Concert review
Caprices Festival, Crans Montana, Switzerland - 6 March 2005
by Alison
FRIDAY 4TH MARCH (Arriving In Switzerland)
11:00 AM
Terri arrived at my house. She used to do the trip regularly from Reading to my house when we were Texas touring. It had been ages since I had seen her - like October 2003. She hasn't changed. Dad showed her directions for how to get to Luton Airport. We grabbed our luggage and were off.
12:15
We arrived at Luton Airport car park about 12:15. It was raining horribly (typical) so luggage got wet on the way to the shuttle bus. It was a good test for my brand new weekend suitcase. We arrived at the airport about 12:45. I had totally forgotten to get a Mothers Day card (it was Mothers Day on Sunday) - the selection was hopeless but I managed to find one with a flower on it. Of course I didn't have enough money in UK pounds (only Swiss Francs) and by the time I had gone to get some out and returned for the card, it was gone. So I ended up with a more expensive yet tackier card with a flower on it. We boarded the plane about 2 pm. I forgot just how cheap Easyjet was until that moment when we had to board a bus to get to the plane to find our cardboard seats.
5 PM (Swiss Time)
I had a window seat for the flight - it wasn't a great view as it was very cloudy. We arrived in Geneva about 5 pm. Got through passport control but they wouldn't stamp my passport - how stingy. Luggage was collected and then somehow we managed to run and make the train at 5:27 (why is it always a rush to make the train?). It was busy as it was rush hour. All the seats were full, people stood up down the isles. We listened to my iPod and CD player to pass the time.
7:30 PM
It was light when we left Geneva and dark when we arrived in Sierre at approximately 7:30 pm. We wandered around for what felt like hours, dragging our luggage in search of what we thought was the hotel. I had thought it was the red star on the map, and Terri had assumed I was right :: shakes head :: We walked around in circles down cobbled streets and it was really cold. It turned out we were looking for the wrong thing - the hotel had been marked on the map with an "M" and the star was just some monument (or something). We found the hotel at about 8 pm, checked in, dumped our stuff and went in search of food.
8:30 PM
We wandered around the town. It was very deserted. There was nobody on the streets. I don't think I have been to anywhere quite as dead - well there was Elverum in Norway...Anyways we found food at a nice restaurant further up the road from our hotel - one of the few places that was open. It was now that we discovered that everywhere (menu's, directions etc) was written in French or German, and rarely ever English. The waitress didn't speak a word of English. I ordered pizza. Terri ordered what she thought was going to be chicken and got steak *lol*. Yes it has been that long since I have tried to read / speak French, no I didn't know what chicken was in French, and neither did Terri. We can't "do" French. Note to self : buy a French dictionary next time I am going to Switzerland - it is too expensive to text mum every time I need a translation for one word. Afterwards we went back outside and it was freeezzzzzingggg. It had gotten a lot colder. We bought a water, came back to the hotel, pigged out on chocolate and vegged out in front of the TV. Also we had discovered earlier that the hotel room didn't have any curtains - just blinds on the outside of the window?! Apart from that and the gurgling toilet, it was all good!
SATURDAY 5TH MARCH (Exploring Switzerland)
9:00 AM
We showered, changed, got our things together and headed off in the direction of the "funiculaire" - this became our word of the trip. We would just wander around going we need to get the "funiculaireeeeeeeee" - I think you had to be there to find it amusing! Anyways having walked in totally the wrong direction (yes it is possible to miss something when it is right opposite the hotel), we found it, eventually.
10:45 AM
We ran and somehow managed to board the 10:45 funiculaire which turned out to be a kind of tram on wheels. It took us all of the way to Montana and didn't take very long at all. Sadly the weather was rather cloudy so we couldn't see very much.
11:15 AM
We found a yummy creperie in Montana so we went in there to get some breakfast. Terri spotted one of the tour guys we know through the window. I saw him too. So the tour crew had arrived - I felt bouncy just knowing it was all happening again...the travelling, touring, bands, sound checks, gigs, meeting up with people you haven't seen in ages, all of it.
