The Final Straw Tour was a concert tour by Northern Irish alternative rock band Snow Patrol in support of their third album, Final Straw (2003). The band visited numerous venues internationally from 2003 through 2005. The tour is the collective name of many smaller tours and festivals Snow Patrol has played in support of their album. The tour commenced on 13 July 2003, spanned 13 legs and saw the band play over 200 shows, visiting four continents in the process.
The band toured as both, a headlining and a support act, supporting bands like U2, Pixies, Athlete and Grandaddy during the tour. The Australian mini-tour of July 2004 marked the first time the band played in the country. Before the final leg of the tour, bassist Mark McClelland left the band. Replacement Paul Wilson, formerly of Terra Diablo, and then-touring keyboardist Tom Simpson subsequently made their live debuts as permanent members of the band. Snow Patrol's only DVD, Live at Somerset House was released from this tour.
The last leg of the tour saw the band support U2 on the Vertigo Tour. Snow Patrol chose to end the touring, which had spanned almost two years, after the U2 dates in a bar owned by actor Eddie Murphy. The full tour spanned 223 dates and had 14 cancellations.
Tickets For the UK Tour in January 2004, where the band supported Athlete, tickets for the Nottingham and London dates sold out early. Tickets for the Preston, Glasgow and Cambridge shows could be obtained from Wayahead (now called See Tickets). Tickets for the Nottingham and York shows could be purchased from Gigsandtours and those for the show at Reading University had to be obtained in person (at the university) or online through Wegottickets.
For the UK Tour in March 2004, where the band was supported throughout by Terra Diablo and Astrid, tickers for all dates except Sheffield, Stoke and Norwich were available through phone or online at Wayahead and the tickets for the Sheffield show through phone or online at Ticketweb. Tickets for the shows at Stoke and Norwich could only be obtained through phone. Additional dates for Leeds, Liverpool and Dublin were later added. Tickets for the Leeds and Liverpool shows could be obtained through phone or Wayahead. Tickets for the Dublin date were available through phone or Ticketweb.
Snow Patrol did a short tour of the United States to promote Final Straw. Tickets for each show could be obtained only through the venue website, or phone. Snow Patrol appeared on the "Carling Live New Kings of Rock 'n' Roll" series, where they supported Jet. Tickets for this show were not available for sale to the general public, they could only be won from Carlinglive. The band played a lone date supporting the Pixies in the Netherlands. Tickets for this date could be obtained from the Dutch Ticketmaster website. The band played two sideshows when they visited Australia to play at Splendour at the Grass. Tickets for the shows were available from Frontiertouring.
Tickets for the charity event Soccer Six were available through Xfm, or by phone, through the Soccer Six Ticket Hotline or the Reading Ticket Hotline. Tickets for Live 8 were free. To give away the tickets, a lottery was organized through SMS on 6 June. Tickets were only available to people who won the text lottery, which took place on 6 June. Snow Patrol played a one-off show at the Boule Noir in March. Tickets for the show were available from Ticketnet. Tickets for the Isle of Wight Festival could be purchased from Ticketmaster, or the official website for the festival. Tickets for T in the Park could be obtained through the official website also. For the V Festival went on general sale on 20 March 9am and could be purchased through the official website or Gigsandtours. Again, the Oxegen Festival tickets were available through the official website. For Splendour in the Grass, tickets went on sale on 7 May. Tickets for the Arran Special Easter Gigs sold out quickly. No additional tickets were made available. When the gigs were rescheduled to a single show in Glasgow, fans were offered a refund.
Tickets for the one-off year rounding show at the RDS Main Hall went on sale on 2 October 2004 at 9am. They were priced at €34.50 each. The Hogmanay Party required passes to get in. They went on sale on 13 November 2004, 10 am and were priced at £2.50 each and were limited to a maximum of four per household. They can be bought by credit and debit card via a hotline, from Ticketmaster centres, or Virgin Mega stores in Argyle Street and Buchanan Street. Online, they could be purchased from Ticketmaster. Later, Snow Patrol's official website notified fans about a limited number of remaining tickets, which could be purchased from Ticketweb. Tickets for the show at the Killarney Festival were available from Ticketmaster, and were priced between €44.50 and €49.50. Tickets for the Isle of Wight Festival went on sale from the official website and were priced at £35 (Day ticket) and £90 (Weekend pass). They could also be ordered through phone on the NME Ticketline.
For the tour of the US and Canada in April–May 2004, tickets for selected venues were available from the venue website. Tickets could also be obtained through various services like Ticketmaster, Tickets, Ticketweb, Ticketswest and Nextticketing. The band returned to the United States in September–October 2004. This time, the band's website offered fans the opportunity of a pre-sale before tickets went for general sale. During the tour, the band sold out the concert at the Gypsy Tea Room of capacity 897, making it the first time a show at the venue was sold out in six months.
Snow Patrol ended 2004 with a tour of UK & Ireland. Fans were again given the opportunity of a pre-sale. General sale tickets could then be purchased from Seetickets. Extra dates were later added to the tour, and tickets for the new shows went for sale after the first show in each city sold out. After all dates were sold out, an extra date was added to the Dublin gig. To give away tickets for this show, Snow Patrol's official website offered a pre-sale on 12 August, with tickets going on general sale two days after from Ticketmaster. The tickets were priced at €26.50 each. As there was still huge demand for tickets, the band added a third date at the Ulster Hall/ Tickets for this show went for pre-sale on 27 August 9:30am, with the pre-sale password being placed on the forum half an hour before the pre-sale. General sale began a day after from Ticketmaster. Tickets were priced at £16.50 (standing) and £17.50 (seated).
