11/23/15 day 24: Frankfurt Flughafen

Up before my alarm. Rolled out of bed at 9 and decided to hit the breakfast spread. Modest but good.

I opted to skip the meats and cheeses and went light. Got packed up and hit the road at 10:10 for the 30 minute drive to the airport. Gassed up the ride and dropped her back at Sixt. At the air or with time to burn. Breezes through both customs and security and chilled by the gate. The lads are at another gate so I sat and reflected on my good fortune with a shit eating grin. First stop was Houston.

Watched a number of films on the flight. Slept maybe an hour. Got to Houston in time to watch the first half of the Patriots game. Nice little welcome home.

Guten Abend Phoenix! Until next time. Thanks for reading at home.

11/22/15 day 23 Wiesbaden, DE

Slept it out today. Up around 11:30 and my body was righteously appreciative. Walked over to the main house for a coffee and Brötchen with frishkäse und Marmelade.

That big grey cloud sprinkeled some white stuff.

Said our goodbyes to the lovely Uli and Doris (and their goat) and made the short drive to Wiesbaden. Drove through red forests with, wait, what the hell is that?!? Snow. I'm leaving just in time. It went from like 60 degrees to 30 degrees this week. Winter has arrived and I'm getting the hell out of here.

Parking around the hotel was a bit of a nightmare but we found a little parking lot for hotel guests and locked her up. Got to the door of the hotel to find no one there to open the door. A little sign on the door gives a number to call to get the door code... Great. None of us have cell phones... First order of business was to find a pay phone. Tracked one down and got the code. Next order of business was food and it was a unanimous decision to get one last Döner so we walked down the hill towards the pedestrian zone and immediately found a good Turkish restaurant. 

We were pretty well frozen by the time we walked in, and we were all relieved. The joint looked legit. I went big... And it was friggin' delicious...

My good god... So good. Why aren't there Kebab joints in Phoenix?!? This one was killing too. Bread was fresh and warm, meat was juicy and not dried out, garlic sauce was kickin... 9 out of 10.

Spirits were high and bellies full as we walked back to hotel, got cleaned up and walked to the venue, Thalhaus, which is an arts/culture center. Beautiful building with cool bar, lots of funky art hanging on the walls, and a cozy little 60 seater theater where we played. We got dialed in with Max the sound guy and chilled for 30 before curtains.

The set was great. It usually is at the end of the tour. All the little kinks have been worked out and we can hone in on the shit and make it super clean. The crowd was engaged and attentive and the band had a fun, relaxed night.

After the set we chatted with friends. Some friends from Mannheim drove an hour to see us. Super nice folks. And we chatted with new fans before sitting down to Italian take out. I went with a caprese salad. Diet starts now! Oh man, we are so spoiled on these tours... And I am still so grateful to be able to do this. Always a highlight of the year and never taken for granted. 2016 isn't going to suck either. I swear each year is better than the next... I'm a happy man.

Peter asked Max after the show the best way to say "I'm happy" in German and Max suggested "ich bin einverstanden." Directly translated that means "I agree." It's the same thing you would say after a judge sentences you and you accept the terms of the punishment. We scratched our heads and thought maybe "icy bin glücklich" which no one really says or "Ich bin zufrieden" which is more "I'm content." Odd, and maybe very German, that there is no easy and direct way to express this very simple emotion.

I don't really know what the lesson here is. I may be sufficiently burned out from three weeks on the road to make some sharp analysis. But if we are talking about MY overall happiness... This country and this people play a large role in my happiness. So grateful I get to come and share my love of music here.

Gute Nacht from Wiesbaden. Gute Nacht Tour. Bis April.

11/21/15 day 22: Weilburg-Hasselbach, DE

Up for a modest breakfast at the Hainberg Hotel which is perched on a hill overlooking Ebersbach-Neugersdorf and other little clusters of towns and pastures. 

