Accidental tour diary: With Micachu, Matthew Herbert and the Invisible

Dave Okumu: 'We're back on the road following a break of about two weeks after touring with Doves. We get to dust off the cobwebs at the Kasbah in Coventry supporting Foals. It's a pleasure to return there having played in the main room with Doves, not least because we get to see Dimitri, the intensely passionate, motor-mouthed, shaven-headed, multiple ring-sporting Greek venue manager. It's also equally joyous to be reunited with Foals, who we haven't seen since doing their Oxford homecoming show at the end of last year.' Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Dave Okumu: 'Everyone seems to be on good form and the air of anticipation in the room is palpable due in part to the promise of new material from Foals. It's exciting to witness them expanding their palate with a new melodic direction and some unashamed funk shizzle. When they come off stage I tell them I particularly liked the power ballad. Yannis looks a little unsettled at my use of the term but it's nothing that a brief cuddle won't heal.' Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Tom, Pete and Dave of the Invisible strike a pose as they prepare to embark on the Accidental tour Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Dave Okumu: 'Looking forward to a bit of time in Brussels, though we're staying in the glamourous surroundings of a Formule1 hotel near a ring road on the outskirts of the city, so not sure how much we'll get to see. Hmm. At this rate we'll all be so tired from the journey we won't want to do anything but sleep all day. Life on the road. Living the dream.' Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Micachu and Matthew Herbert backstage Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Dave Okumu: 'We're on our way from Berlin to Brussels now, which if you look on a map is rather a long way. We all slept in late, which was well needed though the rooms were incredibly hot and after a night of liquid indulgence we all felt rather rough and dehydrated.' Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Matthew Herbert DJing in Berlin Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Dave Okumu and Matthew Herbert during a pit stop in Germany Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Dave Okumu: 'We arrived in Rotterdam and we're given the opportunity to invent our own life-threatening genre of music. I think we're gonna call it "crane Jazz". This involves being lifted approximately 300ft by crane, dressed as construction workers with a cameraman to perform a couple of songs of your choice. To give credit where it is due, this promotional concept was devised by the lovely organisers of the Motel Mozaique festival who seem to adopt a commendably carefree attitude to risk for the sake of art.' Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Dave Okumu: 'We eventually set off from Berlin later than intended. Prior to departure Pete had stumbled on a couple having sex up against our van. Who said romance was dead?' Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Dave Okumu: 'One of the dubious pleasures in this line of work is that you never quite know what you've signed up for. Within minutes of our arrival, the powers that be had us kitted out like the Village People with harnesses, hard hats and luminous safety vests.' Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Dave Okumu: 'There is something disturbingly yet comfortably contained about touring. On the one hand you get to focus on your craft, but on the other there is an aspect of detachment and singularity about it. It's easy to become self-absorbed as opposed to outward-looking.' Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Tom from the Invisible supports his tour mate by wearing a Micachu T-shirt Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Dave Okumu: 'Tonight is our final gig before heading home. Micachu and the Shapes will be heading to France and Spain with our tour manager Nick for more gigs and there is an air of sadness that the tour is coming to an end so quickly. It's been such excellent fun and Mica, Raisa and Marc are some of the nicest, most creative and inspiring people one could imagine being on tour with.' Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Dave Okumu: "Tom and I try to make sense of all this stuff but we're struggling to string coherent sentences together, having gently pickled ourselves in Belgian beer and whisky. We conclude that we are very fortunate to be surrounded by ridiculously inspiring artists such as Micachu, Herbert, Eska, Alice Cool Dude, Golden Silvers, Anna Calvi, Seb Rochford, Hot Chip, Foals and so many others.When a lank-haired dutch wino calls me Bob Marley, I know the time has come to turn in." Photograph: guardian.co.uk