The Histrionics Europa Tour 2004
A brief, biased, incomplete blog of what happened. Perhaps we will never know exactly...
Friday 3 September 2004: Vilnius
Our first warmup gig in Lithuania, in style at a Gallery. We actually got dropped off in a 30's limo which was very classy, especially when you consider that everyone in town knows that the limo is used to transport people to and from the premier strip club!
Excellent move to have a warm up gig. The gallery director said something like if he knew it was going to be that good, he would have invited far more people. Yep, he shouted beers afterwards.
We made our way to the main stage afterwards. During an intermission, the DJ put on our new CD over the PA, and without bias it sounded excellent. Many of us then thought that the main stage would have possibly been appropriate after all. Ah, the benefit of hindsight.
Sunday 5 September 2004: Vilnius
This was our official gig as part of the Vilnius Jazz Blues and eccentric music festival. We played in a... restuarant, as a prelude to... a jazz jam. The Histrionics playing with the house lights ON followed by an interesting jazz jam with more soprano saxophones than I've ever seen in my life on stage at the same time.
Tuesday 7 September 2004: Klaipeda
A bus ride to Klaipeda ended up in us meeting Eggy (real name Egis) our driver for the remainder of the tour and the 1992 Ford Transit long wheelbase, diesel version. Then off to Parudo Rumai Gallery, to perform. During the gig, the power got tripped, then just our amps came on, ripe for a short version of Albatros without reverb.
Wednesday 8 September 2004: Klaipeda
We played and stayed at Algis' Fishing Huts. Algis is a friend of DK's, who set up the van and Eggy deal, provided us with plenty of smoked trout on the condition that we perform on the verandah. For someone not keen on mixing vodka shots with beer, I was the last man standing with Algis that night.
Friday 10 September 2004: Berlin
On Friday after a long trip from Lithuania thru Poland, we hit the Kunstlerhaus Bethanien, home to us last tour, and home for much of this tour as well.
We put on a great show, and a good thing at that: Sabrina, one of the main if not the head honcho organisers of the Berlin Art Fair insisted that we perform there.
Wednesday 15 September 2004: Dusseldorf
Off to Dusseldorf, to play at the Kunstverein. It was a Wednesday opening for various exhibitions, and it was a full house in the gallery. Good PA and stage helped.
Friday 17 September 2004: Berlin
Berlin Art Fair. Get there early, and take many hours to set up outside at the back of the building of which the front part was built in Nazi times. The back looked like it would split in the middle, the two halfs tilt away from each other, and Thunderbird 2 would gracefully head for the skies. We couldn't get power from the 3 phase distribution board. Officials, attendants and technicians would head over for a look, and take off never to be seen again. Finally, a beareucratic paper was signed, and we had power and a gig.
Monday 20 September 2004: Prague
Got in late afternoon. The Tulip Cafe was a small bar, with a room downstairs for an arts/literature event which occurs every second Monday, with an even smaller bar. I felt uneasy about playing there until some people started moving there, and I heard annoying American voices talking arts speak.
We couldn't source an overhead projector, so DK photocopied the lyrics and progressively passed them out during the performance. It was an excellent sight with the tables covered in A4 lyric sheets, ash trays, beers and whatever. We played somewhat quietly, but I do think it was an effective gig.
After crashing in a hostel which had no hot water the next morning, we did a bit of Prague exploration. Then we came back, Pollocked up and hit the town with our guitars for some photoshooting.
Thursday 23 September 2004: Luxembourg
Off to Alex Redding's Galerie Alimentation Generale, a year and a bit since last time we were there. We left the equipment at the Gallery, and made our way to Alex's place for dinner. Lentil soup, sausages, bread and red wine. After dinner, Alex left his own place to sleep at Veronique's place, because he had a cold, was teaching in the morning and didn't want to be tempted to party on.
Next day, we set up, play a great gig, and make our way to an Italian style resturant. I had stuffed vegetables.
Friday 24 September 2004: Strassbourg
We did a gig on a boat. Well, it wasn't a boat, it was a school. No not really, it was more like a floating barge permantly moored to the shore. It was an art project. We played on a floating raft, while onlookers were more like downlookers as they looked down at us playing.
Definately the most bizzare gig we did. We had the least rapport with our audience than any other gig we've done.
