A trip to Barcelona, Spain and Amsterdam, Holland to see Tanya...
Europe in Five Days with The Band
[ I would first like to put a disclaimer on the story below. I want to share my experiences with you all, but at the same time, I don't want to give everyone unrealistic expectations of Tanya, Dean, Dave, Rich and Elizabeth. I've spent so much time with them throughout all my trips that I'm more of a friend than just a fan. Please don't expect them to have to let you backstage because you are a big fan. They are wonderful people. Be content with whatever they offer you. That's what I did. ]
Around November 17th, I pondered the idea of going to Europe and seeing a few Tanya Donelly shows. Of course, I also questioned my sanity. I had just completed three trips - East coast (1 show), Mid-west (3 shows), and West coast (6 shows) - over a period of three months in the US to see Tanya Donelly shows. Going all the way to Europe was really beyond reason! I talked to my friends, my parents, my co-workers about the idea. I received a mixture of reactions from "You're crazy!", "Are you stalking her?" to "Go for it!", "It's a once in a lifetime opportunity!" In the end, I decided to go for these reasons:
I have always wanted to travel to Europe, but the "perfect" moment (time, money, going with friends) was hard to find.
Now, before I could embark on such an adventure, I had to make a few arrangements - airline tickets and a passport. Once I decided to go, it was just me against time...
I started making airline reservations through a travel agent. I needed to find the cost and book the flight as soon as possible to keep costs down. My plan was to use the time off I had during Thanksgiving weekend and perhaps a few vacation days if necessary.
I went to San Diego to get my papers for getting the passport, as I didn't have one yet. (I've only ventured as far as Canada and Mexico, which don't require passports of US citizens.) It was a crazy drive to make late at night too! Five hours total driving... and I had to work the next day.
I called Gary, Tanya's manager, to tell him of my plans and to make sure the shows were still on! It would be a *real* bummer if the shows were cancelled! He was surprised and very supportive! He said he would "call the troops" and tell them that I was coming. To undertake such a trip, it was best to tell them I was coming and not surprise them, even though that would have been cool.
I got my photo taken for the passport, $13.
I went to the passport office in LA to get an expedited passport, a passport in three days. The fee was the normal $65 charge plus another $30 for faster processing. LA is only one of thirteen passport offices in the U.S. that can do this, by the way. A normal passport takes 3-4 weeks to process.
I booked the flight after getting back from the passport office.
I received the plane tickets. There was no turning back from this point! The only problem would be not getting the passport in time.
I picked up my passport. The passport office is the most efficient government office I've ever been too! Wow! Three days exactly!
Still at work from the 24th, trying to finish up before I go.
Another day of work. When I left at 7 PM, I had only two hours to shop for items I needed for the trip - an umbrella (not needed in southern California), a heavier jacket, flashlight, toiletries, etc...
I left for the airport via airport shuttle at 2 PM. It would have been cool if I had been dropped off by a friend or relative, but everyone was occupied with Thanksgiving festivities.
I waited until 5 PM before the British Airways' 747 took off. It was my first time in LAX's Tom Bradley International Terminal, so I had a lot to see until takeoff.
The flight was very long, about ten hours! The slow passage of time was exacerbated by the in-flight movies, one of them being "Batman and Robin", which I completely despise! Every time I looked up, it was still playing and so I knew that not even two hours had passed yet. Argh!
I arrived at London's Heathrow airport around 11:30 AM. I waited until 1:50 PM for the connecting flight to Barcelona. I spent the time writing postcards to my friends, some of whom didn't even know I was doing this yet!
I almost missed the connecting flight, as I thought it was to leave at 2:50 PM, not 1:50 PM. Luckily I checked again and arrived at the gate *five* minutes before it took off. Whew! It was a good thing that I was only doing this over a weekend. I only needed one carry-on suitcase. If I had check-in luggage, I would have missed the plane.
I arrived in Barcelona, Spain at around 5 PM. After visiting the tourist office at the airport, I was given a map and locations of two hotels near the venue, the Bikini Club. I took a public bus to the nearest drop-off location, the Barcelona-Sants Estacio. The cost was 450 pesetas, or about $3 US. From there, I walked the 1.4 kilometers (about a mile) to the L'illa Hotel on Av. Diagonal. After checking in, I crashed! I was very tired from the plane ride!
[The following day, I found out that Echobelly, a great band, had played at the Bikini Club this night. (sigh)]
[All directions and street names I write below are from hindsight with a map. I was really lost!]
I woke up early, 8 AM. I got ready and had the free continental breakfast offered at the hotel. I started walking south on Numancia which turns into Tarragona. I walked past Parc Joan Miro, through the towers of Fira de Barcelona
I rested there and wrote more postcards. The view was beautiful! I could see the whole city from atop this perch.
After an hour or so, I decided to walk west along Gran Via Corts Catalanes. What actually happened was I walked along Av. Paral.lel. To my dismay, I ended up at the harbor. I walked to the Monument a Colom, monument to Columbus, and followed Pg. Colom to the old part of the city, where I marvelled at the architecture - "Wow, that's a cool street... Wow, that's a cool street..."
Around two o'clock (by the chimes of some huge clock somewhere!), I arrived at a huge cathedral. I watched the singers and guitarists until the show ended. I walked north through Barri Gotic and ventured down some large street. Off to one side was a large market place, which attracted my attention. I went in and looked around, naturally.
