PODCASTIQUON Emotiquon Altitude Podcastiquon (Part 1: "Uphill Struggle")

EMOTIQUON'S FIRST EVER VIDEO PODCASTIQUON!!! 

PART ONE "UPHILL STRUGGLE" 

After winning the Bebo/Altitude Festival 2008 band competition, Emotiquon travel to Meribel in The French Alps to support Grand National on the main stage...

The journey does not go quite as expected! Emotiquon are rather silly.

This video podcast documents James Mechanoid & Shaun Dimensional's preposterous trip from Schiphol International Airport, to Meribel in the French Alps... home of The Altitude Festival 2008!!!

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Well, The Altitude Festival was by FAR the best organisation, promotion and management of an event which we've ever had the pleasure to experience!!! We were treated like ROYALTY, and we'll NEVER forget the event, or the wonderful and enthusiastic people whom we met!

Here's our BLOGIQUON describing our experience upon arriving at The Altitude Festival (The 1st EVER Alpine comedy festival)!!!
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JAMES MECHANOID:

Upon leaving Geneva, we meet our driver Matthew, and our new friend Paul (he's a surgeon with a talent for partying). You may not know that I have a weird fascination with PYLONS! Amazed at how the electricity pylons are clinging precariously to the mountainside through Switzerland to France... Pylonmania!!! How the hell did they put them up? Scenery was astounding... second to none... awe inspiring... Keep goin up & up... think you're nearly at your destination, but then you go up AGAIN.... Climbing to the top of the world!

Hairpin bend after hairpin bend... YEEHAA!!!

Halfway up the mountain the rain turns to blizzard and everything is just SNOW... We're in the domain of where aeroplanes fly! First time in France... Best first impression ever!

When we finally arrive, it's like Gingerbread Village covered in icing! Like a mad fantasy Christmasland: stereotypically Alpine... Much bigger than I thought it was going to be...

Hotel L'Eterlou is perfect.... Brilliant view with a balcony. Staff are really amused with our Scottish demeanour.... There's a sauna, heated outdoor swimming pool (which we didn't get a chance to use because we were so busy!!!) Lots of up and down hill walks around to keep our circulation going,great fun,climate was surprisingly mild albeit it is april after all,but all around is snow and ice and its warm enough to be jumping around on ski's in a t shirt.... wacky!!
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SHAUN DIMENSIONAL:

Woah!!! Yeah, this place is amazing. It's like a dream. But we haven't got time to settle down yet, it's 20:30 and we're onstage at 23:30!!!

After being greeted by comedian Lee Mack, we run down to the Big Top (a huge blue tent filled with people, comedians and musicians and a very large crowd of revellers) with all of our bags. We meet Emily (a very pretty girl with long dark hair; she's in charge of managing the whole festival), who introduces us to the fantastical Albane (a very pretty little French girl who knows how to run a show professionally)!

We meet up in the VIP lounge, get some drinks and record a video introduction with one of the festival directors, Christian... Then we relax with some top quality stand-up comedy with Rich Hall (The 11 O' Clock Show, QI, Nevermind The Buzzcocks, Otis Lee Crenshaw etc)...

And before we know it, it's time to perform... Introduced onstage by hilarious comedian Andre Vincent (who works with Phil Jupitus & Marcus Brigstock as part of the Improv. All Stars)

The show is a blinder, with the incredible band Grand National (whom we're supporting) egging us on to play for longer... We get an extended set, thanks to Albane & the brilliant sound and lighting engineers, and manage to get the crowd wired for the main act...

Grand National!!! The guys are incredible live, performing tracks from the new album "A Drink And A Quick Decision" and from their debut album "Kicking The National Habit", intersecting songs with references to classic tracks like New Order's "Blue Monday" and The Beloved's "Sweet Harmony", amongst others! They have the energy and vibe of an electro club night, exhibiting phenomenal live bass and percussion, Euan's driven rhythm guitars, with Rupert's perfect guitar melodies and Lawrence's ethereal vocals! Lawrence really knows how to get a crowd wound up, with some excellent stage banter and excited exclamations!!!

The crowd are bouncing around all over the place, and it looks as if the whole tent might take off!!!

And then it's down to Dick's Bar for the Ministry Of Sound DJ's and a whole lot of Alpine Hedonism. I get a filmed interview from the Ministry Of Sound TV guys, a free CD from DJ Richard Murray, meet two beautiful girls from Glasgow (friends of Johnny Whoop!) and then collapse in a heap of blissed out exhaustion!!!

Time for bed!

Tomorrow is SKI DAY!!!