I got to see the wonderful Anna Von Hausswolff playing stuff like this, on the organ in Birmingham Town Hall:
The organ is massive, you can just make out where the player sits at the bottom of the photo.
https://mander-organs.com/birmingham-town-hall/
Driving through Europe is fine. I find it harder to readjust back to driving on the left, than adjusting to driving on the right.
As for driving in Paris, it's not something I've attempted. But plan a few different routes to your destination and allow a lot of extra time. Does the venue not have parking you could leave the van?
Coventry and Birmingham in the mid to late 80s, with the rise of crust, grindcore and death metal, were pretty lively.
And yeah, Bristol has a massive music scene at the moment.
I should be a massive Sleep fan. They tick lots of boxes and I have Jerusalem/Dopesmoker and Holy Mountain.
But they just don’t click with me. I much prefer OM.