Brisk this morning. Mostly cloudy and cold. On the road at 10:30 sharp. Had the biggest drive of the tour today. 5 hours of blazing Autobahn driving. Made a quick stop at the Lidl supermarket in town for chocolates and goodies for home and then we were off.

Peter and I split the driving duties. We listened to podcasts of Fresh Air and then The Roots got us to Lindencult in Weilburg which is run and operated by the sweet family of Uli, Doris, and Farina their 17 year old daughter. It's a cluster of  farm buildings and residencies of the family. The venue Lindencult is in the top floor of a barn. Beautifully remodeled with all the bells and whistles, including wood stove in the middle, this is a warm and vibey little musical oasis. Frank the sound man is back this year and has upped the ante; full protools rig (we recorded and released our last show here) and this year there are monitors. It's gonna sound amazing.

Nap at 6, dinner at the main house at 630 which consisted of homemade bread with fresh cheese spread with herbs, bacon wrapped dates, and Doris' famous pumpkin soup with a dollop of sour cream. Very delicious and such a nice change of pace from the heavy dinners we have been having. I mean, I like pork chops as much if not more than the next guy but come on...

Jeff and I are staying in the apartment above Uli's parents house across the courtyard. We met there before the show to warm up. Walked next door to the venue/barn around 8 and were welcomed by a huge crowd. The space is big but it seemed very full with over a hundred people in it. The energy felt great! We even had friends from Bonn drive two hours to see us!

Our set went well. I think the first two songs were a little hesitant, at least for me. I think I needed a second to get comfortable with the monitor mix but once I did I settled down and the rest of night felt good to me. Told some stories in German and English and Germlish, had the crowd singing Oh La La in Printemps, clapping in 1000 Little Pieces... Standing ovation and a couple encores including Free Falling which sounded and felt great. We also recorded tonight so I am curious to hear the mixes. If it's workable I think it'd be cool to release this show as well.

We were very busy at the merch table after the show. Obviously the hot item was the new Live Trio album that was recorded here. People came up and told me they were at the show last year and were psyched to see the CD. After the show cleared out a handful of friends hung out around the wood stove and snacked on pretzels and cheese and Früh Kölsch (also Doris' favorite beer). It's great to be back! Uli and Doris are great hosts and they know how to throw a party! We feel very welcome and comfortable here. Night from Weilburg!

11/20/15 day 21: Ebersbach-Neugersdorf, DE

Met Olga and her friend Anna for coffee downtown before we hit the road. We got caught up on the extended Slovakian crew, said our goodbyes, and hit the road. Traveled east parallel to the German border for a couple hours before heading north to Ebersbach. GPS took us past a couple good sized cities, a couple more power plants and then dropped us at a one lane goat path over a little mountain range. 

The old border crossing was completely desolate. A collection of light blue buildings and a couple parking lots. It'd make a great setting for a horror film. We made it to the Hainberg Hotel at like 3:30 and had a couple hours in our rooms to chill before load in. I opted for Comedy Central dubbed in German and a short nap.

Load in at OKV at 530 just down the road. It's a big building with different spaces for events. The performance room looks to be out of the 50s or 60s but the PA is good and our main man Otto was behind the console. He asked his boss (our promoter) if he could mix tonight. He told me he still has Worth The Fight in his car CD player from last year. I asked if the CD player was broken, he said no. Quick sound check and back at the Hainberg Hotel for a delicious dinner. We toasted our good fortune and dug in. Pork chops with a cream and mushroom sauce and little fried mashed potato croquettes.

Back at the club at 7:50 and we hit to a full crowd (60+) of boisterous, yet attentive Germans. Oh man, the German stories were flowing and laughs were had. Every day the German comes back a little more.. Feeling good about that.

The set went really well. We did an encore of 1000 Little Pieces, Free Falling, and Bid You. Afterwards, Renee (the promoter) and his wife shared their homemade Egg Liqour served in the chocolate shot glasses... Such a treat. After the set we noticed a family (mom, dad, friend, young daughters, and their friends) were hanging together on a couch. Interesting for a couple reasons 1) the concert was clearly a family event which is awesome 2) we rarely see young people at our shows. We struck up a conversation about music, guitar players and it wasn't long before the guitar was busted out and the sing along came about spurred on by a giddy Peter Day who LIVES for these moments. We played Beatles, Oasis, John Denver... The classics.

