Day 5 - Hannover

"Hmm.. what time is it? 2PM! Ok. I better get up". Socks, pants with the backstage pass, t-shirt, sweater.. "Where is everybody? And where's the venue?". Deafening silence. "Hello?". I head down the 5 step stairs down to the first floor. Still nobody. The bus door goes "psssssshhh" as I push the switch to open it. Drawing a map from the bus to the venue and putting it on the door has now become a daily affair for an unknown person, and as I leave I keep the map in my mind.

"Capitol" is no more than an arms length from the bus, and I find the entrance just around the corner. Not much of a challenge there. The crew is doing the daily routine of setting up everything on stage, but still no sight of any of the Lepromaniacs. No one ever bothers to draw a map for the backstage (not really necessary at all), so as usual I go looking, trying different doors along the way. I follow a few signs up some stairs and find our backstage next to the catering and the guys from TMET (The Man-Eating Tree). Still, no Lepromaniacs. I now realize this late morning (no alarm) made sure I stayed in while all the others are out having fun checking out what Hannover has to offer 4 crazy Norwegians. In particular I know they're looking for some nice games for the PS3…

Ahh, breakfast in peace. The catering here in Germany has been really great so far and also is today. Two pieces of bread and one yoghurt later my lazy tour stomach is pleased. I get back to the bus, pick up my stuff and my tiny Blackstar amp and start practicing in the abandoned backstage until the guys arrive. Despite all the spare time we have on tour, it's harder than you think to find time for things like this. Always something happening, and there's always someone everywhere;) But it's nice to try to make something of all that time!

I then practice some more. Tobias joins in with his drum pad. The rest of the day stays pretty much the same for everyone:

• Hang out in the backstage
• Having a bite
• Roaming around inside the venue
• Visiting Teemu at the merch stand
• Watching a TV series
• Surfing the web (if usable Wi-Fi)
• Practicing some more
• Etc etc etc.
• Occasional exchange of words

That's todays tour report!;D Might be boring, but believe it or not: not all days on tour are ultra exciting! But there is one person on board that has made the last few days a bit more exciting: Gunnar Sauermann!;) This respected, funny and entertaining metal journalist writes for Metal Hammer and has been on our bus telling jokes and taking pictures and notes from our life on the road.

Auf Wiedersehen,

Øystein