I was at the local Arts Centre this week with a real friend and friendly colleague to see a play called Ventoux by 2Magpies Theatre.
It focuses on the stage of the 2000 Tour de France where Lance Armstrong and Marco Pantani duelled to the top of the of the iconic mountain.
Quoting from the press release "the performance re-stages that race knowing everything that we know now, and for the first time directly parallels the the lives and careers of Lance Armstrong and Marco Pantani."
If you're a cycling fan, or even if you aren't but have an interest in performance, get yourself along - there are still plenty of dates on the tour. It's excellent, with film, minimal props and static bicycles all playing their part in the telling of the story.
As the two actors rode their bikes on stage I think I can shoehorn Mister Rode by the Fall in as Track of the Week. It's one of my favourite tunes of the last five years. Some people think the song is about lack of identity, particularly of travellers and hospital patients, mortality is another option, while one wilder theory suggests that Mister Rode is Armstrong.
Released in 2013 as the shining standout track of the not very good 'Remainderer' EP there are a few references we can try to relate to Armstrong:
We can start with the release date. Armstrong was stripped of his titles in late 2012, the song made it's first appearance in October 2013.
- A reference to 'tricolours' could mean the French flag.
- 'Summers were all in a day'. In one day Armstrong had his name ripped from the record books. The Tour takes place in July.
- Armstrong recovered from cancer, there are plenty of medical/hospital references in the song.
- 'I got a name, I got a face'. Another reference to being removed from cycling history perhaps.
- 'It just came and then it stopped.' Is this the money and sponsorship that dried up after the report into his doping was completed. Armstrong estimates he lost $75m in one day.
- Is the 'translucent face' a way of pointing out that his denials became more see-through?
- 'Lemon freshness' - Former Tour winner Greg Lemond was a big critic of Armstrong. Or is lemon the shade of yellow in the Tour De France leader's jersey?
That's enough too much reading things into words. Here's the song, it really gets going at 0:50.
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