Today almost felt like a day off. Almost. By that, I mean that we didn’t have thousands of interviews today! Nonetheless, it’s been another early morning for most of us, getting ready for the show in Gold Coast, changing guitar strings, cleaning up all the equipment. The only one who had a late morning was Jeff… And it was a morning in grand style for him, from the couch to the pool! 

Right after this, we’ve had a Skype with the people back home, telling them about what’s going on here, sharing stories, and of course, getting news about the 4 little wombats we have at home! 

We then hit the road direction Miami Shark Bar, in Gold Coast. We did a short stop at McDonald’s after a friend’s suggestion that we should have the Oz burger. Which, to our biggest disappointment, had already been taken off the menu! We might have had no burgers, but I know 2 people who had a lot of fun! 

The Shark Bar is located very close to the same beach we went to on our 14 hour drive! A great and very meaningful moment that we all remembered as soon as we saw the beach! The ocean in Australia will forever be associated  with that moment we shared on our first morning in the country! The place is very beautiful, with a totally different vibe at night! 

We met and talked with the other bands on the bill tonight, and then it was sound check! A few hours later, the band hit the stage! And it has been an incredible show! I am at a loss for words to describe all that happened tonight! The vibe, the intensity, the effervescence, the genuineness… It was a wonderful mess!

And what happened off stage was also beyond words! There was a true communion between bands, like we have never seen before. Truly typical of Gold Coast, where there is no music scene, bands get together and support one another. It was truly refreshing to see this. And so far, this is what we’ve seen of Australia! This friendliness and familiarity is what we’ve been met with since we arrived here.

And to end this night on a perfect note, the last song that played was Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’, theme song for the Giants! One word, EPIC!!! A great reminder that when you keep believing in your dreams through storms and darkness, no matter what they are, they will come true…

8:00 in the morning, slowly getting ready for another day to start! Screams outside. I open the door, get out on the balcony, only to see some of the guys already enjoying the outdoor pool! Yes, in the pool! It was cold, but the temptation of jumping in a pool when it’s already 25C in the morning was just too intense, they couldn’t resist! 

9:45, we left the house, Matt, our driver, Alex who had interviews again today, 1 face to face and 2 written, Jeff who had other meetings and was speaker in another panel conference today, and Kim and I. 

Jeff’s conference was this time again about DIY, about being artists yet managing the business side at the same time. Alex talked about DIY, punk ethos, the band’s first show in Australia, about the Australian version of the album and the different moments that can be found on the album.

“It was an horrible catastrophe and an uplifting epiphany, not on one album, but in one same song!” 

The others stayed home, getting ready for the show tonight! We all joined them after Alex’s interview, had lunch, and then it was already time to leave! We never see the time go by usually, but when we’re on tour, it seems to be even worse! On our way to the venue, we managed to get a glimpse of the sunset over the city, shining upon us colors that held the promises of a night we would never forget! Then it was time for load in! No soundcheck at all tonight, so we simply spent some time in the venue, talking together and with some other bands that were also performing tonight.

The show tonight was another short one, 30 minutes this time! A set list similar to yesterday, with the addition of the song I Just Want You To Know in very last. And what a show it’s been!!! People massively came to the front of the stage as A View From Within started, before Alex could even start singing! The more noise there was, the crazier people got! And you have an idea of just how much noise there is in Your Favorite Enemies! One song after the other, the energy kept building and building, both on and off stage, extending all the way to the staff of the Tempo Hotel (tonight’s venue), who left the bar and came front stage to catch a few pictures of the madness that was going on there! The band left the stage under an ocean of applause and whistling. The show is long over now, but it still feels very present at this very moment… As genuine emotions and pure let go can only turn a single moment into eternity!

Funny story of the night: One of the girls who was there tonight had never heard of the band before. But checking the line-up for the Big Sound festival, she thought there was no way she could miss this show. After all, the guys in this band had the most incredible beards of the festival!!! 😉 And I have to agree with this! Not only beards, but hair as well… It’s quite a sight on stage!

We all woke up early this morning. And I mean, really early! For the most of us, it was way before 6am! It allowed a few of us to watch another incredible sunrise from the house where we’re staying however! 

The action started very early too, as everyone was getting ready for the very first show of the Australian tour. Last check up for the guitars, the amps, the drums, the keyboard, and all the other little details that go unnoticed but that make all the difference in a show! 

We headed to downtown Brisbane where we dropped Jeff for his first of many meetings! He was also having a very busy day, between meetings, interviews, photoshoot plus the show tonight! 

Then it was a quick stop at Starbucks before we headed to the first interview with Alex. 2 incredible interviewers, very passionate about music, did a short interview with Alex, only a few questions, in order to get the band out there in Australia. The questions: about Australia in general, about playing at the Big Sound Festival, about the album release here in Australia, and about music & high school! In total, around 20 minutes.

We then came back to the Starbucks, where Alex faithfully answered some more interviews, written this time, for both UK and Australia webzines! A few caramel macchiatos later, we all left for the photoshoot, where we would also meet Jeff at the end of his meetings!

Quick photoshoot for a magazine, then it was already time for another interview for Alex! An interview about the creation of the band, our own label, the different releases, being in Australia and the music scene over here, human rights, living the moment, dreams, and upcoming plans for the band!

