Just got back from Europe. It was a short trip, but very special.
I first played the Haus der Kultur performance center in Waldkraiburg, Germany - about an hour east of Munich. This was one of those gigs where very few people in the audience knew anything about me, but Hans-Jorg Malonek, the promoter, was as hip as they come. Consequently, he filled the place with willing listeners. He knew all about the Cambridge folk scene and had presented Bob Neuwirth, Bill Keith and Jim Rooney a few years back. Cambridge wasn't the only scene he knew about... he was up on the cajun scene, Texas music, you name it. We had lots to talk about.
After Waldkraiburg, I flew from Munich to Amsterdam for my first gig in Holland. Ah!!... what a scene. The hotel was two blocks from the Rijksmuseum, so the first thing I did was throw down my bags and head over to catch the Vermeers.
The gig was in the afternoon at the Paradiso (small room) and was packed with people of all ages... toddlers included. Some of the good folks who came to see me in Aachen and Gronau, Germany also came to the Paradiso. I couldn't have been made to feel more at home.
One of the bonuses of touring the world is seeing how people in various countries relate to each other. I'm usually treated better than I deserve, so, by that measure, I am a sucker for every place I visit. In Amsterdam, the people in the venue, on the streets, in the hotel, the museum and at the train station seemed to be comfortable with each other and very friendly. This is the way it is in Japan, Norway, Ireland and a few other places I've been. It's a very heartening thing to observe for an American.
I left Tulip Land with a smile... and I left a little piece of my heart there. I shall return.
From Amsterdam I took the train to Paris and arrived for the opening of the Ed Ruscha show at the Jeu de Paume. My significant squeeze, Mary, is Ed's assistant... so she was already there, settled in a hoity toity hotel room off the Rue de Rivoli; not my usual haunt, but hey, I got used to it. I commenced to schmooze.
The next evening I played a sweet little gig over on the left bank... near the Pantheon at a place called La Pomme d'Eve (the fire marshall on the left bank must be wealthy from looking the other way). Herve Oudet has been running this series for a while and he seems to be in the game for the love of it. We need people like this. My guitar sounded terrific in the club thanks to the quick work of a master guitar repairman named Alain Queguiner. My pickup wasn't putting out like it should have (hey, tell me about it) and Alain performed a little pre-gig surgery and saved my extrémité arrière.... (derriere a vous).
I also had the pleasure of playing La Pomme d'Eve with a wonderful multi-instrumentalist named Renaud Pion. I first met Renaud a few years back at the Harry Smith tribute in London at Royal Festival Hall .... and later in Brooklyn at St. Anne's for a similar show. He plays bass clarinet, bass flute, clarinet in C and, I trust, other rather uncommon woodwinds. We will try to do this again... he plays some cool stuff. I also was joined on C-H-I-C-K-E-N by Bill Morrissey who was in town to play the same venue. Nice to have Bill thumping on that one. That John Hurt material is his meat.
My stay in Paris was made ever so easy by the fact that my old Cambridge friend, James Field (ex Charles River Valley Boy), is living there part of the year with his wife, Pat Buckley. These two guys couldn't stop helping out with translation, shopping, getting the guitar fixed, choosing the best huitres (oysters) et fromage (you know), talking up the gig... it went on and on.
After a few extra days in Paris, Mary flew home to LA and I headed off to London by Eurostar through the Chunnel. My old friend and producer, Joe Boyd, asked me to play at the Barbican where he was reading from his soon-to-be-published book. So I did. There was a festival of sorts going on with British Folk legends and their followers. Mike Heron (from the Incredible String band), Martin Carthy, Norma Waterson, et al were there for all to enjoy. I hadn't really heard Norma before and in the words of Little Walter, "She moved me, Man".
A couple of days later, Joe and I were joined by engineer / producer John Wood at the BBC Folk Awards show. Legends galore... Ashley Hutchings (founder of Fairport Convention [btw, he related as how he played jug in the first iteration of the band]), Martin and Norma again, Richard Thompson, Paul Brady and many more were honored. My friend, Martin Simpson, presented one of the awards. Joe and John got an award for "Most Influencial Folk Album of All Time" with the Fairport album, Leige and Leif. It was quite a night. We have nothing like it for folk music in The States. Very civilized.
So, now I'm back in LA tending to business. Funny, but I don't consider touring as work... the work starts when I get home. It's all okay though. I'm a lucky man.
Well... that's it for now. We're getting near to the Fritz tribute shows in Berkeley (March 18th), Tokyo (April 2nd) and Cambridge (April 16th). There will be a lot to tell you about.
Take care.
Geoff