Sept 3 Hoorn NL Huis Verloren

This night we played in a 16th century town hall building that was built on an angle so that water would not run down and rot or otherwise destroy the walls. It looks freaky this way, but hey, it lasted this long. We were also told, to our amazement that this very building housed an exporting office for cattle, and there were these two mega famous cattle herders named "Jan" and "Cees" (pro. "kase"), that apparently were the first inspiration for that fond namesake used for and by Americans; "Yankees".
I hereby rest my Cees .
Our friends Jan and Henk (see Spiijkerboor entry) and their wives were also at this show, and it should be noted at this point that Casey made an inspired tour podcast featuring Henk and Casey DJing some fave tunes. It's available on our webpage, www.elliottbrood.com .

Sept 2 Antwerp BE Trix w/ Black Diamond Heavies

John Wesley and Van as the "Black Diamond Heavies", Antwerpen Sept 2.

When we met "Black Diamond Heavies" and discovered it was a keyboard/drum duo I was expecting kind of a dance thing. or at least a few techno/dance tricks. Bottom line was that these guys are a dynamic blues duo that rock forth with full intensity. Even more a surprise that the drummer Van is also Bonnie Prince Billie's live drummer (I was blown away by BPB at Pickathon just a month ago in Portland OR). In this situation though, Van is a bombastic and energetic player, fully supporting keyboardist John Wesley and his sweat soaked blues rock. JW is a contender for THE most rocking keyboard player around. His distorted Fender Rhodes sound is much like an overdriven guitar, and he handles a really full bass sound on some Korg thing on his left hand. Incredible, and no need for additional bandmates with this duo.

Bonnie "Prince" Billy blowing my mind at Pickathon 2010 (Portland OR)

Hamburg Aug 30, 31

On Monday a club called Astra Stube, we packed roughly 80 people or so into the tiny little room, with the help of "Mi and My Bubba", a tidy female trio hailing from Scandanavia who play minimalistic ballads of love, lost and found. Dinner and breakfast coffees were also included in a nearby bar.

We were also kind of blessed to have Hamburg for our one day off in the tour the following day. As a bonus, the promoter offered us an extra night for free at the artist's apartment, which is more or less a dormitory room with bunk beds. As a band guy I have slept in bunks before. Convenience and economy win quickly over the alternatives, despite the inadequate feelings one can get when confronted with a bunkbed. I always think there will be pee on the mattress somehow, which is totally unfounded. In fact in this apartment there is full washer/dryer and plenty of fresh sheets around. Otherwise though, the vibe is very "indie band": rock posters abound, and even a bit of graffiti on the bunks.

Speaking of graffiti, there is tons in this neighborhood (near St. Pauli station), as if it were every German's right of passage. As it turns out we are in a city block that features a prominent abandoned theatre that has been transformed into a squatters' haven. Apparently owned by some socialist pacifist who never had the wherewithal to remove squatters, it stands as a landmark and centrepiece to the neighborhood (even though there are nice restaurants all around). Twice a year they are said to have an anarchist fest that requires a G20 style police presence to quell. Otherwise, the community exists quite peacefully. Another example of a neighborhood is the abondoned block across the street which serves as one half - free [arking lot (yay!), and one half - sand filled outdoor homemade "bar" that is called "Central Park". Not the Central Park I am accustomed to (nor anyonelse it seems.. I only ever saw one patron sitting alone on one of the lawnchairs in the sand).

So on our day off, in addition to obligatory laundry, Mark and I decide to go for a tourists' walk. The journey was recommended by one of the promoters (can't remember names at this point), and he had recommended taking a walk around the harbour, including a trek through the turn of the century tunnel that runs from one side of the Elbe River to the other. That was perfect for us, because it also got us through the Reeperbaun area as well, and past the Beatles' first nightclubs (where they worked as houseband back in 1960 - '62). Pictured below are "Steve McCartney" on the Reeperbaun, and some unsespecting old man who didn't realize he was Ringo.

After the Beatles photoshoot, we stopped on my recommendation for "curry hotdogs" that had a thermometer out front for you to pick how spicy (mostly cayenne) you wanted your dog. I picked level 7, Mark picked level 8 (at which point the sign exclaims, "Achtung !!! Xtreme Scharf"). Sounds dangerous. His was virtually inedible, mine barely manageable. When we remarked about how hot they were, the confectionary owner stated that if we were to order an 11 or 12 gauge hotdog, he would have to see our passports.

After the meal, we headed over to the river elbe, saw a U boat, then descended a massive stairwell, complete with noisy large elevators, down to the newly refurbished Elbe tunnel.

Quite remarkable, and extremely well restored, it is at least a kilometre long, and completely fashioned in white glossy ceramic. Can you imagine the echo in that tube ? I immediately want to reserve this room to record future drum tracks.

Aug 29 Spiijkerboor NL

Our friends Henk and Jan require mention here. We have been coming to Europe to tour since 2006, and no tour through the Netherlands has been complete without some visit by these two great guys. It all started at our very first show ever in Europe, at a tiny bar in Assen, NL, "Vittebal" which though being at capacity at around 80 people, is considered a place where music is discovered. Going back, I also remember a distinct Marlon Brando type character there. He was a local drunk who claimed to have been both very rich and very poor, gave us a fifty euro note after the show as a tip. And that's when the Euro was worth something!