Upon leaving and walking a little bit, I walked right by two very familiar looking faces! As if in a film, I slowly turned around in recognition. I yelled out, "Tanya! Dean!" Tanya and Dean turned around with quite a surprised look on their faces. Tanya said, "What the **** are you doing here!?" and gave me a hug! :) Dean gave me a hug too! :) I didn't expect to see them until later that evening. (Imagine that, 6000 miles from LA, and I run into Tanya and Dean on the streets of Barcelona merely by accident! HA!) It turned out that Gary hadn't told them that I was coming, so their surprise was that much greater! As we were to separate, Tanya called to me and asked if I wanted to attend sound check. Of course! :)
We walked back to their hotel, where we ran into Elizabeth just departing for a bit of gift shopping. She was surprised! Stunned even! We exchanged hugs. Tanya and Dean went up to their room to get a few things and I waited in the lobby. As I waited, I realized I hadn't "relieved myself" all day, so I went to the restroom. When I came out, Dave was in the lobby. "Hey Vinh! What are you doing here!?" I teased him with "Dave! What are *you* doing here!?" We exchanged hugs and he invited me to wait in his room until everyone had to gather in the lobby to go to sound check.
Dave and I chatted about what we did during the day. We discovered that we were both at the cathedral watching the singers and guitarists at the same time! We had a hearty laughed over this! Then the door opened and Rich stepped in! "Vinh!?" I started laughing! Rich was quite surprised!
Around 3:30 PM, we all met in the lobby. I met Paul and Mark, the tour manager and "roadie" for the European tour, respectively. We all loaded up into the van and headed to the Bikini Club.
...
Sound Check
Lantern
After sound check, we took taxis to Sagrada Familia, a huge, intricately designed, still under construction, cathedral designed by Gaudi, the famous Spanish architect. We marvelled at its grandeur.
We had dinner at a chinese restaurant in the area.
...
We went back to the venue and hung out in the dressing room until the show.
The show was fantastic! The Spanish crowd were not all fans, but they were very appreciative. They knew a great show when they saw one!
Main Set
Restless [ Tanya acoustic ]
Encore
The Bees [ acoustic with Tanya only ]
During one of the chats with the crowd, Tanya asked everyone to feed the cats at Sagrada Familia, since there were many strays running about there. "Please visit Sagrada Familia and feed the cats. You (pointing to someone in the crowd), feed them breakfast. You (pointing to another person), feed them lunch... and you, feed them dinner." The crowd erupted in cheer!
...
We all had early morning flights to Amsterdam, so we parted early, around 1 AM. My flight was the earliest, 7 AM, so there was no point for me to get another night's stay at the hotel. I hung out at the Bikini Club and attended the disco until 5 AM in the morning. The Spanish people are really hardcore club goers!
At 5 AM, I went back to the hotel, picked up my suitcase and took a taxi to the airport, a cost of about 3700 pesetas, $26 U.S.! The bus was much, much cheaper... but certainly not available at 5 AM!
I arrived in Amsterdam around 10 AM. Once again, I went to the tourist office and got the location of hotels near the venue. For 5 guilders, or about $2.50, the tourist office can make a reservation right then and there, which I did. I had two hours to get to the Freeland Hotel on Marnxstr. I took the train to Amsterdam Central Station and then a tram from there to Leidseplein. Public transportation in Amsterdam is incredible! The train was a peek into the future!
I checked in at around 11:30 AM with Hanna, the hotel proprietor. The ride to the hotel only took an hour, but it took me about half an hour to get my bearings and find the hotel. To my surprise, the room was tiny! The bed practically filled up the whole room. Quite surprising since everyone I encountered in Amsterdam were tall, for the most part. Since it was still early, I decided to sleep a bit (afterall, I stayed up all night), and then go sightseeing.
I woke up and it was pitch dark! I panicked, thinking, "Oh my God! I missed the show!" I got ready and went to the Melkweg, which was right around the corner! I went in and asked for Tanya. The person at the door said they were in sound check (Whew!) and pointed me to the Oudezaal room. They weren't there! One of the people setting up told me they were having dinner. I went to the cafeteria and found them just finishing their dinner. I was so relieved!
They chatted and I had a free dinner! :) Paul gave me an extra band meal ticket. It was so cool of him! :)
We hung out in the dressing room again.
...
The show was awesome! Maybe it was the last European show or something, but the sound was great! The lighting worked beautifully. The band performed wonderfully. I was just astounded! Tanya dedicated the last song of the evening, "Time of the Season" to me - "This is for our friend Vinh, who flew all the way from California... because he's crazy!" (hee hee)
I waited a bit to see if I could find Olaf, another Tanya/Belly mailinglist member I was to meet, but alas...
I went backstage with a big grin on my face.
I had an amazing time, all thanks to them - Tanya, Dean, Dave, Rich, Elizabeth, Paul and Mark. ( Thank you all *so* much!!! )
I spent the day exploring Amsterdam on foot, before my plane took off at 2:30 PM. I met a cool guy, Jan-Joost, at the University of Amsterdam, who has hopefully listened to the Tanya CD I gave him. :)
|
Back to the Tanya Stories page