Tim's Post AU Tour BLOG (Patreon)

s*** Patreon Exclusive***

• Who was there at our Aussie shows? Let us know what you thoughts in the comments below?

Here is a blog from Tim with a snippet of some of his experiences from the Aussie tour:

"Tim here. So our first Australian tour is wrapped up and it was definitely a whirlwind. Aussie tours are interesting things in that the work that goes into them is not that different to a full EU or USA tour and yet it's all over in a few days! This time we had a chance to level up and play at some bigger venues, especially in Brisbane & Melbourne. (Sydney we couldn't fit everyone in to the sold out venue so will move to a bigger venue next time!).

We also had a chance to perform alongside a couple incredible bands in The Ocean & Rivers of Nihil. I really can't overstate how cool it is to be able to ask such great bands to tour with us and have them say yes. It really is a privilege.

This tour also saw the return of Xen to the stage! Which was a beautiful thing to have him back there on my right as usual. It's been a difficult time and we really appreciated him making it work to be part of these shows. After the first show there were a handful of spots he was not happy with performance wise and I had to politely point out to him how many mistakes we all made the first week of the EU tour back in May! (Seeing those were our first shows in 4 years and these were his). Each show he (and us) continued to find our groove more and more which was great to see. As a performer it's easy to see the mistakes you make, but I always find the audience generally hangs on more to the best bits. So if you make some mistakes but also play some things at a really high level people will enjoy the show. That's the main thing, making sure to hit those high points and really sweep people away with the show. Then if you make a mistake (as we all do sometimes) it doesn't have to weigh heavily.

Honestly, after a while away from touring it's been fascinating to see so many wonderful comments about our performances in Europe and Australia, in part because we can notice so many things to keep getting better at. For me I find that really heartening as know that as this tour cycle goes on we'll just keep getting better and more consistent in what we're able to bring to the live show.

Ok, back to the start of the tour --- we were really grateful we booked in a production rehearsal in Brisbane the day before the tour as honestly, lots of stuff didn't work! We had a few gear and technical issues, but were able to fix them all and so then on show day everything worked perfectly. The show itself went well and especially for the first one back after a few months, we were really happy with how it all went and response from the audience.

Sydney was back at the familiar Manning Bar, where we have played multiple times, but this is the first time we've sold out the show there which was exciting! A few highlights for me included a group of fans singing along to my Plague violin solo (they did the same in 2019 from memory!) and also the first ever circle pit to our Thomas The Tank Engine outro music! That definitely brought a few smiles and laughs to the band.

Melbourne was.... a bit of a whirlwind to be honest! The day started off with many things going wrong. Virgin cancelled our flight, moved us to an earlier one, only told us in the middle of the night, then tried to screw us over with luggage and as a result we came within minutes of missing the flight. A couple of us (me included) even had our name called on the airport loud speakers we were that close to missing the plane.

When we arrived at the Forum, I was blown away just seeing the venue all lit up with house lights as I'd been there so many times as a fan, but never to play myself. It really is one of the best places to see shows in all of Australia. This is the place that bands like Opeth, Arch Enemy or Gojira play when they come to Melbourne. So for our little ol band to be playing there, on our 20th anniversary no less, was pretty special.

And add to that we had some special guests! 4 to be exact. My sister Emma Charles, also a professional violinist, and friends Sophie (Cello) and Ciara (Viola). Ciara teaches viola at a school I used to teach at and Sophie also teaches at the same school but we go way back and actually went to University together many a year ago. Generally when we play EQUUS I play all the lead violin melodies live and then we mix in backing tracks for the extra parts that are more than I can play. But for this show we were able to mute all those and just use the live strings for the first time and it definitely made the song even more epic I think. Were you there? If so, what did you think of the addition of the live strings?

Last but not least, little Amélie. My 11 year old daugther had been saying all week that she wasn't nervous at all... "Dad I've done lots of shows". I was trying to explain to her that music theatre (which she does a lot) is a bit different to a metal show! haha And she had never seen NeO before yet! At soundcheck before we played GRAAL I asked her if she wanted to stand on the riser where the three string players were standing for Equus... she stated, no I want to be up the front! haha So we did soundcheck with her in centre stage on the small riser. I was loving the confidence. :-)

Then when the moment came for her to enter the stage a bit over an hour into the show (She has been watching side of stage up until then) I could see in her eyes a bit of "Holy shit"... realising maybe this was a bigger deal than she realised! After the show she told me "Dad, my legs were shaking as I walked on stage!" But alas, she walked on, totally nailed the part and not getting distracted by the Pyro waterfall coming down as she played (which honestly I was a bit worried about pre show haha). It was definitely such a special occasion for me as a Dad. The hardest thing about NeO is that it takes me away from her and so being able to share a moment like that felt amazing to do.

Add to that we had many friends and family there in the audience as well. My Dad saw us play for the first time in about 7 years. I also ot a chance to dedicate Forget Not to my Mum (who passed away in 2021) with so many family, including her sister (my Auntie) and a bunch of my cousins in the audience. So it was a special night all around.

Plus--- the photo that accompanies this blog is actually a still shot from the balcony camera as we filmed the entire show. We'll be sure to share on Patreon first of course. ;-)

Adelaide to finish off was a big change of pace as the venue was about 1/3 the size, but as always it was great to feel the appreciation of the fans there and reconnect after so many years away. We said goodbye to everyone, flew back to our respective homes... and now USA here we come in less than 3 weeks time! 

Ok, that's enough for today! Check back in again soon on preparation for our USA/CANADIAN tour! - Tim "