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Well hello people!
I've come home from our ( www.coldworker.com ) first tour, where we had the first support slot opening for Arch Enemy. It was the fourth edition of the "Close-Up Made Us Do It" tour. Close-Up is the biggest metal magazine in Sweden, and they've made this tour a tradition.
The tour contained 9 shows in Sweden and Denmark. Quite a perfect introduction to touring, since it was my first tour ever.
Short version: It was FUKKIN´ great!!!
Longer version: We started with 6 shows in Sweden, going through Malmoe, Karlskrona, Gothenburg, Stockholm, Linkoping and Halmstad.
The first gig, in Malmoe, didn't go that well, the sound was shit, due to us not getting to soundcheck, since everything was delayed. Well, we gave it a shot, but I'm not really satisified with my own performance that night.
Now, Karlskrona was a different story, the venue was simply awesome, it was an old movie theater that they had turned into a club. We had good stage sound, and the crowd was really supportive. It was obvious (through every gig) that people came for Arch Enemy, but what else is there to expect? Hehe. This was also the only place where I had chicks screaming at me from the front row, haha! It felt a bit weird, but funny nonetheless! We performed alot better this night, and the gig was really, really fun!
Next stop was Gothenburg, where we played at "Trädgårn" with a maximum capacity of 1100. Let's put it this way, it wasn't exactly packed!
I'm not sure how many turned up, but it wasn't alot. I think it felt extra empty since the place was so big. A video of the last song has made it's way to youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jURAQ6yxcu4
After Gothenburg we had 3 days off before it was time to head for Stockholm. This show was something that I had looked forward to. I love the venue (Klubben, Fryshuset) and I've been wanting to play there for a long time. This was the only show where we got our own dressing room, the rest of the shows we shared dressing rooms with Path Of No Return
(which had the second opening slot).
I had to get a pic of this:
When we entered the stage, over 400 people had found their way to the venue. For me this was one of the coolest gigs, everything went great, and the audience was very supportive. The other guys weren't as enthusiastic as I about their performances, but it was a cool night! The night ended awesome with me getting really drunk, discussing drum beats with Arch Enemy drummer Daniel Erlandsson in their dressing room (which was like a big party for all their Stochkolm friends after the show).
Woke up next morning feeling quite good, despite the beer intake the night before. We took a quick stroll in Stockholm before we started driving
towards Linkoping. The venue was the smallest during the tour, and the stage was PACKED, it was really tight, but it worked. We had our backline
in front of AE's all shows. The place has a max. capacity of around 350, and a bit more than 200 pretickets were sold, so we looked forward to a sweaty gig. I'm not sure how many showed up in the end, but it's gotta been somewhere between 250-275 or something like that. It was cool
evening, and the sound was really good.
The following night was in what you could kinda call Arch Enemy's hometown, Halmstad. It was in a venue called Diezel, with a good, big stage. It was a blast, the audience rocked, and we played good. It was also our merchandise record (although that doesn't say much, since sales were really slow).
Me and bass player Oskar looking our baddest, hehe:
Oskar and drummer Anders having a chat:
Next up, Denmark! It felt cool to head for our first shows abroad! We made a 5 hour drive for the first town, Herning, where we did a show outside the tour schedule, without Arch Enemy. The venue was located in an industrial area and seemed like a cool place. Everything good so far, and we we’re served the biggest pizza any of us had ever seen.
“Awesome!” we’re thinking, and start waiting for the doors to open, which they do at 9 pm. 15 minutes pass, no sign of any people, 30 minutes pass, still no sign of anyone. An hour passes, and no one shows up... we’re starting to understand that it’s gonna be quite empty, and now it’s time for Path Of No Return to start. So they do, with a supporting Coldworker as the only audience, haha! Anyway, they pull off an amazing gig playing totally different songs than all the other shows.
Then the time has come for us to enter the stage, and still no people, so we play for Path Of No Return, dusting off some songs that weren’t on our setlist.
The result of the day: paying alot of money in bridge fees and gasoline, driving across all of Denmark, and nobody shows up, none, zero, nada! Now that’s gotta be some kind of record!?
So... the first gig wasn't exactly what we had expected, but we had a laugh anyway.
Copenhagen up next, where we played at Pumpehuset, a really cool place! Copenhagen is a very nice town, and I would've loved to spend some more time there. Anyway, the show went really good, and the audience was really cool! We hade mr. Amott watching from the side of the stage, which was kinda cool (to me at least). I talked to some danish metal heads after the show, and they liked my Speedloader Jr. V. It seems like that guitar stirs up interest wherever I go, since they never sold the BC Speedloaders in Sweden.
Time for the last gig on the tour, in Aarhus. I took the opportunity to buy some booze, while we were still in Denmark (since it's quite alot cheaper than in Sweden. The venue, called Voxhall, had the nicest dressing room of all places, filled with lots of stuff to eat and drink, and a tv. Path Of No Return pulled of a great gig, and then it was time for us to hit the stage.
From l-r, Path Of No Return's "roadie" Michael, PONR singer Patrik, Oskar standing, Joel sitting:
I'm grabbing a coke, and not looking too fresh:
It was a really nice show, with a good number of front row bangers, so it was a great finish to an awesome tour!
Coldworker + Path Of No Return + "crew:
L-R: Anders (merch guy), Adam (PONR), Patrik (PONR), Michael (lighting guy), Martin (PONR), Oskar (Coldworker), Daniel (PONR), me, Anders J (Coldworker), André (Coldworker) and Joel (Coldworker).
Phew, my longest post so far, haha!