UK Tour (Leg I) Snow Patrol began touring for Final Straw by doing a 15 date tour of the UK. The first single taken from the album, "Spitting Games" was released during the tour. The band played at the T on the Fringe Festival during the tour. Terra Diablo acted as support act on all dates.
Tour dates Date City Country Venue Support act: Terra Diablo10 August 2003PeterboroughEnglandThe Met Lounge11 August 2003DerbyVictoria Inn12 August 2003CambridgeBoat Race13 August 2003NorthamptonThe Soundhaus15 August 2003RugeleyRose Theatre16 August 2003BristolThe Louisiana18 August 2003CardiffBarfly Club19 August 2003WolverhamptonThe Little Civic @ Wolverhampton Civic Hall20 August 2003MiddlesbroughThe Cornerhouse23 August 2003DundeeScotlandThe Reading Rooms24 August 2003AberdeenLava (Now Kef)26 August 2003YorkEnglandFibbers27 August 2003Ashton-under-LyneThe Witchwood28 August 2003WhitehavenCivic Hall
Irish Tour Snow Patrol next toured Ireland in the end of September. They supported Travis on the last date on the tour.
Tour dates Date City Country Venue30 September 2003SligoIrelandMcGarrigles1 October 2003GalwayWarwick Club2 October 2003LimerickDolans Pub3 October 2003CorkThe Old Oak4 October 2003WaterfordThe Kings5 October 2003DublinWhelan's Pub7 October 2003DundalkThe Spirit Store8 October 2003BelfastNorthern IrelandEmpire Music Hall9 October 2003DerryNerve Center Headlining act: Travis13 October 2003BelfastNorthern IrelandUlster Hall
Grandaddy Tour The band toured as a support act for Grandaddy over two legs. They played the headlining Spitting Games Tour after the first, where they headlined all the dates. The second leg of Grandaddy Tour began after the Spitting Games Tour ended.
Tour dates Date City Country Venue Leg I7 November 2003GlasgowScotlandGlasgow Academy8 November 2003ManchesterEnglandManchester Academy10 November 2003LeedsLeeds Metropolitan University11 November 2003WolverhamptonWulfrun Hall12 November 2003NewcastleNewcastle University Leg II7 December 2003BrightonEnglandCorn Exchange8 December 2003NorwichThe Waterfront9 December 2003PortsmouthThe Pyramids10 December 2003LondonBrixton Academy
Spitting Games Tour Snow Patrol undertook a headlining tour, dubbed the Spitting Games Tour after supporting Grandaddy for a few dates on their UK Tour. After finishing the tour, the band supported them again for a few dates.
Tour dates Date City Country Venue21 November 2003ScarboroughEnglandThe Kasbah22 November 2003SunderlandBar 3624 November 2003DerbyVictoria Inn25 November 2003SheffieldFez Club26 November 2003Stratford-upon-AvonCox's Yard28 November 2003BlackwoodWalesMiner's Institute29 November 2003Milford HavenThe Imperial30 November 2003SwanseaSwansea University1 December 2003BournemouthEnglandThe Villa2 December 2003ExeterCavern Club3 December 2003ReadingFez Club4 December 2003 High WycombeThe White Horse6 December 2003AldershotWest End Centre
UK Tour (Leg II) Snow Patrol supported Athlete on their UK Tour to kick off touring for the year 2004.
Tour dates Date City Country Venue Headlining act: Athlete23 January 2004ReadingEnglandReading University25 January 2004CambridgeCambridge Corn Exchange26 January 2004YorkBarbican Centre28 January 2004NottinghamRock City29 January 2004GlasgowScotlandCarling Academy30 January 2004PrestonEnglandGuildhall & Carter Theatre31 January 2004LondonBrixton Academy
North American Tour (Leg I) Ahead of Final Straw seeing an official release in the United States, Snow Patrol did a short tour in February 2004 and played a select few shows to promote the album. This marked the first time the band had toured the United States. The ended up touring the US and Canada four times during the Final Straw Tour.
Tour dates Date City Country Venue Short tour to promote Final Straw16 February 2004CambridgeUnited StatesT.T. the Bears17 February 2004New York CityMercury Lounge19 February 2004San Francisco330 Ritch20 February 2004West HollywoodThe Troubadour23 February 2004Los AngelesSpaceland
UK Tour (Leg III) Snow Patrol undertook another UK Tour in March as a headlining act, with Terra Diablo and Astrid acting as support on all dates. The last show at the Shepherd's Bush Empire was a part of BBC 6 Music's Live at Two programme. "How to Be Dead" made its live debut on 14 April as a fan request. However, the performance went wrong, as vocalist Gary Lightbody forgot lyrics and the band played the wrong chords.
Tour dates Date City Country Venue Support acts: Terra Diablo & Astrid2 March 2004NewcastleEnglandNewcastle University3 March 2004LiverpoolCarling Academy4 March 2004BirminghamCarling Academy Birmingham5 March 2004Stoke-on-TrentThe Sugarmill6 March 2004SheffieldThe Leadmill8 March 2004ManchesterManchester Academy9 March 2004LeedsBlank Canvas10 March 2004LeicesterThe Princess Charlotte11 March 2004NorwichUniversity of East Anglia13 March 2004OxfordOxford Brookes University14 March 2004PortsmouthPortsmouth Pyramids Centre15 March 2004BristolBristol Academy16 March 2004LondonElectric Ballroom26 March 2004BelfastNorthern IrelandMandela Hall27 March 2004DublinIrelandAmbassador Theatre29 March 2004LondonEnglandShepherd's Bush Empire
North American Tour (Leg II)