Antique Arches and Beautiful Beaches
July 2017

Show, Pescara

Exploring Sogliano

Having flown into Milan, our first stop on the Italian tour was Vigevano, an incredibly atmospheric Medieval town. With our wonderful pal and tour organiser Vania Santi, we had the chance to briefly explore, weaving through narrow streets and spectral archways. The old world was so intact, it was like being in a time warp... The gig was in the castle grounds and our backstage area in the castle itself. You could almost see the ghosts flitting by out of the corner of your eye across faded frescoes and within dark recesses...

Despite mosquitos dive bombing the brightly lit stage, the gig went well and the vibe between band and audience was strong.

The following morning we set off for a very different kind of venue... Still outdoors, but this time literally on a sandy beach! Lignano Sabbiadoro is a fun seaside town between Venice and Trieste. People showed up from miles around and there were between two and three thousand at the show.

Most of the following day was taken up with the journey to Pescara, following the coast southwards for another outdoor seaside show, though this time the venue was in the town. The gig had a fabulous vibe with another great crowd. It was good to connect with my mum June and her husband Mike there. My extraordinarily youthful Mum always loves the shows, and they were also enjoying a seaside holiday.

The final gig of this tour was in another special old town, Sogliano, this time up in lush hills not far from Rimini and Ravenna. Jo and I took the opportunity to walk around the streets and steps which curled around the hillside. The views of the surrounding scenery were breathtaking. The gig itself was in the town square. I think the decibels might have frightened off some of the more elderly inhabitants, but the audience gave a magnificent response to the show and we had a terrific time!

A big thank you to Vania Santi, Sergio Fornasari, Massimo Della Sala, all at Musical Box 2.0, Brian Coles and the whole team...