Gig # 11: Hildesheim. 23/1/13

So we made our way back to Berlin after the Potsdam show to pick up some more stock of Richard's album, and then made our way to Hildesheim, a leisurely 3 hour drive away.

We arrived at the venue, kulturfabrik, as dark fell. It was an ex-cotton factory turned into an arts centre, with kitchen facilities and a number of venues inside. We were playing at club veb, a weekly night in a venue not dissimilar to the cellar in Oxford, but complete with red curtains that made us feel that we were playing in the red room from twin peaks.

Richard's Louis Vuitton bag looked well out of place in the punk surroundings.

Our hosts were Katie and Tomas, who bore an uncanny resemblance to Dave Stewart and had one lock of dyed hair. They provided us with food- which was vegan, much to barnesy's chagrin.

After dinner he and Richard went off to the local radio station to record a session- I stayed behind and vainly tried to Skype home.

The show was well attended and Adam now has a new cohort of Finnish fans. Sadly many people were speaking throughout...but there was a good hat so those who were listening obviously enjoyed it.

Afterwards, Tomas, Katie and Michael got us very drunk. More on that tomorrow. It was great fun though, so fun that Adam drew pictures of me and rich on the wall with willies on our faces.

Gig # 10: Potsdam. 22/1/13

Sorry for the delay- its been a whirlwind few days as you'll see from the next few blog posts.

We left Berlin intending to come back for sightseeing but never made it! Frankly the roads were too bad for inner-city driving so when we hit Potsdam we stayed put.

Firstly we walked around Potsdam and saw a bit of the city- there was a giant film studio, one of the oldest in the world, and a bar, where we ate, that you could do laundry in at the same time.

Our hosts, Sven and Carole, welcomed us very warmly, which was a godsend after the experience in Berlin.

The venue, Ruckholz, was a small but cosy place with a tiny sound system, but an amazing flat upstairs. Richard had a bath, so did I, and Barnsey washed his filthy body in the shower before we soundchecked. Prior to the show barnesy and I thrashed Sven and his son 10-9 at foozball!

It was another show where myself and Barnesy didn't have mics but the room was so small we didn't really need them.

Barnesy did very well but was very very I'll, his face was literally grey when we played but he battled through and we played a very good gig!

Afterwards we were shattered and retired to bed, and were up and away the following morning.

Just a quick note...

...to say we've arrived in Hildesheim safely, and there is no wifi on my phone so I can't put the blog I wrote up. All things being well, the blogs about Potsdam and Hildesheim should be up tomorrow.


Jx

Gig # 9: Berlin. 21/1/13

So most of tonight's post is being withheld for legal reasons (jokes). I'll get to that later on in the week - probably in a comparison with today in Potsdam.

We left Ronny with a tinge of sadness, after the excellent time Dresden had shown us. The drive to Berlin was another simple one made difficult by poor road conditions.

When we got to Berlin we made our way straight to flux fm, where Richard did a live session and interview with Vincent and Otis. They were lovely!

We then turned up at the venue for the worst welcome of the tour- but I won't go into that. The venue wasn't quite right for us but Clemens, the engineer, was lovely and got us sounding good. We were on stage at 11.45 which was a first- we were shattered already. We played alright but not special! My mum and dad showed up too which was nice!

Afterwards we stuck around for a bit but pretty much went to sleep- more on this tomorrow. I left a fair bit out because I want to calm down about it first, and some of the things we experienced were pretty shitty, especially given the context of our excellent welcome in Potsdam today. But hey, Berlin is clearly an amazing city, and most people were lovely, it's just we didn't get a change to see all of it. That's a really frustrating part of touring, we don't get to see all of the places we're in!

Anyway, that'll do for today. No sausage either, though there's one on the menu here in Potsdam.

Pics below, props to my mum for the live ones.

Gig # 8: Dresden. 20/1/13

Dresden, Dresden, Dresden. What to say? It was a whirlwind of a visit, in which we saw around 0.01% of a city that people had been telling us is super cool since we set foot in Germany.

We got to the cafe, Wohnzimmer, at about 3pm. Today's was an early show- at 5.15. The venue was essentially an upmarket coffee bar with a live room up the stairs. Our host, Ronny, was awesome. We'd been told about him in Karlsruhe and he really was a top guy! Richard's posters were pretty funny, displaying a germanicized(is that a word? It is now) version of his name.

We soundchecked and played- that was pretty much that! It was a good show with a very attentive audience. We did a few encores, and Richard did both 'all at sea' and 'elephant in the room'. The PA was really small which meant Barnsey and me had to sing without microphones, so we're looking forward to a full PA set up in Berlin. Some of Richard's fans bought us each a present- I got some chilli flavour sweets, which were pretty hot! Richard got a guide to Dresden and Adam a map to the best sausage place in Dresden. Sadly a lack of time meant we couldn't use it but maybe next time! Thanks guys!