12 ISH
Having eaten rather delicious chocolate pancakes, we headed off to explore Montana. It wasn't very big because just as we were walking down one of the main streets, or rather the main street, we bumped into another one of the tour guys we know! He remembered us which was nice. There was chatting and catching up. The other tour people joined us including the one we saw earlier whilst eating pancakes. They gave us directions for getting up the mountain. We said goodbye and left in the direction they had come from.
1 PM
We found we had a choice - go up a snowy covered icy road or walk on the main road (not so icy). So for a laugh we chose the snowy covered road. When we got to the top we realised it was a dead end...I took hold of the railing and slipped all the way back down to the bottom, leaving Terri saying "my shoes aren't up to this". She did it though, and without falling over. My gloves turned green like the wooden railings. We found the ski lift building further up the main road. We got a 20 Franc ticket - you could go up to the part of the mountain where Texas were playing (Grand Signal) and then take another lift a bit higher. We took the lift up to Grand Signal. There were potentially great views on the way up however due to the cloudy weather it wasn't brilliant. We got out and spotted the venue straight away - a tiny stage with a smaller lighting / sound tent further up. At first we were like "is that really it?" because the place was surrounded by skiers, everywhere. I think we were the only people taking the lift who weren't skiing! But it was it. Set bang in the middle of the mountain, on a slight slope, surrounded by ski jumps, a very flimsy fencing and a cafe (wooden hut) over to one side. It was quite cold up on Grand Signal but not as cold as I had thought it would be. That is until we were out there long enough for my nose to turn red. I wore a fleece underneath my jacket, warm gloves and no scarf - something which probably would have made all the difference as the cold wind was biting at my ears and nose. We ran through the snow taking lots of photos of the mountain from various angles and the stage (being set up for the band on Saturday night). I climbed quite dangerously high to try and get a photo on the side of the mountain and almost slipped back down again. Then we got the ski lift up another level. You couldn't see the bottom of the mountain - there was so much cloud. We took photos, muttered about the crazy skiers, and got confronted by someone for Sunrise (a phone company). They took a photo of us (to appear on their website) and gave us a free lip salve. It was so much colder at this height - we couldn't stay up there long. We took the ski lift back down again to Montana, stopping briefly at Grand Signal to take another peak at the Texas venue. Whilst walking down the slope at the bottom we bumped into the tour guys again - the resort is very small. I said "we've done the mountain" and one of the guys said "you've been up?" and I said "yes, very cold". Terri said "it was -13". We said goodbye and headed down to the Montana shops.
3:30 PM
Once we were back in Montana it was a lot warmer. I ended up spending farrr too much in touristy shops on silly things like a Sharleen toy (to throw on the stage - it's a tradition) and souvenirs for people. Such a tourist! Terri was peckish. We found a bakery and decided to get take out from there...but not until the shop was relatively empty because we were embarrassed by our lack of French! I needed socks (I found one of my new pairs was sooo big, they wouldn't fit in my walking boots!). After several shops, I found some socks. We walked back down to the funiculaire and took it to Sierre.
4 ISH PM
We arrived in Sierre, got chocolate from a grocery store across from our hotel, and went back to the hotel to eat. I tested throwing Sharleen's toy against the bedroom wall (over the TV) in preparation for tomorrow - I am renowned for throwing things and totally missing the stage, however close.
9 ISH PM
We had intended to go in search of a pub at 7ish. That didn't happen as we fell asleep. We ventured outside to find nothing open, at all. We turned right out of the hotel and walked until we found a pub, The Britannica. Terri asked if they had Swisky but they didn't. My Swiss Briskeby friend gave Briskeby a bottle of Swisky (Swiss Whisky) and having mentioned it to Terri, we were determined to find somewhere which sold it. After one drink we left the pub and went looking for anything else open. We walked in both directions (back past the hotel) and found nothing. Is there a curfew?! What was even weirder - places that were shut, reopened?! Can they not work full days? We got chips to eat in a place near the hotel, but not before walking in to see if the cinema was open and making the owner jump - had he seen people before?! We went back to the hotel Swisky-less and watched their rather bad Eurovision on TV before going to bed.
