• on air
• artists
• music news
• gigs & tickets
• breakfast
• x-lists

• competitions
• festivals
• gig news
• gossip
• japan benefit
• releases
• travel
• uk news
• weather
• winter wonderland

Xfm Winners Join Snow Patrol On Their Private Plane

added 04 November 2008 at 16.48

Last week, Xfm prize winner Michael Green and his girlfriend Etly joined Snow Patrol as they headed out on their Take Back The City tour - playing four gigs at four cities in 48 hours! Here's how they got on...

Check out Michael's Snow Patrol photos here...

"We had a bit of a rocky start when we both left our passports behind! So back home, and then off to Heathrow for our Aer Lingus flight to Dublin. We landed and were delivered whipped off to a lunch time gig at The Gate theatre in Dublin. This was a great venue, and it was the first time it was being used for a live music gig. The theatre set from the night before was still on the stage. It made for a great backdrop for the gig and looked as if Snow Patrol were playing in our living room! The gig started with Gary and Nathan on stage singing 'Set Down Your Glass', from the new album. An hour later, the set ended with 'Take Back the City', and if you think the song sounds great on the album you should hear it live... so powerful!

After the gig, we were back on the move and off to the airport. This is where we had our first up close encounter with Snow Patrol, as we arrived we were greeted by friendly smiles while we were waiting in the departure lounge. We arrived at the plane sitting in the middle of an empty runway. It was a 40 seater twin prop plane that looked like it had just been pulled of the set of an Indiana Jones movie, which was great!

After the 30 minute flight, we headed straight off to the Empire Music Hall, the heart of the Belfast music scene. It provided an electric atmosphere in a great venue that reminded me a little of the Koko in Camden but much smaller. The set was more upbeat and this time started with another track from the new album, 'If There's A Rocket Tie Me To It', a track that I love!

After the gig we headed straight to the airport for the trip to Edinburgh. We had a bit of a delay and ended up chatting to Nathan in the departure lounge, and at this point my girlfriend's trip was made. We eventually got into the hotel at around 2am and crashed into bed after an awesome but long day!

We woke up in a chilly Edinburgh, excited about another full day of "rock 'n' rolling". After a little lie in, we were off to the Edinburgh Assembly Hall for the next lunch time gig! The stage was set in front of a large stained glass window, with all other windows being boarded close to keep the light out, this added a great effect when they sang 'Crack the Shutters'.

After the show, we were packed up into a coach and off we went to Edinburgh airport. When we arrived, we had our own departure lounge! While waiting in the lounge, we had our own little meet and greet when we "officially met the band". The band members were interviewed by all the journalists that were  with us and we were also interviewed a number of times as well. One of the interviews was on camera with the Snow Patrol camera man, Mark, for their DVD release, so let's hope that we make the cut and get some good air time!

We arrived at London Luton Airport and caught the train into Kings Cross. The Bloomsbury Theatre was probably the largest of the venues and but gig was nothing like the energetic crowd of the other three venues!  After the show we had some drinks at the after party. We managed to find Gary and Nathan and thank them for the experience and the opportunity that we had! All the guys in the band are fantastic and really appreciative of their fans, they made us feel extremely welcome and part of the crew!"

Review by Michael Green

Tagged as Snow Patrol, Live, Tour Dates

• send to a friend