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 6th 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.