Day 1, Paris to Mönchengladbach

So here it is, another attempt at a daily blog. We'll see how we get on this time. I seem to remember having trouble with the weekly version a few years ago... but perhaps the short-but-sweet approach will be more effective. Yet even writing that I'm beginning to see the error of my ways, I can't remember there ever being a 'short' blog post here. Long irrelevant rambling introductions like this probably won't help... SO....

Moving on...

Paris is a wonderful city Oui? Especially at night, perhaps the best lit city in the world. Sydney has a certain magic to it with the harbour, the bridge and the opera house, but the romance of Paris is inescapable. I've only been there twice for short visits and I always leave a bit spellbound. Notre Dame in particular is nothing short of spectacular. I could stand there and look at it for hours on end and not feel the slightest inclination to do anything else. And it's funny with all the museums/galleries scattered all over the French capital, perhaps the greatest work of art is there for everyone to see. All the time. For free.

(The picture at the top is of another building across the river. No idea which one, but it looked cool.... !)

Gushing aside however, I did encounter one significant problem once I had left the wonderful city of Paris behind... French drivers do not know how to check their blind spot. In fact, I had discovered this a day earlier driving from a wedding in Poitiers further south, but yesterday confirmed it. Just pull out any time you feel like it mate. Any time at all. I'll be able to throw my car around in self-defence at 130km/h, narrowly avoiding the guard rail in the middle of the freeway... The thought occurred to me that perhaps I could quit the music game for a while and make a small fortune teaching people in France how to look over their shoulder..... although having now returned to the autobahns of Germany, one could argue that travelling at 250+km/h is really creating one enourmous blind spot all around the car, with the potential for a disaster far more wide-reaching than anything the French could manage at half that speed.

A quick stop in Dusseldorf to pick up tour manager Lena of the VondoMachine, and before we knew it we were in Monchengladbach. Once Lena got into the car, I was able to forget that I'd spent the past 6hrs travelling without a car stereo, something I wouldn't recommend unless you are particularly adept at having conversations with yourself. Fortunately as a songwriter, it's a skill I have managed to fine-tune over the years. Even so, it was nice to have some company for the trip to Monchengladbach. (One day I will be able to pronounce that properly...)

The gig itself was an O-week function of some sort. I'm sure there's a word for that in German, maybe I'll know it in 2months time... But yes, lots of students, plenty of alcohol, and a nice relaxed night to start the tour. I even managed to play standing up, something I haven't tried for quite some time, but you know the pubs of regional NSW have taught me to be to adapt to most situations... Performance negotiated safely, albeit with a few things to think about for the next one... as always.... principally here in Germany, how to communicate better with a room full of people who really haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about. But you know, we'll sort that out soon enough...

A big thanks to Gero and Sebastian for inviting me to play, a great way to kick off the 2013 European walkabout. Next stop Cologne...

Bye for now x