Eyes Open Tour
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The Eyes Open Tour was a concert tour by the Scottish/
Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
band
Snow Patrol Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland. They consist of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), Paul Wilson (musician), Paul Wilson (bass guitar, ...
. It was launched in support of the group's 2006 album ''
Eyes Open ''Eyes Open'' is the fourth studio album by Northern Irish-Scottish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. Produced by Jacknife Lee, it was released in the UK on 1 May 2006, and 9 May 2006 in the US. It was the band's first album without bassist Ma ...
''. The band visited numerous international venues from 2006 through 2007. The tour is the collective name of many smaller tours and festivals Snow Patrol has played in support of their album. The tour officially commenced on 14 February 2006 with a "secret gig" called SG#3. The tour saw the band visit continents like Europe, North America, Australia and Asia. The band headlined on almost all dates, and various acts supported them throughout. The tour was however marred by cancellations, mainly because of vocalist
Gary Lightbody Gareth John Lightbody (born 15 June 1976) is a Northern Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Snow Patrol. He has also founded the musical supergroups The ...
's throat problems and bassist Paul Wilson's shoulder injury. Additionally, other events happened with all other band members but no dates were affected. Drummer
Jonny Quinn Jonathan Graham Quinn (born 26 February 1972) is a Northern Irish musician, best known as the drummer for alternative rock band Snow Patrol, and was previously a member of bands like The Mighty Fall, The New Brontes and Disraeli Gears. As drumm ...
broke his arm, but no shows were cancelled as friend
Graham Hopkins Graham Hopkins (born 20 December 1975) is an Irish drummer. He was the drummer in The Swell Season, The Frames and rock band Therapy?. Biography Early years Hopkins was born in Dublin and was brought up in Clane, County Kildare in a musica ...
pitched in to take up drumming duties. Keyboardist
Tom Simpson Thomas Simpson (30 November 1937 – 13 July 1967) was one of Britain's most successful professional cyclists. He was born in Haswell, County Durham, and later moved to Harworth, Nottinghamshire. Simpson began road cycling as a teenager b ...
was arrested for drug charges, but was released in time for the next concert. Guitarist
Nathan Connolly Nathan Connolly (born 20 January 1981) is a Northern Irish musician, who is best known as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for alternative rock band Snow Patrol. Early life Connolly, who was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, sang for a ...
sprained his ankle and foot, but sat through shows till the injury healed. The band visited countries like New Zealand and Mexico for the first time and played their first concert in
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during the course of the tour. The Eyes Open Tour also introduced the Tour Reporter feature, where fans were given the chance of covering their local concert. Snow Patrol finished the tour, which went on for a year and a half, in September 2007 in Australia. The full tour spanned 214 dates and had 37 cancellations.


Tickets


Secret gigs and charity shows

Snow Patrol's official website initially offered tickets for the secret gig SG#3 to registered members on the forum. It was later announced that a limited number of tickets would be made available at
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, Royal Avenue,
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
on 4 February 2006 at 9am. Tickets for SG#4 were only available to members of Snow Patrol's official website through an e-mail which contained all details. Winners received a non-transferable
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ticket to their mobile phones. This SMS message was deemed invalid if forwarded. Additionally, these mobile tickets were the only way into the concert. Tickets for Nottingham's Rock City went on general sale via the Rock City Box Office on 5 May 2006. Tickets were priced at £22.50 each. The official website ran a pre-sale for members. During the North American Tour of February–April 2007, the band played an intimate show for friend Diana Gualda. Tickets for this show went on general sale on 8 February 1pm ( PST) via
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. Tickets were priced at $30. Tickets for the show at
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were not available for general sale. Fans were required to register within a three-day period, starting 13 April 2007 at 12:00pm. The winners were chosen through a ballot, and they received an SMS containing details on how to obtain their tickets. Each ticket was priced at £55. The official website held back a few tickets for its members, which were given out through a pre-sale. ;One-off shows Tickets for the show at
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were available for pre-sale from 25 January 2006, 9am from Snow Patrol's official website for 24 hours and were limited to four tickets per person. The pre-sale password was posted on the forum half an hour before the sale. Any remaining tickets went on general sale on next morning from Gigsandtours and were priced £17.50. Later, the band's official website held a competition to give away the last two tickets. All 1,500 available tickets were sold out in less than ten minutes. There were no tickets for the in-store performance at the Virgin Mega stores, Dublin. Entry to the concert required a wristband that could only be obtained from the store at 9am on the day of the gig. They were given out on a first come first served basis. The official website held a last minute competition for members to give away the last 100 wristbands. Tickets for the one-off O2 concert went on sale 18 May 9am and were priced at £25. They could be obtained from the Xfm Xchange, the Xfm Online Ticket Shop, Ticketmaster and Seetickets. For the secret O2 show, the band held back 1,000 tickets from general sale, and gave them away to the website members for free. Members were sent an e-mail containing details on how to win the tickets. ;Festivals Tickets for the
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Festival went on sale on 10 February 2006 and could be purchased from Ticketmaster. They were priced at €34.50 each. Tickets for T on the Fringe went on general sale from 5 May 9am and those for Marlay Park from 12 May at 9am. Pre-sale of tickets for
Marlay Park Marlay Park () is an suburban public park located in Rathfarnham in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. Lying about nine kilometres (5.5 miles) from Dublin city centre, the parkland comprises woodlands, ponds and walks. Recreational spaces inclu ...
went on till 10 May. Tickets were priced at €44.50 and could be obtained from Ticketmaster. Fans, later, were also given the chance to win tickets through a competition where they were required to answer a question. A similar competition was also held to give away one ticket for T on the Fringe. It was later announced that more tickets were released, which could be obtained through Ticketmaster. Tickets for the Eden Sessions were priced at £30 and were made available from Edenbookings. For Get Loaded in the Park, tickets were available through Ticketmaster. There was a special £20 early bird ticket scheme as promotion. Tickets for BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend were given out free via a draw through Radio 1's website. Tickets for Tennents ViTal went on general sale on 12 May 9am. They could be obtained online from Vital06.com, by telephone or in person from Virgin and Ticketmaster outlets. Tickets for the Isle of Man Festival were available only through the Islands Box Office or could be purchased by phone. The tickets were priced at £32.50 each. Tickets for the Splendour in the Grass side-shows were available from Ticketek and Ticketmaster. Tickets for the Isle of Wight festival on 21 February 2006 via VirginRadio, and tickets were made available from usual ticket outlets like Ticketmaster 22 February 9am. Tickets for T in the Park went on sale on 24 February 9am. They could be purchased through Ticketmaster. Snow Patrol's official website held a competition to give away two tickets for T in the Park. Fans were required to create a video to the soundtrack of Signal Fire. Tickets for the V Festival went on general sale on 1 March 9am. They could be purchased through Ticketmaster.


