bullay, friday, march 23rd
i guess, this is the part of the tour everyone of us has been waiting
for, since we´ll be on the road and in different places for
more than a week, which doesn´t sound that spectacular, but
considering the circumstances and booking, i guess that we´re
going to be in for quite a trip.
i´ve heard about bands having trouble getting along when stuck
with eachother over a longer period of time, but i really didn´t
expect things to start off as they did. the atmosphere while driving
was pretty cold due to several misconceptions within the band that
had to do with preparations and expectations of tonight and the
remainder of the tour were held low. a lot of sleeping and dozing
was done, it´s kind of hard to go out of eachothers way, when
everyone´s nearly sitting on eachother.
as we neared our destination, we noticed that the river mosel had
flooded most of the surrounding area, which isn´t really that
unusual for this time of year, nevertheless a very impressive sight.
we were directed onto an alternative route that took us longer,
but got us to the "jugendraum bullay". elmer "the
manager" functions very well as navigator. we had switched
the rather expensive van for a trailer, slowing us down and making
the trip in kai´s volvo uncomfortable, but making it easier
on expenses for getting our equipment through the country, or so
we thought.
we´d heard a lot about bullay, meaning that a lot of people
supposedly showed up at shows. we were already expected by two very
friendly kids, tim and carsten, who put on most if not all shows.
while unloading, they explained how this was the only place in the
region alternative music-shows took place, implying that a big audience
was expected. endwise, friends and fellow band had already arrived.
they were to open tonights show, their old drummer had left the
band and kai was helping out through a set of six songs. the show
was advertised to be endwise´ last show ever, none of the
boys seemed up to continuing with a different drummer. several minutes
later, yage, a band we´ve come to know and enjoy over the
past years arrived, adding to the commotion. it was then, that i
noticed, that once again relief was not announced on the bill...,
what a surprise...
after having unloaded, a couple of girls provided us with some
nice dinner, while the bands went through tonights line-up. billed
as fourth band was pale, but surprisingly both yage and pale chose
to play as second and third band of the evening, leaving us to step
as fourth in line.
by the time we set up on stage, i realized why..., there was hardly
any oxygen left in the room and doors and windows had to be kept
shut due to the neighbours, plus the audience had no money left,
having spent it on yage- and pale-merchandise. and i kept wondering
why the crowd hung around in front of the house instead of inside,
where the action took place...
seriously, i have never been that hot on stage without having even
set up. after having labored ourselves through our set, i figured,
that after three bands people were fed up of the bad air and loudness.
it was ok, but i´m through playing shows with more than three
bands unless it´s a festival. i felt a little sorry for endwise,
they had driven the whole way but didn´t have the opportunity
to present themselves the way they wanted.
one thing i noticed here in bullay is that a lot of girls from around
here seem to have very large feet compared to their height which
strikes me as funny. another thing is the ever reoccuring issue
of the opposite sex within the band that seems to be constantly
on at least three of the five minds involved. with everyone talking
about smooching all the time, i´m having a hard time thinking
about anything else myself...
tomorrow we´ll be heading north for husum, the atmosphere
within the band has improved considerably (thank goodness!) and
tonight i´ll be falling asleep to japanese music, courtesy
of joe...
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