Hopeless Haze - Volume I: Hot Fuss (Remastered)

7: A Coattail Left to Ride

DECEMBER 1 - 21, 2003

It's dark save for the passing streetlights and the illuminated knobs on the dashboard of the van. The radio is turned down low on the same BBC station that they've frequented for the majority of the tour. It's almost over now, of course, and the thought of a bed and a hot shower makes Brandon's eyes heavier than they already had been. It's been about three weeks in the van and even now he cannot get comfortable.

He's sat next to Ronnie on the front bench. They've got the van set up in a very particular way. Dave is in the front passenger seat to have control over the music and as the band's spokesperson, him and Ronnie are in the front row as previously mentioned, and Mark is usually in the back so that he can stretch out his legs. They've got a clothing rod hanging over the middle row to keep some things from wrinkling, but it also functions as a curtain for if someone gets into an argument or if you'd just like some privacy in the back.

Brandon turns to Ronnie and half-whispers, "Could I lie down?" He knows that Ronnie won't mind, but he asks anyway to be polite. They've still got three hours left on the road until they get to London.

"Of course," Ronnie says, scooting closer to the window to give him more room. Brandon hums out a thanks and lies down on his side, pulling his legs up on the bench and tucking his arms in. His head is positioned on Ronnie's lap, as he has usually done the few times he needed a post-gig nap.

Usually they would just leave in the morning, but they're currently too far from the city and they've got press to do once they get there. They had not even had the chance to change out of their gig clothes before Jeremy started packing up to go.

Ah, Jeremy. Jeremy Bates.

He's their new tour manager-the one that's been driving them around everywhere and coordinating their appearances. He takes care of hotels and gets them food and even takes care of the laundry on occasion. He's a really nice guy and Brandon stopped being worried about being late to things after a week of knowing him. Jeremy's got it covered-it's all good.

Jeremy will be staying with them for the next tour (and they'll have a bus, thank God), which has already been cleared and is due to be announced any day now. At the end of February, they'll be back in England with another band, Stellastarr, and then they'll tour the U.S. with them for the following months. It's weird-Stellastarr is more popular in America so The Killers will be opening then, but in England, Stellastarr will be opening for The Killers. Brandon had not realized the extent of their popularity here until very recently.

It had been a show at High Wycombe at the end of the first week of the tour. British Sea Power had been messing around before the show, trying to secure some branches from a tree to decorate their stage setup with, and Neil fell and broke his wrist. Instead of canceling the show, it had been decided that The Killers would just headline alone that night. The band and Jeremy had expected a smaller audience that night due to the situation but that hadn't been the case at all. It was that night that they realized a good number of people were buying a ticket for British Sea Power just to see The Killers.

Anyway, after the April tour and Coachella (which they had somehow gotten into against all odds considering the fact that they aren't very popular in America), Island is planning a co-headliner tour in England, but are waiting to hear back about a few English festivals for June. When they hear about all of this from Braden it makes his head spin. He had mentioned something about a full European tour and a headlining one in America slated for July, but he had tuned out by that point. He doesn't understand how one person is supposed to keep all this information straight, so he mostly just listens to Jeremy these days. All he needs to know is when the van is leaving the hotel or venue and when it's time to eat.