UK and Ireland tour, 2006

Tickets for the UK and Ireland tour of 2006 went on general sale on 8 February 9am and were priced at £17.50. Tickets could be obtained from Seetickets except for the Glasgow show which was through Ticketmaster. The Dublin date went on general sale 10 February, and tickets were priced at €34.50. Tickets could only be obtained from Ticketmaster. A competition was also held, where fans could enter and win tickets. The winners were announced through a draw. Tickets for the final dates at the Ulster Hall went on sale on 18 February, and were priced between £19.50 and £22.50. They could only be obtained from Ticketmaster. Additional tickets for the shows at The Forum were later released, which could be obtained through Seetickets. For the additional date at the Wembley Arena, the official website members were given the opportunity of a pre-sale. Tickets were priced at £23.50 (excluding booking fee). General sale began on 21 May 9am, and tickets could be obtained through Ticketmaster and Seetickets. Later, extra seats for the 2 shows at Wembley were released. Tickets could be purchased from the venue's box office through phone or online, through Seetickets and Ticketmaster. After the Wembley date, another date for the Odyssey, Belfast was added. Tickets for this date went on sale on 22 August 9am via Ticketmaster. When tickets for the show sold out within three hours, an additional date was announced. Tickets for this show were made available on 22 August, and could be obtained through Ticketmaster.


US tour, 2006

Tickets for the seven-date US Tour of 2006 were made available through different online services like Ticketmaster, Ticketalternative, Ticketweb, through tickets for the San Francisco and Boston shows could be purchased on venue. General sale of tickets for the US Tour in May began on 8 April. Pre-sale, exclusively for members had begun a few days back. Pre-sales for later shows were held over the course of the next few months. General sale tickets could be obtained through Ticketmaster.


European tour, 2006

Tickets for the Vienna, Utrecht and Zurich shows on the European Tour of 2006 went on general sale on 21 July and those for the Copenhagen show, and all the German, shows on 28 July. Again, members on the band's official website were given the opportunity to purchase tickets early via a pre-sale.


