And the walls fell down…

Written by Your Favorite Enemies. Posted in From Upper Room To Higher Sky Tour

It was a very early morning for all of us… And it’s especially early when you consider that some of us went to bed way past 5 in the morning. Second night on tour, and we can already say goodbye to those long, comfortable nights of profound sleep! Wait… Have we ever had them before? 😉 I guess that’s life on the road, but especially life with YFE in general!

Jeff left for meetings, Miss Isabel & Moose went grocery shopping, Sef & Ben made sure the guitars and all the other equipment were ready for tonight’s show, while Alex did some vocal exercises and kept in touch with you all! So many of you have written to him concerning the recent blog he posted (in which he posted never before released lyrics of a song that was never heard before! And they are just sublime – both the song and the lyrics! If you haven’t read them yet, the blog is right here!

The morning disappeared before we truly knew it was here! Already, it was time to load the van, and we were heading to the Morrison’s Irish Pub, where we played tonight! We were scheduled to do the soundchecks at 1pm, but it was delayed a little… We decided to go for a coffee! After an unsuccessful attempt at finding a coffee shop that would welcome 9 of us for only a coffee at lunch time, we decided we would go back to the Morrison’s, this time at the lounge section. We sat down in one very cool section of the place, and discussed different stories… Jeff’s snoring (and some of the others, too, but Jeff is still unbeatable in his category),
Moose’s shampoo (he has displayed them in his room! Just how crazy is that!), and Sef who is just being Sef. A tour without him would definitely not be the same… In a way, we are glad he didn’t send a sixth guitar on tour instead of coming with us… A guitar causes less trouble, sure, but it never is as funny as Sef!

And finally came time for the soundchecks! We brought all the equipment inside – easy! No amps to bring this time! But then we had to fit everything of stage… Not so easy! The stage is already very small when it is empty… So imagine it with a drum, amps, footboards (Sef’s spaceship in itself occupies half the width of the stage!), a keyboard, and 6 people… Look at the space they have left at their feet! But hey, we managed to fit everything in… And I can tell you that this concert is going to be a very punk rock one! It might be a small place, but walls will fall tonight, this makes no doubt!

We then talked with the owner, an Irishman who surprisingly speaks a perfect French! As tonight’s set is scheduled to be only 30 minutes, we even went as far as asking if we could play longer, to which he agreed “only if you are good, otherwise, I turn down the sound!”.

We then went back home, around 4:30pm, where we shared a light snack and read the different blogs that had been released! Yes, it looks like a new tradition has been born for us on the road! It gives birth to very special moments, and allows us to share on a different level… Not that we don’t usually do it, but let’s say it’s a good spark to new conversations 🙂 We all went for a quick nap, blame it on the very late nights and early mornings and all the traveling in the past few days!

Nap over, we gathered in the living room/bedroom/dining room where we discussed the set list for the show we were giving at The Morrison’s that night! We finally settled for the following songs:
– Lantern Lights
– Where Did We Lose Each Other
– Would You Believe
– Open Your Eyes
– 1-2-3 (One Step Away)

Followed a quick rehearsal only with an acoustic guitar, a way to put us in the mood of the show before we even left our little apartment!

We then all got in the van and drove 15 minutes to the venue, in the heart of Cannes. We drove in front of the venue, to see people packed not only inside, but outside as well. It made the stress level of some people rise up, while on my side, it just made me even more excited… After all, way before being a photographer for YFE, I’m a fan 🙂

We stopped the van not too far away from the venue, and then it was time to get ready. Because the place where we were playing tonight was a pub, there was no such thing as a backstage, no matter how small it could have been. So it’s seated in the van that Alex listened to the songs and sang over them, that Miss Isabel did her vocal exercices and that Moose clapped his hands in a very special way (to be honest, it’s a very funny exercice to see, but it apparently makes a whole lot of a difference… but only he can tell!)

Then it was time for the show! The turnover (that period of time in between 2 bands to get the stage ready for the following one) wasn’t an easy task! Even though all our equipment was just beside the stage, there were so many people that it was hard to just walk from one point to another… Now imagine with Sef’s giant spaceship-like footboard… 😉 And once everything was ready for us on stage… SHOWTIME!

