This morning I woke up with the sun streaming on to my face

Jaz: When we arrived in Durres, as usual something had happened, I think this time Dan had taken his usual relaxed amount of time in the toilet while everyone else on the bus digested their lunch like normal people. Lunch is a very important meal in Albania, and we took it very seriously while we were there. Anyway, we were running slightly late, and to make matters more interesting, the road running along the promenade next to the sea was jammed, bumper to bumper with the normal selection of mostly battered Mercedes, motorbikes with three riders and a couple of times I saw contraptions with engines that, if in England, probably wouldn't have made it out of the inventing shed. Still, fair play to them, if building what appears to be a wheelbarrow with half a motorbike welded to the back, and no visible brakes, then maybe they can get to places no cars can go and get the job done.
So Edmund, our driver is cursing at the traffic and calling whoever is closest to his bus the equivalent of a pikey, while attempting to cross a roundabout where everyone wants to go first, and if that isn't good enough for the bikers, they'll go around it the wrong way. Add this to the seemingly unwritten rule in Albania that if a pedestrian walks out into the road, they have right of way and the cars stop for you, and bingo, utter chaos ensues.
Gradually we wove our way through the car tetris and ended up at the hotel. A rather lovely place called "Hotel Ani", It was refreshingly cool in the balmy air of Durres beach. On discovering our rooms for the night, Chris, Dan and myself foolishly shotgunned the first one we saw, which looked spacious, having two beds and a double pull out in a large room. Our spirits sank when we realised we'd been too hasty as George and Jake found the room next door, with two single beds, and through a door, a double bed with ensuite and balcony looking out over the beach.
We laughed when we found out that they would be having to share this luxury with DJ Piko, who has been spinning music in between ours and the MHBs sets. Piko is a nutter (what are you, what are you?!) and great fun; In the end, he didn't even come back to the hotel, and I'm not sure if we saw him since.

Here's a picture of Piko at work:




During our soundcheck, I looked out over the area the stage was built in. I could see several dilapidated but working fairground rides, with customers, several Korçë beer stalls had popped up, and the sun was setting over an empty, abandoned apartment block. I felt as if I didn't know what time we were in, whenever it was, it wasn't 2010. Not an entirely unpleasant feeling, but one that happens to me on a regular basis here. The area we had for audience was pretty big, and I had completely underestimated the enthusiasm of the wonderful Durres locals, because when we returned to the stage from cleaning up and getting changed in the hotel, the few strolling couples and groups of interested kids had turned into several hundred mainly young people, dancing to whatever record Piko was playing. I think it was the one that goes "I've got a feeling... daa daaaa, that tonight's gonna be a good night, etc", you know, that one.


Martin, Jay and Pete, went on first and it was the first time I had had the opportunity to see their entire set due to things like snakes and and in one instance, a man with no legs who could walk on his hands. Here's a photo of the MHB in action.




Now I will pass over to Daniel because he wrote something about this and I'm confused enough already what with remembering everything in the right order. To be honest I'm not entirely sure that everything I've related to you happened in the order it did. Nevermind, it'll probably end up on facebook, then wikipedia, then in the press, which makes it fact. Winston Smith eat your heart out.

Daniel: We arrive in Durres mid afternoon for our third and final seaside performance. I took full advantage of our first opportunity to witness a full set of the Martin Harley Band. An interesting response by the Albanians. Albania have had the freedom to absorb western culture for as little as 18 years, since the fall of communist oppression in 1992. Then came the influx of world popular culture, most notably British and American rock bands. This era seemed to provide some form of renaissance in Albanian pop culture, hence the fact most bars, restaurants, clubs and radio stations still play Guns N' Rosesesque rock, 80's power ballads, contemporary Albanian pop music or today's music. Nothing predates 1985ish. Not once have I heard a Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Abba record being played. Nothing from the 50's, 60's or 70's it seems. Not to say nobody in Albania has ever heard of these bands, just that for commercial purposes perhaps there's been little or no opportunity to hear this music through mainstream and commercial mediums. It was in fact illegal during the communist era for anyone to show any form of artistic expression or appreciation for any outside influence, and thus owning or playing a Phil Collin's record for instance would be considered a criminal offence, imprisonable for anything up to 30 years. Perhaps certain elements of the oppressive mechanism were trying to make the world a better place? MHB most certainly rock, the musicianship and stage presence is undoubtedly accomplished, on the brink of "kickin awf!" from one second to the next. A universally acknowledged tilt of the hat is an indication that the love for both music and culture is the sole purpose for this event taking place. They are well received by the people of Durres. They seem somewhat fascinated by the music as opposed expressive bodily shapes and gestures often affiliated with rock n' roll. They simply haven't ever heard of the blues or witnessed the impact it has on western culture. I must say I lost myself somewhere between the rampant rendition of "Nobody's fault but mine" and the soul-feast of "Voodoo Chile". Much of the crowd observed in utter amazement at my disconbobulated cavorting about the place, but never any sign of dislike or hostility towards me or the music.

Then came our gig. Probably the best gig of the tour in terms of production value and sound. Without doubt the best gig of our collective careers so far. Somewhere between 1000-1500 people of all ages and gender. The reception was immense, transforming the intense expectation and adulation projected by the crowd into a sespit of good time vibrations and cultural coming together. Perhaps the people of Durres didn't fully comprehend how much the weight of their response meant to us, but I feel we did well in expressing our sentiment particularly. Jaz's somewhat patchy Albanian went down well.




Jaz: So they rocked it. Mike, Jake and myself got a preview of what the audience was like when we joined Martin, Jay and Pete onstage to play horns on "love in the afternoon" which is a jaunty number you can find on his album "Drumrolls for Somersaults", buy it now. We attempted to upstage the lovely MHB two nights in a row doing this, and they seemed to enjoy it as much as an alcohol-fuelled student who has just discovered eating his own sick cures hangovers. Expect more collaborations onstage in London and probably Bestival 2010.



When myself and the rest of the Tankus the Henge gang took to the stage for our own set, Martin had warmed up the audience so much that I could have cooked a can of beans just by holding it out towards them.
I'm not going to whine on about our set, you know what we do. If you don't and you're reading this, then you should really find out. All i'll say is that Durres, Albania, was my favourite performance in the book.