UK & Ireland Winter Arena Tour

Tickets for the UK & Ireland Winter Arena Tour went on pre-sale to website members on 10 May 9am and continued till 12 May 9am. Tickets were limited to a maximum of 4 per household. General sale began as soon as the pre-sale ended. For the additional Wembley date, which was later added, the official website ran a pre-sale where tickets were priced at £23.50 each. General sale began on 21 May 9am. Tickets could be obtained through Ticketmaster and Seetickets. For the added Scottish show, the website ran a pre-sale exclusively for members. Tickets went on general sale on 14 July 9am. They could be obtained from Ticketmaster and Seetickets. The tickets were priced at £22.50 each. For the show at Bournemouth, the official website ran a pre-sale for members on 14 July 9am. The pre-sale ended as soon as tickets went up for general sale, which began on 17 July 9am. Tickets could be obtained through Ticketmaster and Seetickets and were priced at £22.50. Tickets for the Manchester show went on general sale on 20 October 9am. Tickets could be obtained through Seetickets, and were priced at £23.50 each. The tickets for this show sold out in 38 minutes, so another show was added. The other Manchester show's tickets were made available for general sale on 20 October. They could be obtained through Seetickets and Ticketmaster, and were priced at £24.00 each. Extra tickets for select dates were released after the tour had begun, which could only be purchased online. For the show at The Point, tickets went on general sale on 22 August 9am, and could be obtained through Ticketmaster. European Tour, 2007 Tickets for the European Tour, which saw the band playing in Germany went on sale on 20 November 9am via Kartenhaus.de. An additional Dutch date was later added, and tickets for the show went on general sale on 25 November 9am (
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). Tickets for the show could be obtained from Easyticket.nl.


Australian tour, February 2007

Tickets for the Australian tour of 2007 initially went on pre-sale on 21 November and continued for a day. General sale began on 23 November and tickets could be obtained through Ticketek and Ticketmaster. For the New Zealand dates, the pre-sale began on 6 December 9am (
NZDT Time in New Zealand is divided by law into two standard time zones. The main islands use New Zealand Standard Time (NZST), 12 hours in advance of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) / military M (Mike), while the outlying Chatham Islands use Cha ...
). General sale began on 8 December and tickets were made available through Ticketmaster. Tickets for the second North American Tour initially went on pre-sale for website members. General sale began on 17 and 18 November, depending on the concert dates. Additional tickets for the Melbourne date were later released on 17 January 2007 at 9am. More tickets were released on 19 January at 9am. Tickets could be obtained through Ticketmaster.


North American tour, February–April 2007

Tickets for the tour went on general sale on 17 and 18 November 2006. Snow Patrol's official website members were given a pre-sale opportunity. A show in Chicago was announced later, and tickets for this show went on general sale on 2 December 12 pm ( CST), and could be obtained through Ticketmaster. A few days before, the official website held a pre-sale for its members. Shows in Portland, Houston, Denver and Washington, D.C. were later added. Tickets for the Portland, Denver and Washington shows went on general sale on 9 December 10 am and those for Houston on 8 December 5pm. Three dates for Seattle, Universal City and San Francisco were later added. Tickets for these shows initially went on pre-sale for the official website members. General sale began on 16 and 17 December. Tickets could be obtained through Ticketmaster.


Japanese tour, April 2007

Tickets for the Japanese tour initially went on pre-sale exclusively for members of the band's official website on 1 September and continued till 4 September. General sale of tickets started on 16 September, which could be obtained from Eplus.jp. After the shows were rescheduled, tickets for the new dates went on general sale 23 December. Tickets for the original shows were deemed valid for each revised date, and an option of a refund was offered.


North American tour, July–August 2007

This leg of the tour saw the band play in Mexico for the first time. Tickets for this show went on sale on 28 January, were priced at 350 pesos, and could be obtained through Ticketmaster.


Australian tour, September 2007

The final leg of the tour was in Australia and New Zealand. Tickets for the Australian dates went on sale on 15 June via Ticketek. A pre-sale was held before the said date for website members. To add to it, the band offered a copy of ''
Final Straw ''Final Straw'' is the third studio album and major-label debut by Scottish-Northern Irish rock band Snow Patrol, released on 4 August 2003 in the United Kingdom and Ireland and in 2004 in the United States. The album is notable for bringing the ...
'' for every purchased ticket. Tickets for the New Zealand shows 18 July via Ticketek and Ticketmaster. Members again were given the chance of getting tickets early via a pre-sale.


Secret gigs

To generate buzz about the then upcoming album, Snow Patrol played a secret gig in Belfast in mid-February. The show was dubbed SG#3. Later, Snow Patrol's official website announced another secret gig, dubbed SG#4, in conjunction with
Vodafone Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...
as part of their "To Be Announced" feature. It was held at the Royal Opera House in London on 26 April 2:30pm. Snow Patrol debuted three new songs for the 200-strong crowd: "
Hands Open "Hands Open" is the second American single from Snow Patrol's fourth album, ''Eyes Open''. It was released June 2006. It received substantial radio play on modern rock radio, peaking at number 21 on the US ''Billboard'' Modern Rock Tracks chart. H ...
", "
Chasing Cars "Chasing Cars" is a song by Northern Irish-Scottish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. It was released as the second single from their fourth studio album, '' Eyes Open'' (2006). It was released on 6 June 2006, in the United States and 24 July ...
" and "Make This Go on Forever". The concert was later shown on E4 the same weekend and
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
on 5 May 11pm. ;Tour dates ;Set list #"Wow" #"Hands Open" #"Chocolate" #"It's Beginning to Get to Me" #"Spitting Games" #"Headlights on Dark Roads" #"Grazed Knees" #"Chasing Cars" #"An Olive Grove Facing the Sea" #"Shut Your Eyes" #"How to Be Dead" #"Make this Go on Forever" #"Ways and Means" #"Run" #"You're All I Have" ;Encore
  1. "Open Your Eyes"
  2. "Tiny Little Fractures"
*Set list at SG#3. ;Set list #"Wow" #"Chocolate" #"It's Beginning to Get to Me" #"Spitting Games" #"Hands Open" #"Shut Your Eyes" #"Chasing Cars" #"How to Be Dead" #"The Finish Line" #"Run" #"You’re All I Have" *Set list at SG#4.