Anyways, also at the Vittebal on that first night were Henk and Jan, who were very enthusiastic about the show. To this day they have seen close to a dozen of our Netherlands shows, and we now have an ongoing email dialog going with Henk. By 2008 we had met their wives Lia and Gepke too. This year, after a show in Spiijkeboor NL we were invited back to Henk's place, where we indulged in a special bottle of the national drink Jenever that he had set aside. They are great guys, and their enthusiasm is something that we look forward to on the often lonesome road trail. I couldn't imagine what an NL tour would be like without at least one show that featured Henk's enthusiastic cheers of "MAAN!!!!" or "OKAY !!!!" after certain songs.

Henk is the director of a children's special education school, and the photo here was painted by one of the students there. We didn't meet the boy, but it is an honour to have detailed work like this made based on our image.

Aug 27 Groningen NL Noorderzon Fest

If there is one characteristic I can hopefully learn and keep from Elliott BROOD, it is the tendency to arrive early. Contrary to my DNA, the spirit of leaving and and arriving early is very BROODlike, and I will attribute this virtue to Casey, who dutifully leads the group through every wake up and drive, ensuring a timely arrival (as if we were one time zone to the East) at every destination.

This afternoon, we had hightailed it out of Köln, and made it to the Groningen venue, Platform Theatre about a half hour early. The immediate local city landscape (around the club) is underwhelming and desolate, to which my feelings give way, from cautious optimism to defeat. Why are we here? What are we doing? You have to understand that, although the road is generally a carefree zone of fun times and modest sightseeing, it can also present an undertow of personal insecurities, as one is away from the homelike affairs that can so conveniently anchor one's personality. Stripped of the usual daily responsibilities, and with a wife and family back home, I am susceptible to such questions of value. I need to be validated through audience response, or at least some good sightseeing. Left to my own devices in a desolate part of town brings me to a darker and lonelier place.

After that lengthy introduction, let me introduce Wopke Shoes. Located right next door to the Platform Theatre, is the eccentric shoemaker who let us in his little shop and managed to inspire us with examples of shoes, made from alligator or snake leather, that featured eyes on the side, and had horns attached. I snapped a photo for my wife of the shoes. Also impressive about Wopke was his Dali-esque waxed moustache. Wopke was put on our guestlist for the evening (+1), but never showed. Too bad.

Also shown are some cellphone pics from the Noorderzon Festival, which is a fantastic art and culture fest in a local park that is mostly free, and featured multiple forms of art. The park was full and the demographic was (enviously) everybody from very young to very old. Oh the Dutch, doing it right again.

Aug 26 Köln King Georg

We arrive in Köln, affectionately known to Canadians and some other internationals as Cologne. This will be Elliott BROOD's first show ever in Germany, so there is excited anticipation, at least within the band. First off, the feel is a bit unnerving, at least for me, since I've been in the relative safety of Netherlands where most everyone will speak in English with you. We park and the storefronts all look strange and foreign. Places with names like "Hairkiller" and "Salz and Pfeffer". Everything feels so foreign, and the German tongue doesn't exactly sound friendly.

We are playing a club called the King Georg (evidently once a strip club) and the stage is centred near the back with tables all around (I wonder why). The promoter, Peter, is absolutely awesome, also a greet DJ, and manages to bring about 120 paid patrons on this Thursday night. Most of them smoke.

BROOD Euro Tour Fall 2010

For the 3 days previous to this tour, I was able to take a holiday with my wife Beta in Amsterdam, on the occasion of our 10th anniversary (ten!) , which happened on Aug 12.

We left our beloved little children Kaspar and Stella with their grandmother back in Riga Latvia, and took off for what would be mine and Beta's first real holiday together in five years. Small children, in all of their belovedness, are naturals at wrestling away parents from mere thoughts of a holiday. For three days we walked around the 17th century city, map in hand, absorbing like a sponge whatever we could. A highlight for me was a revisit to the Van Gogh gallery. It was fascinating to take in what is as much a celebration of the man's determined lifestyle as his actual art. It is incredible that Van Gogh created virtually all of his work from age 27 until his suicidal death at age 37. Arguably his best work was done in his last year, when he was in his most tormented mode of self loathing. Chalk one up for the believers in suffering as a prerequisite for creativity.

Arrival of the band

after leaving Beta at the airport, I joined the band at our Dutch hotel of choice, the Etap Schiphol, located just across the highway from the Amsterdam Airport, this place has the most ironic feel of home, since the band has stayed here at least half a dozen times at beginnings and ends of tours. I notice that there are even more rabbits encircling the grounds. Even better, there is a bar in the neighbouring Ibis hotel that we charmingly refer to as the Cantina Bar (ala Star Wars). It's one of those places that is always full of world travellers. Not tourists though, but of the business/budget variety. Mostly male, and often in pairs or small groups, chatting of vague business pipedreams. It's a kind of British style sports bar pub, with a huge screen usually featuring 'football'. Being the only place of moderate interest in the whole complex, we also gravitate there, though this time we are met with a power outage from an incessant storm. Can't buy a drink, so fast track to sleep is in order.