Greetings, and thanks for checkin' out our first blog post for the Songs & Whispers tour.
We're approaching the end of the first week on the road, so we thought it was about time to fill you in on the gory details!
The first show we played was in MIDDELBURG, in the south of Holland. I hadn't really thought about the gigs until we finally arrived there (the worry of driving on the other side of the road with a beaten up old van was enough to keep my mind occupied!). This gig was an acoustic living room set; something completely new to us (as was the fact we were playing our first show outside the UK!). But it couldn't have gone better.. Our host Niels greeted us with a smile, a helping hand, a hot meal (he's an amazing cook!) and a colossal amount of beers! I was abit nervous about playing in someone's house, but I knew within minutes that Niels was a top guy - and not just because of his incredible record collection! Slowly but surely the living room started to fill up, and by the time Saint Helena Dove (our support for the evening) started playing, it was packed! The nerves properly kicked in when we started tuning up for our first unplugged gig ever, in front of a load of very quiet and attentive Dutch folk... But i tell you, it was SO MUCH FUN. People were so welcoming, and responsive, and the language barrier wasn't an issue at all (in fact there was no barrier). Massive thanks to the people of Middelburg for a wicked first night!
The next morning we set off with sore heads, but full bellies (thanks again Niels!). To the van! Only to find it has been drained of all its anti freeze, and the battery was flat. SHIT! Day 1 and we're broken down, my mind was racing with all the possible outcomes of such a disastrous situation, but in the end we got her up and running, and got to our next destination before the anti-freeze had time to leak out again! OSNABRUCK!
Big Buttinsky is a bar within a cinema complex, but when you're in there, you really don't notice. Soundcheck was awsome and we were raring to go, with a full line up and loud P.A. This is also the first time we met Fred Raspail, who is with us on this tour. Fred was instantly likeable, and felt like part of the gang straight away. And we were blown away by his performance that night. The french Johnny Cash. Our set was loads of fun, a great turn out once again. People in this part of the world really pipe down to hear every note you play, and they clap for a very long time! Thanks so much to Carson (venue owner) for an awsome afterparty, and Doerk for letting us crash at your place. You guys are wicked, and we really hope to see you again.
Next up... HENGELO! The only thing we knew about this town is that it's the home of FC Twente, the only place in the world where Steve McLaren is respected! The venue was incredible! A little folk club full of retro video games, and a fun gig! The only downside was fogetting to eat before we played, i felt like a was gonna pass out for most of the set... Lesson learned. Thanks to Martin for your amazing hospitality, and for showing us a part of the town we would never has seen without you!
We arrived in BREMEN just in time for our first meeting with Songs & Whispers, and I was feeling nothing short of awful. Having slept for a grand total of 6 hours in 3 days, the fatigue was catching up with me. Every time i close my eyes i thought i was driving. Urgh. Needless to say we had a lovely lunch with Heiko and Astrid, who then showed us to the flat where we are now based for the rest of the tour... And we love it here.
On Monday and Tuesday night we played 2 shows in Bremen, one at the Litfass, and one at the Hafen Casino (a truck stop cafe!). We had very low expectations for these gigs, simply because they were on Mon/Tue... But they were both wicked! We were amazed by the turn out, full house on both nights. Thoroughly enjoyable gigs, and Bremen is a great place.
And finally this brings us to the gig we played at the Polyester Club in OLDENBURG last night. We arrived way too early and sat outside for an hour, and with the curtains to the venue closed, it looked bloody awful... run down and out-dated. It was only when we stepped inside that we realised, that's how it's meant to be! It's the quirkiest bar we've ever played, retro decor and shabby furniture, definitely the sort of place we would come to if we lived here! By the time we were due onstage, the place was packed (AGAIN!). This was a really fun gig, great audience, great sound.. fun times! We were also joined for the first time by Joe Summers, a new addition to the Zen Elephant line-up!
And that brings us to right now! I'm sat in bed, everyone else still asleep, thinking about how well it's all going and eager to get on with more. I can't believe how many cd's we've sold too, at this rate we won't have any left to take home! Tonight we're playing in Groningen (Holland), so we have a mission ahead of us.
Thanks for reading,
Love
Jeremy - Zen Elephant
x
PS: here are some photos of the first night in Middelburg http://www.flickr.com/photos/nous_davidse/sets/72157629288407555/
Lots more photos and videos to come!
