Day 28-9, Magdeburg

Two days off in Magdeburg, and both of them were spent searching. The first for forest mushrooms, of the edible non trip-inducing variety, the second for vintage Kombi vans, at the home of Volkswagen in Wolfsburg. You'll be very happy to hear that on both occasions the search was successful!! Alas, whilst Lena was able to create a tremendous feast from our two baskets full of forest mushrooms, the folks at Volkswagen weren't too interested in trading our 1998 Opel whatever-it-is meroon station wagon for their 1966 Vintage two-tone split-screen mint condition Kombi van, proudly displayed in one of the numerous exhibition halls at the Autostadt (well worth a visit if you're ever nearby, even if you don't like cars that much - quite incredible). So the search continues on the Kombi front, but I'll move forward with the knowledge that if I'm ever stuck in a forest in Germany during mushroom season, I'll be ok. And I'll take with me the memory of this beautiful old vintage bus which, to me, is about as close to perfection in a vehicle as you can come...

Last night was my final show in Magdeburg for the tour, the third for this trip - a 'Wohnzimmerkonzerte' (Living room concert) in an apartment down-town. Unlike most of the other house-concerts we have played this trip, we didn't actually have a personal connection to the person hosting the event. 'Wohnzimmerkonzerte Magdeburg' is an independently run organisation which holds two concerts each month, featuring different artists in different apartments around Magdeburg. Not dissimilar to High Tea in Sydney, which holds fortnightly concerts in a warehouse apartment in Surry Hills, the aim of these nights is to give the artist an intimate performance environment, whilst also providing a unique concert experience for the audience in attendance. It's a win-win situation, made possible by generosity of the people who organise the events, often donating their time and effort free of charge to help give independent music a greater voice. Needless to say, that's a great thing for people like me, who often operate on a 'take-what-you-get' basis when it comes to new venues/audiences. And so it was that last night I was fortunate enough to perform to a room full of people, attentive throughout and even partly receptive to my bizarre sense of humour, slightly more animated than usual on account of me seeing my dream Kombi earlier in the day... A big thanks to Tina for the invitation, and Thomas for hosting last night's event. Not forgetting everyone who came along of course - I'm not sure you could understand what I was saying, but I appreciate you going the distance nonetheless! Next stop Weimar... x

PS - If you'd like to see some photos from last night's concert, then you can try clicking HERE. Another pic from the Autostadt below. Wouldn't mind touring in one of these either, although I'd need to sell a few more CD's to pay for the petrol...