She has spent a couple of days hanging out with the German Mechanics and they managed to see that she is back to form in time to enable me to continue the tour.
This means that with joyful glee I can play the final show of mainland Europe this Sunday in Tiel – Netherlands.
From there I will return to the UK and play my first show of the UK tour in Bournemouth on Tuesday.
Fingers crossed I have no more problems and my musical quest can continue.
Thanks to all the folks for the well wishes and to the lovely people in Berlin who guided me round this wonderful City.
I am gutted to say that last night my tour Van took a turn for the worse and broke down in Berlin. 😦
Creeky noises and leaking liquids is not a good sign.
Today I got a diagnosis of possibly Friday or Monday for her to be road worthy.
The cost to repair is high and what I’m spending will take a long time to make back.
But you win some and lose some and I’ve had my fair share of good luck in recent times. Also all that said I am healthy and alive and weirdly happy to be off the road for a couple of days and in a city that has so much to offer and discover.
Also I’m overjoyed with how this tour has been received that as I type I’m 100% aiming to return to Europe next year.
My show for tomorrow in Amsterdam is cancelled and dependent on how the mechanical situation goes possibly Sunday in Tiel (But I hope not).
‘Kindred Falls’ is a song written way back 2007. It was recorded during the sessions for ‘The Distance From Here’ with Leon Camfield playing Fretless Bass and Chris Hollis on the drums.
The song was only performed live a couple of times at the Theatre Royal in Stratford E.London.
It finally saw it’s release only on the CD release of Go Forth Bright Scenic as a bonus track which can be ordered from Here:
So I have decided no matter how old the tour times should be I will try to blog as best I can.
This show was my final 2012 show in Japan. It must end somewhere and the gods of random bookings decided it should be here.
Unshudo Osaka was once again a show shared with the awesome NolenNiu-de-Ossi.
This once again resulted in us being able to join forces for a performance of `1-2-Seppuku`.
Onstage in Unshudo – Photo taken by Yuki Yokomichi
To say it was the perfect send off from the land of the rising sun would to be honest be a lie.
Onstage in Unshudo – Photo taken by Yuki Yokomichi
I was littered with technical issues and found it hard to relax.
Onstage in Unshudo – Photo taken by Yuki Yokomichi
Then to top it off this was a rare time in which a member of the audience was noticeably loud. She was gabbering away in Japanese ignorant or just choosing to ignore the fact this was a acoustic show with an otherwise very respectful and attentive audience.
Onstage in Unshudo – Photo taken by Yuki Yokomichi
I wanted to tell her to be quiet but did not want to destroy the atmosphere for the show for others.
Unshudo Set List
Alas I think I made the wrong choice as the situation only ended up frustrating me further.
Rehearsing with Yasushi for my performance
Still it was awesome to see and share the stage with NolenNiu-de-Ossi once more. A truly great undiscovered gem of a band.
Performing 1-2-Seppuku with Nolen Niu De Ossi – Yasushi Kita – Shimisen & Toruko Nolen – Accordion.
During their set later in the night the same lady with her loud mouth proceeded to run it. I could see how much of a distraction this was being to Yasushi and Toruko from the stage.
I took great joy in telling her to shut the fuck up. I don`t think she fully understood me but she got the message from my tone of voice. It was great to see this bring a smile to NolenNiu-de-Ossi and they thanked my after 🙂
Onstage in Unshudo – Photo taken by Toruko Nolen
And from there that was it. Tour done and job done. From here I took the train back to Tokyo and got ready for my flight to the next destination.
Stuart O'Connor 