European Tour (Leg I)

After the secret gigs and the KOKO show, Snow Patrol kicked off touring for ''Eyes Open'' by undertaking a small European tour. The tour included an acoustic show by Lightbody and Connolly for Dutch channel 3VOOR12. ;Tour dates


US Tour (Leg I)

After the European Tour winded, the band headed to the United States to play a further 7 dates. One of these dates was at the SXSW Festival. Though the tour was called US Tour, it included a lone date in Canada. During the tour, the band played an intimate session for
AOL Music AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo! Inc. ...
in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. This performance was later released as a live EP on the
iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
as ''
sessions@AOL AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo! Inc. ...
''. ;Tour dates


UK & Ireland Tour

Snow Patrol undertook a short UK & Ireland Tour to coincide with the release of ''Eyes Open'' on 1 May. The tour began at Dublin Castle (at the Heineken Green Energy Festival) and was to finish with two nights at The Forum, London. But due to tickets selling out quickly and the success of SG#3, an additional date was added at the Ulster Hall. Later, support acts were confirmed. A news item on the official website said that the band intended to include different acts on different dates. ;Tour dates


US Tour (Leg II)

Snow Patrol next did a month-long tour of US and Canada, following a hugely successful SXSW appearance and a sold out US Tour in March.
The Duke Spirit The Duke Spirit are an English rock band based in London. Their sound has been seen as a melding of influences ranging from alternative rock bands such as The Jesus and Mary Chain and Spiritualized, the tremulous rock'n'roll of bands such as The ...
and Augustana were booked as support acts. The tour included an in-store performance at
HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...
to kick off the Canadian dates. An autograph session was held after the set. The band chose
Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
specifically to be the location of the first concert. They had kept the city as a surprise location on a previous tour two years before and had visited there for the first time, expect lukewarm reaction. However, the concert sold out and the band had made it a point to return in the future. A few shows were cancelled initially as vocalist
Gary Lightbody Gareth John Lightbody (born 15 June 1976) is a Northern Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Snow Patrol. He has also founded the musical supergroups The ...
's voice had worn out. He had been advised by his doctor to take a week's rest before the tour as he had developed
laryngitis Laryngitis is inflammation of the larynx (voice box). Symptoms often include a hoarse voice and may include fever, cough, pain in the front of the neck, and trouble swallowing. Typically, these last under two weeks. Laryngitis is categorised ...
(polyps on vocal cords), but he preferred not to because of the pre-booked tour. Tests later showed that Lightbody's voice had not healed at all, he had lost his top range, and the band was forced to cancel all remaining shows. The initially cancelled shows were rescheduled to the end of the tour. Lightbody credited the band's agent and managers for their quick work. However, the first two rescheduled shows had to be cancelled as the part of band couldn't get flight tickets to the US due to flight delays caused by the Heathrow Terrorist Plot. Connolly and Simpson had made it to the US, but the rest of the band couldn't. Later, a whole new set of dates was announced with two additional radio shows. After getting his voice back, Lightbody gave up drinking on tour in order to preserve his voice, on advice on his doctor (who also works with pop singer
Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...
). Although he felt ashamed of it before, he hired a vocal coach after finding that
Johnny Rotten John Joseph Lydon (; born 31 January 1956), also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the late-1970s punk band the Sex Pistols, which lasted from 1975 until 1978, and agai ...
had one when he was a
Sex Pistol The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...
. He also started to do vocal warm-ups before shows, and requested a separate area for him to do his exercises, away from "the band laughing at im" Augustana returned as the support act for all rescheduled shows, and
Martha Wainwright Martha Wainwright (born May 8, 1976) is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She has released seven critically-acclaimed studio albums. Wainwright is the daughter of musicians Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III a ...
, who had previously worked with the band for the song "
Set the Fire to the Third Bar "Set the Fire to the Third Bar" is a song from Snow Patrol's fourth album, '' Eyes Open'', featuring Martha Wainwright on vocals. The song was released as a single on 13 November 2006. Background The song was the last track to be recorded ...
", supported the band on a select few dates. On 29 August, the band appeared as musical guests on ''
The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...
''. The band performed "
Chasing Cars "Chasing Cars" is a song by Northern Irish-Scottish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. It was released as the second single from their fourth studio album, '' Eyes Open'' (2006). It was released on 6 June 2006, in the United States and 24 July ...
", which was #6 on the
singles chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...
in the United States then. ;Tour dates


