My agent Kevin called this the yo-yo part of the tour…back and forth between Denmark and Germany a few times. These countries have very special and unique differences. Noticed immediately as we cross a border-less ‘border’ is the German’s use the Euro, the Danes use their own currency still (the Danish Kroner), most things are cheaper in Germany and the autobahn is speedlimitless!
We have started shopping and supported the local economies in Bad Neustadt, DE & Fredrecia, DK with new jeans, shirts and shoes (white clogs for me & rocker slick shoes for Jason). After living out of a suitcase for a while, it’s easier to crave new clothes. The ‘need’ becomes stronger somehow…and we look better and thus feel better now! DK is very environmentally conscious and one example of this is it’s expected you have your own shopping bag (it’s either not available at all or otherwise you can pay for one). Another example is that the Danes pay good money to return bottles of any kind via a fancy machine which takes in the bottle one by one, measuring them for intake and disposal accuracy and then spits out a receipt to be cashed at the grocery cashier or deposited into a ‘donation jar’ to help needy children.
Bad Neustadt is pretty and quaint, and we got to know it well on foot as the info center gave us terrible & incorrect directions, so it took over an hour to find an internet café (which was really a very smoky slot machine games place with one computer). The hotel was regal with a 5 ft in width wooden door to my room and Mr. Beidermann’s 40th birthday party was a hit; though for us, it was the toughest concert so far on the tour. The upside was that my favorite German guitarist and friend, Stefan Rapp (& his new love), joined us for 4 songs. That was a-dream-come true for me. Fabulous, smooth & tasty Stefan with the clever, articulate & virtuosic Jason performing my songs! (Also, Thanks for the lovely tribal like shell bracelet from Mrs. Beidermann). Bad Driburg, DE was our next stop and we were greeted by old friends and a full house, and consumed our first taste of nice cold and herbal Jagermiester. We picked up picks (plectrums!), a guitar stand (Mel has gone far too long without one), & some l.e.d. lights at the Music shop Saake. (Especially noted: Special German made guitar plectrums are triangular and have three different thickness points, Mel is craving some guitar effects now & Jason knows how to rock out hard on an electric drum kit.) We were gifted flowers, red wine (by the way: incredibly priced in Germany-1/4 of what we pay in Canada) & two irresistible jars of chocolate spread –made in Madagascar by the Dutch- for future not so healthy but extra LECKER/LEKKER sandwiches (Mel grew up on this stuff!)It was exciting then to hit the big city of Hamburg, where we played in the red light district. This cozy concert was entirely unplugged. As the enthusiastic bunch of fans cheered, curious very well-dressed transvestites looked into the window of the venue and then passed by. Our hotel was called Hostel Hotel. Don’t judge a book by its cover. This place was trendy and Ikea-like! We made a tourist stop to St. Michael’s cathedral (mixture of Baroque & gothic style) which has a tower that looks over most of the harbor and the city. Stellar & breathtaking!
Friday night at the Ungdommenshus in Fredrecia DK, was a place that had rooms for musicians and walls dedicated for fantastic displays of graffiti. Our stage usually hosts Metal bands. The concert was a little quieter than we had hoped, though they did an incredible amount of promotion, it didn’t stick or pull ‘em in. We ate delicious fresh meal complete with gorgeous fresh bread (we haven’t gone without fresh bread since we’ve been on this tour) and made new friends including a rap star who’s won the “Denmark’s Idol.” Saturday we played Ishoj, DK on a huge outdoor stage just outside a mall where fans braved the windy rain by sharing umbrellas and cuddling beneath them with cigarettes and beers in hand; reminding us of the warm, relaxed, and liberal & community-feel atmosphere in Denmark. Two quotes have helped keep my spirits in check this tour:
"There's only one way to succeed in anything, and that is to give everything." - Vince Lombardi
“If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space.” -Otis Broadwater
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