Beaux Gris Gris & The Apocalypse European Tour 2024Ferries, Vans and Autobahns

REVIEW BY STEWART FILBEY

Beaux Gris Gris & The Apocalypse European Tour 2024
Ferries, Vans and Autobahns

I wake up and realise today is the day. I curl my toes into the carpet and take a deep breath.
The apocalypse is coming….. and No I am not talking about the re-election of Donald Trump.
Today is the day I take Beaux Gris Gris and The Apocalypse on a European tour for the next
3 weeks. 3,500 miles of Autobahn, Mountain roads, Service Station stops and Blues Rock
Americana! It is going to be an epic tour!

I leave the house and the first stop is to collect our tour bus from my very good friends, Vans for Bands. They had selected me a beautiful 9 seater splitter van, with all the comfort and gadgets you could hope for! I drove to Heathrow to collect Beaux Gris Gris & The Apocalypse, Greta Valenti, Robin Davey and Tom Rasluo tired and jet lagged from their flight from Los Angeles but mostly buzzing with excitement with the adventure to come. We head to Robin Davey’s home town Devizes in Wiltshire, where we load up with merch (which is incredibly important to a band’s survival on the road) , our own back line and luggage. The remaining members soon arrive the wonderful Charlie Rachel Kay on bass and the multitalented Jack Herbert on Keys. Hugs all round and we head to dinner for our traditional pre-tour meal at the wonderful One Spice in Devizes. We stayed the night for an early start to head to the Belgium border with the Netherlands the next day.

We get up early and make our way up the M3 and I drive us to Dover to board the ferry. A ferry nowadays is like a cruise liner. A much preferred option to cross the channel. Drinks and shopping galore I highly recommend. After we leave Calis we head to the first venue/overnight stay on the far side of Belgium. We are greeted by Hans at Cafe Pallieter, our first host at his venue which is also his home. This guy is living the dream! We were treated to some welcome drinks which then sparked an impromptu sing along with Jack Herbert on Piano and Charlie Rachel Kay, Greta Valenti on lead vocals and myself on backing Vocals belting out broadway favourites and pop classics whilst Robin filmed in his dressing gown! What a scene it was.

Show day was the following day so tonight we had a chance to let our hair down, celebrate the day’s drive and entertain some locals to an exclusive show. After many hours of merry making and drinking we retire to our shared rooms, with some slight room spin and wobbly legs.

The morning comes with fuzzy heads, dry mouths and scattered memories of the previous night, but today is show day so we fix up and load in for rehearsals and sound check. While the band prepares I am doing a full inventory and stock take of the merchandise. As I said, the merchandise is so important. The income from merch will pay for fuel, food, accommodation, pay, and even just repaying the cost of the merch. Having good quality merch and an experienced merch seller can be the difference in the tour making money. So it is worthwhile investing in these things.

Over the course of the day the set list comes together and the band starts to tighten up and grow with confidence and the fine tuning and adjustments have been made. The venue sets up and then the first Belgian fans begin to arrive, browsing the merch and getting a good spot. A mix of anxiety and excitement in the air a full 2 hour set is on the way and this is the first set of another 17 sets over the tour, there are many hours of performing these songs ahead, but tonight is the first night so a good time to iron out some wobbles and for everyone to find their character within the band as all members of BGG need to bring their personality and showmanship! Everyone will have their chance to shine and their
moment to showcase their skill and talent.

BGG come out and start proceedings with Trouble is Coming and what an opener it is. Robin Davey takes me on an absolute journey with his solo in this, the venue is packed and hot but there is a buzz and energy in the air and the Belgium people can really drink! The BGG set starts out with a bang and the tracks come at you hard and fast. Greta Valenti brings an energy to the stage straight from the banks of Lousianna and the Mississippi Blues Rock just flows through her. You can hear all of the influences she has had growing up in the tracks, she writes these songs with so much heart and passion! But also with some sorrow and pain.

When Greta is on stage she becomes Beaux Gris Gris, a whole new character, she is a pure entertainer and crowd pleaser. She can captivate the whole room with her voice and then pass them over to Robin Davey who will scoop them up with his guitar and take them on a rollercoaster ride and you will not know where you will end up 9 minutes later. Again Robin Davey is a pure solo master! His unique sound he has developed which is a custom set up that comprises of 3 different cabs with 3 different mics to capture 3 different guitar sounds is really quite impressive, although a challenge for an in-house tech, this allows him to provide an extraordinary personal sound that is just his own. Jack Herbert on Keys is always in an eternal solo battle with Robin.

Both taking turns to up the solo to 11 and bring more energy, power and speed than the last. Both Robin and Jack duelling on each side of the stage while Charlie Rachel Kay keeps order and rhythm on Bass. Charlie ensures a steady bass line while managing to hold a glass of red wine! Tom on drums makes the
beats to the solo extravaganza look easy. His drumming is solid and flawless again giving the band confidence to let rip and be themselves as the steady beat and well timed symbols to change provide an excellent backing to the endless talent being showcased.

As the set progresses one track flows into the next, Thrill Me, I Told my Baby and Louisiana Good Ride come at you before you have barely had a chance to catch your breath and Greta is relentless with her vocals that range from deep soulful romance to rafter filling rock goddess. The vocal range on display from the tracks The Runaway to Bungalow Paradise to the 3rd act of the set (which is what we call the rock section). The 3rd act consists of the more hardened rock tracks. Less blues and more rock for sure. Oh Yeah, Fill Me Up and Satisfy Your Queen will blow away the cobwebs in any venue!

