Zachary Dreams; Massive Tour Update

Of what does Zachary dream whilst asleep?


Does he dream of a life in the country? A puritanical, pastoral existence where one’s day-to-day hardships relegate the more trivial worries of what to wear, how much to drink, and on whose lap to sit to the back of one’s consciousness? Does he dream of shearing sheep and milking cows?



Or does he dream of himself as a lowly chimney sweep, killing time on the rooftops of London, wishing for some sort of messiah, some sort of magical woman with a magical umbrella to float down, pick him up, and fly him away?



Or are his dreams merely a ruffled, velvet stage curtain that lifts every morning to his waking life... because really, isn’t he living the dream right now? Sex and drugs and rock and roll, what more does one want? (Blood Arm mothers, please read: The “sex and drugs” part of that sentence is merely idiomatic, and in no way truthful.)






Yours in lust,

Ben Lee


Oh! Here is a quick rundown of our last week in the UK:

September 20, Leeds
-We re-fall in love with the Panic! Club at the Cockpit, at which the stage is rushed, Zebastian is sexually assaulted, and Georgia and Sarah from the Research laugh the whole while through.



September 21, London
-Chalkie introduces us to a roadside American diner, which seems a little stuck on the losing side of our homeland’s civil war.
-We make a pit-stop for a Tiscali session on a Soho rooftop, then go bowling at Bloomsbury lanes. Also, play a show there. We finally discover the real meaning of “friends with benefits.” (Hint: It has a little to do with money, and a lot to do with corn oil.)


September 22, Nottingham
-The Social, already one of our favorite venues, improves its standing in our eyes even further. Nathaniel punches me in the penis. Joel, Sarah, and Ben of the High Society and Dan, bar manager at the Social, teach Zebastian and I what it really means to drink.


Seprtember 23, Sheffield
-Sheffield Sex City lives up to its reputation, and the Plug is perhaps the nicest club we’ve ever been to, let alone performed at. Our dear friends Crazy Pete and Toni drive out from Liverpool, Laura and Alan travel from Manchester to make the evening extra intoxicating. The evening is extra intoxicating.


September 24, Newcastle
-While the band sleeps on our day off, I go to strip clubs with our more successful, yet equally morally bankrupt friends from Maximo Park. Actually, just Lukas. Becky (of the fabulous Pipettes) and Paul escape with clean hands.



September 25, Newcastle
-Our last show of the tour is properly alcohol soaked, and the Dirty Pretty Things play a secret set. Headlining next door: the Ladyboys of Thailand. Real ladyboys, not fake ones. Luckily, our show is better promoted, and the masses remain on our half of the block.



September 26, London
-We re-befriend BBC DJ Zane Lowe over a Radio 1 conversation. Later, Dyan and Nathaniel lead the patrons of the Pelican in raucous, piano and vocal-only renditions of the entirety of the upcoming album Lie Lover Lie. Dan from Supersweet introduces Zach and I to some mind-expanding Welsh effluvium (which is ironically pleasant), and we drink till the band leaves in the morning. I stay behind to visit my foreign children.