As we leave Switzerland, we pass through some of the most beautiful scenery and landscapes of the entire European tour. To our right and left we see snow capped mountains, dense forests, cascading waterfalls, and below, these small picturesque towns. We cross over into Milan. Its expected to be the biggest show of the tour in the home town of Lacuna Coil.
We get to the venue. Its a 1800 capacity place and the biggest stage we’ve ever played on. On one hand, I’m hoping we get to utilize the stage. On the other hand, being a front man that is forced to be stationary in front of the microphone stand makes stages like this a bit daunting. However the thought of being able to really move freely when not singing is exciting. We are so used to these stages where little to no movement is possible. This feels like a real dose of freedom.
I see Lacuna being bombarded with guests, friends and family. Hometown shows are always a little crazy. I made sure to leave Lacuna alone because you can tell they were being pulled in a hundred different directions. Other than hometown shows, any shows in Los Angeles or New York are a bit crazy as well because of all the music industry people that come. I guess its good that we usually can knock out the industry/hometown show in one night being from Los Angeles. It always takes us away from our fans a bit because we have so many things to tend to.
We hit the stage in Milan and its one of the first times we have gotten a reaction like this. Its normal to have cheering when the lights go out and we walk out on stage. This time I walked to the front of the stage and a second wave of excitement from the audience was invigorating. There were people singing every word to every song. We get into the set and its a very cool feeling being able to move so freely on stage. I wanted to be able to walk to Billy’s mic stand when I remembered he is the last guy in the band to be getting over a cold. I think I’ll pass on that this time. It was a good time and a good night. We made our way to the merch area and for one of the first times, it was a little scary in an unstable way. People were excited and unknowingly being rude to others. There was a bit of shoving. Things could have gotten out of hand. I think we may be getting to a point where we need to make sure we are in a bit more of a controlled space when we meet fans and friends, for our safety and theirs.
The next day was a day off in Milan. I went with a couple of guys to the Cathedral in Milan and the gallery just next to it. Later that night, we returned to the same venue as the night before to see Airbourne. I regret that we didn’t arrive early enough to see Taking Dawn. Airbourne put on a great show. It was like AC/DC on methamphetamines. It was such high energy and the Milanese loved them. It was kinda cool to be in the building with 2 other Roadrunner bands knowing you’re all on a common road sharing common experiences.
We hit the Rock ‘N’ Roll Bar later that night and enjoyed hanging out together and with Justin from Airbourne as well. I left around 2AM back to the hotel. Most of the guys stayed behind and I’m pretty sure they were out until nearly sunrise. We play Bologna tomorrow. We are practically just passing through. We play the show and leave early straight to Rome. Its going to be a long day. I’m glad I’m back at the hotel at a decent hour. The others…they’ll be hurting.
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