We're approaching the end of the first week on the road, so we thought it was about time to fill you in on the gory details!
The first show we played was in MIDDELBURG, in the south of Holland. I hadn't really thought about the gigs until we finally arrived there (the worry of driving on the other side of the road with a beaten up old van was enough to keep my mind occupied!). This gig was an acoustic living room set; something completely new to us (as was the fact we were playing our first show outside the UK!). But it couldn't have gone better.. Our host Niels greeted us with a smile, a helping hand, a hot meal (he's an amazing cook!) and a colossal amount of beers! I was abit nervous about playing in someone's house, but I knew within minutes that Niels was a top guy - and not just because of his incredible record collection! Slowly but surely the living room started to fill up, and by the time Saint Helena Dove (our support for the evening) started playing, it was packed! The nerves properly kicked in when we started tuning up for our first unplugged gig ever, in front of a load of very quiet and attentive Dutch folk... But i tell you, it was SO MUCH FUN. People were so welcoming, and responsive, and the language barrier wasn't an issue at all (in fact there was no barrier). Massive thanks to the people of Middelburg for a wicked first night!
The next morning we set off with sore heads, but full bellies (thanks again Niels!). To the van! Only to find it has been drained of all its anti freeze, and the battery was flat. SHIT! Day 1 and we're broken down, my mind was racing with all the possible outcomes of such a disastrous situation, but in the end we got her up and running, and got to our next destination before the anti-freeze had time to leak out again! OSNABRUCK!
Big Buttinsky is a bar within a cinema complex, but when you're in there, you really don't notice. Soundcheck was awsome and we were raring to go, with a full line up and loud P.A. This is also the first time we met Fred Raspail, who is with us on this tour. Fred was instantly likeable, and felt like part of the gang straight away. And we were blown away by his performance that night. The french Johnny Cash. Our set was loads of fun, a great turn out once again. People in this part of the world really pipe down to hear every note you play, and they clap for a very long time! Thanks so much to Carson (venue owner) for an awsome afterparty, and Doerk for letting us crash at your place. You guys are wicked, and we really hope to see you again.
Next up... HENGELO! The only thing we knew about this town is that it's the home of FC Twente, the only place in the world where Steve McLaren is respected! The venue was incredible! A little folk club full of retro video games, and a fun gig! The only downside was fogetting to eat before we played, i felt like a was gonna pass out for most of the set... Lesson learned. Thanks to Martin for your amazing hospitality, and for showing us a part of the town we would never has seen without you!
We arrived in BREMEN just in time for our first meeting with Songs & Whispers, and I was feeling nothing short of awful. Having slept for a grand total of 6 hours in 3 days, the fatigue was catching up with me. Every time i close my eyes i thought i was driving. Urgh. Needless to say we had a lovely lunch with Heiko and Astrid, who then showed us to the flat where we are now based for the rest of the tour... And we love it here.
On Monday and Tuesday night we played 2 shows in Bremen, one at the Litfass, and one at the Hafen Casino (a truck stop cafe!). We had very low expectations for these gigs, simply because they were on Mon/Tue... But they were both wicked! We were amazed by the turn out, full house on both nights. Thoroughly enjoyable gigs, and Bremen is a great place.
And finally this brings us to the gig we played at the Polyester Club in OLDENBURG last night. We arrived way too early and sat outside for an hour, and with the curtains to the venue closed, it looked bloody awful... run down and out-dated. It was only when we stepped inside that we realised, that's how it's meant to be! It's the quirkiest bar we've ever played, retro decor and shabby furniture, definitely the sort of place we would come to if we lived here! By the time we were due onstage, the place was packed (AGAIN!). This was a really fun gig, great audience, great sound.. fun times! We were also joined for the first time by Joe Summers, a new addition to the Zen Elephant line-up!
And that brings us to right now! I'm sat in bed, everyone else still asleep, thinking about how well it's all going and eager to get on with more. I can't believe how many cd's we've sold too, at this rate we won't have any left to take home! Tonight we're playing in Groningen (Holland), so we have a mission ahead of us.
Thanks for reading,
Love
Jeremy - Zen Elephant
x
PS: here are some photos of the first night in Middelburg http://www.flickr.com/photos/nous_davidse/sets/72157629288407555/
Lots more photos and videos to come!