A close shave in Seattle

A close shave in Seattle

23 April, 2008 | 12.06PM

• Written by: Industry Boy
• Filed under: Music News: digweed, sasha

Seattle almost didn’t happen last night for Sasha and John Digweed, thanks to the bête noire of travelers’ woes – food poisoning and flight delays.

Whilst John Digweed sat paralyzed in a hotel bathroom in Seattle a few hours before the gig, simultaneously Sasha was pacing a departure lounge in Heathrow watching his flight get pushed back and back.

It was a classic double dose of globetrotting helplessness and for everyone involved it was a case of hope and pray.

In Seattle, John Digweed’s situation was so severe, he had no choice but to request the hotel call a doctor.

“They said one wasn’t available, and they asked if I wanted a paramedic,” explains John.

“I couldn’t move, I couldn’t go anywhere, so I said ‘yes’, and the next minute five firefighters turned up.

“Somebody must have told them my sphincter was on fire.”

One of the firefighters turned out to be a paramedic, and after taking John’s blood pressure suggested he call an ambulance to take him to hospital.

But John didn’t want to leave the comfort of his hotel bathroom stool.

On the other side of the world, Sasha finally boarded his flight and whilst he counted down the hours to Seattle, John popped some Imodium and passed out.

“I was still in bed at quarter to 11, and I felt like I had no energy at all when I woke up,” says John, but he made it to the venue in time for his set.

The irony of John Digweed’s situation is that on the tour he has been the healthiest man on the bus and has refused to tuck into the fast food crap that the rest of us eat.

“We had sushi in Mexico but I don’t think it was that,” he says, now thankfully feeling much better.

Sasha raced straight from Seattle airport to the club Showbox Sodo, and the two of them managed to play a killer set, with the thousand or so clubbers down front none the wiser.

It goes to show though, that globetrotting DJs face the same problems as the rest of us when traveling, except the consequences for them are much more severe.

Had Sasha, John or both of them not been able to play there might have been a riot in downtown Seattle.

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