The Leisure Society – Tour Diary #1

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Currently on a TLOBF Sponsored tour of the UK, The Leisure Society are selling out shows left right and centre. No suprise really, not only are they one of the best new live bands in the country, their debut album The Sleeper [review] (out now on Willkommen Records) is already contender for album of 2009. Whilst idling away the spare hours travelling up and down the nations motorways, the band are keeping us up to date on the tour in the shape of a diary… Here’s the first installment:

Wednesday 25th March : Resident Records, Brighton
Our first ever tour begins in Brighton, home to about half of the band (the posh ones). We arrive in dribs and drabs at the little record store, last bastion of independent retail and a cracking place run by a bunch of lovely folk. Somehow we set up a make-shift stage across the counter as people start filling the narrow aisles.

Just before we play an excellent man called Pat pops in with our delivery of screen printed Leisure Society bags. They are great. We take bets on how few we will sell over the coming weeks.

Kate Walsh pops over and gives Nick some mystery pills. She has a dog with her. What does it all mean?

Show starts, Nick and Christian are more nervous than ever, such is the intimacy of the venue. We launch into some songs and somehow it sounds pretty together. People clap. We keep it short then hang around as people ask us to sign CDs like proper pop stars do. This is our first taste of such activity and we realise we’re going to need a gold pen to show up on the dark sleeve of the The Sleeper. Helen, queen of admin, procures one gold, and one silver pen immediately.

Thursday 26th March : The Luminaire, London
Tonight is our launch, and it’s the date we’re the most excited and terrified about. We are told it has sold out which simultaneously calms and enhances the nerves.

First stop is to pick up the tour bus from our friends at Tiger Tours. We are handed the keys to a splendid vehicle with DVD players and chairs and tables and wheels. We fill it with plums then head to the venue.

Our launch is opened by the beautiful Caroline Weeks. She sings the poems of Edna St Vincent Millay flawlessly and keeps the packed room silent. Dan Michaelson and the Coastguards play next and are charming and soulful and grand.

Backstage we prepare to play by sharing a big fat group hug which goes spectacularly wrong as we knock glasses of wine everywhere in the excitement. A fitting omen?

Thankfully the show is not a shambolic disaster, but is in fact rather smashing. We finish up with the Willkommen Ukulele Orchestra joining us on stage for ‘Matter Of Time’, then some encores – ‘People Take Pictures’ by The Kinks, and the first ever Leisure Society song – ‘Pancake Day’ to close proceedings.

Andy at the Luminaire has left two bottles of Champagne on ice when we get off stage, making our launch quite the perfect day all in all.

Nick meets a hero (Joby Talbot of Divine Comedy arranging fame) and we mill around signing and chatting and breathing sighs of relief.

Oh and Steven Merchant was there although none of us saw him, which is strange, because he is really very tall.

Friday 27th March : The Louisiana, Bristol
After getting successfully through the in-store and the launch, today feels like the most relaxed we’ve ever been before a show. We drive down with The Divine Comedy’s ‘Our Mutual Friend’ on repeat, Nick and Christian sing along up front while Bas, Helen, Mike and Will battle it out at ‘Weetabix’ – a card game the string boys seems to have invented (and continue to invent as the game progresses). Bas immediately starts the trash talk, resulting (somehow) in the decision that he and Mike will swap instruments for tonight’s show. A violin player on drums, that could work, but vice versa?

Support is solo-acoustic stuff so we have the stage to ourselves and use it to work through new songs. These are the best times, when the little tingles tingle as someone finds a space in the arrangement or throws in a crafty little melody.

The original Christian Silva drummer Randall turns up with his lovely wife Svetlana and we catch up backstage. We have missed his bearded giggling, it’s a good scene.

Show is really wonderful, another sold out night which starts sort of quietly and ends in real euphoria. Only tiny niggle is the ONE couple who stand right in front of us then talk INCESSANTLY through the first few songs. Why are they here? Do they think we can’t see (or hear) them? Tis dead distracting and a bit upsetting for sensitive idiots like us. Luckily they get ‘ssssshhhhhed’ out of the place a few songs in then the night gets started proper.

Afterwards we meet some lovely people – one guy has flown from Belfast to be here. We tell him we hope it was worth it! He seems pleased enough. Another couple are 8 months pregnant yet still wanted to be here. Things like that are pretty unbelievable to hear and it makes you want to always play your heart out.

That’s all for now then – see you in Middlesborough!

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Part 2 coming over the next few days.
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You can still catch the band on the following dates, including an extra special show on the 14th April featuring Loney dear and Snowbird (ft. Stephanie Dosen and Simon Raymonde). More details on that show here.

9th: BIRMINGHAM – The Glee Club – TICKETS SELLING FAST! | LAST.FM
10th: MANCHESTER -The Ruby Lounge – TICKETS | LAST.FM
11th: GLASGOW – The Classic Grand – TICKETS | LAST.FM
12th: NOTTINGHAM – The Bodega - TICKETS
14th: LONDON – Scala* – TICKETS | LAST.FM | FACEBOOK

*supporting Loney dear