vienna today .. my granpa’s old stomping grounds ..

get up early after a restless night of jet lag .. jb drives me to the little airport outside of rotterdam .. we hang .. we talk .. we plan

then off to vienna with only my carry on back pack … but i have toothpaste and aveeno gunk in it to last the entire tour
… they say its too much to fly with … head back to check my bag in .. they say its too late to check it .. head back to check with security again and finally i just start squirting the lotion in a baggy until they think its the allotted 100 ml .. i mean .. i just wanna see what happens and its rather comic to fill a baggy with that spermy looking muck .. and the confused looking security woman looks over at the head security dude who happens by just then and allows me to bring my tubes anyway …. extra baggy muck and all

we have also picked up our new tour manager .. wolfgang from the linz festival we did a couple months ago .. and today was his daughter’s birthday .. and now he rides with us .. joined our circus .. and away

.. the end

– - —

airport is easy in vienna and outside is a sterling day .. beeeeeautiful

carlos fetches me and delivers .. then he’s gone forever
the venue is the arena .. they plant me backstage in a sunny big windowed room and the breezes delight .. vienna feels fine

i doze on the couch .. then the tv people wake me up .. do the interview .. and then doze again

… bus arrives late in the day and everyone seems happy ..

sound check goes on again for a while .. and the show tonight turns out to be the best i have ever played in my life .. ever

it has grand spectrum .. vast contours … spine tingling jams .. and just a lovely night of music .. but man .. them contours were vast

the night took a pleasant coolness after the performance .. i was tired .. but after the shower and some chat with some old friends there .. just sat out in the night air and soaked in vienna like it was mine to soak in .. thanks granpa

the end

we arrive early for hotel rooms for the day .. our first and only hotel stay .. and it feels great

we all get single rooms .. .a very good idea .. here in a place i’ve never been before .. jena .. we chill in the rooms and stretch out our limbs like we’ve been living in a submarine

our host is oliver .. a very gracious one .. he drives to the stage when its time .. . a peculiar one at that .. built as an indoor stage .. but open to an outdoor audience .. some fluke occurence left over from the bauhaus era and then handled confusingly by the east german communists before settling in on what its become today .. a great open air theater experience but with a completely indoor stage open to the crowd .. whatever

the spread down in the back stage area is another amazing spread .. we are getting treated way to well .. especially when considering the small army we all add up to

the sound check is more slight adjustments .. and then we wait until commencement …

i finally take a walk .. head through town and over to the ancient church .. lean up against the old stones of it and soak up the pipe organ playing inside . . a stunningly beautiful woman walks by .. .
it makes the place more enchanting .. the gloss of a town .. its vibe and its vibrancy .. what is possible here .. what looms nicely

i make my way back to the festival stage by following the wafting sounds of brian opening the night again .. when i get there the band sounds great and welcoming .. i lull with miguel at his sound booth and soak it in like the pipe organ

then its time for us to begin .. .

the set unfolds this night beautifully so .. lonna and i nail “particle of love” and then the crowd delights in a the light swamp of “thing like that” .. and then into our waltz and away we go

couple hours later we bring it to a close .. .

the evening is sublime .. perfectly sunsetted weather

for the encore .. we hail only “out of the blue” and it continues to get better with all our voices singing and the anthem of the song hanging as if sustained in the air .. “out of this love for you…”

and its back to the hotel room .. and still so much food back stage

i am officially turning into one of those old blues guys
.. the belly is coming

g’night

munich has always been severely kind to us … it doesn’t make any sense when you walk around there during the day .. but at night in the club a counter culture emerges and collects itself to purge accordingly .. during the day its strictly bavarian

the crowd is warm and welcoming .. our first german show .. and the crowd churns with an excitement .. and the venue is that soulful fire works place .. . great sound and vibe .. we cram on stage and deliver nicely .. .

not enough can be said of the greatness of this crowd ..
they have been with us through thick and thin over the years
.. one of the oldest fans and promoter comes up to mention how happy i appear .. a patina of satisfaction seems to permeate over me, he suggests .. i suppose he’s only right .. might just come with age .. but this band tends to initiate such a glaze

we had worked up a song for jon villa to sing and made some light adjustments on some of the other songs arrangements

after the set .. we tender the night away by lolling upstairs in the band apartment … and then so slowly take our leave

the night rumbles us away .. .