Another great night in the books. We will definitely be back next year.

11/19/15 day 20: Kadań, CZ

Met the lads around 11 for breakfast at Tiki Cafe. Must. Stop. Eating. Croissant.

Had lunch at Falko's burger joint and hit the road for Kadań, CZ. It had just started to rain as we pulled out of our parking spot. No traffic on this 2.5 hr drive except for the traffic light in the middle of nowhere. Crossed over the border without international incident (peter and Jeff were in full doze mode), drove over the mountain, past the huge nuclear plant and rolled into town. I feel like this city changes (for the better) every time we come here. I think with a little more curb appeal, this town can become a tourist destination. There is a beautiful square, old castle, nice river... This place will become a destination, for sure.

Met Martin our main contact at Strelnice (the restaurant/venue where we usually play) around 5. Got caught up with him and then headed to the actual venue, Orfeum, for sound check. The Orfeum is a bigger venue than we are used to. It's an old movie theater with an upper deck. The club at Strelnice is a cool underground wine cellar that holds 40 pretty comfortably. The Orfeum is where the big acts go. We were stoked to have made the jump. With sound check complete we headed to the old Monastery up on a hill overlooking the town where we will be spending the night. We did a quick dress change and then went to dinner at Strelnice. Not for the faint of heart, I ordered the beef goulash with potato dumplings.

Back to the Orfeum at 745 for a quick warm up and hit the stage at 8:12. Nice full room too! Nice to see the audience growing. We even had a translator for between song banter. Got called out for a double encore and dropped Free Falling again and it felt great. The room has great natural acoustics and the crowd was in it for sure. Signed CDs and posters after the set and then walked into town for a Pivo and hang with Kadan friends and Ms. Slovakia herself, and TSR Slovak booking agent, Olga who drove the ten plus hours to see us! Jeff was feeling particularly amorous.

Back at the Monastery a little after one. Great night! Can't wait to come back!

11/18/15 day 19: Dresden, DE

Met Mirko and his son for breakfast at Tiki at 10:30. And then went back to the apartment to devise a plan for the day. Max and Peter decided to drive out to some mountains outside of town and Jeff and I opted to further explore Neustadt. We set out around 2 and made it back to the cafe on the corner for more tea and postcards. Families were out in full force today, enjoying some mostly cloudless skies; soccer and kite flying in the park, couples arm and arm, young punks playing acoustic guitar and drinking beer. Today I needed my scarf. First day of the tour I needed it. Might even have a reason to wear the heavy leather jacket I brought on this tour.... Until then, we are enjoying a late Fall.

Alaun Park

Jewish Cemetary from the late 1700s.

Sweet ride

Martin Luther Platz.

We were invited to Max's for dinner and made the 15 min walk around 7. He and Veronika were there, Blues Brothers on vinyl spinning softly in the background, and preparation had already begun on the vegan spaghetti bolognese. Veronica's boyfriend rolled up and all 6 of us got caught up around Max's new dining room table in his spacious new apartment (380€ a month). We spun more vinyl and cracked some wine and chatted about lots of things in English and German. It was really nice. It's so nice to have friends here. Its one thing to be on tour in a town and it's another to have good people to hang with. It can get a little impersonal moving from hotel to hotel, so I am glad to have a Dresden crew. Thank you Max for the hospitality!

After a quick stop at Mirko's house who happens to live around the corner from Max, we headed back to Blue Note to hear some jazz, have a drink, and then we said our goodbye to our extended crew. It's crazy, we've only played there twice as a trio but I feel like we've made fast friends. The whole crew is awesome. Gonna miss these cats.

PD, Karsten, BC, JV, and Johannes.