SUNDAY 6TH MARCH (Texas Concert)
7:15 AM
Alarm went off. I was first in the shower, ugh. I changed and packed. Terri was out soon after. Again it was a mad rush to make the funiculaire (at 8:45). I went down and checked out, making sure they had somewhere we could store our luggage. We dumped it all in a conference room one floor down - it was rather unsafe as it was unlocked but the hotel people said it was fine - their original suggestion to just keep it out in the hotel lobby?! We didn't have time to think about it, so we dumped it an ran. Just as we were crossing the road to make the funiculaire (which we could see was ready to leave) Terri thought she had left her gig ticket behind. She ran back retracing her steps and discovered she had dropped it. Somehow we managed to purchase tickets and make the funiculaire.
9 ISH AM
We arrived in snowy cold Montana soon after 9. We walked to the ski lift building where we exchanged our gig ticket for a "ski pass and gig ticket". We took the ski lift up. It was cold, very cold, -15. It had heavily snowed last night. I was glad I brought my scarf as well as everything I wore yesterday (gloves, fleece, jacket). I was worried the band might already be sound checking however I needn't have worried. We walked up a little hill near the venue and sat on a bench at the top, watching the stage from a distance. The tour people were setting things up. It was about 9:40. Security came and went. The gig people mended some of the fencing around us, mostly below us as there was a snowy path which led to the stage. We waited. Sometimes it was sunny and bearable but then the sky would cloud over and with the cloud came a very cold wind or a brief snow storm. Brrr.
10:30 ISH AM
Slowly there was action. Neil appeared from nowhere and was practicing on the drums, it was like his own little drum solo. We saw snowmobiles arrive carrying Eddie first and the new guy, Michael Bannister. More snowmobiles arrived but not with band members. Terri spotted who she thought was Ally but turned out to be Tony *lol*. Then Ally appeared on the stage followed by Michael. They started practicing "I Don't Want A Lover". We decided to walk / slip down the mountain (with our frozen feet and noses) towards the stage. There were only two other fans there. Security were off skiing down the slopes in bags (don't ask). It was all good. Sharleen came on stage wearing a black coat, cool black boots, blue jeans and a black cap. They rehearsed bits of "When We Are Together", "Tired Of Being Alone", "Say What You Want" and "Summer Son" (not in any order). Most importantly they practiced two new songs (much to our cheers at the suggestion of a new song). They did "Get Away" twice and "Can't Resist". During the rehearsal security asked us to step back and later to leave, however, someone in the band (we think it was Sharleen) said it was ok for us to stay. So we did, inching forwards a little towards the stage. Earlier on in the sound check Sharleen gave us a big grin when she recognised us - it was like awww, felt touched. Also Ally took a photo of Terri and I (from the stage) however I totally missed it as I was replying to a text from Jen!
11:45 AM
The sound check ended and the band dispersed. Sharleen headed out the back of the stage and towards the bar area for an interview with MTV (sponsor). We decided to go over, following the snowy path and met Jen by the entrance. I didn't realise she was there because my old phone was clogged with messages and it wasn't until we had started walking over that I saw her! Apparently security hadn't let her through for the sound check which sucked. She said she could see us but we were so fixed on the stage, we didn't look over and see her. The three of us headed over to the cafe area where MTV were interviewing Sharleen outside. There was a small cluster of people but most of them were skiers looking over like "there is someone, she must be famous". There were also several sound people, people recording and someone with one of the dishes to reflect the sun (or whatever). Having only just met Jen it was all like chatter chatter and catching up, so we were "ssshhh'd" for being too noisy! They were nice though as they allowed for us to take photos during the interview - I also took a couple during the sound check before being told we weren't allowed (although it had started snowing so wasn't great). Sharleen looked over at us whilst she was being interviewed and smiled. They were asking some of the stupidest of questions. One of the questions was "what is your favourite plant?!". She answered but I didn't catch the name, she said it was something which flowered white in the summer. Then they said something about it being really cold on the mountain and she had looked at them and said with her very Scottish accent "I'm from Scotlandddd, I'm used to thisss". Then she revealed a "pocket warmer" which was rectangular shaped and about the size of her hands. She said she was prepared for the cold.