The interview ended after 30 minutes, just in time for all of us to attend Jeff’s conference, as he was a speaker in the DIY Life panel. DIY is something we live by here, doing everything our own way in order to be able to get as close to you guys as possible. About staying ourselves and being true to what we believe in. 

A quick run down several levels, and then Jeff and Alex were up for yet another interview! Alex was really happy not to have to do this one alone. Not that doing interviews alone isn’t cool, but it sure is better when you’re 2! “Because you have someone else to laugh at your jokes, too”.

We then went on to visit the place where the show was. Not a venue, it was a stage set up in an alley called the bakery lane. They used fake grass carpets all over the place, with Chinese lanterns hanging all over our heads. Graffitis everywhere completed what would become a perfect template for the band’s sounds and noises. And then it was time to grab a bite and walk a bit before the show, exploring the 4 streets surrounding the venue… Yeah, it was a quick walk… 😉

And then came the show!!! It was a short set, a very short set. Keep in mind that 3 hours with YFE live feels short, so you can only imagine how this 20 minute set felt! Here’s the set list:

– A View From Within
– Where Did We Lose Each Other
– From The City To The Ocean 

And here are a few pictures for you! As short as it was, it was a tremendously intense show, the only way for Your Favorite Enemies to be on stage! 

We are now back home, about to share a meal all together, talking about the day and show! We’re all secretly hoping we won’t see any spiders like we’ve seen last night… As Alex said just before he bravely went to take pictures of the spider and kill it, some people with long hair, beard, and 2 tattooed arms may scare people in the streets, but when they come across spiders, you would mistake them for little girls with the way they scream!

– Stephanie

We left Sydney after the rehearsal at around 6:30pm. Blame it on the jet lag maybe, but it was already so dark at this time of the day we were all sure it was 10pm! The sun seemed to have set for a long time already…

Packing all of our gear into the trailer, we realized we’d have to pile up some of the suitcases into the van as well. Flashback from China, where getting in and out of the van was a true obstacle course! 

It took us around 14 hours to get to Brisbane, including several stops on our way so YB and Matt could share the driving! And obviously we needed to stop for food, so we did a short stop at McDonald’s, and no, Jeff didn’t have anything 🙂

Driving by night in the countryside that spans between Sydney and Brisbane sure has its disadvantages, but we had the privilege of seeing our very first Australian sunrise, a true blessing we all woke up to watch. That new day unveiled itself and its promises in a myriad of colors, as if they were dancing before our eyes, telling us we had no idea what we were about to share with the people here in Australia, that we still had lots and lots of things to discover the true nature of the heart of the country, its people.

The happy campers got some additional sleep, as we still had quite a few hours of driving ahead of us!

2 hours later, we stopped by the ocean, where some of the guys couldn’t resist, dropped their pants, and jump in the water! A little cold, they said, but totally worth it!! A moment as simple as it gets, but that is unforgettable, a testimony that even the smallest moments can turn into eternal memories!

We then stopped at a small beachside restaurant, and had breakfast – no, sorry, brekky as they call it here – on the open terrace, before we headed to a beachside Starbucks, and then to our beach house in Brisbane! Ok, it is not exactly close to the beach, but it’s good enough! So yes, that is what we call a good start for a tour! Blessed to be able to share all of this with you!

We’ve safely landed in Sydney, after the longest flight we’ve had so far! But to be honest, it didn’t feel that long for any of us. Well, that may be due to the fact that none of us had slept on the 2 days prior to our departure, so we enjoyed a little bit of sleep on our way down under! It’s been a good flight for almost everyone, despite the fact we weren’t sitting together. This was bad news for us, but good news for the other passengers… The unlucky one however, has been Alex. He was just in front of Sef. And Sef spent the 23 hours of flight snoring. And I mean snoring… Oh, and we’ve been sprayed by some weird stuff before getting out of the plane. But it was nontoxic they said, so that can’t explain why Sef is acting so weird at the moment… But with the exception of this, this very long flight has been a good one, as nothing has been lost nor broken! And as usual, we took the time to toast to what we’re living and to what’s ahead of us.

We’re having 1 very big van for the 11 of us, which is a good change from the UK, where we needed to split in 2 vans. The happiest? Matt and YB, the 2 drivers! For them, it means they can co-drive and get a little bit of rest! We were welcome in the van by what we think are typical australian snacks… Minties have been a favorite for everyone 😉

First stop? Oh come on, you know us better than this… Starbucks, of course! After a very enthusiastic request from the whole crew, the driver gave up on the “tight schedule”, and we went to the Starbucks. That we never found. A food fight, a few hideous spiders, some human-eye-eating birds and a human-killer crocodile after (we didn’t go close to the beach, so we haven’t seen any sharkagaroos), we reached the official first stop of our tour, a gear renting place that had a very suspicious “General Pants Group” written on the building… Followed a second renting place, and then we made a little detour for a Starbucks thoug. It was much appreciated by everyone of us, let me tell you! 

We then had a 30 minutes ride to a place where we rehearsed! And on that ride, YB stayed faithful to his touring habit of having snacks on the road by taking out a bag of licorice he had purposefully brought with him from Canada!

The guys are right now rehearsing, before we head to Brisbane a little later tonight! Pictures will follow 🙂

– Stephanie