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...