All Tour Stories

Summer Festivals - Europe 1996

Posted: July 12, 1996 by Hinge

7/06 Open Air Fest - Burgstadt, Germany
Boy am I happy to be back in Europe. After a enjoyable flight on the superior Virgin Airways, we meet our strangely familiar tour bus and away we go. Besides our beloved 5 guys, on board for this trip we have our new buddy Bruce Manning - Sound and Road Manager. Along with Euro-first timer Fitz doing merch. We drive, seemingly forever (8 hours), to the City of Chemnitz, in search of our destination, Burgstadt. It's a grey, rainy day and all seems quiet. Not a creature was stirring. Sure doesn't look like a festival is here today. We inquire at a hotel, only to find that they know nothing about a festival. Hmmm, peculiar. So Bruce and our driver venture off to consult the local police. Meanwhile back at the bus, Billy has had his first "Monkey Fit". It's kinda like when a person loses his/her mind and freaks out uncontrolably. He screamed "Shnitzel" at a german lady for a while. An hour later, Bruce returns with the news. We are in the WRONG Burgstadt. The correct one is 5 hours away. Oh shit, were supposed to be on stage in 5 hours. The driver grumbles that he is out of driving time. Fuck it, we've got a show to do. Right? And away we go, again. Tension fills the already exhaust filled, (supposed to be air-conditioned) bus. Would we make it? Of course we would. We did, but not without one last tense moment. We meet our stretch jean and "Tyketto" hat wearin' Promoter/Blue Star guy: Ingo at the highway turn-off, and he happily tells us that we're only about 5 kilometers away from the festival site. Well, 45 minutes later we arrive, to the cheers of the awaiting masses. I think we made it with 10 minutes to spare. We frantically exit our bus and begin to prepare our high-tech rock equipment. We take the stage and kick a bit of arse, the audience totally unaware of the "behind the scenes" shit we went through. And we love it.

7/07 Umsonst & Draussen Festival - Schweinfurt, Germany
What an awkward name for a festival. I think it means "Free" & "Wet". Why? Duh! Cause thats what it was, free for the people and rainy for.. umm... the people as well. But, let me move back in time to the morning, mind you the bus was parked at last nights festival site. Upon waking, I looked out the window to observe what appeared to be a volley-ball type match. They play the game a little differently here, it's more like rugby or soccer, but with a net. It made me laugh, (giggle even). It made us all laugh. Ha Ha Ha. Sorry, it's just a memory. So anyhow, back to the festival. We arrive, on time, and have the only tour bus to be seen. Hmmm. Where's all the cool bands. Yesterday. Of course. We're headlining. Great. [heavy sarcasm] Odd, but there weren't any bathrooms backstage, so I climb a hill to the only WC for the whole festival (except for mother nature of course). I'll refrain from describing the horrors within. Relieved, yet disgusted, I venture back to the festival and meet with Kevin. We take a look around. Sure are alot of dogs running around. Lot's of cool stuff for sale too. Sloppy looking tent city as well. Yep. The day drags on. The band before us mounts the stage, and launches into a really long set of American inspired bluesy/Grateful Deady music. And then it happens... They play a song that I've heard yelled out so many times before, as a joke, at bars all over America, the World! Note:Usually when a band is floundering on stage some drunk yells "Freebird". And what a crowd pleaser it was. Then, they do a blistering (not) version of "Keep on Rockin in the Free World". Sounds a bit funny sung with a German accent. They're cool though, no criticism meant, just an observation. So, we mount the stage, set up, and lo and behold, the sky cracks open and down pours the rain. "Hal - 0 - Eh - Lou - Ya". After being announced as "From California" and then as "The Kelly Family", we play a most powerful and spirited set. [I'm trying to find new ways to say "We Rocked!"] During the show I look over to the Soggy Merchandise booth to see Fitz struggling with the locals and the language barrier. He's a master at non-verbal communications, and does a fine job in this unfamiliar land. Another great show under our belts, and we're off! DID YOU KNOW? the McDonalds here sells Indiana Baseball Hats and charges for Ketchup? Strange but True. Chris kissed a beautiful girl. This was a good day.

