Over The Equator Again

I bought the largest hat I could find!

  From Porto Alegre we flew to Mexico City in the Northern Hemisphere via Panama. We had four nights in the heart of Mexico City at The St. Regis Hotel. During our stay we followed the tourist route and visited the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon.

  Mexico City lies in a high valley not unlike Yellowstone National Park. The only difference is the 10,000,000 vehicles and method of rubbish disposal. Whenever we were in the city, it was impossible to get the smell of burnt plastic out of my nose. Although the air quality was bad, it was a huge improvement compared to what it had been in the past.

'Police of Monterrey'

  After our four nights we flew to Monterrey not far from the Texas boarder and played a show the following day. We had prefabricated dressing rooms in the car park of this show and we felt the familiar shudder and wobble of an earthquake tremor a few times. It was difficult to tell if the tremors were real, or if the crew were wobbling the temporary dressing rooms to entertain us!  

  Afterwards we moved on to Guadalajara in the west. In this city the policing was heavy duty and the vehicles were loaded like tanks with a serious calibre canon type weapon fixed on the top. In the day and a half we were in town, 16 people were shot dead!

 

Soon we made our way back to Mexico City this time to play two shows. When we arrived at the airport, there were quite a few fans, many photographers and a few press representatives. We waded our way through the mass of people and were back in the same rooms at the St. Regis that we now considered a home away from home. 

 The shows were a grand way to spend a Friday and Saturday evening. On Friday, before I took to the stage, I visited with Phil Collins (who I had not yet said ‘Hello’ to) in his dressing room.

Monterrey

  

 Having never met one another before, we rattled through the last three decades or so, and about his son Nic playing drums behind him.

  Nic is 16 years old. He is living in Miami and has a band called Fifty Eight Hundred. He’s definitely a credit to Phil and a great player, playing with a bunch of top musicians in a band where the lead singer is his dad. Not a bad gig at 16 years of age when you really have to lead a rather large musical ensemble of a dozen or so musicians. With Leland Sklar on bass, he sits in the middle and fires off a great engine.

Our 'home away from home' in Mexico City

  
 One important thing to mention about Mexico City and performing there is the fact that it is at an altitude of nearly 7,500 ft. Denver in Colorado is a mile high, Mexico City is half as high again. It's well worth being aware of that fact. Stage right was the oxygen bottle, but from my past experiences it is best left for any extreme reactions. Back in the day (on our first tour) when I took some at a gig in Denver, it made my head have needles and pins and caused more problems than it solved.

Meanwhile, back in Hereford...

With one more day off in Mexico City, and a bag full of gifts and trophies, I spent my final evening at a restaurant where a different mariachi band would blow us out of our seats each night.

 The following day I'm up at 04.45 to leave the hotel at 05.30 for adventures in Peru!

M.D.C.