04/20/16 day 18: Marburg, DE

Nice little spread at the hotel this morning. Took advantage of the espresso machine and loaded up good on caffeine and yogurt for the 2 hr drive north on A5 to the small university town of Marburg. Drove right past the Frankfurt airport and waved to the suckers who have to leave this beautiful blue bird spring day.

Last time we played here was 2013 and our collective memory of the evening was awesome and all the chips are stacked for a repeat great night. We are staying at Christian's house, a friend of Stefan the promoter, who has a killer flat minutes from the center of town. Christian greeted us at the door and we quickly got caught up before he had to head back to work. We dropped our gear and headed out on foot to the pedestrian zone which is up the hill, up winding cobblestone streets loaded with restaurants and cafes and clothing shops. Bustling day with folks enjoying this amazing glimpse of perfect spring weather.

We settled on a little cafe with sun seating, ordered up some provisions and exhaled.

Scenes: Top- view from Christian's apt, Pils for lunch, two monkeys.

Shrimp and potato burrito?? Um, when in Rome. #sunsoutgunsout

We had a minute to chill at Christian's before walking over to Café Aroma, so Peter and I spent it on the sun drenched balcony while Jeff pranced around town. We made the 5 minute walk to the venue around 5:20 and found Stefan our fearless promoter waiting for us outside.

Upstairs was a comfy little set up of 30 chairs and candle light. Sound check was done by 6:15 and afterwards we had dinner homemade by owner Mäggy and then chilled as folks rolled up on bikes and the occasional car. Peter and I dined on ravioli in Gorgonzola sauce while Jeff had falafel for the second time today.

We hit shortly after 8 to a sold out crowd of wonderful, appreciative Germans. My German felt strong and I made sure I said "nice to be in Marburg" and not Stuttgart. I may never forgive myself for that...

Got called out for a few encores which was only slightly awkward considering the small space so after the set we just milled about 3 feet from the stage but we got called back and rocked "free Fallin'" and Bid You which continued to melt faces.

After the show we went back to Christians flat and chilled with his cat Pumba and dog Fidel. Nice to hang with Christian again and hear that he is playing more music lately. He's a dentist by profession and a sideman in a band. We all think he should quit his day job.

Pumba coming in hot.

Night from Marburg!