European Tour and Beyond

Since my last post, I have been living in Arizona, dancing with Ballet Tucson and visiting Daniel on the road whenever I can. In my first layoff from my contract in November, I was able to travel with the band on their first European tour performing in Germany, Belgium, France, Holland, England and Scotland. The album is yet to be released over seas so the concert attendees consisted of diehard fans, who got their hands on the music through any means necessary. Knowing that the band would be faced with a demanding schedule, filled with travel, press and concerts, I decided not to get my heart set on seeing any specific sites but rather get a feel of the people and pace of each city/country we traveled to. After the first day, I realized even that was too much to ask of myself in such a short amount of time but  I still ventured out, ate delicious breads and cheeses in Paris, was almost run down by cyclists in Amsterdam and explored a dungeon in London. Traveling to Europe was a dream for me and getting to explore, even a little, with my best friend was more than I could have ever asked for. 

The response from the fans was heart-warming to say the least. In every city, the audience sang the lyrics of each song no matter their native tongue. The band performing "Amsterdam" in Amsterdam for the first time was a highlight for me. The city took pride in the lyrics written about their town and screamed the words along with the band. Each country had a different way of expressing appreciation for the performance. Some held their hands in a heart with arms stretched high in the air, others felt it was appropriate to land slobbery man kisses on a certain band member's lips during poster signing (I will name no names or countries) and each had their own chant for 'encore.' Everyone that came on tour had to wear many hats to keep the operation going smoothly so I helped out with selling merch to do my part. The Pounds and Euros kept me on my toes and interacting with the foreign fans, some traveling many miles and across borders to get there, was an experience I wouldn't trade.