1 Tom and Neil looking arty yet moody yet sexy on stage in Dallas.
Ellen Campesinos!
Ellen Campesinos! Tour Diary, Part 3
Voodoo, hair dye, and Margaritas: Los Campesinos! mess with the South in their third week on the road
By Ellen Campesinos
Published: February 13th, 2009 | 9:00am
I am the bassist for the seven-member Cardiff, United Kingdom, band Los Campesinos! and we are on a four-month excursion around North America starting with a 24-date tour around the East Coast. We will be performing in various college towns — supported by the mighty Titus Andronicus — as well as eating lots of Twinkies, waffles, and pickles in bags.
Tuesday January 27, 2009 — New Orleans
New Orleans: the juxtaposition of cheesy tourism, beautiful architecture, and shops selling Le Fleur necklaces and voodoo potions next to delicately carved wooden toys and antique book shops. I buy a shot glass with an alligator on it.
The show is the most technically troubled we have had so far, with Neil giving up at the end when his guitar stops chugging, throwing himself into the crowd and then just kind of …dancing around the stage.
This is a surprising turnout because both I and Alek dabbed "success oil" we bought from a voodoo temple behind our ears pre-show.
Wednesday January 28, 2009 — Lake Charles
Another day off? Must be time to get my roots done and then come out blonder then ever before — also slightly ginger. It was one of those hair-dressing moments when you try and smile but you’re just confused at this odd thing on your head. Someone tell me I’m pretty. We drive to Lake Charles and I eat cottage cheese in front of Battlestar Galactica, getting up every five seconds to see just how much my eyebrows mismatch my hair.
Thursday January 29, 2009 — Houston
Houston turns out to be the meeting place for men who won the “most likely to kill you in the car park after the show” award.
Post-soundcheck, we went to eat some well-earned raw fish when an older gentleman asked if he could walk with us. He informed us that he had lived in Wales for a while, and it must be a culture shock to come to America for us. He seemed to assume that it had not changed since he left in the ’70s. Literally no one was talking to him, just trying to out-walk him as he delivered a running monologue about Cardiff and the Gower, as if this would endear him to us. He then followed us into the restaurant before adding, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to sit with you.” We went to a different restaurant.
On stage, some guy kept shouting “What’s your name?” and pointing at me. I nearly said “I don’t give a fuck what your name is, so why should I tell you mine.” He threw his tie on stage, I did not realize it was his and put it on, and then he filmed me wearing it for a song. I immediately threw it off.
Friday January 30, 2009 — Austin
Austin is the location for Alek’s birthday celebrations. I celebrated mine here last year at SXSW and it was margarita-filled. We all fail at guessing the amount of pre-sales, underestimating our power to rock by a couple of hundred people.
I force Alek to wear a tiara at dinner with the words “Birthday Girl” emblazoned on it in possibly not real diamonds. I also get her a poetry book and some Little Mermaid stickers, as she loves fictional ginger characters (it makes her feel less of a freak).
We all sing her “Happy Birthday” on stage, and the bar man (who looked like a sexy Jesus) gave her lots of birthday margaritas. In fact, it seems everyone wants to celebrate Alek’s birthday with copious amounts of alcohol. Todge isn’t allowed back into a bar post-show due to being intoxicated. Unfortunately, he also doesn’t remember what hotel room he is in and wakes our tour manager with a slurry phone call.
I scare some fans when I find out that they like Buffy and vampire-related TV shows. So when finding out they are coming to the Dallas show, I ask them to bring me comic books and a cuddly toy mascot. I fear they might not even turn up because of my over-excited behavior.
Saturday January 31, 2009 — Dallas
Dallas is not like the soap opera, just a venue which looks like a bomb has hit it and later cleaned by a homeless man. The promoter also never turns up, and no one has heard of him, we think he might be a ghost/figment of Joe’s imagination Fight Club–style. The streets are slightly deserted and fears of a zombie invasion flood my mind.
Before the gig starts we are given presents by fans who have read our MySpace bulletin imploring people for DVDs for the van. One guy brings us DVDs, some arty magazines, and dinosaur finger puppets (naturally). Fans from last night bring me a Manga comic and bring the band a dog disguised as a duck (this is a toy, in real life that would be weird.) I have lots of long chats with them about Neil Gaiman, Underworld, and Americas Next Top Model.
Avel’s birthday is celebrated, so the tiara is passed on to him as well as the embarrassing-singing-on-stage thing. I zone out during the gig, having some existential crisis about death halfway through.
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For more information about Los Campesinos!, check out their MySpace.
Los Campesinos! will be on tour throughout winter 2009. For a handy-dandy list of dates, check their tour calendar.
Their new album, We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed (Arts & Crafts), can be found at fine music retailers near you.
Issue #44
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