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Published: June 21st 2008
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I have always been fascinated with cities. They are all so unbelievably unique in their architecture, people, terrain, food, attractions and nightlife. We have been in Spain for just over a week now, and the anticipation for our stay in Madrid had built to a high point. It is the capital and largest city in Spain, and people here certainly regard it as such - everywhere I go I keep hearing, "wait til you get to Madrid."
Well... It rocked my world! Our booking agency in Spain, Love To Art, and all of its lovely employees are headquartered in Madrid, so they were eager to show us a good time in their city. Although not as "beautiful" as Zaragoza or some of the other cities we have been through, Madrid has that irresistible big-city pulse, and we stayed in the heart of it all, on Calle de la Montera. We arrived around 1 pm a day before the show (a night off!) and went immediately to a radio interview, and then got to settle in to our hotel. It was in a busy shopping district, and our particular block happened to be lined with prostitutes day and night. Sounds shady(!) but
it didn't feel that way at all. The street was bustling with city life, and one block in any direction led us to large town squares packed with people. We did a band photo shoot in a really cool vintage shop in the afternoon, and then I left my 'night off' as just that - stayed in the hotel and rested and handled some business online, and just plain took it easy. Our nightly late shows and after-parties have left my internal clock quite wacky, and though I was hoping to get to sleep early, it was easily 4 am before I knocked off. Had a blissful, deep, deep sleep and was awaken by a phone call from Edu from Love To Art inviting me to lunch with the gang around 2. He led us through a really cool part of town to a hip American style restaurant where we met up with the entire Love To Art crew. They are all incredibly cool and sweet, and lunch was excellent. Afterwards, I was ready to get my walk on and explore the city a bit before soundcheck. Camera in tow, I took to the streets without a destination - my
favorite way to adventure - checking out shops and galleries and taking pictures along the way.
Headed to soundcheck around 7. The venue, El Sol, had a basement kind of vibe and tough sound on stage, but the crew assured us it would be packed and a ton of fun. Our hotel was right around the corner, so we all headed back to clean up a bit and walked back to the venue around 10:30. The joint was jumpin'! It was a full sellout, and they were trying to cram more people in. Our opening act, The Ettes, was rocking the lively crowd and we headed backstage. The dressing room was stocked with Ballantine's - my fav Scotch - and I knew this would be one of those gigs, much more fun with a few drinks in me. When we took the stage the crowd was already whipped into a frenzy, and they didn't let up for the entire set. Right there with us every step of the way. And as a result of their tireless energy, we played a killer show. Two encores, closing with "Highway To Hell," which completely brought the house down. The screams from the audience
were deafening, and smiles ear to ear on every face. This is what I live for!!
After toweling off (I was drenched!), signing a bunch of autographs, and chumming with folks for a while, I went off with some new friends to bar. We walked for what seemed to be quite a while. The vibe was great and we were drinking for free. I think it was around 4:30 when I got a lift back to the neighborhood of the show and our hotel. To my surprise, I bumped into Johnny Kaplan - an american musician from LA that had I met at our show. We were both pretty loopy, and stumbled around for an hour or so talking about music, life, etc.
It was a wonderful feeling to get back to the hotel and into bed. What a night in Madrid! Easily one of the funnest shows of my life, and in such a great city...
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