Maschine/Leprous/Haken Tour Diary

Maschine embark on their first U.K tour alongside label-mates Haken and Leprous!

Although members in the group have toured with various acts, Maschine as a collective had yet to break their tour virginity.

9:00AM – The day begins, time to collect the van from ‘Ooosh’.

10:00AM – Morning hunger pains strike! We take a brief stroll to Greggs and fuel up on some sub-standard pastry.

11:00AM – Paul and Dan begin a game of ‘MET’ also known as Musical Equipment Tetris. It must be said that some advanced packing skills were demonstrated.

12:00AM – Maschine T-shirts arrive at the last minute, phew!! For the record we did order them on time. Too close for comfort!

12:30PM – The band are on the road, John Coltrane is pumping through the speakers…he is accompanied by interference from the transmission, a high squeal that changes pitch as the van accelerates. An added extra that wasn’t stated in the handbook!?

15:00PM – The band arrive at the venue, although ‘Beryl’ our GPS decided to take us on a slight detour. Maybe she was annoyed that she’d spent all that time in the glove box with no one to talk to… she’ll come around.

17:00PM – Time to eat, Luke decides on a healthy option… the rest of the band gorge on McDonalds. Luckily there were no casualties following the consumption of the questionable beef.

19:10PM – We walk on stage and deliver a solid 30-minute set to an extremely welcoming and receptive London audience.

19:50PM – All this playing is thirsty work, time to grab a beer and watch the other bands.

20:00PM-23:00PM – Leprous and Haken both deliver fantastic, powerful and gripping sets.

A great start to the tour, bring on day 2!

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.