...well...I didn't get in to the Arcade Fire gig. Major bummer. I'm not sure whether I'm more upset about the fact that I didn't get to see the show or that I didn't have enough clout to simply get in. In any case, Margo and I ended up doing a fairly late night BBC program. So I keep telling myself that I would have missed most of the performance anyways. Other than the BBC show the rest of the so-called promo day was a major waste of time (as London promo days have been for the past several years). We’re not young enough, not hip enough, not controversial enough, not new wave enough, just not relevant enough in the eyes of the English music press and haven't been for many years...I hear that Pete Dougherty was seen sharing a panini on Hamstead Heath with an unidentified blonde...some things must take precedent.

Margo and I flew to Glasgow this afternoon to catch up with the rest of the band. This gig is part of a rather large and respected festival called Celtic Connections. Although our show was a separate ticketed event at a decent rock club called ABC. It’s been a while since we played Glasgow and our memories of this city and the audience are good ones. The audience didn’t disappoint tonight. There were about 900 people in a stand-up venue and yet there was complete silence and focus on the music. Truly amazing. Unfortunately we felt that we didn’t deliver the type of performance that they deserved. It wasn’t a bad night, we just had difficulty connecting with one another and therefore never really got airborne, unlike the after-show festivities back at the hotel which reach a level that I've rarely experienced. These folkies really know how to…celebrate. Spontaneous reels, jigs and song circles were breaking out all over the hotel...until the drink finally got the better of everyone and at around 5am the best that anyone could muster were spontaneous bouts of primal screaming. At least that is what was happening in the room next to mine. The true celtic connections revealed.

As far as the city is concerned I didn't get a chance to do any site-seeing. I saw the inside of my hotel room and the inside of the club. Oh well...hopefully we will be back soon.

We have made a broad leap forward into the 21st century on this little tour with the use of iChat: the relatively new video-conferencing feature offered on all Mac computers. It is quite amazing. A couple of the venues have had wireless internet access and so we have simply opened up a laptop in the dressing room and connected with Blair who handles all of our touring logistics from his office in Buffalo. It's sort of like having him sitting next to you as he fills you in on upcoming flight possibilities, hotel options, current events etc. The other night while we waited for showtime in Antwerp, we had Blair turn on the hockey game and point his computer in the direction of the TV so we were able to watch the game (don't tell the NHL legal department). Certainly better than watching the endless hours of cricket and soccer that is broadcast in these parts.

Margo and I head to Hamburg tomorrow for another day of promo. The rest of the band goes home. February is dedicated to tying up a few loose ends and figuring out how we are going to approach the upcoming acoustic trio tour in March. After that...well...the new album is unveiled and we just keep moving. See you in a month.