Sara,
We’re less than a month from the start of the Crybaby tour, which kicks off in Philly on the 26th. Every time I think of Philadelphia I think of Bruce Springsteen’s song Streets of Philadelphia that was written for the movie.
Did we see Philadelphia in the theater? I think we did. I feel impressed that our stepdad Bruce and Mom took us to see a movie about AIDS when we were teenagers. But they did love Tom Hanks. I mean, who doesn’t?
In hindsight, I think we probably tease Bruce for being a bit of a dude when we were growing up, but for a man in his early 30s in the 90s, he was quite progressive. He probably would have preferred an action film, but I feel like he understood the movie’s significance, though I imagine it was mom who pushed to see it. Still, he gets points for going and bringing his thirteen-year old stepdaughters.
At thirteen, you and I were just about to go off the rails.
We got in with a complicated group of girls at our junior high, and started experimenting with smoking and other stimulants. I feel like thirteen-year-olds seem so young to me now, or at least they get treated like they are much younger than we did at that age. But it is wild that at twelve we were playing Mario Kart with our best friend, watching Full House and Home Improvement with our family, and sleeping in a crowd of stuffed animals, and the next year we were listening to Ordinary World by Duran Duran, smoking stale Du Maurier’s behind the convenience store by our junior high, hating our lives and our bodies.
Anyway, I’ve gotten off topic. I was supposed to be writing about the Crybaby tour and all my preparations for it. I just got my fourth booster. I timed it so hopefully I am at my most protected when we hit the road in a month. The pharmacist who stuck me hit me with the needle so hard I feel like my arm got shot — not that I know what that feels like. I’m being hyperbolic because I didn’t sleep at all. By eight last night I was aching and restless. I tossed and turned and moaned and complained all night. My skin is still sore to the touch this morning, my hips groaning in a way I now associate with vaccinations and getting Covid. But I rehearsed for the tour this morning anyway. I’ve been attempting to play anywhere from two to four hours a day. Usually, I break it into two parts. I start by playing a ton of old songs on the acoustic guitar, songs we aren’t going to play in the show, but might try in soundcheck for the VIP parties we’re doing. We offered VIP on the Heartthrob cycle as a way to connect to our audience; we weren’t going to do as many record instores and we couldn't go to the merchandise table anymore and we missed connecting with fans. Remember how guilty we felt charging people to meet us? But no one seemed to mind. Everyone was so kind, generous and excited to be there. We were too.
On Love You To Death we only offered VIP in international markets; the financials of touring being what they were, it was the only way we could afford to tour outside North America. We debated whether to do VIP this fall. I’m glad we are. I know it takes a lot out of us and the team to do it but it’s been so long since we toured, so long since we’ve interacted with our audience, so long since we’ve played acoustic, that I am actually really looking forward to it. Afternoons on tour can really drag, tour can be so boring. So I feel like doing something productive for an audience in the afternoon before doors will be something to look forward to every day. Have you gone and checked out what people get for VIP?
TAKE ME ANYWHERE SOUNDCHECK PACKAGE: $139
Includes:
- One general admission ticket
- Early entry into the venue
- Access to a preshow soundcheck with Tegan & Sara
- Exclusive VIP merchandise items
- Limited edition poster; autographed by Tegan and Sara
- Commemorative soundcheck laminate and lanyard
- Limited availability
So that’s the first rehearsal I do every day. Soundcheck prep. Then I take a break, have lunch, go for a walk with Georgia, and come back to cover the set list for the show. I’m shocked at how easily the old stuff is coming back to me. And I’ve been running all the new stuff off Crybaby for months now, so maybe I’m being cocky but I’m feeling ready for band rehearsals. I’m relieved we hired a musical director to get the show ready. Preparing all the songs and tracks, getting the band rehearsed, reminding us how to play our songs, and what harmonies to sing is a lot of work. Remember when we used to do it as a band, in a stinky small gross rehearsal spot? Nightmare. Heather is simply the best. I feel so lucky and so prepared for this tour. Do you?
I imagine you must be rehearsing to the show files Heather is sending, the ones with a click track and cues? I think I want to share a few clips so people can hear what we hear in our ears when we’re on stage! I saw Twenty-One Pilots do that on TikTok and I was mesmerized. I don’t know if the audience ever considers what we’re listening to in our in-ear monitors! But for those that do, we should let them in on our secret world! I don’t know how you’re rehearsing the show, but I laid the entire set out in Logic, running the files of the eighteen songs we’re doing end to end. So, I just hit play and I stand up, hold a microphone, and try to bop around to get myself ready for the adrenaline and fatigue that comes from being in front of an audience. I do that once all the way through then another pass where I just play guitar. Are you doing that? I saw Brandi Carlile works out to her own music and sings along to get in show shape. I don’t have a private gym so I’m way too shy for that, but I have been listening to the show files when I run errands, just so I am always thinking about the show even when I’m not actually sitting at home rehearsing.
Sofia said I seem like I’m preparing more this time than I have in the past. I was telling her we used to take two to four weeks to rehearse with the band, and this time we’re doing 8 days split over two weeks. It’s hardly enough time. She was wondering why it must be this way. I had to open our calendar and show her the reality of our situation right now. Releasing a TV show and a new album a week apart is a Rubik’s cube. Figuring out how to do rehearsals while we promote our new album and support the launch of High School has proven to be a bit of a puzzle. All this preparation is because we don’t have enough days before the tour to rehearse. But the more work I do at home, the more this all seems doable. Let’s just hope I’m right. Maybe Naomi could run an iPad teleprompter from side stage if one of us can’t manage to memorize the show? I imagine as a production assistant she would be capable of doing that if we need her to.
Anyway, I thought maybe you and I should start talking about the soundcheck performances. I think we should do them, just you and me. No band. We loved playing just the two of us on the Hey, I’m Just Like You Tour and this allows us to give a very different feeling performance during soundcheck from the regular show. What do you say? And we should each play one new song that we aren’t doing in the set. Then we should each play a couple old ones. Maybe that’s too much. Maybe we only need to do 4 songs. But let me know what you think. Are there old songs that aren’t on the set that you run regularly that are ready to perform? Here’s what I have learned so far.
Monday, Monday, Monday
Don’t Confess
Couldn’t Be Your Friend
Call It Off
Dark Come Soon
Soil, Soil
Thoughts on focusing on a few of these? Could be cool to hear you play something super old like Not Tonight or Want to Be Bad. Would also love to hear Under My Control acoustic!
-Tegan
PS I put a little bit of Under My Control on the end of the audio. If you like the idea of hearing a bit of another song off Crybaby!
VIP