Another thing I will remember from our run (a memory I have from previous trips...) is the European beach hut phenomenon. Little huts for two people, facing sideways along the beach, available for rental, to use in between dips in the ocean, or just to sip cheap champagne with your Fish and Chips. I've never understood the beach hut phenomenon. As far as I'm concerned, one of the best things about being at the beach is actually being ON the beach itself. Not just swimming in the water, but lying on a towel on the sand, feeling the sun on your face, the breeze in your hair (if you are fortunate enough to have hair...), and even being assaulted by the elements on the odd occasion - a gust of wind perhaps, sand in your ice cream, a rogue wave destroying your otherwise idyllic picnic setting.... These are the things that make the beach the beach. So you leave with the memory of the day that lasts longer than the day itself. Bits of sand falling off your feet into the car. Water pouring out your ear on the drive home. Maybe out of your nose if you've been unceremoniously dumped by one of the aforementioned rogue waves. The idea of sitting in a little hut, out of harms way, protected from the wilds of the ocean and the sun, seems a little counter-intuitive to me. Is this just a personal view? I'd like to hear arguments for the beach hut if anyone has any... I do suspect the same people who use the beach huts religiously can also be found standing in queues at departure lounges, waiting for the plane to start boarding. But we don't need to go there today...
Last night I received an invitation from Thomas and Nicole to play at the local Italian restaurant, Portofino (pictured above), and once again the pre-gig dinner was simultaneously an absolute triumph and a significant over-indulgence for someone who is about to sing for an hour and a half... Anyway a great evening had by all, and a nice chance for me to play through some of the newer songs I had written prior to leaving Australia. It's always an interesting journey with new songs. Quite often 6 months down the track they end up sounding very different to when they were first written. It's one of the reasons I'm always a bit torn between recording something close to the time it was created, or letting it grow into itself a little before putting it down. Perhaps you can do both. I'm sure lots of people do. Perhaps it doesn't matter. Of course it doesn't. But as artists we like to think about these things, about lots of things, feeding the restless mind, creating enough friction for the next spark to ignite. Not that you need the conflict of course, but sometimes it helps. Or so it seems...
Boltenhagen has once again proved to be a real breath of fresh air, in more ways than one. I'm not sure what we've done to be treated so well up here, but one thing's for sure - Thomas and Nicole have set quite the benchmark. Hopefully one day we'll have the opportunity to host them in return, wherever in the world we might be. I'd like for that to happen. You can't always be sure with touring when exactly you'll see people again. Life rolls on, circumstances change, time passes by. Such is the nature of things. Another reminder that we need to live this moment, appreciate it for what it is, and be thankful for it. Yes I'm starting to sound like a self-help book, but there you go... Anyway till next time guys, it's been savage.
Tonight we're off to Wismar, the town which gave us 'Spontan schapps am morgen' last year on my trip there with Julia, the other half of the VondoMachine engine room. Who knows what it'll throw up this time, but as always we go with no expectations, knowing that what goes on tour stays on tour, unless someone has a camera and decides to post the photo on the internet... .
See you tomorrow x
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