If I remember correctly, probably the last time we got any of the band members blogging about something, that was way back when MySpace was the biggest thing around. Fastforward to 2012, after only microblogging through Twitter for the past few years, Chuck has teamed up with Le Huffington Post and just released his first blog entry there about his band’s recent tour in Asia.
You can either check out the French article here or the English translation below:
Simple Plan in Asia: tour diary
For my first blog on Huff Post Quebec, I thought I would bring you with us on our journey through Asia and give you a glimpse of the life on tour. So what’s ahead are three intensive weeks of shows, airports, life behind the scenes and memorable moments.
January 4th, 2012
After a brief break for the holidays, we are already back on the plane and en route to Beijing. The flight to China will last about 15 hours. So I stocked up a ton of magazines, loaded my laptop, and All Aboard! The whole group travels together and, until the last second, everybody sends text messages and emails before the aircraft takes off. We became the masters of hiding and using our cell phones without the knowledge of the flight attendants … We have more than 15 performances for our fans in Asia and we are stoked!
We arrive in Beijing and I tell you: The terminal of Beijing Capital airport is so huge it looks like we could bring ten football fields in! Upon inspection, it is the second largest terminal in the world. That’s pretty impressive! Almost as impressive as the airline, which has managed to “misplace” the 15 suitcases of the band and of the technical team. Well … we are used to that they will be found tomorrow … just a few minutes before the show.
On arrival we are greeted by very “pimp” sedans with a Simple Plan logo as a bonus. The cars drive us straight to a press conference where we announce the launch of Jet Lag in Mandarin, a new Chinese version of the first extract of our new album Get Your Heart On! A light snow falls on the Chinese capital and, at 2 am, I sink into a deep sleep.
The shows in Beijing and Shanghai are perfect and we leave “Mainland China” to Taiwan! No time to visit and play a tourist today, we must go directly from the airport to the venue for a soundcheck and prepare for the concert. Over 2000 fans are lining up outside with lots of enthusiasm and help us to overcome the painful effects of the jet lag that is felt so powerfully that evening. The crowd goes wild and we really enjoy playing for them. After the concert, the fans await us in the back of a parking lot and we take the time to sign autographs for them before returning to the hotel. Feeling a little more energy, I decided to take a short evening walk, to have at least seen some of Taipei. The last time we were there, I climbed to the top of Taipei 101, one of the tallest towers in the world. This time, it is the memory of hundreds of small mopeds wandering the streets of the hotel that I will keep as a souvenir … A real tidal wave of two wheels crisscrossing the city.
January 9th, 2012
Next morning, we go to the lobby at 9:30am for another trip to the airport. This time, towards Hong Kong, one of my favorite destinations in Asia. We arrive late afternoon and have a free evening to visit the city. From the window of the Grand Hyatt, the harbor view is breathtaking.
We have dinner together with our “crew” and the local promoter. Then, I want to see the skyline of HK – absolutely amazing. The absurd number of buildings, all built on top of each other, perfectly straight, is breathtaking. No camera can really do justice to this show of force and even urban eyes do not seem to be able to get the big show. For an amateur like me architecture is a true delight. The next day I’ll get a closer look at the HSBC Tower “IFC Tower,” which is known around as the “Batman” since its spectacular role in the film The Dark Knight, and the beautiful bridges and hundreds of giant cranes around the small peninsula. Jeff, Pierre and David for their benefit are seeing “Sam the Tailor” and are getting a custom tux, Hong Kong being one of the best places in the world for such a purchase. Through all these adventures, we find the time to do a show and the Hong Kong fans show us again how Asia is a place so special and amazing for our band.
January 12th, 2012
We land in the Philippines and the contrast with Hong Kong is quite radical. This is a completely different world. Here, economic inequality and poverty are hitting and we can see that several Filippinos live in extremely difficult conditions. Despite that people are very friendly here and smile a lot. It’s amazing how everyone seems to be happy to meet us. We sign autographs for customs, flight attendants, hotel staff, taxi drivers … I honestly am not sure if they know all our music, but it does not matter, we feel quite welcomed! The show takes place tonight at the Araneta Coliseum, the arena where the legendary “Thrilla in Manila” fight between Ali Muhamed and Joe Frasier took place. We are sold out tonight and it’s 5000 Filipinos who are there to have fun with us. During “Perfect”, the last song of the show, I take pictures to keep a memory of this extraordinary crowd.
January 14th, 2012
We are now in Kuala Lumpur and a few hours before the show, the promoter suggests that we have dinner at a restaurant that claims to offer “the best view of the world.” Let’s say we’re all a little skeptical, but still we decide to give the rider a chance … What a good choice it was! The place is surely one of the most “hip” in the city, with a pool in the middle of the dining room (really cool), but especially for a RIDICULOUS view on one of the most beautiful buildings in the world – the Petronas Towers! We spend the entire dinner taking dozens and dozens of photos before finally playing for our fans in Malaysia. An unforgettable evening.
January 15th, 2012
Today we are in Singapore, a micro country of a breathtaking beauty. Everything is green, manicured and so clean you’d think the whole city is a private golf club or a Ritz Carlton resort. Speaking of the Ritz, this is where we landed today and everyone has a big smile during our arrival at the hotel. The temperature is approaching 32 degrees and it is very wet, but even if the show is out tonight, nobody dares to complain about the heat. After the show we went to an after-party at the new Marina Bay Sands, built at an astronomical cost of $ 6 billion, the second most expensive casino in the world. We take drinks on the roof, next to the longest “infinity pool” that is, watching the city from above. It’s amazing and it’s worth clicking the link to see the photos.
January 17th, 2012
Today we are in Jakarta, Indonesia, and tomorrow is a show in Surabaya. The morning of the show in Jakarta, Jeff and I get up very early for touring musicians (7am!!) To participate in a TV show on the largest network in the country. It was one of the craziest media experiences I’ve ever had! A real freak show impossible to describe where I am asked to be married to Dany Turcotte from the Philippines (I said yes!) and where Jeff attempts to play the guitar that has not been paid for at least 10 years. Enough rock and roll as an alarm clock! But this is not the end of the world … we saw quite a few others. We take our forces just before the show at the tennis stadium in the capital. Indonesia is one of the best places for the band in Asia and the show is crazy! There are 7000 fans singing, shouting and jumping along with us … A perfect way to end our tour of the Southeast Asia! Tomorrow we leave for Japan for 11 days. I’ll keep my impressions of this absolutely incredible country for the next blog.
See you soon!
Chuck Comeau.