7/08 Forellenhof - Salzgitter, Germany
Our first show with the Hare Krishna aligned band Shelter. It's still raining. The air conditioner still doesn't function, and the extreme temperature fluctuations in the bus are beginning to take there toll. Oh, cool, the microwave stopped working too. Can't wait till the engine quits. Anyhow, still having an incredible time. Can't wait to see Shelter. They seem like really nice guys, and the Hare Krishna thing really intrigues me. They're also vegetarians, like myself. Actually, only the singer and guitarist are Krishnas. The other two are regular, ass kicking rock guys. The drummer used to do sound at the cool N.Y.C. club "The Wetlands". They have 2 Brazilian roadies whom I won't talk about. The cooks at this fine club refused to prepare any Meat. So Bruce (the mucky diplomat) tries to tactfully talk to said cooks. They told him if we wanted to eat meat, they would go home and get us a gun, and we could go and kill something to eat. Anyhow, had an excellent time sweating like never before during this show. It was the hottest [temperature] onstage experience ever, and I came very close to passing out several times [ed- awww]. There is a little known law here,seems the locals are forced to place a Mega-Watt light about 5 inches away from my face, and leave it on constantly, so as the people could better see my facial contortions. Thanks. Hey, just want to say hello to my new friends Suna and her friend David from the band "U-nit-U". Thanks for the CD. I like it. As a matter of fact, it's in my CD player now. Away we go.

7/09 U2 - Bad Worrishoffen, Germany
Day 2 with SHELTER. It's still raining. Just 37 more days of this, and I'm gonna rename this bus the "Mucky Ark". Hey wait, it stopped raining, people laughing, people playing. Time for some Frisbee with Shelter drummer and "Skin Tight Stretch Jeans" Ingo. All's well until Ingo throws the flying disc into a corn field. He spent a while exploring the field. He later said that he was trying to create a crop circle. See how un-glamorous life on the road is. We find many a mundane way to pass the time out here. Reading, monopoly, monkey fits, cruel jokes upon others, eating and perhaps our all time favorite, the daily nap. Sight-seeing also ranks high, but there aren't any sights to see today - barring the new crop-circle. Later this evening, after rocking out, we settle back to watch Shelter. Kevin's on stage video taping. Billy and Booge are also lurking about. I'm drunk, yet lucid, having a great time. Shelter singing guy decides to have a stage diving contest. The lucky contestants include our own Monkey Billy. He won (naturally). Quite graceful, I might add. Later that night, we lend Shelter singer guy some videos, and he gives us 2 pretty violent kick boxing tapes. Hmmm.

7/10 Lindenpark - Potsdam, Germany
Not hard to tell that were back in East Germany cause I'm awakened by the "Thump", "Thump", "Thump", of their bumpy ass roads. Saw a really scary accident as well. (why is it we can't help slowing down to examine the carnage?) As we pull into town, we're greeted by a huge sign for Germany's #1 movie studio. Did you ever see the Fritz Lang's classic "Metropolis"? Well, they've heard of it here too. That was a joke. They filmed it here. They even have the gilded robot featured in the movie. Made me think of our adventures at Universal studios in Hollywood. Got some free Red Bull, (energy drink that tastes like gummy bears), while talking to some fans on the street. Heard that one of the main ingredients is the extract of bull testicles. I have no comment about this. I pity the bulls though. The 2 support bands were kind of interesting. One was from Sweden and featured an intriguing girl guitarist. Kevin liked her alot. Two bad the sound sucked. We did our thing, and away we go. back to top 7/11 LVC - Leiden, Holland Boy, do I love Holland (and not just for the drugs). If you've read my other tour stories, you know why. I don't want to be redundant, so I'll skip the details, but let me say this.....I always get a warm fuzzy feeling whenever I see those bicycle roads and the thousands of people who use them. Why can't America have bicycle roads? Anyhow, today we're anxiously awaiting the arrival of our buddies from "Nastasee", who are here for 2 shows. Did I mention that I really love Holland. Yeah, I did. Silly me. Leiden is a really beautiful city, there was even a boat parade. The boats were all done up in different themes, kinda tacky. Hence the origin of our parade "Floats". Wait, I'm rambling - almost incoherently. Whats up with that? After a fun, tension free day, our American pals (Nastasee) arrive following their long journey just in time for the show. We kick ass in there honor. And if thats not fun enough, the club turns into a disco following the show and we dance the night away. I love it!!!! Off to Belgium!

