The Reutlingen show was interesting. We were playing at a venue, Franz K., where we had been before, a place where we had one of the best shows of our last tour. Apparently, someone from Stuttgart had been there, and told some folks who then checked us out on the internet; thus, there were a group of young folks from Stuttgart, dancing like maniacs right in front of the stage. At first we didn't know what to make of them - we aren't exactly famous yet, and there they were treating us as if we were some big rock stars or something. That said, I look forward to the day when we can play a show in front of hundreds of people in that frame of mind - even a small group is a somewhat intoxicating experience in some ways. Afterwards we signed lots of autographs and sold quite a bit of merch - really quite a nice time.
The next day, we left Reutlingen at about 6:30 AM for the drive to Italy. It was projected by google and our GPS as a 9 hour drive, and they were expecting us at about 5:30, so we figured we had better leave plenty of time. It was a rainy, foggy day for a drive through the Alps, but let me say that in spite of all that it was one of the most spectacular drives I've ever been on. There were a few high points - the first was that we were just about into the Alps proper when we rounded a bend, and below us was an enormous lake, surrounded by mountains on all sides. The winding road offered spectacular views at every turn. Eventually, as we got higher up, it began to snow, and before long we were driving through a veritable blizzard, the trees all bending under the weight about about 6 inches of wet snow. Fortunately, the ground was warm enough that none of it stuck to the road, so we never had any terribly treacherous conditions. Eventually, after about fifteen minutes of driving through an alpine winter wonderland, we got to a 17 km long tunnel and, emerging on the other side, all the snow and rain was suddenly absent. That said, it had clearly rained recently, as some of the snow-melt trails down the mountainsides had become spectacular waterfalls. We eventually got to Italy, which was actually rather flat and boring for quite a while before finally turning into a winding road in another small mountain range.
Anyways, quite a nice trip.
Fucecchio itself is virtually a suburb of Firenze, which I didn't realize was the Italian word for Florence, a fact that I was much excited to learn. The show itself was interesting - we played a free show at a club where quite a few of the patrons were clearly not that interested in what we were doing in the slightest. And yet, we still ended up selling a fair number of CDs. I think the rather echo-y sound in the club did not help our particular setup either; I have to wonder if we would have had a more positive experience in a less acoustically live room. After the show, we stayed in a hostel, which was located in a 1500s era building constructed by the Medici family. Just so you know.
The day after the show in Fucecchio, we drove to Faenza. On the way we made sure to stop at the Piazzale Michelangelo, a tall hill overlooking the old part of Florence, from which one can easily see the vast majority of the buildings for which the city is famous, and from which I would imagine most pictures of the city are taken (I have one as the wallpaper on my computer - the view was quite a familiar scene for me). The show in Faenza went much better than in Fucecchio; the sound was much better, as the club had acoustically deadened the sound with cloth panels, and the audience was very attentive. It also helped that at this venue we were treated to by far the best meal of the tour at the gourmet restaurant attached to the club. After the show, we got to the club flat at around 1:30 AM, needing to be up at 5:30 the next morning for the drive to Karlsruhe.
Yesterday, the drive was nearly as nice as the drive into Italy had been, which really helps the time pass. It took about 10 hours with stops, and we actually arrived at the club somewhat early. The venue here in Karlsruhe is called Kohi, a place for which I have quite a soft spot. It was one of the best shows of last tour, despite the fact that at that point Eman had mostly lost his voice and we had to play it mostly acoustic. This time we had no such troubles, and gave the audience an entirely different set, always a nice thing to be able to do.
Tonight we play in Antwerp, at a house concert. I'm looking forward to it - house concerts can be quite a good time, and such intimate settings are often musically rewarding. We'll see, I guess.
No comments:
Post a Comment