**Fri 26 Feb 16**
MINI MAYS ARE FLYING OUT OF THE DOOR !
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Mini Mays !
The pint-sized Red Specials !!
We never offered them as merchandise at the gigs before. This is a first.
They’ve suddenly exploded into life.
We’re in danger of running out !!
Amazing ... I never realised people would love them so much. Well, that makes me happy.
I’m using a Mini May in the show now, too … it seems to work just fine - straight out of the box ! Honest !
So here we are, backstage, signing them ! I wonder who got the one Kerry signed too ! A rarity …
What's this ?! Mini Mays ! A sensation ! Can't make 'em fast enough !
© Brian May - With thanks to Mick Ridley and BMG (Brian May Guitars)
© Brian May - With thanks to Mick Ridley and BMG (Brian May Guitars)
© Brian May - With thanks to Mick Ridley and BMG (Brian May Guitars)
Enjoy, folks ! While stocks last, as they say …. !
Cheers
Bri
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**Tue 23 Feb 16**
PADOVA - AN EPIPHANY !
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Well we had a great experience in Ancona, from a very warm audience, but we certainly came off feeling like we had a lot to think about. The first night of anything is an education, by nature. That's the moment when you finally find out which parts of the show that you've rehearsed really work. And which parts NEED work, or must go. There is no other way to determine how an audience will feel, except to actually do a show. After the first night, you then go back in, and, in the light of this chastening experience, start reshaping things, to make the elements of the show run the way they need to. It's a bit like taking a car engine apart and cleaning it all up and oiling it and making some adjustments, and then putting it back together again.
Well that's what we did today [22 Feb], making the plans on our delightful tour bus, and then running them in at soundcheck. The result was pretty miraculous.The reshaping made us feel confident and able to enjoy ourselves to the full, knowing we had eliminated 90% of the things which could cause a train wreck! And the benefits to the audience were hugely noticeable. Sorry to mix so many metaphors, but it's the difference between being driven in a car and ducking to avoid possible accidents, and sitting at the controls of a car that you know has been fine tuned to the max.
In short, we had a wonderful night. The venue looked huge and difficult when we walked in, but it was deceptive. The place actually has a great sound, and soon felt quite intimate to us. The audience were warm and relaxed, and I think we really had a lot of fun. It's funny how success is really not anything to do with perfection. It's to do with a feeling of excitement and happiness and shared confidence. Things will always go wrong. But it's what happens next but determines the feel of the night. On a good night everybody knows that there is nothing that can't be dealt with. In fact, the little slips help to loosen everybody up, and make the room seem smaller.
I think the pictures tell the story really well. I see a lot of happy faces, including ours!
Thanks to our great team, and thanks to a great bunch of Padovians ! ( I guess we would say "Paduans" in The UK)
Onwards to another of Italy's most beautiful cities -- Florence.
Bri
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**Mon 22 Feb 16**
BACK ON THE ROAD - HELLO PADOVA !!!
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Yes - "THE ROAD" with Capital letters - because The Road is more than just a place. It's a way of life – a choice in life. For someone like me, it is an extraordinarily mixed blessing, but brings a life that is very rich experiences. Most of us enter into it, and then repeatedly return to it, with a certain amount of pain, because being on the road means missing out on a lot of Home life and comfort. But there is a solid rhythm to being out on tour, and the physical and mental demands alone are usually enough to keep the body and mind healthy.
We had a great first night last night in Ancona, in glorious Italy. First nights are always rough at the edges, and this was no exception, but I think the contact we make with our great friends and fans is coming on well. We're luck to have such an audience. I came off from the stage feeling very critical of myself, and there is a curious kind of 'post mortem' feeling that can persist for hours afterwards, while are you're 'coming down'.
But today, on a beautiful sunny drive in our fabulous tour bus, we did some good analysis and fault-finding, and have rebuilt the set for tonight, with a few new ideas. Of course, every night is different, and particularly on this tour, every building that we play is very different in configuration. As a performance act, Kerry and I evolved in small intimate settings, and so perhaps the greatest challenge on this tour is to extend that feeling of intimacy in larger places.
And, physically, as always, my greatest battles are with a few square millimetres of skin on the ends of the fingers of my left hand! Last night we had a difficult time with the guitars, one of which (the 12 String) seemed to have bent itself quite badly out of shape, so the only way to get it working was to make the strings painfully high off the frets. This produces an interesting choice between pressing hard enough to make the note sound good, and thus causing yourself excessive pain, and not pressing hard enough, and producing a fluffy note. At some points, the choice is made for you, because you simply can't keep everything held down. So this is the moment when you come off thinking, not like the old days, "well that's done and I'll move on", but "oh bugger! I wonder what THAT will sound like you're on YouTube!" Ha ha. Not always amusing !
But enough of this. It's hard to find time on tour, but I'm hoping that I can deliver a few interesting little snippets to you guys who read my Soapbox along the way on this tour over the next three weeks or so.
Kerry, as many will have seen, is in spectacular form, in spite of touring with a growing family. She seems to have superhuman energy, and will probably win the world title for Supermum this year!
Me ? I'm still learning. My family is mainly grown-up and scattered, but I still feel like my first duty in life is to be a Dad!
However, ironically the best gift you can give to your children is being a good example - and that means living a decent and productive life. No matter where I roam, music seems to be the central thread in my life. So ... Here I am. To see those happy faces out there, if I needed confirmation, sure gives me just that !
See you out there ! Let's Rock some more !
Let's Roll too !
Cheers all
Bri
Just another little intimate show ! Hello Padova !!!
Bri
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