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23/08/2007 - The Nutini Blog
On the 10th, Paolo and Michael flew down to Bristol to meet the rest of the guys who had driven up from London on the tour bus….by they time they arrived it soon dawned on them that everybody had been making the most of the journey by enjoying a ‘few’ beers on the way so they quickly got into the festival spirit and joined them.
The next morning we arrived in Newquay for the Ripcurl Unleashed festival and the boys had to get set up for an early sound check.
Nobody was moaning – it’s unusual to even get a soundcheck at a festival so it was a bonus! The artist area backstage was small but the dressing rooms were all right next to each other with communal seating areas outside, it made for a really nice atmosphere with all the different bands socialising together, sampling the local golden ale that was in circulation. Paolo slipped back to the nearby hotel before he had to start promo and found most of the crew in the lounge where the nuts bikini competition girls also happened to be. Hmmm…
After a quick shower it was back to the festival for interviews with channel 4 and BBC and then a couple of free hours to try and catch some bands, Paolo managed to see a bit of Scott Matthews, Newton Falkner and some of Ruarri Joseph’s set, all of whom were great. When it was time for Paolo to go on stage the sunset and the sea made for a really amazing setting to perform in, the crowd seemed to enjoy it – particularly when Ruarri and Newton joined Paolo on stage for a version of ‘I Wanna Be Like You’! After the set it was back to the hotel for a few drinks before heading off early again on the bus the next morning.
We arrived at Glastonbury Abbey late afternoon where Paolo was opening for Ray Davis and it was yet another lovely setting for the band to play in. Unusually, Paolo didn’t have any interviews at all so after soundcheck he was a free man, using the time to warm up backstage, go for a wander and get some dinner – a brilliant pork roast with apple sauce, roast potatoes, the lot!
It was another really chilled out festival with the crowd all sitting in the grass eating their picnics and listening to the music. After Paolo played he went to watch Ray Davis out front but got mobbed by hordes of fans and had to be rescued by security… it all got a bit crazy, Paolo saw the funny side though and just blagged his way to the side of the stage to watch the rest of the gig. Ray Davis was brilliant - he played a good number of Kinks songs as well as some new ones –the general consensus was that ‘Days’ and ‘You Really Got Me’ were the highlights.
The following weekend it was off to V Festival, we booked into a hotel near Chelmsford on Friday night and found none other than The Proclaimers in the bar. It turned out they were playing on the same stage as Paolo the next day! We were all forced to have an early bed as the bar closed at 11’oclock but on the upside some of the band were actually spotted at breakfast the next morning due to the lack of hangovers. Not Nutini though - he as usual rolled out of bed at the last possible moment!
It was a busy day, with the guys playing three gigs in total and Paolo slotting in interviews with Channel 4, E4, Alexa Chung and Virgin Radio, as a result he didn’t get to see any bands but on the upside was introduced to Dave Grohl who was really friendly and happily chatted away for a good while, eventually leaving Paolo looking like a cheshire cat for the rest of the night!
The next day it was off to Stafford where the line up was exactly the same as the day before and on top of that Paolo had no interviews. Unfortunately it was a bit of a mud bath as it poured down most of the day, Paolo was spotted wearing a makeshift waterproof made from a plastic bag to try and keep dry!
The set went down really well and the rain actually ceased for the hour or so the band were on which was good as they were playing the main stage and not a tent, Luke Pritchard and Dave Grohl were showing their support, watching from the side of the stage - I’m sure Paolo wasn’t nervous at all! After the gig everybody was free to do their own thing and Paolo took advantage, fitting in Ocean Colour Scene and the Foo Fighters who were both amazing, OCS as usual got the crowd going with all their classics as well as some new stuff and Dave Grohl surprised fans by bringing his mum on stage for a track!
After all the bands had finished everybody headed to the bar for a few - Paolo got chatting to Newton who had played earlier and actor Stephen Graham who it turns out is a fan, after that it was time to head back to the bus for a well earned sleep.
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