7/12 Zwemdrokrok (translated as Poolrock) (PART I) - Lummen, Belgium
How's that for a festival name! Well, it's a day off for Mucky, and the first ever show for Nastasee. They're named after their fearless leader Dan Nastasi, formerly of Mucky Pup, Dog Eat Dog, and others. He is another inspiration for me. I've never seen him play, so I'm really looking forward to this show. Appearing with him is our own Booge (drums), and Billy (bass), the incredible Scott LePage (guitar), and Pablo + Jack on horns. Will get back to them later, but first, let's talk about some of the other rock luminaries in the house. Ever heard of a band called "Dogstar"? You probably never would if it wasn't for the fact that their bassist is Keanu Reeves and the drummer used to be Brian the Cop on "Days of Our Lives". So, we're hangin out, and the Dogstar tourbus pulls up. The air is electric with Keanu mania. There he is! Oh man, he don't look so good today. But it's him! Now usually being around celebrities doesn't faze us at all. [spoken as smug as possible] But Keanu, well, he's a movie star, and thats a bit different. Several of us try really hard to not get caught taking his picture or video taping him. Then they play. The girls love him/them. They scream at his every move...glance.....gesture. The band?

Well, I really think Keanu is a talented bass player. I wish he played in a cooler band though. The songs were just a bit too sappy/wimpy for me. Not bad, just not for me. Hey, there's Fred Schneider of The B-52s. I love that guy. Okay, being their first ever show, (Nastasee), the main order of business being to kick holy ass, they spend much time in isolation practicing in their modular dressing room. I get to play the role of stage hand/guitar tech. today. I love it. It's nice to have a different perspective on the festival. Show time. I'm more nervous and excited that I get before one of our shows. Butterflies in my stomach even. They mount the stage (no sexual jokes please). They play beautifully, the horns adding an interesting texture to the 2 guitar attack of Danny and Scott. It's great watching Billy and Booge also, and I have more respect for their musical talent now than ever. This is really fun. The show goes off without a hitch, and now it's time to celebrate with everyone. Ciao.

7/12 Zwemdrokrok (PART II) - Lummen, Belgium
2 shows, 2 bands, one day. First, Mucky gets to play here at Zwemblabla..., and then its of to the Dour Festival in Belgium. Thanks to some last minute cancellations and schedule juggling, we're able to pull off this incredible day. Checked out some other bands I've never heard of. I do some people watching out in the audience. Show time! You know, I've said this before, but we kick ass. I love us. [editor: not meant to sound egotistical, more like - we're happy together as people, and a band] On Chris' entrance to the stage: half way to the mic he trips and wipes out. Ha. On further investigation (Slo-Mo Video Technology) it was found that this was a "Prat Fall" ala Chevy Chase, early Saturday Night Live era. Elvis makes his appearance. He looks a bit more svelte then usual. It's hard to get a good peanut butter and banana sandwich in Belgium. And then, in a flash we pack up all of our high tech rock gear and hit the road to Dour. No problem. We arrive just in time to catch a few songs by Biohazard, one of our old time buddy bands.

Then, we get Nastasee up and ready for action. Bear in mind following Biohazard is not the easiest thing to do. Great show, with lots of audience members on stage and one of Danny's now legendary excursions into and on top of the audience. Man, am I having fun. I really love seeing a festival from this perspective. Dog Eat Dog are to play after Nastasee, but an accident in Spain and a lengthy drive, delay their arrival. They show up really late, but the audience waits. And waits. And waits. Here they are. Frantically, they mount the stage (please again, no sexual jokes). It's nice to see former Mucky bassist Mark D. Baker in the house. He kills on guitar. You know, I've never seen Dog Eat Dog before, and really aren't familiar with their music, but I must say I enjoyed them. Danny even joined them for their big hit "Who's the King", which I think he wrote. And then, it was time to go. Bye Bye Belgium! See you soon.