European Tour (Leg II)

In October, Snow Patrol embarked on a second European Tour. The tour saw them visit countries like Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and France. Artists like The Cinematics, Declan O'Rourke, Asyl and Joseph D'Anvers supported the band throughout the tour on different dates. Midway through the tour, Paul Wilson injured his left arm and shoulder. The bassist had been having a little muscle strain, but he had ignored the pain and carried on playing. It built up and became too much for him to play on-stage. As a result, four French and two German dates were cancelled. ;Tour dates


UK & Ireland Winter Arena Tour

Snow Patrol embarked on a tour of the UK & Ireland in winter 2006, which they headlined. They were supported on by a number of support acts. The tour kicked off in late November and continued till the end of December. The tour included shows at the historic
Point Theatre The Point Theatre (sometimes referred to as the Point Depot or simply as the Point) was a concert and events venue in Dublin, Ireland, that operated from 1988 to 2007, visited by in excess of 2 million people. It was located on the North Wall Qu ...
in Dublin. The tour was played in two legs. Midway thorough the tour, the band headed to the US to play some radio shows. Martha Wainwright was replaced as female lead vocalist for "Set the Fire to the Third Bar" because of her commitments in the studio.
Lisa Hannigan Lisa Margaret Hannigan (born 12 February 1981) is an Irish musician, singer, composer, and voice actress. She began her musical career as a member of Damien Rice's band. Since beginning her solo career in 2007 she has released three albums: ''Se ...
, who had previously worked with Gary Lightbody on the song " Some Surprise" for the charity album ''
The Cake Sale The Cake Sale are a collective of mostly Republic of Ireland, Irish musical artists including Swedish singer/songwriter Nina Persson of The Cardigans and Australian musician Nick Seymour of Crowded House. The collective was formed by Brian Cros ...
'', and Miriam Kaufmann, longtime friend of the band joined the band on tour as touring members, singing female vocals on the song for one half of the tour each.
Iain Archer Iain Archer is a writer, producer and solo artist from Bangor, Northern Ireland. He is a two-time Ivor Novello Award winner, winning the 2004 Album Award – ''Final Straw'' by Snow Patrol and Most Performed Work in 2016 for Grammy nominated ...
and
Declan O'Rourke Declan O'Rourke (born April 26, 1976) is a singer-songwriter from Dublin, Ireland. Career Early career to 2010 At the age of 13, when living in Australia with his family, O'Rourke was given his first guitar by a priest in Kyabram who recogn ...
were recruited to play acoustic guitar, with Lightbody praising them as two of the best guitar players and two of the most favorite people the band had ever met. Ben Dumville and Colm MacAthlaoich played trumpet on "
An Olive Grove Facing the Sea "An Olive Grove Facing the Sea" is a song from Snow Patrol's second album ''When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up''. A re-recorded version featuring only vocalist Gary Lightbody's singing and guitar was released on the bands' 2009 compila ...
", as they'd always done. The tour saw the band play a 21-song set, which included the band's first release "
Starfighter Pilot ''Starfighter Pilot'' is the debut EP from Snow Patrol, on the Electric Honey label, released on 15 June 1997. The EP was released under the name Polarbear, the band's second name after Shrug. The name Polarbear was later changed to Snow Patrol ...
". ;Tour dates ;Typical set list #"Spitting Games" #"Wow" #"Chocolate" #"It's Beginning to Get to Me" #"Headlights on Dark Roads" #"Starfighter Pilot" #"How to Be Dead" #"You are My Joy" #"Grazed Knees" #"Chasing Cars" #"Shut Your Eyes" #"An Olive Grove Facing the Sea" #"Set the Fire to the Third Bar" #"Somewhere a Clock is Ticking" #"Make this Go on Forever" #"Ways and Means" #"Run" #"You're All I Have" ;Encore
  1. "The Finish Line"
  2. "Open Your Eyes"
  3. "Tiny Little Fractures"


US Christmas radio shows

In the middle of the Winter Arena Tour, Snow Patrol headed to the United States to play a few radio shows. They resumed the second leg of the Winter Arena Tour after finishing playing on these shows. ;Tour dates


European Tour (Leg III)

