2008 European Tour (Norway & UK)

Dave Cloud & The Gospel of Power returned to Norway and the UK in spring 2008 to support their new album Pleasure Before Business. As in 2006, the tour band members were Dave Cloud (vocals, guitar), Matt Bach (guitar), Matt Swanson (bass), and Ben Martin (drums).

The band's first show was in the far northern city of Tromsø—350 km north of the Arctic Circle—where they were warmly welcomed by the locals. Gigs in Oslo and Stavanger preceded the band's three-day residence at Bergenfest, their "home away from home." Dave was interviewed on live radio and the band played three shows in all, headlining the "Indie Bonanza" finale. Bergenfest also hosted the world premiere of A Difficult Days Afternoon, a documentary film about the band's 2006 European tour.

Next came London. Shortly after the band arrived they were greeted by oversized images of a white-suited Dave Cloud plastered on billboards throughout the city!

These giant apparitions were in fact part of the new Budweiser beer ad campaign featuring Dave as "mentor" of the so-called "Bud band." No matter how hard they tried, the members of The Gospel of Power couldn't escape Dave's new notoriety: adverts showing Dave with his "other band" played repeatedly on the telly in their hotel room and area pubs.

But the real band had music to play: four shows in four days, plus media interviews. An "evil vibe" haunted the band for their first gig at 12 Bar Club ("Critics' Choice" in Time Out), but all was smoothed out in time for an excellent night at Madame Jojo's, where the lads were joined by special guests Kalki the hula girl and Josephine Bell (aka "Mrs. Crumb").

The band then ventured into the storied Brixton neighborhood in South London to play before a crazed crowd at The Windmill Pub. On the final night, a stupendous, marathon-length show at the Dirty Water Club/Boston Arms (with gut-rockin' support from The London Dirthole Company) brought the tour to a satisfying close.

Shows/events:

• 25 April — Rockfest 2008, Blå Rock Café, Tromsø, Norway (with The Bishops + The Mormones + The Replaceable Heads)
• 27 April — Café Mono, Oslo, Norway
• 30 April — Cementen, Stavanger, Norway
• 1 May — Radio interview and private evening show, Bergen, Norway
• 2 May — Logen Teater / Bergenfest, Bergen, Norway
  (with Gore Gore Girls + Th' Legendary Shack*Shakers + The Show is the Rainbow)
• 3 May — Film screening and concert ("Indie Bonanza" finale), USF Verftet / Bergenfest, Bergen, Norway
• 5 May — 12 Bar Club, London (with Blue Bambinos + Debbie Leggo + Matthew Sawyer)
• 6 May — Madame Jojo's (presented by White Heat), London (supporting Hayman, Watkins, Trout and Lee, with Lord Auch)
• 7 May — The Windmill in Brixton (presented by Spoon of Music), London (supporting The Rank Deluxe, with Crimes of the Future)
• 8 May — Music Room at the Boston Arms (presented by the Dirty Water Club), London (with Jim Jones Revue + London Dirthole Company)

Poster for Rockfest 2008 in Tromsø, Norway

Flyer for the White Heat show in London