Guest Blog – Hobo (Minus)

Guest Blog: Hobo (Minus) – “Rulez of the Road” – Pt 2

Last week Hobo played in Italy and Spain, had a blast, and learned one of life’s valuable lessons (don’t party on an empty stomach). In his second post the techno starlet takes us on board his trip to Manchester for the Minus Warehouse Project gig. We also have a very cool teaser to promote his forthcoming album.

It’s somewhat of a general rule for me, that how well a morning goes, reflects how well the day will go.  This day was going to be an exercise in that rule.

Now it may not seem early to most people, but when my alarm went off at noon, I was heartbroken.  It doesn’t help that I plan my mornings down to the wire, so I had to immediately get up and on with my day.  That weekend would be a relatively easy one, with only one show: the Minus night at Warehouse Project, in Manchester.  Minutes after I awoke, Kevin (Ambivalent) called to arrange a shared taxi to the airport.  Simple enough; all I had to do was shower, pack, and be waiting by the road.  Not two minutes into my shower, however, I thought I heard my phone ringing.  There was no way it could have been Kevin, I thought, but I hurried out and headed toward the phone.  I called back and found a surprised voice wondering why I wasn’t waiting by the road.  I was confused.  It turns out that my non-morning-person brain could not understand basic communication, and I completely misinterpreted the plans.  Typical!  I asked Kevin to wait, and hurried my stuff together.  Packing under pressure of course means that I’m going to forget some things, and sure enough I did.

“Like all techno-heads going through Manchester, we wanted to see the Haçienda”

Finally I was in the cab and on the way to the airport.  OK – day salvaged – or so I thought.  As we rode to the airport, I got a text to my cell phone telling me that the cab pulled up out front.  Great timing…  And now I don’t trust my phone to work for me.  I pushed the thought out of my mind.  The airport was easy.  The flight, enjoyable.  It’s always nice when you get to fly with a friend, which doesn’t happen too often.  After discussing anything and everything, we landed in Manchester.  Customs was fast and simple for me.  I’m lucky enough to be a dual citizen of Canada and Britain so I was out in a flash.  I headed to arrivals while waiting for Kevin to clear customs, when I saw something that I wasn’t prepared for.  In the arrivals area at Manchester’s airport, there is a place that sells Tim Horton’s coffee!  Canadians will know that seeing this anywhere but in Canada and some parts of the U.S. is an extremely rare occasion.  I headed straight for it, and filled up on obscene amounts of coffee.  I didn’t even consider the inevitable caffeine overload that I was going to experience.

Finally, Kevin made it through customs and we were on our way to the hotel.  As we made our way through the city, we informed our driver that there was something we wanted to see on the way.  Like probably all techno-heads going through Manchester, we wanted to see the Haçienda.  Or more accurately, the site that once held the legendary night club.  It was on the way to the hotel, so we got our obligatory photos before finally arriving at Malmaison, Manchester.  As I walked into my freezing cold room, I suddenly wished I had brought a sweater.  Two seconds after that wish, I found a Warehouse Project hoodie waiting for me on the hotel bed.  It was just what I needed.  Having stumbed upon one of only two Tim Horton’s that aren’t in North America, and now having my latest wish come true immediately, I was feeling pretty good.  I decided to ride the wave and just relax.  Besides, in my haste, I forgot to pack a book to read, so for the next hour, I chatted away online without a care while waiting for the dinner time to arrive.

“When I was younger, and tried to imagine what it would be like to play at massive parties, this is what I had pictured”

Dinner rolled around, and it was great.  Everyone from the gang was there, and the food was extraordinary.  I had a phenomenal steak, and was overcome by the taste.  After hanging out for a while after dinner, I made my way back to the room to catch some sleep before heading to the party.  It’s a shame that my body didn’t have the same plan.  All the coffee I drank earlier stood in between me and the roughly three hours of sleep that I so badly wanted.  One of the worst feelings ever is when you’re tired, but unable to sleep.  Not wanting to waste time, I decided to shuffle around my set and do something new with it.  I went to work, and spent more time jamming in my headphones than actually rearranging things.  Once it came time to go to the party, I had a sudden thought that perhaps I should have spent more time working than jamming, but the thought disappeared when I got to the stage at the venue.  All I can say is wow!  If you’ve never been to Warehouse Project, you should go.  It’s is held in the cavernous underbelly of a train station that functions as a (huge) underground parking lot during the day.  But it was night time, and in full on rave mode.  When I was younger, and tried to imagine what it would be like to play at massive parties, this is what I had pictured.  It was amazing, and I was excited.

Magda was playing dark and heavy tunes that perfectly rolled out of the impeccably tuned sound system.  Now I was in party mode… and wired on caffeine.  I came out fast and hard, and the enormous crowd seemed to be eating it up!  Though problems arose.  In retrospect, I blame the coffee for everything, but I was a player as well.  By the time I had finished what I had rearranged, I realized that there was about fifteen minutes left in my set!  I was playing through too fast which happens sometimes when you’re excited, but also, the reshuffle I had started in the hotel room was far from complete.  I tried playing it cool and had to touch my laptop (something I don’t like doing) near the end of the set to toss in some extra music.  I think it worked in the end, but it wasn’t the most comforting experience I’ve had, seeing thousands of eager partiers in front of me, rather than a solid plan.  Nonetheless, I finished it up and Rich went on at peak time.  It always impresses me how much louder a sound system can sound when he’s playing.  I stood back and took it in, as I crashed hard from all the coffee earlier.  I was drained.  I trucked on through the party, but I could do nothing more than lean against the wall on the stage, and watch the sea of people shift and move to the pummeling music.  It was a sight to behold.

“It always impresses me how much louder a sound system can sound when Richie Hawtin’s playing”

Luckily for me, my weekend was over.  I was thankful that it was a single, and not a double or triple.  I learned a valuable lesson that night in Manchester, arriving at rule #2: always stick to the plan!  When you’re starting your day, when you’re planning a live set, or when you’re waiting in airports, it will save you a lot of stress and energy, in the end!

Huge thanks to Warehouse Project and Manchester.  Onward to Amsterdam!

Hobo – Eazy Teaser (1/4) from Hobo on Vimeo.