Lit by the flash of the camera...we're waiting for the power to come back on!
Monday,
2/16/14 – On the road to Nuremberg!! Last night at the lovely little Blues club
De Weeburg, the power went out four times! The nice owner (who, by the
way, had cooked a very nice meal for us herself, and was very kind and funny)
apparently was having some serious trouble with the electricity for the stage,
the lights, and the PA…well, actually the whole bar. Our first blackout was
disconcerting, and the very full club had a slightly alarmed vibe, since we
were suddenly almost totally in the dark. The sound man ran around frantically
and after maybe 5 minutes (it seemed like more though, of course), got the
lights and power back on. We started playing again, got maybe halfway through a
song…and bam! In the dark again. A longer pause this time, and then light, and
maybe a song and a half…and then once again, the night! At this point, the
staff started to light candles for the patrons, and the little bar took on an
intimate, eerie look. Everybody stayed around, though, and as the poor soundguy
proceeded to troubleshoot cables in the ceiling on a stepladder, the atmosphere
was actually quite cheery and party-like. I think the audience was happy that
we hadn’t given up and just left, and we were happy that THEY hadn’t given up
and left!
Mike & fan, lit by candlelight and camera flash.
While
the repairs continued we mingled and talked with folks by candlelight. Many
beverages were consumed (I’m not sure how the staff were working, as the
registers must have been shut down, but they seemed to be managing), many
laughs were had. Then, hey, lights on! Everybody cheered and we jumped back
onstage…for about one song. Shut down again!! But the tech kept at it, and
wound up with this one long extension cord that had power. I’m pretty sure it
was snaking out from a shop down the street!! So we had one tenuous line, which
the amps, PA and one small table lamp were plugged into. The lamp wound up on
the floor of the stage, adding yet more semi-dark eerie-ness to the ambiance,
but the power held for the rest of the set, and we managed to play through our
show and a few encores too. Actually I think we did a great set…something about
having these difficulties and rising above them gave an excellent spark to the
proceedings!! And the fact that the fans ALL stayed around and were so
supportive and responsive made the big difference.
Boogie in the dark.
The
next night was at the Calluna, a club outside the city of Ommen. Kind of a
charming big log cabin-y club sort of out in the woods of nowhere, but adjacent
to a community of A-frame houses that I think were mostly summer homes for
folks in town, with some permanent residents. And, not unexpectedly, one of
these rustic residences was allocated for us! I think the owner of the Calluna
also owned this of course…and while a little worn and a bit chilly (we got the
heaters working though and cured that), not a bad little place. Once again,
Mike and I got doubled up. There were only three rooms, and Bee has trouble
sleeping at the best of times, let alone with snoring roommates…and Tanya was
still recovering from the virus that we’d all been sharing. Pretty small
bedrooms at the top of the A-frame, but hey, we’ve had worse.
The
Calluna turned out to be a fun gig, although we got there exhausted and were
grateful for the break in the cabin to recoup first. The owner Bert was a
really nice, VERY enthused guy with a shaven head, long goatee, penchant for
constant cigar-smoking and a pretty loud manner…boisterous but very pleasant!
We had for an opening act a local band led by Cigar Box Henri, a cool gentleman
who played, not unexpectedly, Cigar Box Guitars of his own invention. The band
sounded great playing some very rootsy slide guitar based Blues Rock, fun to
listen to for sure. We were entertained in the dressing room (well, OK, the
kitchen) by Bert’s parrot, who was very talkative and actually a very friendly
and cool bird. Funny as hell, too! I thought our show that night was great…I
know we were all recovering from this strange virus that we got first in
England and now has resurfaced again, but we rose above it and rocked the
house. Fun place to play too…the log cabin, biker-y feel reminds me of playing
in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We had a nice, if strange, breakfast of
eggs and cheese on toast made by Bert this morning, and it’s back on the road.
Calluna owners and band, after the gig.
Nuremberg
is an unknown…we’ll see what’s up when we get there! And there’s another gig
after that…but I’m really looking forward to getting to Hamburg and the
wonderful Downtown Club, where they have always welcomed us in with hugs and
champagne. Who knows what’ll happen, though? It’s the Road, baby.
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