And what a show it’s been! The opening song of the show, Lantern Lights, simply started the whole thing with a bang. And I mean a MAJOR BANG! It’s hard to really explain what this song makes you go through… Starting with spoken words and screams, it suddenly shifts to a melody that captivates your soul, before changing to an epic cadence with a feeling of emergency like you’ve never known it before… And the rest of the show? Well, let’s just say that Alex was on somebody’s shoulders in the first song, that he walked around the whole room twice, that he jumped from the bar into the crowd (not from the second floor balcony this time, though it would have been possible!), and that the drum ended up on the bar, with Moose playing and Alex singing on the bass drum, and the whole band in the crowd. I think nobody really expected such a thing to happen tonight, but everybody took part in it, embracing the moment, and making it even more grandiose. People we’ve known for a long time and who drove several hours to come and see us, people we had been talking to for a long time but whom we were meeting for the first time, people who discovered the band that night… We knew the show would be pretty punk rock. We knew we would remember it. We knew the walls would fall down while we’d be playing in that venue… We just had no idea what these walls would be until tonight. And now that they’re down, everything can be rebuilt with a brand new perspective. And this is the most exciting part. Because it means there are no limits no more. Because it means that everything is possible, as long as we believe so!

We were supposed to be allowed to play for 30 minutes. We played 70. I guess that means we weren’t that bad… 😉 And the owner, at the end, told us that we could have played 5 more, and he would have been happy about it. In 13 years of business, with shows EVERY SINGLE NIGHT, he has never seen anything quite like this before… And in the end, we were kicked out of the pub at around 2:30, half an hour after its closing time.

It’s right now 6:00am. I guess it’s time to say good night…

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Comments (5)

  • Moose (YFE)

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    The clapping exercise… lol Well that’s efficient indeed and it’s something I learned from a drummer I really like, his name is Jojo Mayer. The one who actually reminded me about it is Sef. Alright, the main course… There’s something that rejoices and empowers me a lot and it’s when I can see and feel that people are living something, when the music and the moment carries them away. It’s exactly what happened at the Morrison’s and it’s happened because we at first dared to be ourselves, without any ambitious thoughts but a desire to share. It’s inspiring, it’s an invitation and a powerful encouragement for what’s ahead. Can’t wait to meet you and turn the night into a communion.
    Moose

    Reply

  • Sef (YFE)

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    What a totally Rock’n’Roll insane moment!!!! I realize even more that when you jump in the unknown it has nothing to do about what you know, if you’re ready or not, if you have the skills or not… It’s all about if you have faith or not!!! This communion, this love we shared between each other that night brings us to live and fully appreciate what really matters!!!! I’m more than thankful to have shared this with the people that night and with all of you guys!!!

    Love you guys!
    Your bearded bro!

    Reply

  • Ben

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    Wow, this day has been so incredible and so full of surprises… The show itself was so powerful and so full of emotions. I was amazed to see people allowing themselves to be touched by the music and to live it freely. It was so intense and true…as if the time had stop for 50 minutes and everydody stop their own personal things and lived with passion this crazy moment. It reminds me even more how powerful being yourself can be !!

    Can’t wait to be back there !!

    Ben

    Reply

  • Miss Isabel (YFE)

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    Before stepping in the venue that night we promised each other to only be ourselves but FULLY ourselves… The stage was so small, I couldn’t move my elbows too much without crashing my funny bones…lol! Anyway any stage, big or small, can contain and/or restrain the flow of passion, raging love and fury to live we carry in our frail human vase.

    Time was suspended… Sounds and souls were elevated… The madness arose realizing only hours after that the concert we lived engraved the memory…even more, the heart of every single person in the pub.

    I’m so grateful for the new friendships which bloomed from that night… Gael, Brigitte, Florence, Cedric, Erik, to name a few… Yes you are with the YFE circus now and I hope you are ready for more of the unexpected:)

    -Miss Isabel

    Reply

  • Rob Ryan

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    As the owner of the establishment I can confirm the above. We are the day after the night before and the rebuilding is is full swing. I just want to thank you guys for a memorable night, in the 16 years of live music we have been doing I can say with my hand on heart that these guys ROCK. The show will go down as one of the best we ever had on our stage. If you guys know Anvil from Ontario they played on the ocasion of their movie launch a few years ago ant they rocked the place but this was a show in the real sense. I expect to be hearing about it for a long time to come. If anyone reading this is waiting to see this Rock Band Live I envy you you are in for a treat.

    Reply

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