The tour starts now!
Today The Exchange begins a tour as the support/opening act for The Backstreet Boys on their huge In A World Like This tour! It starts in Lisbon, Portugal at the southwest corner of Europe as the tour circles counterclockwise for 2 months around the continent.
Clearly this is a big step for our group, and we are very excited to get started. So, here’s what we’ve learned so far taking notes from the BSB team…
- You have to work even harder than before
- Everybody’s watching and nobody’s watching
- There’s a “Yes” and “No” answer to every question
- You can be kind and famous
- This is AWESOME!
So here’s how the day went down:
After walking around the gorgeous city, we got to Campo Pequeño as early as possible. We practiced, looked around, got some food, tweeted (yay wifi!), and prayed that we’d get a sound check. The Backstreet Boys had a VIP soundcheck that took precedence as we stood standby. A sudden green light, and we hit the stage…somehow getting 3 songs (as opposed to the short 1 we were expecting). Why?
Kevin from BSB took a moment to tell the crew that we needed some time to sound check! We later ate with some of the guys and chatted for a bit. They actually checked us out and said they liked our positive approach to music! I guess that means our whole mission statement is working!!!
Zero-hour came, and we stood side-stage waiting for the go-ahead. With my in-ear monitors in, I could hear nothing but my heart beating, faster each time. It’s the first time I’ve felt nervous for a show in a long time! But they say that stress is actually healthy if you consider it a good thing. It is your heart preparing your muscles, your mind focusing, your adrenaline priming you to respond. And we did! The fire was lit and I could feel the crowd noise! Our set flew by…I missed a couple dance moves (lol, sorry Katja), but sang my heart out and the crowd stirred my previously nervous soul.
Watching the Backstreet Boys from the tech area, their moves were sharp, sound was loud and full, and the crowd knew EVERY word! They are polished pros and I hope to get to that level of showmanship as we move forward. As for now, our first arena show is under our belts and a zillion little lessons learned.
The rest of the night was a bit of a blur, but we got back and packed for Madrid (4am wakeup call to get to the airport). I can tell that the next shows will improve and new problems will come our way.
Good night!!