This Wednesday I will perform for the final time on this trip to France.
I will take to the stage where the concerts began at Le Grattoir in Gerardmer.
This will be my final show before I perform in Germany the following weekend.
Following the completion of my UK dates I have decided to hit the road out in Europe Early.
Some amazing experiences have already been had driving around the continent and I was overjoyed to perform at Le Grattoir in Gerardmer as well as performing at the Ramène ta Graine Fest in Xonrupt Longemer.
I also had the fortune of sharing the stage with ‘Nonox’ who is a young talented beatboxer.
Check out our unplanned rendition of my tune ‘Pish’ (with a bit of freestyle thrown in).
I plan to continue travelling round France for the next couple of weeks before my 1st shows kick off in Germany:
Tonight I will be returning to the stage at one of my favourite venues France has to offer.
11 Boulevard Kelsch, 88400 Gérardmer, France
+33 3 29 63 02 53
Live Music From about 9pm
Following the completion of the Swiss leg of the tour it was back to France for one final show before Italy.
The drive was long and winding as the journey travelled over mountains and through valleys.
It was out to West France to play an english run pub in the small town of Charroux.
It was surprising to find the audience was 95% English. Wonderful and friendly but very weird at the same time. What was a pleasure was to see some familiar faces from the UK who were now living out there. Familiar faces on the road is almost always a bonus.
The Show was chance to try some very new and untested songs. Amongst the full set 6 songs were unreleased.
Following this we begun the trip towards Italy. Stopping at many places along the way including the Lot Valley, Ariege, Aude, Carcasson and finally in the far South West where my brother and his wife were staying.
Asmara took some further shots of our journey:
Now going back to what I was saying about familiar faces. To see your own family in the middle of a tour which has taken you round many new and unknown places for me was the best example of this. We chilled and chatted as well as ate and were merry. Just a perfect break from the transience and random.
Every once in a while we would stop and try to take a dip in a river. Sadly this one was PRETTY DAMN COLD!!!
Live and Learn.
Next stop is my First show in Italy – Vicenza
The tours will often find themselves flowing in fits and bursts. Live music is more in demand around a weekend so to speak as the population is generally more free and available to devote some time to it.
This little burst of 3 shows braggingly boasted to be in the 3 different countries is actually no more than 3 – 5 hours apart from one another as I weave my way along borderlines. Often the change is not dramatic (none more than a EU sign to say you are entering of leaving Germany or France.) However upon reaching the Swiss border one is always encountering queues. No so much for Border checks although they do occasionally happen. But more because of people stopping to invest in an annual highway pass for their vehicle.
As my stay is brief inside the swiss border I try my hand for a 2nd year at avoiding the highways and simply venturing through the smaller roads. Which can prove to be a real a challenge to navigate avoiding the state highway.
Anyway I ramble ahead of myself because first was Strasbourg, France. A sweet little club called Mudd. The owners were hip hop Dj’s among other things and the environment as a whole encouraged me to blare out the electronic material. A couple of familiar faces were there amongst the numbers whom I had met through Dutch bookings a year prior.
One of whom Malika ( a musician and performer herself) gave me some cherished an honest advice regarding the set up of my show. I used to always play with my chimes set to the side. She said that every time I turned side on to play it loses something in the show. I was pleased to be able to show her I have taken her advice and shifted my rig around.
Next came a house concert. In Germany, A small quaint place Markdorff. I knew the house owners who had booked me a couple of times for a festival back in 2013 & 14. To see them again was great and the warmth and familiarity of their characters brought comfort to my road trip mindset. Amazing food was also on the menu and a Vegan feast was had :P.
Finally was onto Switzerland where I returned to Zurich for my 3rd show there in less than a year.
The location was a bohemian bar called Am Damm Fur Dich. The place is small and compact inside but because of the awesome weather I was asked to play in their large outside garden. This was a total joy to do and small panic hit me shortly after I finished when a sudden storm blew in. Suddenly I had to get all my equipment inside double fast. I don’t think there has been any damage.
My first day off since arriving in Zurich has been spent swimming in the river close by. Truly beautiful and almost unbelievable to be swimming in such clean water in the centre of the city.
Truly stunning!!!
Next stop will be playing alongside Damien Rice at the Blue Balls festival in Luzern, Switzerland
Live music from about 8pm
For the 3rd time in 3 years I will be returning to tour in France.
This will mark the start of a run or European shows through the summer starting on the French East Coast.
More shows will be announced in time and of course if you want me to perform local to you and you live in Europe please get in touch.
Here’s an audience recording from France last year:
Cheers,
Stoo
Nearly 30 mins of concert footage from my show last night in France has surfaced on you tube.
The audience recording is only a single static camera but the sound is pretty clear.
The songs captured are:
1. Alaskan Sky (From the 1st verse onwards) 0:00
2. Initiate 4.50
3. Map of Shibuya 8.20
4. Bugscope (currently unreleased) 16:30
5. Distance from Ear to Ear 22:30
Also from about 15:30 you can hear me looping & manipulating the sounds of this little music box I picked up earlier on the tour in Poland:
My thanks to Pascal for filming , uploading and linking the footage.
Nearly 5 months on the road and my penultimate European show kicks off in a couple of hours.
Le Grattoir – Gérardmer – France
11 Bd Kelsch 88400 Gérardmer
About 8pm Start
My first ever show in France 😀
Stuart O'Connor 