Gig # 5: Bayreuth. 17/1/13

After a lovely breakfast and shopping session in Schweinfurt we set off into the never ending snowy countryside of Bavaria, heading for Bayreuth, a town where as our host Dorte should have it, every building sells beer.

We arrived at Glashaus, the venue, just as daylight faded, despite the satnav sending us to a road where no road existed. Glashaus was a student union, made apparently of polystyrene, card and steel, though that may have been lost in translation.

Dorte and the guys had made a real effort with promoting the show, painting a massive banner that had been outside their cafeteria! See the pic below.

They had a real piano, so I pounced on it as we soundchecked. We chilled out in the backstage area and I tried to finish Richard's copy of the shining. Nearly got there before Adam's set but not quite. This evening we made a concerted effort to sell the merch we'd bought along- I was stationed there for Adam's set for the customary throng of people chucking euros at us for a slice of the barnesy action.

Richard opened with 'Red Brick' and then it was 'Blossom' and the rest! The crowd, it's fair to say, loved it, and after some giggles in 'regret less' as me and Adsy flanked Rich in choirboy formation, we were back on for an encore of 'King of leaves'. Still the crowd weren't satisfied so Richard did 'the Escape Artist', which seems very popular here due to his soul food session in Paris, and 'all at sea'- which was a surprise! That was the first RW song I'd ever heard way back when I was 17 or so, nice to hear it live.

Afterwards, it's fair to say that sales were brisk. The 100 people who had turned up all wanted a piece of the action and we signed posters and CDs and even sold a lot of tshirts which was nice, especially after the 'offensive' comment in winterthur. We celebrated for a while but then headed back to Dorte's flat- though we nearly didn't make it, stopped as we were by the police, who were very nice and just checking passports etc...

Dorte's flat was lovely and warm and we were out like lights. No partying on a Thursday night for us!

The next morning it was back to the venue for breakfast and goodbyes! Dorte gave us each a mug from the venue to take home!

Adam didn't have a sausage today either, but the blog will be back tomorrow.

Leipzig next! It's bloody cold! Stop moaning about snow, Oxford! X

Gig # 4: Schweinfurt. 16/1/13

So, this one might go up late as I've got no wi-fi in Bayreuth! Last night in Schweinfurt was a strange but rewarding in many ways!

We checked out of our hotel in Zurich, (hotel bieber, you know, the one with the beaver and the shotgun shells) at the crack of dawn and packed Adam's car again (she really is a faithful workhorse).

The journey was a long and arduous one. We really drove through ghosts and the snow was thick, settling and quite scary. Nevertheless young Barnsey was calm and assured at the wheel and we made our way out of Switzerland and up past Karlsruhe safely.

Schweinfurt had the air of a market town- and we pulled up outside the venue, 'Brot und spiel' at about 4pm- still 2 hours before load in. Adam and Richard went and had a look around the town whilst I looked after the car, which mainly consisted of reading Richard's dog-eared copy of 'the shining'.

When we got into the venue, we met Steffen, and discovered that it wasn't a sausage bar at all, but a vegetarian restaurant! So sadly that means no instalment of Adam's 'Best of the Wurst' blog until at least tomorrow.

Steffen cooked us a chilli, veggie of course, which was right up there with the Thai curry in Karlsruhe. The show itself was a strange one - the crowd, which was sizeable, seemed unmoved, at least until we started selling merch, and then they went wild! We sold loads!

After, Steffen took us back to his flat, situated in an old sugar refinery- a beautiful old building. He lived in a punk cooperative- what you might find in a warehouse in the UK- amazing amounts of space and a great atmosphere!

We slept soundly and woke up to find that that Steffen had made us banana porridge- something I'll be bringing back! Amazing. There was also some 'premium' jam- a brand we keep encountering- a nameless collective producing things in unmarked bottles and jars and being picked up by bars across the region. We'd had lager in Karlsruhe and cola at the bar in Schweinfurt. It's all lovely and hard to imagine something like that happening on the same scale in the UK.

After that we went shopping, Adam bought some low cut jeans and we heard alphabet backwards in the Schweinfurt branch of H&M!

