table visiting Mexico from salt Lake City. By 10.30pm I was exhausted, so time for bed.........

Sunday 4th March 2007 : Monterrey/Guadalajara/Mexico City : Thanks to JP for the shot of me onstage on friday. We fly to Guadalajara today, perform, then go straight to Mexico City after the show. Leaving at 1.15pm. Have to go...... Still at the airport in Monterrey at 4.15pm. One of the two Lear jets has gone on to Guadalajara with Roger, Graham, Harry, Trip, Dave and Pat. The rest of us are waiting for the arrival of the second, which had some kind of technical problem. 7.00pm show, so no soundcheck. Straight to the venue, on with the stage clothes, onto to the stage.......... We arrived, courtesy of a police escort, with half an hour to spare before showtime .... except that there had been some technical problems and the show was put back one hour. In thew end we hit the stage at 8.30pm rather than the scheduled 7.00pm. Not ideal. It was a good show however and the Gaudalajara audience forgave us for our tardy time keeping in the end. After the show it was onto the plane once more and off to Mexico City. We arrived around 2.00am.

Saturday 3rd March 2007 : Monterrey : Had some oatmeal, orange juice and coffee for breakfast with Trip, Mark, Dave and Andrew. A bus trip was planned for the afternoon. We went to the Barrio Antiguo around 2.00pm. It appeared to be closed. Graham and I visited the Museum of Contemporary Art, then Jon, Carol, Graham and myself went on to the amazing Huasteca Canyon and finally up the hill to the giant flag which dominates the city. It is Snowy's birthday, so I'm waiting to see what we are doing to celebrate this auspicious event ....... The answer is .. not a lot! Snowy is feeling a bit under par, so is eating in his room and having an early night. Harry, Graham, Carol and I had a nice meal ( chicken in chilli and chocolate sauce ) in the hotel restaurant. Time for bed .....

Friday 2nd March 2007 : Monterrey : Waking up a few times during the night because of the jet lag ...... but looking forward to seeing a bit of Monterrey at a more civilised hour ( currently 5.30am )........ had a stroll round the immediate area and took some pictures of the Sierra Madres. After a coffee in the local mall I had a snooze before we went to the venue for soundcheck. This is the first dressing room on the tour to feature an altar filled with religious icons. The Monterrey audience surpassed all previous occasions. Aside from being the largest so far this year, they were undoubtably the most up for it so far; chanting Roger's name and cheering madly at every suitable opportunity. What fun. Back to the hotel for some nice Mexican food and community singing. Harry bailed out early due to jetlag kicking in. Dave and I caught the last tune ( Dizzy's 'A Night In Tunisia' ) from the band in the hotel bar before following him.

Thursday 1st March 2007 : London/Dallas/Monterrey : Picked up at 6.00am for a 10.05am flight from Gatwick. Swung passed Harry's place on the way and ran into various band members in and around the airport. It is a 10 hour flight to Dallas ....... 2 hours in Dallas airport then another 2 hours to Monterrey. We arrive at around 8.30pm local time. ( rather later British time ). We are all quite tired so everyone heads for their rooms .......

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