Snow Patrol kicked off touring for 2007 by doing a short, four date tour of Germany. An additional date in Amsterdam was added later. Ahead of the tour, drummer
Jonny Quinn Jonathan Graham Quinn (born 26 February 1972) is a Northern Irish musician, best known as the drummer for alternative rock band Snow Patrol, and was previously a member of bands like The Mighty Fall, The New Brontes and Disraeli Gears. As drumm ...
broke his arm in a snowboarding accident in the
French Alps The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such as ...
. The band had to cancel several of their shows before on the tour, when bassist Paul Wilson injured his arm and shoulder, and when vocalist Gary Lightbody developed laryngitis and lost his voice. Not wanting to cancel shows, the band recruited longtime friend
Graham Hopkins Graham Hopkins (born 20 December 1975) is an Irish drummer. He was the drummer in The Swell Season, The Frames and rock band Therapy?. Biography Early years Hopkins was born in Dublin and was brought up in Clane, County Kildare in a musica ...
to replace Quinn. Hopkins got one rehearsal to learn his drum parts before the tour dates began. Quinn was expected to return for the Australian Tour, but however his injuries healed in time for the US tour which started late February 2007. ;Tour dates


Australian Tour (Leg I)

Snow Patrol played a short, three-date tour of Australia in mid-February. They were supported by Australian bands
Howling Bells Howling Bells are an Australian indie rock band that formed in London in 2004. The band obtained moderate popularity in the United Kingdom following the release of its 2006 self-titled debut album. The lineup consists of Juanita Stein (vocals, r ...
and
Red Riders Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...
. The shows were Snow Patrol's largest Australian shows then. To celebrate the album reaching #1 in New Zealand, the band added a date for New Zealand on the tour. This show became their first ever in the country. Hopkins continued to drum on this tour for the still injured Quinn. ;Tour dates


North American Tour (Leg I)

After the Australian tour, Snow Patrol headlined a North American Tour. Support acts for all shows were
OK Go OK Go is an American rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois, now based in Los Angeles, California. The band is composed of Damian Kulash (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Nordwind (bass guitar and vocals), Dan Konopka (drums and percussion), and ...
and
Silversun Pickups Silversun Pickups is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles that was formed in 2000. The band is composed of Brian Aubert, Nikki Monninger, Christopher Guanlao, and Joe Lester. The band released their debut EP, '' Pikul'', in July 2 ...
. The tour schedule had them covering various cities in the United States, playing a few dates in Canada and playing their first ever show in
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. The Mexican show, though had to be cancelled as the band was unaware of the 48-hour wait to get their equipment through customs. The show was rescheduled to 26 July. Quinn returned to resume drumming duties on this tour. Midway through the tour however, lead guitarist
Nathan Connolly Nathan Connolly (born 20 January 1981) is a Northern Irish musician, who is best known as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for alternative rock band Snow Patrol. Early life Connolly, who was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, sang for a ...
badly sprained his foot and ankle. Though it was not possible for him to put any weight on his foot, the management assured fans that no shows would be cancelled and Connolly would most likely be sitting in the shows. The tour began in February end and continued till mid-April, after which the band headed to Japan to play shows that had been rescheduled from February. ;Tour dates ;Typical set list #"Spitting Games" #"It's Beginning to Get to Me" #"Chocolate" #"Headlights on Dark Roads" #"How to Be Dead" #"Grazed Knees" #"Chasing Cars" #"Shut Your Eyes" #"Set the Fire to the Third Bar" #"Somewhere a Clock is Ticking" #"Make this Go on Forever" #"Ways and Means" #"Run" #"You're All I Have" ;Encore
  1. "The Finish Line"
  2. "Open Your Eyes"
  3. "Hands Open"


Japanese Tour

After playing successfully at the Fuji Rock Festival in the summer, the band returned to Japan in 2007 to play a short four date tour. The shows, scheduled to be held in February were cancelled and rescheduled to April. Tickets for the previous shows were deemed valid for the new dates. ;Tour dates


North American Tour (Leg II)

After spending the summer playing at various rock festivals, Snow Patrol headlined another North American Tour.
Hot Hot Heat Hot Hot Heat is a Canadian indie rock band from Victoria, British Columbia, formed in 1999. The band was signed by Seattle label Sub Pop in 2001 and released its first EP, ''Knock Knock Knock'', and first full-length album, '' Make Up the Break ...
acted as the support on all dates of the tour. The tour saw the band visit various venues in US and Canada. The tour also included a lone date in Mexico City, which was the earlier show on the previous North American Tour that had to be cancelled. In between the tour, the band also played at the Lollapalooza Festival. It was later announced that the band had been forced to cancel the last two shows. A refund was offered to fans who had bought tickets. The tour began in mid-July and continued till early August. ;Tour dates


