Sweden 2010, Day 16

I have to start by saying, I really love my band. These guys have so much spirit, character, and talent that I just have to stand back in amazement. They really are like family to me. They know when to joke around, when to be serious, and went to be there for each other when one of us needs a little extra encouragement, which for me, was today.

I woke up sick. Several days in a damp cramped camping cabin with stale air and one band member already sick was enough to wear down my immune system. It didn’t help that I had been soaked to the skin the day before either. Still, even though my lungs had that scary and familiar burning sensation of impending bronchitis, I had hopes that it was only a cold, so I took a decongestant and went about my day.

We were packed up and on the road by 10.30, half an hour ahead of schedule. We needed to make 2 stops in Uppsala on our way to Hudiksvall, so Jocke could buy drum sticks and Tobias could go to a store which sells high-end items for Disc Golf enthusiasts. After that, it was a rainy, subdued, and quiet ride to our next venue three hours north. The guys knew I was not feeling well, and toned down their usual shenanigans so I could sleep.

The venue itself was really nice!!! Huge stage, great sound system, and the sound engineer was very nice, thorough, and accommodating, making sure my monitor mix was exactly what I needed. Once I sang my first note at sound check, I knew it was vocally going to be a really rough night for me. I could hit the notes, but it required far more effort, and had only half my usual power and clarity, and some throat pain made my pitch waver a bit. Yup. Sick. Shit.

Hudiksvall is a pretty dead town. Not a whole lot going on here. In fact, as we were walking to a restaurant for dinner after sound check, I felt like I had wandered into a Soviet-era town in Siberia. Hardly a soul to be seen. The venue had arranged and paid for our accommodations, so we were taken to a really nice hotel and given two rooms which sleep three each. Tobias and Timo bunked up with me while Henrik, Jocke, and Johan took the other room. As I got dressed for the show, I started feeling light-headed, like I could not get enough air. Crap. I know this feeling.

I guess every band has to have one crappy gig on every tour, and this one was ours. Sure, we sounded okay, and despite the pain and strain, I got through it vocally; but we played to an audience of seven, one of whom was the sound engineer. Our policy is to put on a kick-ass show whether we are playing to six or six thousand, in a broom closet or a stadium, so we did our best to entertain them, and they loved us. After we were done with our set, the soundman apologized, and said it was actually very hard to get people to come out and do anything in this town. Bummer.

I still felt very ill, so when I got back to the room, I took a long hot shower and went to bed early. As I snuggled into the very comfortable twin bed with the cozy covers and fluffy pillow in the warm room with clean air, I thought, maybe I’ll wake up feeling better.

Nope. As I write this now, at the beginning of Day 17, things are feeling pretty grim. Lungs are freezing and heavy, throat is swollen and sore, sinuses completely impacted. I am on meds and hoping for the best. Send me your thoughts and prayers please… our two biggest shows are tonight in Stockholm and tomorrow near Oslo, Norway. I’ll do my best to keep you posted.