[SPOILER] Nicko Catches Up With His Diaries
Toronto"I would first like to thank one of our FC members for stepping up with an apology. All credit to you mate ‘ginfire 2ooo’."
Hotel room Toronto
Time: 1pm
17th October
Well, well, well I am feeling on top today. Only problem is me elbow’s playing me up after last night’s wonderful show.
I suffer with tennis elbow and sooner or later it flares up.
I’ll have to start icing it after the show.
Well, enough of that.
I would first like to thank one of our FC members for stepping up with an apology. All credit to you mate ‘ginfire 2ooo’.
So we had a day off here in the wonderful Toronto Canada. I love this city. Sunday was a very cool day. It started off in the hotel lobby with me and Ian ‘roots’ Day. We had a couple of glasses of red wine and then I was joined by me chum Brian, ‘Buttercup’ Beatty and his fiancée Paula. We had a FEW cocktails in the lobby and then we were joined by my friends up from Florida, Steve and Karen Dewey. Well, as you can imagine there were enough of us to consider it a PARTY which it duly turned into. We all went to dinner at a great eatery in the city named ‘The Queen Mother’ - great food and lots of lovely bevvies were delivered. After dinner we headed back to a bar next to the hotel called ‘Hemmingway’s’, fantastic time was had there I can tell you!
After a while we ,OOPS, we went to the hotel bar before Hemmingway’s, and then after we were kicked out of there we went next door. Oh my memory is SO bad lately TEE HEE!!!!
Anyway, we all had a very fun time.
The next day, Monday, we had a show at the Air Canada Center. It was a very great show. Again sound problems AND air conditioning problems reared there ugly heads.
What don’t these people that run these events understand - TURN OFF THE “KIN AIR, - easy you would think?
So even with these problems we had a great time. The audience were fantastic and we all really played well. Steve and I went a little out on occasion with each other but I think he was hearing a large slap back from the room. We still nailed it though. Bruce was on fine form even with the coolness of the room. We do have a good time on stage even when things go a little off.
After the show Steve, H, Bruce and myself stayed behind and had a word with our sound guys. In the mean time Ian Day was having serious words with the event organizers about the air issues. All in all a very productive post gig blather.
After that me and me chums headed back to the hotel. I was very tired and after saying good night to all went straight to bed. I would like to apologise to the fans that were outside the hotel last night for not signing your bits and pieces. I was really pooped.
Well it’s nearly time to checkout and head over to Detroit for our show there this evening.
Be safe and well and I’ll speak at ya later.
God bless you all.
=Nicko=
Long Island and New Jersey
"What a stage set we have for this tour. Eddie is all over it He pops up at the end of Maiden and then he comes out in ETMD and shoots the audience, what’s he like? We are having a great time and love this new record as I said before, it’s great to play live."
On board flight from New York to Toronto
Time- 1:30pm
Sunday 15th October
Well, well, well here we are on our way to Canada.
On board today we have: Ian, ‘mines a large glass of red’ Day, Rod. ‘I’ll have a beer’, Smallwood, Steve, ‘give us a wee dram of scotch’ Gadd, Janick, ‘make it a large one’, Gers, Dave, ‘you deserve it’, Murray, Bruce, ‘will it do Mach one’, Dickinson, Adrian, ‘where’s the nearest river’, Smith, Steve ‘He gets it in the end’, Harris, Kevin, ‘It’s not as big as a G200’, Godlewski, (he is our flight booker) and me good self.
We have two great shows under our belt and boy were they fun. The first was Nassau Coliseum in Hemp ‘kin stead Long Island.
A place not unfamiliar to me self.
(Rod has kept you up to speed with his diary from the road for the first five shows).
We hit the stage running at 9:05pm and had a blast. The intro tape started and then we were off. Sound was a wee bit strange at first but settled down nicely. The new material is great to play live. I have to pay special attention to the metering of the songs, so I use two metronomes and program each one to the next song down the list. It has been going great. We are still making a few errors here and there but each show just gets stronger and stronger. The vibe is immense on stage; the drama of the new stuff is magical.
There are a few problems that we have encountered so far. The main one being the temperature inside the venues. As the weather is changing the ambient temp has dropped so we are feeling it more on stage. Bruce needs to have it hot. The hotter the better, I have to agree. I like it toasty. The sound for me is a lot better when it’s hot. The reaction to the new material has been in the main very strong, a few of the fans are still being rude and shouting out for the older stuff but we carry on and do the set as is.
What a stage set we have for this tour. Eddie is all over it He pops up at the end of Maiden and then he comes out in ETMD and shoots the audience, what’s he like? We are having a great time and love this new record as I said before, it’s great to play live.
My beautiful wife Rebecca, came to the show but she has a very sore knee and had to spend most of her time in the dressing room. But what she did get to see she really enjoyed. She had some friends with her and they all had a great time.
Thanks to my mates Carey and Kurt and their chum John for coming up from Florida to see us and my band mates from ‘VOX’, Davey, Donny, Nick, Johnny Mac, and Bobby, you rule guys and of course their ladies. After the show we headed back to the hotel and I had an early night. Me misses went for a wee drink with her pal Norma Jean to celebrate her birthday. I was tucked up in bed by 2am.
The second show was at the Meadowland arena in New Jersey.
What a great night.
We played a little better, I thought, than the previous night but again we seem to get stronger as we go. I had a great night on the tubs and really enjoyed this evening the best so far. Again it was very cold inside the venue and we had the same trouble at first with the sound on stage. It didn’t take Dougie very long to sort it and we were off again. A few errors crept in here and there but what a great show. I do keep saying it but we are having a blast.
I have a great new drum kit for this tour it is a Premier series Premier kit. I had them do a special camouflage finish on the shell, it has come out beautiful. Paiste made some very special cymbals for me they are all reflected finish Signature series with the exception of the 17” rude. They sound great. Also got a ‘kin 40: symphonic gong that gets a good thump a couple of times on this tour. I’m using ‘The Beast snare drum, the same one I used on the record. It’s my 402 6/12 x 14” Vintage Ludwig Supraphonic. Beautiful sounding drum. I bought this drum in 1975 when I was in New York with a band called Streewalkers. A big thank you to all my friends at Premier/Paiste. It was at this time that I met the one and only Rod Smallwood. He was tour manager for Cockney Rebel.
Well, I’m signing of now.
Stay safe and well.
God bless you.
Nicko.