After that we said bye to Steffen with a game off loopin' louie, which was quite sad really, and Richard did a Harry potter impression with an icicle, and we were on our way to Bayreuth!

Gig # 3: Zurich. 15/1/13

After a quick packing session at Andre's apartment in Winterthur, we made the 30 minute journey to Zurich. Pretty much as soon as we got there we met a Cat called Monty- he had a house, a route inside a shop AND his own Facebook page. You can see him in the pics below.

We made our way through the heart of the old town- which was absolutely beautiful. It's made up of a maze of small streets with coffee and music shops left right and centre.

Henrici, the bar we were playing in was a cafe run by the brother/sister duo of Tito and Olivia(I think!). They treated us amazingly all day and we tried pretty much everything on their menu. After a spot of lunch we crossed the river and climbed to the top of the city walls which afforded us incredible views of the spires and the old town. Then we walked down to the lake, framed by towering foothills in the background. The air was so fresh it sent me and Barnesy off on a bit of a high.

We were a bit worried as the venue was a bustling coffee bar by day- and quite a big one at that. However when Adam went on the front half of the bar went silent and the back soon followed suit. Later, Olivia told us that it was very rare for the crowd to be so quiet. Adam, as per usual, won over the crowd and even played a new track first, which, unbeknownst to us, he forgot the second half of and had to make up on the spot. Outstanding work from Barnsey!

Our set is something of a blur to me now, sitting as I am in a bar in Schweinfurt. Zurich seems so far away. We rattled through it and did a very fun acapella version of 'regret less'. Richard finished up on 'elephant in the room', an old track- it was the first time I'd ever heard it...very nice. Around this time Barnsey and me managed to telepathically order some cheesecake from Olivia, and spent the song eating it extravagantly in an effort to make Richard laugh! He's a pro though and despite catching his eye for a second he managed to at least maintain the illusion that he wasn't thinking about cheesecake.

After the show the merch sales were brisk and we met people from Bermuda, Brighton and Canada amongst others. Richard also got healed. See below for that. It seemed like the process from the green mile. We exchanged two CDs for bottles of a prototype chilli flavoured spirit, which I'm a big fan of but the others less so.

We all went to bed in the hotel bieber, which means beaver. The sign for the hotel amusingly showed a beaver clutching a key and a shotgun shell. Perhaps offering a choice comparable to continuing up the stairs at the entrance or walking back out thanks to the overpowering smell of the restaurant below.

Bed at half one and up at 8 for the journey to Schweinfurt! More on that tomorrow.

Zurich is a lovely place- thanks to Tito and all at Henrici! Along with everyone else who made us feel so welcome.

J, A & R.

ADAM BARNES: BEST OF THE WURST

Adam tried his second sausage of the trip in a bakery just opposite Henrici. The guy said 'I've got wieners, spicy or normal sausage'. Barnsey, without a second's hesitation, went for a wiener. Here's the verdict:

'interesting take on a great British sausage roll classic, crisp pastry - great crumb structure. Weiner could have been larger' 2/5

So after 2 rounds, Karlsruhe is still in the lead with 3/5. Who knows what the future holds!

Gig # 2: Winterthur. 14/1/13

We bade our farewell to Karlsruhe on Monday morning and set off into misty Switzerland unsure of what lay ahead of us. I don't think any of us had heard of Winterthur before we headed out on this tour - we learned later that it's the sixth biggest city in Switzerland, and not just a suburb of Zurich.

On the way we amused ourselves with things that look like Richard, such as a man on the 10 CHF note, a pastry and a sketch from Karlsruhe museum. See below for evidence.

When we arrived at the venue, I think
It's safe to say that we weren't too hopeful- Portier, the venue, is a tiny tiny diner, not much bigger than the floor plan of my living room.They hooked us up with coffee and beer, and cleared out the venue of tables and chairs. Andre, Yvonne and Laura, the promoters, were lovely!

After soundcheck we wandered around the town centre- not much there apart from some suspect art- see below. We wondered where the people were going to come from, but when we made our way back the venue was pretty full and Adam went on- the place fell silent as is the usual when either of these guys is playing, which is really refreshing.

