Ken Hensley

"Into The Unknown"

Day 3

Brussel sprouts for breakfast anyone? Maybe a little beetroot or coleslaw? French fries? They do things differently here and all of this and more was included in the breakfast buffet. The selection was huge and unusual but it was all fresh and all good, at least the stuff that I had was.

I guess I am just too tired to sleep properly. It has been a long, long 18 months and I think it's beginning to catch up with me now! Looking back I think what finished me off was the trip to far east Russia and the jet-lag I had to deal with for the first time in years. Plus, my mind knows that after Sunday's show I will be done until the middle of January so it's ready to shut down for a while.

Meanwhile, everyone here is treating me very well and I appreciate that. We did a little shopping for home and, while we were walking around in 0 degree temperatures, I guess they felt sorry for me in my little tour jacket and showed up in my room later with coats they had bought for me!! One of them was hugely expensive but the wrong size and I am still not sure what to do with the other one because they absolutely refused to take it back….

But soon it was time for sound check and a TV interview that was much more interesting than yesterday's radio farce. I like these solo shows… sound check takes about 15 minutes! The only unknown factor is whether people will show up for something which is not really a concert and fairly low-key compared to the average event but the people came and they seemed ready.

I have 10 or 12 core songs that I always include and then a few in reserve that I sometimes throw in if it feels right or if someone requests one of them.

Somehow, something always comes up that leads neatly into a specific song and tonight Vitaly, my official and very efficient translator, helped a lot. He proved that language is not an obstacle in this deliberately interactive solo environment. (Photos here and here).

After I finished, I stayed on stage so the audience could "interview" me and that worked well with some really interesting questions. Then I went back to the dressing room to change before it was signing time. Altogether I spent more than 3 ½ hours with my new friends and it was really an enjoyable time. I look forward to coming back with the band in March.

We went for a little dinner but by now I was so tired I could barely eat so I headed for the hotel as soon as possible, satisfied and happy but exhausted.

One more show for 2008 and I just need to rest as well as possible before we get to Gomel tomorrow.