Sound check time

The blistering heat continues, so it was a relief that the venue was in the open air and surrounded by tall trees. The stage was still hotter than hell however, due to being enclosed by canvas and having numerous powerful lights trained on it. I was told by a fellow musician from Finland that it was like a sauna - except that there was no snow for us to run out to and roll around in afterwards. :-(

The Atomium is very nearby and was visible from the stage. It was erected in 1958 and had become quite dull and neglected looking. I must say that it's scrubbed up a treat - must have used gallons of metal polish! We were actually playing something during the sound check when I glanced up at and saw someone whizzing through the air down from the top atom (or electron, or whatever). I don't know if they're visible on the blip image but there are two cables from the top of the Atomium sloping down to the left. People were descending on them wearing some kind of harness at intervals throughout the afternoon.

The gig seemed to go OK. The inevitable thunder and lightning storm and attendant cloudburst didn't happen until several hours after we'd played.