I've come home from our ( www.coldworker.com ) first tour, where we had the first support slot opening for Arch Enemy. It was the fourth edition of the "Close-Up Made Us Do It" tour. Close-Up is the biggest metal magazine in Sweden, and they've made this tour a tradition.
The tour contained 9 shows in Sweden and Denmark. Quite a perfect introduction to touring, since it was my first tour ever.
Short version: It was FUKKIN´ great!!!
Longer version: We started with 6 shows in Sweden, going through Malmoe, Karlskrona, Gothenburg, Stockholm, Linkoping and Halmstad.
The first gig, in Malmoe, didn't go that well, the sound was shit, due to us not getting to soundcheck, since everything was delayed. Well, we gave it a shot, but I'm not really satisified with my own performance that night.
Now, Karlskrona was a different story, the venue was simply awesome, it was an old movie theater that they had turned into a club. We had good stage sound, and the crowd was really supportive. It was obvious (through every gig) that people came for Arch Enemy, but what else is there to expect? Hehe. This was also the only place where I had chicks screaming at me from the front row, haha! It felt a bit weird, but funny nonetheless! We performed alot better this night, and the gig was really, really fun!
Next stop was Gothenburg, where we played at "Trädgårn" with a maximum capacity of 1100. Let's put it this way, it wasn't exactly packed!
I'm not sure how many turned up, but it wasn't alot. I think it felt extra empty since the place was so big. A video of the last song has made it's way to youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jURAQ6yxcu4
After Gothenburg we had 3 days off before it was time to head for Stockholm. This show was something that I had looked forward to. I love the venue (Klubben, Fryshuset) and I've been wanting to play there for a long time. This was the only show where we got our own dressing room, the rest of the shows we shared dressing rooms with Path Of No Return
(which had the second opening slot).
I had to get a pic of this:
When we entered the stage, over 400 people had found their way to the venue. For me this was one of the coolest gigs, everything went great, and the audience was very supportive. The other guys weren't as enthusiastic as I about their performances, but it was a cool night! The night ended awesome with me getting really drunk, discussing drum beats with Arch Enemy drummer Daniel Erlandsson in their dressing room (which was like a big party for all their Stochkolm friends after the show).
Woke up next morning feeling quite good, despite the beer intake the night before. We took a quick stroll in Stockholm before we started driving
towards Linkoping. The venue was the smallest during the tour, and the stage was PACKED, it was really tight, but it worked. We had our backline
in front of AE's all shows. The place has a max. capacity of around 350, and a bit more than 200 pretickets were sold, so we looked forward to a sweaty gig. I'm not sure how many showed up in the end, but it's gotta been somewhere between 250-275 or something like that. It was cool
evening, and the sound was really good.
The following night was in what you could kinda call Arch Enemy's hometown, Halmstad. It was in a venue called Diezel, with a good, big stage. It was a blast, the audience rocked, and we played good. It was also our merchandise record (although that doesn't say much, since sales were really slow).
Me and bass player Oskar looking our baddest, hehe:
Oskar and drummer Anders having a chat:
Next up, Denmark! It felt cool to head for our first shows abroad! We made a 5 hour drive for the first town, Herning, where we did a show outside the tour schedule, without Arch Enemy. The venue was located in an industrial area and seemed like a cool place. Everything good so far, and we we’re served the biggest pizza any of us had ever seen.
“Awesome!” we’re thinking, and start waiting for the doors to open, which they do at 9 pm. 15 minutes pass, no sign of any people, 30 minutes pass, still no sign of anyone. An hour passes, and no one shows up... we’re starting to understand that it’s gonna be quite empty, and now it’s time for Path Of No Return to start. So they do, with a supporting Coldworker as the only audience, haha! Anyway, they pull off an amazing gig playing totally different songs than all the other shows.
Then the time has come for us to enter the stage, and still no people, so we play for Path Of No Return, dusting off some songs that weren’t on our setlist.
The result of the day: paying alot of money in bridge fees and gasoline, driving across all of Denmark, and nobody shows up, none, zero, nada! Now that’s gotta be some kind of record!?
So... the first gig wasn't exactly what we had expected, but we had a laugh anyway.
Copenhagen up next, where we played at Pumpehuset, a really cool place! Copenhagen is a very nice town, and I would've loved to spend some more time there. Anyway, the show went really good, and the audience was really cool! We hade mr. Amott watching from the side of the stage, which was kinda cool (to me at least). I talked to some danish metal heads after the show, and they liked my Speedloader Jr. V. It seems like that guitar stirs up interest wherever I go, since they never sold the BC Speedloaders in Sweden.
Time for the last gig on the tour, in Aarhus. I took the opportunity to buy some booze, while we were still in Denmark (since it's quite alot cheaper than in Sweden. The venue, called Voxhall, had the nicest dressing room of all places, filled with lots of stuff to eat and drink, and a tv.
Path Of No Return pulled of a great gig, and then it was time for us to hit the stage.From l-r, Path Of No Return's "roadie" Michael, PONR singer Patrik, Oskar standing, Joel sitting:
I'm grabbing a coke, and not looking too fresh:
It was a really nice show, with a good number of front row bangers, so it was a great finish to an awesome tour!
Coldworker + Path Of No Return + "crew:
L-R: Anders (merch guy), Adam (PONR), Patrik (PONR), Michael (lighting guy), Martin (PONR), Oskar (Coldworker), Daniel (PONR), me, Anders J (Coldworker), André (Coldworker) and Joel (Coldworker).
Phew, my longest post so far, haha!
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