PD, BC, JV, MK

Gonna be sad to leave this great city and these amazing, giving people. Bis bald Freunde.

11/17/15 day 18: Dresden, DE

Peter and I walked to breakfast at Tiki which is a little ice cream/coffee shop 100 yards from the apartment. Jeff decided it was worth the investment to stay in a hotel down the road. Probably a wise move all things considered. Double latte and schoko-croissants and then met Jeff around 1130 and went on a short little wander around Neustadt which is a real funky neighborhood. This is where I would live if I moved here. Loads of bars and cafes and cool little mom and pop shops, people on bikes with funky hairdos, young families, the buildings have character... It's like Northampton meets Brooklyn.

We walked into a shop and noticed they sold Putamayo CDs and told the girl behind the counter who we were and she was totally shocked! She knows Dance With Me and now wants to come to Blue Note for the show. We are kind of a big deal...

We continued our walk, popping into stores for postcards and gifts for home. Germany is slowly preparing for Christmas. Man, this is the country to spend Christmas in.... Every city has its own Weihnachtsmarkt (Dresden has three) which offers various Christmas trinkets, ornaments, food stuffs, mulled wine, etc. A lot of the shops are starting to sell advent calendars which I used to love as a kid. There was even a Campers store which had a killer pair of shoes but i refrained... for now.

Met at Falko's burger joint next to the Blue Note and enjoyed some seriously delicious burgers. The craft burger movement is afoot in Dresden, much like the U.S. There are multiple on the block. Everyone's got an opinion whose is best. Kebab is still king though. One thing I've noticed about burgers in Germany is that the buns are never right. They usually fall apart for some reason but this burger was legit. And real bacon and grilled jalapeños?! Stop it right now. They even had a veggie option for Jeff. Killin.

After that we needed a walk so our buddy Max took us on a tour to the Innenstadt which looks like a movie set... I mean everything is new since 1945. Dresden was completely leveled during the war. It's beautiful but it almost looks too new. Too clean. Too immaculate.

We paid the 8€ and walked to the top of the Frauenkirche which was also basically destroyed and rebuilt in beautiful fashion. Amazing views at the top. Just hold on to your cell phone, the wind was fierce.

The Elba River looking towards Neustadt.

Facing Southwest. If u look closely you can see where the Christmas market is being set up. Wish we could go to it but it opens two days after we leave for the US.

Stopped by the little Christmas shack in the Neustadt for a warm up of Hot Mulled white Wine with chunks of ginger. Perfect to knock out the cold and lighten your feet a little. Back to the apt for a power down around 4:45.

Strong power down back at the crib. "Drool in the beard" strong. Washed my face and headed down to the corner cafe to write postcards and have a green tea with honey. It's still pretty mild outside so I sat outside, scribbled on my cards, and watched the world go by. Winter hasn't arrived but it just opened the gate and you can hear it's footsteps in the dried leaves as it walks down the driveway to the house. Blankets rest on the back of the chairs waiting for the first sign of a shiver.

Rendezvous with the lads at 7 and we walked down to the Italian restaurant where Max said was the pizza in town. Had a nice little dinner and then rolled back to the apt and got cleaned up and then walked down to the Blue Note around 9:30. The place was already full. We learned during the day that tmrw (Wednesday) is a holiday in this part of Germany so they were expecting a good crowd. There was a buzz on the streets and in the club. It was awesome!! It felt like New Years Eve but everyone says that it's like this every weekend. People sitting on the sidewalk drinking beers and  carrying on. And the weather was just warm enough that a jacket wasn't even necessary.

Show went really well! We had fun and the near 50 person crowd got into it, which in the Blue Note is a packed house. We busted out "Free Falling" which felt good and moved When We Were Young to the encore position. After the show we hung with our friends Max and Falko. Falko showed up late and missed the set so we went upstairs to the band apartment and played a few tunes and dined on delicious Pinova apples from Baienfurt. All in all a great night. Love this town and our friends who enjoy a good hang and crispy apples. Night from Dresden.