Dave had a friend meet him there, as did Ray, so they both headed off into town in search of decent hotels, with the intention that we would all meet up early next morning to watch the Football Grand Final at an Irish pub.
Accomodation was offered, with different people staying with different folks, but DK preferred to keep the rest of us together, so we made our way in the van to Charles' studio next to his house on the fringes of Strassbourg. As we followed Charles, the trip seemed to get longer and longer, and at least some of us were asking ourselves if keeping the band together was really a good idea. Upon turning the last hill, the load of the van shifted on to the left side, something like 5 tonnes, and with a very loud bang, the rear left hand side leaf spring snapped.
We slept at Charles' studio upstairs, amongst paint fumes, which weren't too strong. The studio was amazingingly equipped with all manor of printing equipment.
Next day, the phone dialling commenced to locate the correct part: garages, wreckers, chassis numbers, van model, weight, long, short, age. A friend of Charles' kids was driven there by her mother from Germany in a huge ancient accomodation fitted truck. We loaded our equipment into there, piled into 2 cars, and made our way to Falbach for the gig at Castel CouCou.
Saturday 25 September 2004: Falbach
Empty white room, excellent gig. Afterwards, we were interviewd by a free lancing French journalist for Luxembourg television. Some funny and I think awkward footage there.
The beer and red wine flowed and flowed and flowed...
Irony of the last 2 gigs is that Strassbourg was a nicer town but the worst gig, and Falbach was a great gig with a great afterparty, but a doldrum town. It was a coal town until the late 90's, and now unemployment is the staple gig.
Tuesday 27 September 2004: Still in Falbach
So now it is Tuesday. DK, Eggy and Sebastion have been gone since yesterday. The leaf spring they eventually found was the wrong one, and now at 3PM they have found what is supposed to be the correct one and are on their way to Strassbourg to fit it. Hopefully we'll hit the road tonight to sleep in Berlin for our last gig tommorrow.
The part is now fitted, and we're off, back to Berlin.
Wednesday 29 September 2004: Berlin
Having arrived in Berlin around 10AM this morning, I hit the sack and snored. Around 6PM, we headed off to Shokolade for our last gig this tour. The place was a bar with a stage, and most refreshingly, a house PA system and sound engineer. A huge weiner schnitzel each in a resturant down the road and off to deliver the last gig. I thought it went well, and being able to hear my guitar on a more typical band stage helped.
Catherine asked us if we were tired because we looked like it, and, yes, we were. However, she also said that you couldn't tell by the performance we delivered :^) That reinforces how we all felt that this tour: we were much more switched on and delivered consistantly good performances.
A touch of kicking the Sherrin outside in the street until someone started to throw eggs at us, and we took off to Boris's with the intention of dropping luggage off for Craig, Dave and myself, then hitting another bar. DK, Eggy and TommyZ took off tired, while Ray, Dave and myself listened to Boris' DJ'ing until my taxi came.
Thursday 30 September 2004: From Berlin to Italy
Got to the airport OK, checked in OK. The bastards in customs wouldn't let me bring my zippo aboard. Apparantly that law had come into effect a month earlier. They directed me back out to the woman at the check in counter, who said she would send it to me, but when she saw my Australian address, she refused. She said to try the Post Office. I ran there but it was closed. Then the plane had to take off, so my zippo companion of many years remained at Berlin. Expletive.
The second stuff up occured when the Air Berlin flight landed in Rome. It took so long for the baggage to arrive at the collection point, that I missed checking into my next flight to Reggio. The attendant discussed it with her manager who happened to be close by, and I was able to board the 1PM flight without any additional cost. Hopefully I'd make the ferry to Lipari.
As I hadn't slept the previous night, and the flight was some 3.5 hours away, I found a departure gate with few people and crashed on the carpet, other people having to hear my snoring be damned. Luckily I had set the alarm on my phone, because I woke during boarding. Slept most of the flight, got off, found the taxi driver waiting for me by prior arrangement, and hurried off to the port. The hydrofoil was a few minutes late, so I just managed to board in the last few seconds.
Pictures by Raymondo and Antonio Milillo.
The Histrionics is the artwork of Danius Kesminas, and can be emailed at
[email protected]
, or via the official web page http://TheHistrionics.com.