After the show we had a couple of cocktails and then Ronny took us back up his flat where he cooked what was probably the best meal of the tour so far- pasta, tomato and fish. Yum. We listened to some vinyl and Ronny played us his band, 'Garda'- very good! We then headed back to the bar, which is really where the fun started.

I'm not 100% sure of the sequence of events that led to Richard waking at 2am with Barnesy's feet in his face (despite Barnesy's bed being upstairs) but I do know this: it started with a baileys hot chocolate and a cocktail menu, and involved Barnesy convincing Anna, who worked at the bar, to let him make everyone a cocktail. He did ok. Basically, Adam Barnes is a hero. We also scared some people having a quiet Sunday night drink, and it ended with Ronny lighting Cointreau for us!

This morning, suffice to say, has been a bit of a write off. We're now on our way to flux fm in Berlin! See you at white trash tonight!

Gig # 7: Gottingen. 19/1/13

For some reason I didn't take any photos yesterday. Well, that's kind of a lie, I did take three, but they're all of Adam. I'll make more of an effort today!

We had a service station lunch- adsy had another currywurst- see below for the verdict.

Gottingen was a lovely place. Wikipedia tells me that during the war, the allies had an agreement with the axis not to bomb Gottingen or Heidelburg as long as Oxford and Cambridge were not bombed. It makes sense- all around the city are campus buildings with grand statues of alumni everywhere, and even the high street has a touch of cornmarket about it.

We wandered around the town looking for the venue and couldn't find it anywhere until we heard 'Richard?' behind us and promoter Kristian swung off his bike and led the way. Obviously we looked so clueless that we must have been the band!

The venue, pools, was another small one- 50 cap at most, but crucially there was a proper sound system and an engineer who knew what he was doing, a welcome change from doing our own sound in Leipzig and Schweinfurt. So after a lengthy soundcheck Rich did some laundry, Adam had a kip, and I did a bit of skyping.

Adam went on, and as you'll see below, had the crowd in the palm of his hand. Total silence, a relief after the loudness of Leipzig. The boy done good!

We played next and it was really nice to have everything going through the PA rather than relying on my farfisa's internal speaker. Afterwards we sampled more local beer and despite a late night, it was actually quite a quiet one.

This morning we had a fantastic breakfast- coffee, boiled eggs, ham, mozzarella, Brie, cheddar, tomatoes, lettuce, apple, mango, orange, bread AND salami! Win! Thanks pools.

ADAM BARNES: BEST OF THE WURST

We stopped at a service station just outside of Leipzig. Barnsey couldn't resist. Here's the verdict:

"excellent girth, great length, full of flavour, with a fine curry sauce for chip-dipping. A great service station find"

3.5/5

So that puts Leipzig in the lead - two 3.5 marks for the hot dogs yesterday and the wurst today. Pic below.

Gig # 6: Leipzig. 18/1/13

This was a funny one- we arrived in Leipzig after our three hour drive convinced it was the capital of cool, and it might well be but sadly the area we were in was less than vibrant.

Prior to the show, we tried our best to get lost but failed. The area we were in lacked any specific landmarks apart from a plane on a roof, no really, see below. Remember when computer assistance on Oxford road got in trouble for putting a branded Morris minor on their roof? Well imagine that but with ten+ morris minors.

Don't get me wrong, the venue, Meins, was nice, and Francine, our host, was very welcoming. We ate and drank well, and our accommodation was top drawer, above a venue round the corner from ours.

However, for whatever reason, the show just didn't click. There was a crowd of around 50 people but smoking was allowed in the venue and in a separate room there seemed to be some sort of sports meeting which meddled with the silence of the primary room.

We played well but in reality it was a strange atmosphere, so one encore and comparatively meagre merch sales - though in the UK it would be a massive success, contributed to a seemingly early night.

Sadly for me and ol' Barnesy this meant a late night as our accommodation was above the hippest bar in the area. I successfully ordered beers in German, and we chatted until the small hours.

ADAM BARNES BEST OF THE WURST
Before we played we found a hot dog bar and indulged in the sausage! It was good, but here's Barnesy's verdict:

"Great take on a classic hot dog set up, Cheap as chips as well. Great cheddar and tomato topping. Plus options of many more. Only problem - not big enough, Barnes needs more. 3.5/5'

So there you have it, I have to agree though, two were needed to fill the gap. Pic below.

Up early the next morning and onto Gottingen! But more about that tomorrow!