Off to Manchester (UK) tomorrow for more Judas Priest. Queensryche opening. I can only hope that Priest will be anywhere NEAR the shape they were in the last time I saw them in Thessaloniki, Greece.
Or that the horribly embarrassing performance by Queensryche at Sweden Rock Festival was just a temporary thing. It was so bad, that I couldn’t even watch it, I had to leave.

So, a few questionmarks still, but this will be the first REAL Priest-show (for me) this year, that isn’t just a summer-festival appearance, so I’m sure it will be a different experience. We’ll see.

Regardless the concerts, I still love the travelling. It’s like a drug, I get so restless and low when I have to stay home for too long doing nothing. I need the atmosphere of an airport – which is what I think of as the only free zone where all people are the same. No racism belongs there because we are all either visitors or we are about to become visitors somewhere. I absolutely love seeing all these different kinds of people from all corners of the world, all in that one spot called an “airport”. It’s like a mini-version of our planet right there.

I love the takeoffs, when the plane starts to speed and you’re being pushed back in your seat right before it goes up in the sky and you can look out the window at what you’re leaving, for however long… It’s a kick.

It’s just that whole sense of freedom, that the whole world is…available. It’s there, just waiting to be explored. I might not get to see all the “touristy” things of every city. Sometimes all I get to see is pretty much the same as the bands: Airport. Hotel. Venue.

But if I choose to go one day earlier, at least I get to see something more than that. I love anything that’s OLD, I’m a history freak. But even if I don’t get to see that either, I’m happy just to be able to walk around feeling the vibe of a city.

Last month I went to Munich (Germany), Luxembourg and Belgium. This month I visited Greece and London/Knebworth and now Manchester is up next. Next month it will be Gdansk in Poland and Skanderborg in Denmark. September Southampton, Manchester and Glasgow over in the UK, then Split in Croatia. And October Tampa (St Pete) Florida (USA), Atlanta and NYC.

After that, I haven’t made any plans. I wonder if I will even be able to just stay home and do nothing. Once you start living like this, it’s very hard to stop.

It wasn’t in the stars for me to make it with my own music, so I’m not out there touring with my own band – which is what I would have loved to do more than anything.
But I can still be out there seeing the world, feeling the energy of a crowd by being a part of it.

When it comes down to it, it’s all about the love of music. That’s all it is. Music is my greatest love and it always will be.

And life is good. :-D