Then when Greta is unleashed on the audience with Wild Woman and she moves off into the crowd to dominate and make sure everyone there knows this is her show and she is also taking them on a wild ride. As the set draws to its finale the epic Don’t Let The Bastards Get You Down rings out and the crowd sing along and find even more voice to sing out “Oh La La Ya Beaux Gris Gris” in response to Beaux Gris Gris “What’s My Name?!” Then one of the highlights from the set which is actually a cover of Make It Wit Chu which is a spine tingling epic! Again Robin Davey takes the audience again on a solo journey.

When it comes to a close and the last note is played the crowd roar with cheer and applause. What an experience that was! I then brace myself for the rush to buy merchandise. Vinyl, CDs and Shirts fly out and everyone who wanted one leaves with a memory of their experience and the band climb off stage for a well earned drink and meet some fans and sign some autographs. The fans leave and then we pack down and retire to our beds before we leave for the Netherlands the next day.

I pack the van and this circus leaves town headed for the Netherlands, my favourite country (for many reasons) first stop Bluesroute Festival Helmond. This is a festival that takes over the entire town with multiple venues hosting many acts. The town was alive with thousands of people and again our venue was packed solid. BGG were enthralling and the crowd again were swept up and the mardi-gra continued.

I could write about every performance of the tour and every single venue and location but that would take a while. I could write a review of every show but that would just be a slightly biassed rinse and repeat of the set and performance of which at every show right up until the last was incredible entertainment and just a wonderful live music experience for fans of all ages and genres. But instead I want to write about the band and the experience of touring. I do not need to tell you how good Beaux Gris Gris are. They have had the success of 3 back to back number 1s on Planet Rock Radio and most of you reading this are aware of the live performance and energy they bring from California.

For the next few weeks I drive us from venue to venue, country to country. Unloading and reloading the van, every night staying in a new accommodation and sharing with a legendary guitar player (yes I shared Robin Davey) Part of my role is to ensure everyone is happy and stress free so they are in the best mind set possible to be able to perform. One of the biggest challenges to overcome is what I call Monkey in a box syndrome. I drive around the band for sometimes hours and hours at a time and then we arrive at the next venue and I open the doors and they are expected to perform. This is a tough life, 8 hours in a van with only service breaks and roadside menus can be a strain on mental health. It can be incredibly difficult to just jump out of a metal box and put on your best face and just go out and entertain a crowd. It’s important to retain humour and care. Everyone has different needs and requirements and everyone needs their own space. It is a very important thing to manage and maintain a happy equilibrium. If this means factoring in extra stops or planning a day out in Amsterdam on our day off then so be it.

Some of the drives are incredibly long and sometimes the rewards are underwhelming, we can drive from one side of Germany to the other and then as far down as Switzerland for little or no financial gain. The crowds can be tough and the promotion and ticket sales may be lacking which can all lead to mental health or performance issues so being able to maintain professionalism and fun is so important. But for all the people who come to the shows and for all the people who then purchase merchandise it makes it all worth it. Making new fans and followers on Social Media building a network of venues and agents and
promoters is always worthwhile. Taking these first giant steps in uncharted territory is tough and unknown. The best thing for any band is to be ready and as happy as they can be. So if you have travelled 8 hours to play to 20 people that is ok. It’s all part of the evolution of a band and always necessary.

A band like BGG will always perform to the consistent highest level and entertain whoever should attend the shows and those that do are glad they came and have nothing but love and praise for what we have done and that is why we do it. Whether it is professional or not, the 6 of us on tour are the best of friends and we have created our own little family Mama GG, Papa Robin and Cool Uncle Stu do their best to
ensure everyone is looked after and we maintain a healthy, comfortable and fun environment. Financially the whole tour is a massive expense to BGG as a band and the financial gain most of the time barely balances the books or in most cases with any band touring runs on a loss. Accommodation, Fuel and unknown expenses can tip over the edge of what was potentially a profit. But being a band is a test of endurance. To be successful you have to keep going, you have to keep touring and performing no matter what the cost. Success as a band is not always financial or social media followers, it’s about building an
army of dedicated fans that love you and everything you do, it’s about the fans that find the emotional attachment within the art that is being created by the artist whether that music or painting or a sculpture, if it is something that is loved it can last forever.

To sum up my experience of the tour, I absolutely love Greta, Robin, Charlie, Jack and Tom. I love working for them, I love the music and performance. To be part of this band and having the privilege to tour with them is an experience that will live long in the memory but also this is just the start of the journey. It’s going to be one great big adventure moving forward and the only way is to power through and keep on going. This European tour is just the catalyst for what is to come. There are 3 BGG tours planned for 2025 in both the UK and Europe and that’s not to mention the rise of BGG in the US. The global apocalypse is coming in more ways than one if you read the news. I am just happy to report that if it is Beaux Gris Gris and the Apocalypse it will at least be fun, colourful and exhilarating. Also I have to mention some venue highlights Gerds Juke Joint in Joldelund Germany, Cafe Pallieter Belgium, Hafenbar Tegel Berlin, Chabah Kandern, 8 Bar Basel, Music Star Norderstedt and finally Q Bus Leiden were all fantastic hosts and wonderful venues that I highly recommend any band visiting on their travels. Thank you so much to our hosts, venue managers, booking agents and anyone else that contributed to this tour. We came, we saw we conquered. 2025 we go again! See y’all next year