One-off shows

On
Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...
's radio show aired on 24 January 2006, it was announced that Snow Patrol were to play a one-off show at KOKO on 12 April. The band was supported by
The Spinto Band The Spinto Band is an American indie rock band from Wilmington, Delaware. Formed in 1996, the band comprises singer and guitarist Nick Krill, singer and bassist Thomas Hughes, drummer Jeffrey Hobson, keyboardist Sam Hughes, and guitarist Joey Hobs ...
&
Desert Hearts ''Desert Hearts'' is a 1985 American romantic drama film directed by Donna Deitch. The screenplay, written by Natalie Cooper, is an adaptation of the 1964 lesbian novel '' Desert of the Heart'' by Jane Rule. Set in Reno, Nevada in 1959, it te ...
, which would go on to again support Snow Patrol on their UK & Ireland Tour. Later, a day before kicking off their UK & Ireland Tour of May 2006, the band played a lone date at the Virgin Megastores in Dundrum. While playing at various music festivals in July 2006, the band played a one-off show in Leeds. They were supported by
Ed Harcourt Edward Henry Richard Harcourt-Smith (born 14 August 1977) is an English singer-songwriter. To date, he has released six studio albums, two EPs, and thirteen singles. His debut album, ''Here Be Monsters'', was nominated for the 2001 Mercury Priz ...
on the show. In August 2006, while playing at various rock festivals around Europe, the band played a lone show at Douglas, Isle of Man.
Republic of Loose Republic of Loose were an Irish funk rock band from Dublin. Formed in 2001, the band formerly consisted of lead vocalist Mick Pyro, bass guitarist and vocalist Benjamin Loose, keyboardist Deco, guitarists and vocalists Dave Pyro and Brez and d ...
supported them at the concert. In September 2006, they played an acoustic show for
Virgin Radio Virgin Radio launched in the United Kingdom in 1993. In 2008, Virgin Radio UK was sold to TIML, a subsidiary of The Times of India group, and the name was changed to Absolute Radio; the Virgin Radio name was not included in the sale. In 2001, ...
listeners. Before the show, the band signed an
Epiphone Epiphone is an American musical instrument brand that traces its roots to a musical instrument manufacturing business founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire, and moved to New York City in 1908. After taking over his f ...
SG Special guitar, which was given away on Ben Jones' Most Wanted show two days later, when the concert was broadcast. Snow Patrol played at
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...
's '' World Cafe'' in February 2007, a session that could be heard on nearly 200 stations around the world. The band played for the Philadelphia station
WXPN WXPN (88.5 FM) is a non-commercial, public radio station licensed to The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that broadcasts an adult album alternative (AAA) radio format, along with many other format shows ...
. The set was rebroadcast on 3 and 5 March 2007. In June 2007, the band played two one-off shows, one at London's O2 Arena, and another at King Tut's. The show at King Tut's was free and sponsored by
Xfm Radio X is a British National commercial radio station focused on alternative music, primarily indie rock, and owned by Global. Radio X launched in 1989 as a pirate radio station, a licensed London-wide station in 1997 and nationally in 2015 ...
. At the London show, the band was supported by
Ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...
and
The Twilight Sad The Twilight Sad are a Scottish post-punk/indie rock band, comprising James Graham (vocals), Andy MacFarlane (guitar), Johnny Docherty (bass), Brendan Smith (keyboards) and Grant Hutchison (drums). They have released five studio albums, as well ...
. This was the last UK headline show Snow Patrol played in 2007. It was later announced that there would a secret show at the O2 on the 27th, the night before the known date. The show was specially O2, to thank the workers involved in the redevelopment of the arena and the local community. Snow Patrol returned to Bangor, hometown to founding members Lightbody and Quinn in September. They organized a mini festival, which featured various support acts – Ash,
The Dead 60s The Dead 60s were an English ska punk band from Liverpool. The band's sound is a mixture of punk rock, ska, dub and reggae. They have taken influences from artists such as King Tubby, Jackie Mittoo, Gang of Four and A Certain Ratio. History ...
,
Simple Kid Simple Kid, real-name Kieran Macfeely, is an Irish-born solo musical artist. History Simple Kid's approach to recording involved recording to an 8-track cassette player then fed into his computer where he applied more modern techniques to cr ...
, Kowalski and
We Are Scientists We Are Scientists is a New York City-based rock band that formed in Berkeley, California, in 1999. It consists primarily of guitarist and vocalist Keith Murray and bass guitarist Chris Cain, with drummer Keith Carne joining the band in the studi ...
. ;Tour dates


Festivals

Snow Patrol made appearances at various music festivals throughout the tour for ''Eyes Open''. Keyboardist
Tom Simpson Thomas Simpson (30 November 1937 – 13 July 1967) was one of Britain's most successful professional cyclists. He was born in Haswell, County Durham, and later moved to Harworth, Nottinghamshire. Simpson began road cycling as a teenager b ...
was arrested on 7 July 2007, which put the band's headlining set the next day (at T in the Park) in jeopardy. He was held at London's
Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
on the suspicion of possessing Class A drugs, mere hours after the band played at
Live Earth Live Earth was an event developed to increase environmental awareness through entertainment. Background Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, ''Live Earth'' was built upon the beli ...
, which made him miss the
Oxegen Festival Oxegen was a music festival in Ireland, first held from 2004–2011 as a rock and pop festival and again in 2013 with dance and chart acts only. The event was regularly cited as Ireland's biggest music festival, and, by 2009, it was being ci ...
performance that night. The band had started searching for a replacement for Simpson, who however was released in time to play at T in the Park. The appearance at Bangkok's 100 Rock Festival marked the first time the band played in
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
. At Lollapalooza, the band was joined by Silversun Pickups' bassist Nikki Monninger to sing Martha Wainwright's vocal parts on "Set the Fire to the Third Bar". ;Tour dates


