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.