Guest Diary: Official Secrets Act Part 3

Galway/Belfast:

Sat Navs are the gift of all time to bands. Letting 4 guys argue over which road is the right one to take when 3 are nursing hangovers and the other hasn't showered for 3 days and is desperate to find the nearest hot water supply is just not any fun. HOwever yesterday OSA experienced the hell that is a machine finding the fastest route to a place without the use of any common sense. Galway to Dublin via what seemed like 3000miles of winding country roads was enjoyed by almost no one in the van. We saw some lovely villages but not even rolling green fields were enough, and at one point it seemed like Belfast was a mystical floating city that we would spend all our lives looking for but never find. It got desperate. We were carrying no maps of the SOuth or Ireland in our van and all phones and apparel of that nature had gone in a EUropean huff so that was that.

Arriving in sunny Belfast at last, definitely improved feelings, though I was hung over, nauseas and not in a very very good place at all!! Auntie Annie's is a very cool place though, and they had made the coolest Penguin Cover themed poster for the gig (Our debut self release Snakes And Ladders was released in a Penguin Esque book cover design). Our name had been spelt Offical Secret Act though, without an I. Slilghtly Spinal tap, but the poster was so so cool we didn't mind.

We have some fans following us around Ireland for these gigs so we had a chat with them which was cool and got some corporate pizza. Due to sunny weather and club night action the promoters put us back to 10 o clock and we ended up pretty much playing to half the club crowd and half our fans. Despite the hangovers, the ltae stage time and all the jazz of the day, we ended up playing one of the best shows of the tour. We always give everything to every gig but sometimes something happens and it all clicks into place. It wasn't the tightest gig ever, and after 3 songs I was just sweating Tuborg, but it was glorious. People were singing and dancing and during our last song me and Tom decided to go dance with them on the dance floor. It would have been rude not to.

Afterwards we were talking to all the guys and girls running the club nights and at the gig and they were pretty much the coolest people. The DJ was spinning some of the best tunes and the only thing I could think of was the Sex Pistols gig at the lesser free trade hall. It might not have been the most rammed gig in the world but everyone who was there was either in a really cool band, managing a really cool band or a brilliant DJ. We danced and danced away and arranged for house parties later that night. Our resolutions to get an early one wereout the window and Stuart, Sabrina, Stephy and the fine people of the Belfast were whisking us off to a house in the burbs to party on.

I really don't think we've been to a city with such a vibrant scene, everyone seems to be in bands, have awesome and intersting taste in music and up for partying and supporting each other. It's like a mini Portland and we are definitely pretty eager to come back.

We're now sitting in a car park outside Belfast about to go and get breakfast and spend the alst of our sterling before re-entering Dublin. In terms of amazing crowds and cool people the gauntlet has definitely been laid down.

P.S While some of us were partying Our tour manager Mario and Alex our keyboard player came back to the van to watch a DVD and chill out. Alex is still recovering from his car accident and can't drink at the moment so it seemed the perfect way to unwind. A couple of people from the party went with them and as we left them watching the DVD everyone was settled down for a nice evening watching some Ferrel based comedy. Unfortunately it was a little bit late for Mario and he gently slipped off to sleep on the bunk half way through the movie. No problem except that he started snoring like a water buffallo and kicking out in his sleep much to the discomfort of everyone in the van. Bless Alex as a true OSA team player he tried his best to pretend it wasn't happening and continue to engage everyone in the movie. He too then fell asleep and by the time he woke up everyone else had gone to bed and he couldn't remember what house we were in and ended up sleeping on the floor of the van. It was probably more chilled out at the party.

Regards
Lawrence

www.myspace.com/officialsecretsact