100% chance of rain today and it started to come down once we hit the highway. Followed the Rhein north through Lichtenstein, crossed the border into Austria briefly and then entered Germany and headed west to Bad Saulgau. Quick stop in Baienfurt to pick up the tSR trio CDs that Tommy had and a quick coffee and high five to Simone and the kids and we were off. Emil waved from the front door as we drove past.
It was only a 30 minute drive to Bad Saulgau on small roads through a couple little towns and pastures. We hit our Gasthaus, checked in, and stepped out into the mist for a bite. From around the corner I smelled the Oase, a little pizza/Döner joint which was spot on. They were doing a bustling business for hungry lunchers. Nice locals joint; fresh baked fladenbrot (similar to pita in shape and size but thicker, more dough), yogurt sauce was tasty and liberally applied, sliced cucumber and all the standard fixings of cabbage, lettuce, tomato, and onion. I went for the small portion with chicken and it was perfect! It's nice to be back in the hood!
We met up in the hallway at 5:15 and hopped in the car for the venue which if it wasn't raining, would be an easy walk. Rolled up as Ralf and George were seting up the PA. The venue Franziskaner is cool. It's part antique shop, part bar, part venue. The owner Hans is a collector of many things and it's quite apparent after walking upstairs to his house which is over stuffed with LPs, old signs, magazines, etc. As he showed us where we could warm up he says "sorry, I didn't clean up..." Clearly, he hasn't "cleaned up" in years.
We walked down the street for Italian food and gobbled up a salad and a small piece of my calzone which I saved for the post gig munchies. Tonight Johannes or Jojo is opening and this is a hometown gig for him so the place was already full when we walked in. He played a great first set and got everyone warned up just right.
Our set felt super loose. But in the best way. The crowd was in. All in. My German felt good, but I sprinkled in English and switched between the two, sometimes in the same sentence but everyone was right with me. We tried "peaceful easy feeling" after Peter's tune "the beauty that surrounds" and it was good. Might have even gone over the heads of most of the folks in the audience which is a good thing. A good problem to have. Oh man, the place came down for Printemps and 1000 Little Pieces and we were called back for a encore of Looking and then Bid You in the audience. A reporter for the local paper was snapping pics and furiously scribbling notes during the set. Im really curious what he's gonna say.
Oh man, I needed tonight. I needed a young German audience. I needed feedback and clapping and energy. It felt amazing. The sound guy Ralf came up to me and told he has never heard the room so quiet. Usually folks are chatting and carrying on, but not tonight. The owner even said tonight was "perfect." Can't ask for much more than that. We successfully melted the faces of 75 amazing Germans on a Sunday night in a brand new town in heavy rain. Success.
Today was the first day without wifi at hotel or venue. That's the only thing that would make the day complete. Being able to share the news with loved ones.
Good night from Bad Saulgau.
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