After 10 years of playing just about every venue in London (Bar Fly, Water Rats, Koko, Shepherds Bush) we finally made it to the Roundhouse. Built in 1847, the Roundhouse was used as a railway engine shed for ten years and then as a warehouse which sat empty for decades. When it reopened after World War II it became a performance art space. It is one of the premiere venues in London and easily one of the most beautiful we have ever had the privilege to play in. Unlike us, the Doors, only played one show in the UK before Jim Morrison died, and it was here at the Roundhouse. Spooky.

Sara and I spent most of the day doing press and organizing our belongings (looking for socks in my bus bunk etc). The day was so busy I barely had time to take in the magnitude of what we had accomplished. Selling that many tickets in such a beautiful venue on the eve of Glastonbury is a big deal. As I stood side stage, getting ready for the show, my stomach butterflies started to flutter.

After a quick huddle with the band and a Red Bull Light (I can't help myself) we hit the stage at 9 p.m. sharp. Sara suggested we start with an acoustic version of Back In Your Head (which typically in a venue that big, 3,000 people, we would start with something full-band like "The Con" or "The Ocean") and so I walked on stage, mallets in hand, nervous to see if we could calm that many excited fans. It's amazing when it works, and it worked that night. Back at Southside Festival in Germany Sara told the audience that because of the noise from Prodigy we would "need" their voices. And although we didn't "need" London's voices that night they were there with us from the first song. The show was brilliant all around. The crowd was perfect, the sound was awesome, the set worked great and I wore a hat. Magic.

After the gig we were whisked to BBC1 to be interviewed by Nick Grimshaw. What a fantastic dude and a neat idea for a show. Here is a link to the interview. I could never do it justice in print

Then we raced back to the venue for a quick shower and then we were on our way to the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts.

What is there to say about Glastonbury? As teenagers we watched each year as Much Music (Canada's MTV) aired the best bits on television. In awe we'd watch bands like Green Day and Pulp and The White Stripes play to hundreds of thousands of people. To say I felt sick to my stomach before we took the stage would be an understatement.  Glastonbury is a three-day festival where over 200,000 people enjoy 16 stages with nearly 200 bands a day. This basically means they have options, so you better get it right.

Even though it was early in the day we were playing to a massive crowd on the John Peel Stage. We walked on to a warm reception. I nervously started "You Wouldn't Like Me" instead of "The Con" right off the top of set. Fail. After that I got it together. At some point I asked the audience if one of them would offer up a spot in their tent so Sara could spend the night and truly experience Glastonbury to which I received 5,000 "YES" responses. Pretty awesome!

Post show I traveled 1% of the grounds but managed to get Wellies, sunglasses, a hat, a hot dog and a lot of hugs and photos taken with me. As we pulled off the grounds I felt a little melancholy. At 29 years old I'm desperately trying to find balance in my life between work and my personal life. The addiction to the road and the obsession with succeeding has subsided a bit. Some say that's normal when you get closer to 30. Some say its because deep down inside I want to have a family and stay home to raise a baby. Some says its all the yoga I've been doing. I just think it's that all the dreams we had 10 years ago, we've accomplished. Every time I scratch something else off my list of "must-do's" I feel...content and perhaps I just mistake that for melancholy. In whatever case, I'm sad to be leaving Europe so soon, but glad we went.

--Tegan

This story was published on Jun. 29, 2010

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