Bad Ideas – CRAZY TOUR STORIES

In this Crazy Tour Stories segment, the indie punk band, Bad Ideas, talk about one of the band’s crazy moments from touring. You can check out the feature, after the break.

We played a show in Berlin in 2013 whilst we were touring our new record at the time and left the van right outside the venue. We appeared to be in a parking spot next to a brick wall, and decided as the place we were staying at was around the corner, we’d all drink lots, walk to our friend’s house and collect it in the morning. Foolproof. Made up with our splendid plan, we unloaded all of our gear, sound checked and sat down to eat and drink. Just before we were about to go on, I ran out to get our merch tin from the van… the van? THE VAN?! Where’s the fucking van?!!It was not where we left it. It was not anywhere to be seen. It turned out in Germany, they sometimes paint the metal shutters to the car parks underneath expensive, inner-city flats to look like bricks to confuse foreigners and steal their cars. My amazing friend Steffen phoned the police, and found out where it had been towed, but by the time all this had happened I (as the only driving member of the party) had drank a good few large/ delicious German beers, safe in the knowledge that our marvellous plan had relieved me of any sober duties. We had to set off for our next show really early the next day, and the venue could not hold our equipment overnight, so we needed to get the van back THAT NIGHT. There was only one option… I sat in the back of a German police car, sweating profusely and trying to make ‘sober’ small talk with the two officers in the front as they took to all the way across the city to the compound containing all of our worldly goods Inside our only method of transport. It was like when your 16 and your parents pick you up from a gig, with no idea you’ve been drinking cider round the back all night, and never actually even made it in… except your parents are not your parents, and don’t like you, and have guns. I then had to follow the police car in the van all the way back through town to the station, to get my poor, lovely friend Steffen who had been held hostage until I returned and paid lots of money to say sorry for my bad parking. I had never before, and will never again drive as well as I did that evening.

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