Berlin

Today was a much better day on tour. We travelled a long way from Malmö to Berlin, which took around eight hours. During that time I managed to get some sleep on the back seat in the van and also watch the first series of The Office with Andy. We turned up at the venue and were told that Municipal were gonna be about an hour late. That worked out well since I wanted the chance to double check that my amp really was fucked, which it was.

We also had some time to sort our five boxes of t-shirts out before the other guys turned up. It took us a while, but we got through it with an asserted team effort. That soon got put into firm perspective when Municipal turned up with seventeen boxes of shirts! Glad I don't have to sort that lot out.

The venue and the show was everything you want when you're on tour. They took really good care of us, gave us plenty of beer and the food was great. And of course there was coffee and sandwiches on arrival. I mention this only because you really don't get this kind of hospitality outside of mainland Europe. In the England or the US you're lucky if you get given a toilet to shit in.

The gig tonight was much better for me personally, as in, nothing got broke and even though it was hot, there was plenty of energy, both on and off stage. The place was pretty packed when we went on. We played tight and the crowd was really into it. It's nice to play such a rewarding show when you've travelled all day to get there.

I was thinking after our show that since the gig was great and there was nothing to complain about, there would not be much to comment on in today's post. But then something amused me greatly during the Municipal set.

Firstly, those guys put on a great show! They have a lot of fun on stage whilst at the same time play hard as hell. And fuck me, can they play! I mean, for a start they have Dave Witte on drums, who is somewhat of a legend in our circles. Anyway, I was hanging out at our merch table watching their show, or trying to, the place was really packed by now. They had a projector screen behind the bar which was filming the gig, which I was keeping an eye on whilst chatting to some people. I had to break off a conversation with someone when I noticed something happening on stage. The band were taking an unusually long break between songs. There seemed to be a giant of a man, with a kind of Marty Friedman from Megadeth hairstyle, stood still, kind of hunched over, right in the centre of the stage. It soon became apparent that he had his ridiculous hair caught up in Tony, the Municipal singer's, mike lead. It took what seemed like ages for them to cut him loose, during which time Tony brutally took the piss out of him. I pissed myself laughing.

I ventured down to the front towards the end of the Municpal set. Firstly to check them out a little more closely and a lot more loudly, and secondly to make sure that no sleezy fucker stole my Cursed hoodie that I'd mistakenly left on stage after our show. Now that would have pissed me off! Anyway, I get down towards the front and the first person I notice is Marty Friedman. Well, it was kind of hard to miss him I guess.

I can hardly believe it, but he's back up on stage again. Can't imagine the brass bollocks on this boy! I would have ran for the back and hid in embarrasment if it was me..the trouble is sometimes with these people that they get up on stage one time and they get it into their head that they are welcome to intrude for the rest of the set. They make themselves a little too welcome. Friedman would just get up on stage constantly and then instead of jumping back in to the crowd as most others do, would just hang out there nodding his head, trying to look tough. He was getting right on my tits. I think the Municipal guys were starting to feel the same way. At one point Friedman is back up there, this time hanging out behind Ryan, the guitarist's, amp. When he finally decides to go for his self concieved, hotly anticipated stage dive, he not only shoves Ryan out the way without as much as looking at him, he also shoves the neck of his guitar up in the air as to make his way past him, to what I can now imagine he believes to be his addoring crowd. What an utter wanker!

I'm dying for someone in the band to take a swing at him. I don't have to wait long. The next time he goes up, he grabs a hold of Tony, a little too long. As he tries to pull Tony into the crowd with him, he kind of falls loose and into the crowd. I catch the look in Tony's eyes and see his fist clentched. He swings and misses, and as Friedman disappears into the crowd, he quickly regains his party spirit. But just for a minute there I thought it was going to kick off.

I'm sure Friedman doesn't mean any harm, and he's just caught up in the fun of the show and a little too enthusiastic maybe, but some people just don't know when enough is enough.

Anyway, the guys play out the rest of their set and afterwards we help clear the stage and I get my Cursed hoodie back. We do really well on merch tonight, I'm hoping the rest of the tour stays on this form and I can take home some money to pay my bills.

We travel back to the hostel we're staying at and after dumping our bags, head back down to the bar to hang out with the Municipal guys, and another couple of friends of ours from Berlin. They are all super friendly people. Dave, the legend he is, comes over, introduces himself to me, since he's heard I'm English, and soon enough we're drinking beer together whilst rambling on about the early British grindcore scene, that we apparently both like a lot. Sprits are high and we're all having a great time. Me and Andy get into a long conversation about records, as we usually do after a few ales.

By now, time seems to be stuck on fast forward. I notice I'm checking my phone regularly, but it seems that on each occasion, time has inexplicablly jumped forward a great length. Everyone is getting pretty drunk and in as said, in good spirits, so nobody seems to care that we have yet another long journey ahead tomorrow, and another early rise. Thank fuck our good friend Ronnie, who is driving us, doesn't drink and has had the good sense to go to bed early. We hang out until around 5 am. When myself and Johan simmultaneously catch the smell of the hostel staff starting up breakfast, knowing that our alarm clocks are set for 8.30, we both get an anxiety attack and head to bed.

Maybe I'll get some sleep in the van tomorrow, it is afterall, about a seven hour journey to Stuttgart.