The interview ended. There were a few fans to the left of us waiting for Sharleen to sign t-shirts and things. Sharleen signed various things like ski clothes and god knows what. Jen mentioned Dirk was sorry he couldn’t be there. Afterwards I had a quick chat with her about the new song and stuff, and had a hug. Then she went off somewhere and we headed back to the stage.
12:30
There was hardly anyone in the stage area. We decided to go back over - possibly eat, use the toilet etc. We went to the entrance and were about to go down the snowy path when we were stopped by security. There were other fans down there and if we hadn't left then we would still be there. It was frustrating. The security guy suggested we try the other entrance so after climbing up rather deep snow to a higher point on the hill, we were refused entry - it was just for staff. We waited and stressed that front row might be gone and we couldn't see the stage from this queuing area. Apparently we weren't allowed to enter until Husky Rescue (the Texas support) had finished sound checking.
12:50
Finally they let us in and we bounded down the snowy path (which was rather deep) and ran to the front row. However there was no reason to run. We got front row, there was no barrier, just the stage. Security must have seen us (and others) standing so close to the stage, because they appeared from nowhere and asked us to step back. We assumed a barrier would arrive, but no, there was never one - only security in front, so about 1 metre away from the stage. More people appeared behind us, not many as everyone was rather spaced out. I had Terri on my right and Jen was next to her.
1:15 PM
Husky Rescue, a Finish band, came on stage. It turned out they had still been sound checking when we arrived earlier...so there really wasn't much point them holding us all of that time. To summarise, they were awful. They could only sing one word lines so she sang about her car, her house, the snow (each a separate song with pretty much just the one word). Also the lead singer loved herself, and it was like "look at me" "look at me" "look at me" the entire time. And I didn't want to look at her. Time dragged. The security guard in front of us tried to entertain me. He didn't speak any English (surprisingly?!) so we communicated using body language. It was freezing cold and there were several snow storms. I couldn't feel 2 or 3 toes in each foot. So the security guard and I were rocking on our feet to keep warm. Then he wanted me to cross my hands over in front of me and look like him...well it passed the time. The crowd did get bigger though you couldn't really look back to see how far. No one pushed and it was really relaxed. We did not cheer for an encore but they came back on anyway for a few songs which sounded like all of the others - nothing special.
2 PM
Finally it was over. I don't know what was better, them or nothing - either way time had stopped. We watched the stage taken down and Texas getting set up. We glimpsed the set list and I think it was Jen who spotted there were 13 songs including both of the new ones and of course ending with "Say What You Want".
2:30 PM
Sharleen's tea appeared on stage. It was almost time. Everyone started going "woahhhhh ooooo woahhhhh, woahhhhh ooooo woahhhhh", though no mexican waves thank god as it was on a slope! The band came on stage, late, a few minutes after 2:30. Sharleen wore the same outfit as for the sound check - black hat (taken off on stage), black coat (taken off on stage), black polo neck top, blue jeans with a black belt and cool black boots. I shall summarise each song (in the order sang), it's easier:
"I Don't Want A Lover" - Yay it wasn't the version with the 2001 beat and the lovely original! Sharleen had her guitar.
"Halo" - Much much jumping!
"Carnival Girl" - Terri and I looked at each other with silly grins like "oh no not that song"!
"Get Away" - Such a catchy song, I remembered the words from the sound check...much to Sharleen's surprise - she stared at me with a weird wide-eyed look. Yes it is that catchy that you can pick up the lines from hearing it just once! We jumped. It's a jumping song. “Getaway...I wanna getaway!”. I do know more really, random lines come back to me.
"In Our Lifetime" - Not much to say, except it was good!
*Toy Throwing Moment* - I threw the gopher (?) toy on stage after "In Our Lifetime". It bounced on stage. Sharleen put it on her box behind. Johnny took it and pressed it (it says "presse moi" or something). It makes the noise of a wolf whistle. He listened to it, grinned amused and put it back.
"When We Are Together" - Whenever I hear this song I remember the first time I saw Texas at a TV Show, the Pepsi Chart back in 1999 (god it feels like ages ago). Still sounds just as good as ever.
"Tired Of Being Alone" - For the first time Sharleen did not share Eddie's keyboard but used Michael's which was on the right of the stage. He was in the place where Mark One used to be (the layout was the same on stage apart from that). They did not do a cover in the middle of the song but Sharleen's voice was great, great vocals.
