Hatchie Takes Fans Along For The Ride With An Intimate Tour Diary

Road life for Harriette Pilbeam, who performs under the name Hatchie, seems to be summed up as part togetherness, part excess. There's a clear bond between bandmates, a good amount of gear and a whole lot of pepperoni. As the band tours their native Australia in support of its terrific debut EP Sugar & Spice, we're looking forward to its return to the U.S. in August. More specifically for us at WFUV, we can't wait to see Hatchie in New York in September to share the bond (and the pizza). — Russ Borris, WFUV

Entry 1: Tour Kickoff

My tour kicked off on Thursday at The Workers Club in Melbourne. Most shows we've played so far have been support slots or festivals, so we haven't had a chance to bring along all the gear we've dreamed of touring with, due to sound check and changeover time restrictions. For these shows, Joe expanded his set-up to trigger and incorporate a bunch of new sounds with some new gear, which was really cool.

Entry 2: "Lovin' The Crew"

Our guitarist Paddy lives in Sydney while the rest of us live in Brisbane, so we try to make the most of our time together on tour with plenty of beers and hugs.

Entry 3: Let's Set the Mood

We also took the opportunity to bring along some extra mood lighting. How many band members does it take to tape up a water light? Four apparently, including me to take photos and bark directions.

Entry 3: Pizza Indulgence (A Love Ballad)

As with all of our tours, we indulged in a lot of late-night pizza. The guys are into double pepperoni these days, enough so you can just barely see any cheese or dough underneath. I had a vegan chicken burger that in all honesty was not worth capturing.

Entry 4: Hello, Sydney!

The second show of the weekend was in Sydney at the Oxford Art Factory Gallery. I always forget how much gear we have until it's strewn across the venue floor like so.

Entry 5: Touring, A First World Problem

Touring is fun, but it often involves a lot of waiting around at venues, hotels and airports. It's probably the most first world problem we have though, so I can't really complain.

Entry 6: Last Stop, Brisbane.

The last show of this tour was in my hometown, Brisbane at Black Bear Lodge. It was one of the most fun shows we've played because if was filled with so many friends and family as well as fans. We treated ourselves to some espresso martinis that went down a treat!

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