Apologies - Had to split this into two as some Myspace weirdness wasn't allowing me to add to the original blog. btw: thanks to all for checking these ramblings out!
May 20th - Travel
We get up early so we can check out Stonehenge on the way to Portsmouth. We arrive just before closing time but it's long enough to soak up the vibes of the Druids and catch some photos of the 'henge. Onwards to Portsmouth where we have a pub meal before driving onto the huge overnight ferry which will take us to Caen in France. Down to the bar which is called 'The Blue Note Bar' (I had conjured images of some live jazz but instead it was a DJ specializing in early-90's pop music). After several Long Island Iced Teas Danny and Ben hit up the DJ for some requests. We get 'Informer' by Snow and 'Girl I'm Gonna Make You Sweat' by Inner Circle – pure class all the way boy. Later Ross and I freeze our asses off on the floor of the salon (some chumps stole the blankets) as the ferry lurches its way across the channel. It's farewell to the U.K and serious big ups to everyone who turned up to the gigs… We love you all!!!!
May 21st - More travel/Madrid
Off the ferry at 7.30am and I start the long process of defrosting. It's a 16 hour drive south from France to Madrid. It rains cats and dogs for the first leg and the GPS is taking us onto highways that don't even exist yet. The middle leg is just plain brain-numbing but I get some experience driving on the right-hand side of the road which is good. Spirits improve towards the end as we roll into Madrid 'round midnight and check into the hotel which is situated in a hip inner city part of town. We hook up with the promoter Marcos for a late-night dinner of Tortillas, Cerveza and the most insane cured ham. Now time to sleep… sweet relief!!
May 22nd - Madrid
After a good long sleep I feel human again for the first time in a while and I hook up with a guy named Miguel for an interview over breakfast. He puts out a Funk magazine here in Madrid and also releases some 45's as well. The classic Spanish breakfast of Toasted baguette with drizzled olive oil and great coffee get me revved up for the day. Later Miguel takes me to a wicked record store and I also part with more cash adding to my Adidas Samba collection. Sound check later is officially the fastest, most efficient and stress-free of the entire tour (shout out to engineer Charlie!). The band are in good spirits after a few days off and we all go out for Paella and Sangria before the gig. I head out to do an interview for the local radio station with Charlie (kind of the John Peel of Spain) and end up getting lost and drenched with rain in the dark Madrid streets (thanks to Marcos for the medevac). Another early-week show but we feel the Madrid-love big time and the room fills up nicely. Later we head to a local jazz club where a jam session is in full swing and Anton, Ross and Shannon lay down some Melbourne Jazz-pressure to a rousing response. Special thanks to Marcos, Miguel, Mika and Sweetfingers (The Sweet Vandals crew) for making our time in Madrid a great one.
May 23rd - Barcelona
Northwards to Barcelona is a 7 hour drive which seems like a breeze after yesterday. The Spanish country-side resembles something out of a Spaghetti Western (full Arizona-style) and we also pass giant cut-out black Bulls which seem to be littered randomly on hills and fields. We arrive in the early evening and head straight to sound check at the club which is called 'The Apolo' (one L - so now I can tell everyone The Bamboos have played at The Apollo right? lol) Back to the hotel for quick showers but we run out of time for dinner and head straight back to play. This club is quite large and it's easily one of the biggest and most vocal crowds we've had so far. It's hot on stage and by now some of the Bamboos suits are long overdue for drycleans or just incineration. Tonight Mr Daniel Farrugia unleashes the BEST drum break ever and has the crowd in the palm of his hand. I unleash some of the worst Spanish ever but I think the audience appreciate the effort. After the show it is time for the band to split up as Danny, Ben, Yuri and Anton (The 'A' team) will embark on a hellish 20-hour drive to Berlin through the night and all the next day. (the thinking behind only 4 travelling via the van is that it will be much more comfortable in there with less people) Ross, Kylie and myself will fly to Berlin in the morning. We load up the van and bid these brave fellows safe travels and it is a sad goodbye. Back in The Apolo the DJ spins a solid set of Funk and Soul and we get our Karate Boogaloo happening on the dancefloor.
May 24th - Berlin
The flight to Berlin in the morning is smooth sailing and we're also getting sms updates from the A Team with their progess. We arrive to a hot sunny day in the German capital and check into the Eastside hotel which is situated on the river right in front of the old Berlin Wall. By 9.00pm the A team arrive and we give them a welcoming party consisting of long showers and cold beer. Sound check at the Bohannon club is a little shakey with a ghost in the machine howling constantly but we get it as close as we can. Dinner at the Thai restaurant next door and then back for the gig which turns into a Melbourne musician reunion with ex-pat Simon Grey showing up and also Melb guitarists Ben Edgar and Jaimi Faulkner. The Berlin crowd shake it hard to the 1 1/2 hour set we throw down and even holler enough for two encores! Afterwards we party with our friends from back home and before we know it it's dawn (it's light more than dark up here).
May 25th - Travel
After our somewhat errr… late start to the day we end up leaving at 1pm for the town of Kortrijk in Belgium. We have an off-night tonight so everyone's feeling fairly relaxed. The drive ends up getting stretched out into some kind of space-time vortex where all I remember is random gas stations and the vibration of my cranium against the window of the van. As it gets dark a torrential downpour and lightning storm hinder us further and we don't check in until 1.30am. Oh well… better late than never I guess.
May 26th - Kortrijk,Belgium
After a nice long sleep we all head our separate ways to check out this beautiful little town. I head straight to the train station to catch some photos of Graf Trains (there is NOTHING like seeing pieces on rolling steel!) and then head into the city square to check out an ancient cathedral and turreted-Bridge. Lunch consists of an entrée of Coffee and real live Belgian Chocolate (I'm not usually a big Chocolate eater but this IS the world's best! – Don't tell the Swiss though… lol) followed by pasta and a Leffe.
Last gig of the tour now and we sound check quickly before the promoter Bart takes us out to dinner for steaks. Two support bands tonight and The Bamboos hit it at 10.15 which is still pretty early in our book. Tonight Kylie rocks it big-time and also Anton (The Preying Mantis) drops an impromptu break-down solo to die for. It all ends way too soon and we hang with the locals until around 1.30am when the band minus Ross and I begin to pack up for the over-night drive to Calais and the ferry back to Dover. Ross is off on another tour and I'm heading to Grenada in Spain for 10 days of R+R and de-compression. It's farewell until June 8th when we'll play the Rawville album launch party back in Melbourne. Thanks so much to everyone who came to see The Bamboos and to all the new friends we met along the way… We love you all and we'll be back next year!!!! Until then keep it raw and super-heavy – just the way we like it…