Day 16

Friday November 14

Well, it kind of does, but unfortunately and correctly, Richard has to turn it down. This is one of the first conversations we have when we wake today and he’s just got off the phone after Jessica had called to confirm it. ‘It’s three hours away,’ he says. ‘Six hours there and back is just too much.’ Yes of course it is. We had no idea and just, really, agreed to it in the enthusiasm of the moment of what was last night’s excitement. But then he says that after this she offered us another show. This is to be tonight at a venue called Tlillan Calli, again right in Mexico City city centre. Right. Best get on and add that to the morning’s social media list along with catching up with what went on yesterday. Oh, and another thing with Jessica, she said last night that she also tried to get us onto another show tonight but was told that the lineup was already too full. Wow, she really is on our case. 

But with her then having rustled up Tlillan Callo for us, that’s still two gigs today starting with Utopia Meyehualco in our district of Iztapalapa. This is another one of those shows set up by Los Ekis lead guitarist Paco and we are delighted again to meet him there as he’s again doing our sound. This is one of the strangest and most strangely fun shows we’ve played in Mexico so far, and with just today and tomorrow to go gigwise, it will probably keep that distinction.

This gig is also notable for being the first time we’ve been responsible for getting ourselves to and from a show. Richard’s busy with some other business and he also feels comfortable enough now that we can go out into the wilds and fend for ourselves. And so we do, this time with none of the drama that we’ve brought along on other unaccompanied outings.

When we arrive we discover this is another outdoor gig. Brilliant. And this time we’re playing across to a large walkway which extends from the main street and across the front of us and to the centre which is a few hundred yards to our left. Over there are the main building and a few outdoor activity areas. Basically, we are playing to anyone who happens to wander in and wander past us, but a fair few people do stop and form something of an audience, although it is something of a spread out audience. But quite enthusiastic nonetheless, including a young boy with his mother who stays to request a photograph with us afterwards. This is proving something of a theme during this entire trip. We really do seem to be particularly connecting with really young people, although we’re also glad to say, not exclusively so. But there has been an awful lot of teenage and even younger requests for photos with us.

I imagine there are some who would see this set up and see it as some kind of glorified rehearsal, but we don’t go that way at all and as always, throw ourselves into it as much as we can. People have stopped to see us. We want them to see us and they deserve a show. And the more we do that, the more more people stop to see what’s going on. It really is a quite lovely afternoon and the huge expanse of our arena allows us to really wander out and about.

That all done, we say a grateful goodbye to Paco again and go out into the street to find a taxi to take us back to base. Once there, there isn’t too much time before we turnaround to go out to the next one. Tlillan Calli, here we come. This is going to be a straight up bar gig, the type of which we haven’t done very much.

We’ve had amazing welcomes everytime we’ve got to a venue around Mexico City. And tonight is right on form as the manager shows us around his sprawling venue and leads us to what will be our own dressing room upstairs. This feels like luxury. Downstairs, we’re the only act playing tonight in a bar which is only thinly populated, but those that are there really support us hugely, getting into all our songs, jumping out to dance with us, and asking for photographs at the end. This goes perfectly with my young people’s comment earlier on where I said it’s older people as well. In here tonight, the requestees are full on grown up rockers and we’re hugely flattered that we’ve somehow found a way through their street cool to have them request those photos. Another day and another hugely triumphant night, made even better by the next day when we see that other people attending the show have put up their own videos of us on their social media pages.