Side shows

Snow Patrol played a special surprise acoustic set a day before their headlining set at SXSW 2006. After the band's performance at Splendour in the Grass, the band played two side-shows in Australia before heading to South Korea for the Pentaport Rock Festival.
Starky Starky were an Australian power pop band formed in 1998. The line-up was Beau Cassidy (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Nick Neal (bass guitar and spoons), and Jonny Wilson (guitar). Their first single, "Rock 'n' Roll is the Devils Music", was rele ...
supported them on both dates, apart from the concert at the Splendour in the Grass festival. ;Tour dates


Charity events

Snow Patrol played an intimate charity show at Rock City on 16 July. The show was organized in aid of Cancerbackup, who provide information and support for cancer sufferers and their families. All proceeds from the show went to Cancerbackup. The band played a special, intimate acoustic show on 3 March in aid of friend, photographer Diana Gualda, who suffers from
multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...
. The band also played at Live Earth, an annual event developed to combat climate change. Keyboardist Tom Simpson was arrested a few hours after playing at the event. ;Tour dates


Australian Tour (Leg II) and end of tour

Snow Patrol returned to Australia in September, to headline their biggest tour down under at the time. Support for the tour came from Silversun Pickups, who had previously supported the band on their North American Tour, and
Iain Archer Iain Archer is a writer, producer and solo artist from Bangor, Northern Ireland. He is a two-time Ivor Novello Award winner, winning the 2004 Album Award – ''Final Straw'' by Snow Patrol and Most Performed Work in 2016 for Grammy nominated ...
, past touring member and songwriting collaborator. Two dates in New Zealand were announced later. This marked only the second time the band had toured there. Support for the dates came from Iain Archer and
Opshop Opshop is a New Zealand rock band who formed in 2002. They released their first album, '' You Are Here'' in 2004, their second album ''Second Hand Planet'' in 2007, and their third album '' Until The End of Time'', which debuted at number one on ...
on one date. This leg of the Australian Tour marked the end of the touring for ''Eyes Open''. The tour officially ended on 22 September 2007. To mark the event, Gary Lightbody posted a blog on Snow Patrol's official website about his experience in Australia and discussed the band's future plans. ;Tour dates ;Typical set list #"Hands Open" #"Chocolate" #"It's Beginning to Get to Me" #"Headlights on Dark Roads" #"Signal Fire" #"Grazed Knees" #"How To Be Dead" #"Tiny Little Fractures" #"Spitting Games" #"Chasing Cars" #"Shut Your Eyes" #"Make this Go on Forever" #"Set the Fire to the Third Bar" #"Run" ;Encore:
  1. "The Finish Line"
  2. "Open Your Eyes"
  3. "You're All I Have"


Tour Reporter

The Eyes Open Tour was the first Snow Patrol tour to feature tour reporters. It was first introduced ahead of the North American Tour of 2006. Fans interested in becoming tour reporters were required to fill in their details and tell why they were the ones for the job. One winner was chosen from each town where the band was to play a show. Each tour reporter received two tickets and a photo pass for the respective show. They were required to send the band photos of the show and write a blog sharing their experience. The photos and blogs were then posted on Snow Patrol's official website. The idea was a success, so the same concept was again introduced for the next leg of the tour, which saw the band play in Europe. The next leg, the UK & Ireland Winter Arena Tour also featured fan tour reporters. This time, two fans were chosen as winners for each show to be the official Snow Patrol Tour Reporters. Snow Patrol took the tour reporter feature "to the next level" for the Australian, New Zealand, Japanese and North American tours of February–April 2007. This time, two fans are chosen as winners for each date specifically to handle the job of reporter and photographer. The method of applying for the job was the same as before. This feature was dubbed as "Tour Reporter Pro", and it saw Diana Gualda cover her own benefit show. As the time came for Snow Patrol to play at the Isle of Wight Festival, a new feature of the tour reporter, dubbed "Tour Reporter Lite" was introduced. This enabled anybody who was to see the band perform at the festival to share their experience and photos from the event with everyone. Fans were required to log in the member's area and post in the tour reporters section.


References


External links

* {{Snow Patrol 2006 concert tours 2007 concert tours Snow Patrol concert tours