“Tonight was perfect in its imperfection… It couldn’t have been more real and more human…” – Alex

It was our last show in the UK tonight… It’s incredible how that week went by so fast! It’s almost as if we arrived yesterday… But the memories shared, the moments created and the relationships born are so alive, vivid, real and numerous that it saddens us all to already be leaving… We know, however, that all that we lived with you will forever live within our hearts, and is now a part of who we are…

You should have seen us driving back home. It took us around 40 minutes (a normal time without traffic… lol)… And the only thing we talked about was the time we spent with you. The conversations we had with you. How happy we were to be able to see you guys again. How we appreciated you driving so many hours to spend that time with us. And how privileged we all felt to be able to call you family. Not only once did we mention anything about the show… Because that time with all of you truly was our own highlight… 🙂

But talking about the show now… Let’s be honest, it was surreal! I can honestly say I got carried away a little into watching and momentarily forgot about taking pictures. I lowered the camera for a second to get a better view of the stage, in order not to be limited by my viewfinder at all. And then I turned my head to the right – I wanted to move this way, to get to Jeff’s side of the stage. And when I saw you guys in the crowd, enjoying yourselves, being all together, singing along to the song “I Just Want You To Know”… A song some of you have known for a little while already, and that others discovered through previous gigs we did on this tour, or discovered today… And it was a wonderful sight… Because what was happening on stage was happening in the crowd at the very same time… Perfect in its imperfection… Real and human…

Here are a few pictures of the moments shared on stage…

– Stephanie

The band performed last night in Liverpool, at The Shipping Forecast… and it’s been another incredible night!!! We spent a lot of time traveling to and back from Liverpool, but it was well worth it… From the concert itself to the time spent with people before and after, there isn’t one moment that will not forever stay engraved in our hearts! Thank you for sharing those special moments with us… It truly means a lot… You have no idea how much!!!

– Stephanie

Yesterday was day off for Your Favorite Enemies. Which means rehearsing! A shorter one than the other one they previously had a few days ago, it was amazing nonetheless! The last song they rehearsed was “The Voice Inside”, a song they haven’t played in their shows so far!!! Alex ended up playing with Sef’s guitar effect, while Ben and Jeff were living a true communion playing together facing each other, Miss Isabel added her touch of chaos to it, while Moose gave his everything to support the craziness that was going on – and this is no little task! lol

We’re halfway through the UK tour dates at the moment, only 3 shows left. Liverpool on the 20th, and twice in London on the 21st and 22nd!!!

I know you’ve been able to see a lot of pictures from the previous shows… but we also wanted to give you a little taste of the show through a video… This is the song “A View From Within”… enjoy!!!

– Stephanie

Tonight, we played the third show of the “Youthful Dreams Of An Old Empire” promo tour. And it’s been once again beyond words. But let me backtrack a little bit!

We’re Saturday. “AWESOME! We’ll avoid London traffic for once!!!!” We were overjoyed. And I mean not only a little overjoyed. London traffic is a horrible thing. A really horrible thing. We’re playing in St. Albans. 60 minutes away from where we live. Easy drive! There’s only one thing we overlooked. The “Saturday Shoppers”. It didn’t take us 1 hour to get to St. Albans. It took us almost 4 hours. 4 freakin hours of traffic. Canadians driving in London VS London traffic… Traffic won. The same way Sef’s guitar won over Alex’s eye.

St. Albans is a really nice place. Small city, for sure, but a beautiful and quiet little place. The venue itself was a wonderful one. The stage was very small and didn’t leave much space for the guys to move around. Well, they couldn’t move around at all without bumping into each other. But the energy that was there on the stage was electrifying. They enjoyed themselves on stage, just as much as we enjoyed ourselves in the crowd.

And what a crowd it was… Not the biggest one we’ve seen. But incredible friends whom we’ve known and talked to for years already. We all met in different circumstances. We all have different backgrounds. We all have different personalities. But tonight, none of this mattered. Tonight, we were one, in the most beautiful way that can be…

Another moment turned into eternity. A moment that would have never been the same without you all.

It’s right now 11:30pm, we’re in the van, and we just finished the gig at Milton Keynes’ Craufurd Arms… And it has been amazing!! 

The day started with a breakfast all together – eggs, sautéed mushrooms, bacon, jelly and cheese rolled pancakes, fruits and yogurt! All that under a great warm sun! Sunny London, we love you! The only one missing around the table was Alex. The poor guy was sharing his room with someone that I can’t name and who’s part of the band and has short hair… And that person spent the whole night snoring in such great style that Alex needed to get out of the the room… So he opted to sleep on the couch in the living room, using bath towels as blankets, as we had no extras. And to make it even better, was awaken by the smoke of the bacon being cooked… And I mean a lot of smoke!

Then we packed the van with the gear, and set off for Milton Keynes! We had been warned by Sue to look out for the roundabouts because there were so many of them in the city. We didn’t doubt she was right, we just didn’t know how right she was… lol! And Matt did incredibly well! We’ve only been honked once!

We got there and unloaded the little bit of gear we had… With Alex to testify of how little gear we had… And then came the soundcheck – or should I say a show in midday… Because this is exactly how it’s been!

The show itself has been mindblowing! Right before the show, the band members all agreed on one thing: “tonight, let’s enjoy ourselves to the fullest! Let’s live these songs with our loved ones, let’s live the moment as it unfolds itself before our eyes… Let’s just have fun!”

And it is exactly how it has been!

We then had the privilege of meeting with Tobi, whom we’ve know for years now! He was there at our very first gig in the UK in 2007, in Nottingham, so it was great to see him again tonight in the crowd for the first show of the tour this time again! We also met Rebecca, Krystal, Stanley and Robert… And as Alex said… THIS was the best part of the show! Being able to meet with you guys…!

Oh… and we can now say that the tour has officially started… Alex hurt himself, and is wearing a wonderful blackeye… 😉