Richard stood behind the bar and provided backing vocals for 'come undone' and another and then it was our turn- by this time the place was heaving. We rattled through the set really successfully- me and Adam didn't make any mistakes which was a first (for me, anyway).

Afterwards Andre told us that it was the second most successful evening in the two years they'd been running it- and the first was a Swiss pop star, so that was pretty flattering!

We chattered with the people of Winterthur - who were very enthusiastic and even bought one of Richard's tshirts. One guy did describe them as 'offensive' though I'm not sure that's what he meant. We then went back to Andre's flat, heated by a wood burner. Interestingly his flat and front door were always unlocked- crime must be very low in Switzerland. We were very grateful for his hospitality! He had a model of minas freaking tirith on his windowsill.

I'm currently watching Adam play to a busy room in Zurich- but that'll have to wait until tomorrow! Photos below.

Gig # 1: Karlsruhe. 12/1/13

Richard is watching a film, 'Searching for Sugar Man', Adam is still in the shower and I'm so fresh and so clean. Our room is lovely- three double futons with Adam up in the mezzanine- he gets first dibs on beds, being the driver an' all.

We're here tonight as well, and to be honest we couldn't have asked for a nicer place to start. The venue, Cafe Nun, is a non-profit cooperative run by a group of people not so different from my own group of friends- it just seems that the laws around licensing are much more lenient here. They have a flat upstairs where Anna, our host, lives. When we arrived yesterday at about two, we couldn't get in to the venue so went for a walk around the block, which was totally dead!

So we were tired and grumpy- Adam and rich went back to the car and had a kip whilst I walked around the city and successfully ordered some food in German. It's a nice city-with trams and a really unique layout based around a castle.

When we got into the venue, we met the lovely staff. Anna, whose flat we were staying in, Dennis, who set the venue, Wolfgang, who provided the sound and Daniel, web designer/barman who translated every word we said on stage to his seven year old son who was attending his second ever concert.

After a good soundcheck we went up the the flat to chill out- We also ate an amazing Thai green curry cooked by Anna!. Skype calls were made, sleep was had and soon enough it was stage time for Adam.

When we made our way downstairs we were dumbfounded- the venue was rammed. We were later told it was fully sold out and people had been turned away. This, whilst being a good thing, was also incredibly nervewracking as the stage was set in the middle of the floor, meaning we were surrounded 360 by the crowd.

Adam went first, and the crowd fell silent, taking it all in. The crowd were incredibly respectful of the music- and Adam was a star in Karlsruhe by the end.

When we played the same thing happened- I really cannot express how quiet it was. The set went well- and Richard did 2 encores culminating in a cover of the Longpigs. It seems that Germans have a very unique style of clapping- as if each person is paying attention to the person clapping next to them and trying to clap in time, giving it a very rhythmic feel.

Afterwards we sold a LOT of merch. Too much to count, and buoyed by a second wind, stayed up chatting until 1am. Then our eyes were closed as soon as our heads hit the pillow.

Today we hit the city! Woke and had a lovely breakfast- then hit the city. We went to ZKM- a multimedia museum- see the pictures below. This place was amazing. They were pumping Brian Eno/harmonia's 'by this river' into it! And tvs were splitting out mad visuals with soundtracks that sounded like outtakes from a 70s Can record. We played vintage computer games and watched a man travel round a virtual city made of letters on an exercise bike.

Then we went to the palace- a grand old building at the centre of Karlsruhe- huge. Much like a British stately home, before Adam tried his first sausage.

Throughout the city we saw evidence that Germans are more than at home with puerile humour- we saw a penis and breasts drawn in the snow at least twice, along with the defacement of the below big-cat art-piece.


ADAM BARNES: BEST OF THE WURST

Here follows the first in a hopefully daily section of the blog where Adam Barnes reviews the day's sausage-based sustenance.

"good frankfurter sausages covered a curry sauce- enough sauce great for chip dipping" is what he says. Adam marked this particular sausage based meal a satisfactory 3/5 and will be hoping for more from schweinfurt, where we're playing in a sausage restaurant. You can see a picture of Adam with his sausage (no, not that one!) below.

Who knows what this evening holds! We're relaxing now as we're on our way to Switzerland tomorrow. Winterthur, here we come!