Road Journal - Michael Katon Tour - 3/5/14

Monday, 3/5/14 – On the flight back home. The airplane is a claustrophobic's nightmare…the seats are small and tight, and the people are close and way too many…but I’m OK really. I have my little nest and some books, and I’ve made it for 6 hours, I should be able to cope for another 3. We had to get up at 4 AM to make the flight, which I would have liked to avoid, but still, what the hey. We’re headed back home!! Wahoo! Back to the snow! Freezing cold! Bills! Stress! Yay!

 Downtown Bluesclub, Hamburg.

We got done with our gig at Helldorado in Vittoria Spain and back in our hotel rooms at 6 AM. People were still swarming around the streets, wandering into nightclubs that were all still open, socializing, happy and still in outrageous costume. I was getting ready to go to bed when an ENORMOUS explosion shook the windows. I looked out from my 6^th story window, and apparently someone had just set off the mother of all firecrackers out on the street. Nothing to worry about!! But it was a bit strange. Afterwards, I slept like a rock!

 At Manni's place, before the tour.

And of course after that, for some reason, we had to drive STRAIGHT THROUGH  back to Henny’s place in Beek, NL. Don’t ask why about that, either. I think it was because there was wine at the end of the road! A 14-hour drive through Spain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Boy, do we know how to have fun or what? It’s really a huge drive. I remember seeing the Eiffel Tower lit up at night, from the highway…which actually sort of encapsulated the vibe of the tour. We’d been really busy this time out, and for most sightseeing, well, there was no time. We saw England, Scotland, Wales and Europe from the windows of the tourbus, mostly. Not that it was bad!! But we were on the move ALL the time.

 Tanya nurses Johnny Bee, who's lost some weight on the tour.

Bremen afterparty.

Got to Henny’s at some late late moment in the evening, and we spent the next two days there, recovering, talking, drinking wine and eating some wholesome food. Tanya and Mike had to get with Manni and work out the bookkeeping, although I’m not in the loop for that part. The Dutch version of Carnival was happening while we were there, and the parades and celebration were literally just down the street, but no one in the band but me was remotely interested. So I went out exploring by myself and had a delightful time!! It’s a crazy tradition and it kind of makes me wish I could be in the Netherlands more…actually many things about that country make me wish that. Folks were having a VERY festive time! The parades have some extremely creative floats, each of which seem to have enormous twin stacks of speakers on the back. The music seems mostly to be a strange combination of Electronica and…well…Polka, as well as other odd trad local tunes, and they are just BLASTING this out over the twin towers of speakers on each float. I mean, really loud. No, REALLY. I was glad to have some earplugs in my pocket leftover from the gigs!! Seriously, they’re louder than Michael Katon & The Helltown Blues Band, and that’s saying something. Lots of candy was thrown for the kids, lots of hijinks and laughter from the very costumed crowd, and LOTS of beer being drunk, even at this early afternoon parade. They’re not just foolin’ around with these festivities! From what I understand, this goes on for days. 

Antics at Netherlands Carnival time.
 

After the parade, the floats drive off…to another parade in the bigger city the next day, although the evenings are still very crazy in the clubs, several of which are very close by. It’s much quieter the next day, most of the shops are closed in Beek, except for some pubs, where people are celebrating locally. There are a few brass bands that seem to be making circuits of these pubs…I’m guessing their performances are recompensed with drinks. A few of these bands seem to have started this early in the day, and their playing is a bit, well, haphazard by mid-afternoon! Nobody seems to mind though. They parade in colorful costumes from bar to bar, several members visibly staggering but still gamely playing away. Walking back to Henny’s the streets are deserted, leftover candy, streamers and costume regalia littering the usually pristine streets. I think there’ll be a special cleanup crew that’ll come through after this whole circus is done, the Dutch being a tidy though crazy bunch. Back in my office space, sitting looking out the window I see one of the floats returning home…and between the two speaker towers, one of the riders has dropped his trousers and is pissing down into the street as the float drives off!! He’s gone before I can get it for the camera. Ah, hell, it’s a party.

 With Jean-Paul, at Henny's, after the tour.

The party continues through the night…at one point somewhere around 3:30 AM some genius starts playing a snare drum outside my window, but he’s off to the club, which I’m sure will appreciate his enthusiasm. If I had the time I’m sure I’d go check all the festivities out, but we’re up in another hour to drive to the airport, and home. We bid farewell to our much-more-than-friends Henny and Tanya with hugs and love, and get in line to board the plane.

Time to say goodbye, alas.

 

So it’s all over and done!! Really, even though it was the most down-scaled, strenuous, all-work-no-play tour I think I’ve ever done with Mike, it was still one of the best road experiences I’ve ever had. And it really had to be one of his most rockin’, best sounding bands he’s ever worked with too, if I say so myself (and indeed I do). MANY great experiences were had, many old friends reconnected with, lots of crazy fun and insane trials were gone through, as should be done with a good Rock tour. I feel really, really lucky to be able to have the times I’ve had on this trip!! And, as I just said, the chance to see some old friends, and to make some great new ones too, has been a wonderful thing. I’ll freely admit that a lot of the time, we all were asking ourselves “What the HELL is this I signed on for!!”…but really, it was what it was, and what it was wasn’t bad. I know Mike may not tour again for a while, and when he does I’m not sure if I’ll be going out with him, but I’m very glad I did this one. We never know how long we’ve got to do this kind of thing, especially as the years pass and we grow progressively more grizzled and grouchy. Where I want to go from here – what I want to do – the insights I can take from this experience – all this remains to be seen. Right now I’m just looking forward to getting back on the ground, to seeing Cyn, and to be chillin’ out with a few oyster shooters and a Faz Pizza!! The rest I can figure out later.