"Black Eyed Boy" - We jumped, and we jumped, and we jumped. Until we could not jump anymore. There were several moments when we all just looked at each other like "we are so unfit, we are not in training for this" and stopped to get our breath back. The ending was good - Sharleen really held the note for a long time.
"Can't Resist" - Sharleen's on stage like "so you want to hear another new song?", there was cheering, and this was the other new song. Again I felt I could pick the lyrics up really quick. In fact there is one line which keeps appearing in my head at the strangest of moments and then before I have a chance to write it down again, it's gone. Bizarre! The song didn't quite work as a jumping song, though has potential and is still brilliant and very catchy!
"Inner Smile" - One, two, three, four...yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! There was jumping, there was pointing, there was singing and it rocked. Of course it rocked.
"Summer Son" - More jumping. We did the clapping in tune followed by jumping. God we need to get fitter again for touring! Was very grateful for the break after this song, before the encore!
*Encore*
"In Demand" - A special slow acoustic version with just Eddie on keyboards and Sharleen on stage. Lovely voice, a beautiful song sung very well.
"Say What You Want" - How predictable *lol* not that it's a bad thing. It got the crowd going and singing along especially during the “woo woo”! My arms ached so much the day after that!
*Other Stuff* - Sharleen mentioned the album coming out in September. Delayed again though she didn't say that. Also she swore and apologised to the kids at the front row (not that she didn't stop swearing later on!). Snowballs were thrown - one was not snow but ice. Sharleen said "someone threw some ice, there's someone saying 'it wasn't me, it wasn't me' and everyone pointed at him". She added "I am not the person to mess with". At the start of the next song, she looked over and gave him an evil look and everybody laughed.
4 ISH PM
Afterwards Terri and Jen got set lists. I ran down the snowy path and fell over at the bottom! We took a few photos in front of the mountain before joining a short queue for the ski lift back down. It was quite surprising how quickly the crowd dispersed - Sharleen did say on stage "are you all going to go back out skiing afterwards?" and the crowd cheered. Mad skier people. So there wasn't such a queue to get out which was good. Somehow we made the funiculaire at 4:45 - though with no help from the ticket desk who told Jen she could get her ticket from the driver, when she needed to get it from them. Luckily she made it in, just in time!
5 ISH PM
We had about 1 hour before we needed to catch our train. Jen was heading in the same direction so was taking the same train as Terri and I. We decided to get food. We walked back up to our Friday restaurant only to find they didn't do food. We had already bought a drink at this point so we drank that and left. We went to last night's restaurant (where we had chips) instead. Terri and I ate huge pizzas! Afterwards we collected our luggage from the hotel and it was a bit of a mad dash to make the train at 6:20 pm. We arrived at the station to find there were no ticket desks open and we had to use machines. Of course there was only one machine and 3 of us. It was all pretty crazy. I bounced my brand new suitcase down a ton of steps and then back up another ton of steps - of course the train we wanted was on the platform furthest away. Suitcase is all rucked up now and this is only it's first outing, oh dear! Jen said she heard my suitcase - not good. But we did it, we got seats and calm resumed. Jen wasn't on our train for long, it felt like we hadn't sat down a few minutes before we were waving goodbye to her. It was too short.
8:30 PM
All of our plans had worked, until now. The unforeseen problem. We went to look at the boards to check our flight. There were delayed and cancelled messages against most flights on the board, except ours. About one hour later, the board changed. "Delayed". I would love to blame Easyjet but alas no, it wasn't their fault. The snow storms we had encountered on the mountain during the concert, had also hit other places. Now planes weren't taking off, flights were being cancelled and we were lucky to even make it home that night. It seems some other flights to the UK were cancelled, our plane was the last to leave the airport at sometime after 11pm...instead of 9:55pm. Ok so it could have been worse. However by the time we had got back to Luton, taken a bus to the car park, sorted out getting the keys (with no help from some evil woman at the counter), driven to my house, it was after 2am and a rather long day. All worth it of course and I would do it all again. In fact off to plan that. Oh and scan photos. There are photos, of course.
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