THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 43 ( I think)
Luton Airport at an unholy hour . I had to stay at an airport hotel to be able to be in time for the plane, but the promised 10 minute walk turned out to be twice as long and involved vaulting a fence with my bags. The first show is at Gagarin in Tel Aviv tomorrow and I regret listening to the news before the sun rose this morning. It’s a polarised planet and it seems half of the human population is hellbent on making it as ugly as possible. It’s up to the other half to counter this… with respect, sympathy and love.
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 44
Involves a choice on this sunny morning…
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 45
The ecstasy of last night’s show before a warm wonderful audience was tempered when I landed back at the hotel and heard that Tom Verlaine had passed away.
It’s been a cruel year with too many long time heroes lost, yet still it takes me by surprise when the bad news drops.
I played those old Television albums until the grooves turned to black sand back in the day. Rest in peace Tom.
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 46
30 January- Some flights are more demanding than others.Yesterday’s 5 hour haul was significantly delayed mainly because a handful of individuals couldn’t bring themselves around to actually SITTING DOWN as the plane was preparing to leave the airport. Then I accidentally knocked my glasses to the floor around halfway through the trip and had to squeeze myself into the space between my seat and the one in front on hands and knees in an effort to retrieve them.Ultimately I was saved by the good soul in the seat behind me.
Still enough wallowing in misery. Athens is the destination on Friday and it feels like the right moment for some shameless promotion. European shows listed below- do pass the word on!
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 47
4 February- Athens. Two floors up … I’ve always loved coming to Greece. Tonight will be our 4th show here so far at Gagarin 205 when we share the bill with And Also The Trees ( a real honour.. a wonderful band). My mood is good and I was even able to enjoy a warm bath despite the lack of a dedicated plug thanks to the invention below ( invert small sink plug and place in heavy glass, then insert the whole into larger plastic glass so it covers the area where water escapes). Now I will explore this wonderful city…
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 48
5 February- Athens. Six Floors high and the wind is howling as the rain lashes the window.
Occasionally this phone howls along with an emergency warning for heavy snow and I do wonder if we’ll manage to fly North according to the schedule today.
Last night’s show in Gagarin 205 was a rollercoaster although I fell out of the carriage early on when I failed to notice my personal monitor and nosedived to the hard unforgiving stage.
I’m feeling it in my knees this morning but the embarrassment was worse.
What to do in those red-faced moments? We were playing “This is the Museum” where the mantra is “Human Happiness ” over and over again. I changed it to ” Human Clumsiness ” and moved on.
An old friend ( Artem) reminded me that I fell over on stage when we visited Odessa a few years ago.. I blamed him for the misfortune!
If the Gods on the mountain permit, we’ll fly this afternoon. Wish us luck!
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 49
6 February- Nijmegen. A city close to my heart as I lived here for quite a few years and still have lots of friends in the neighbourhood. Today will be spent loading plastic boxes with cds, vinyl , shirts and odd bits of paraphernalia we can find for the tour. Raymond is on his bike picking up books for the coming adventure as I type (there is a week long bus strike going on). A day of counting, lifting, drinking tea and ultimately falling down. Ah, the glamour of being on the road….
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 50
7 February- I left the UK as the trains went on strike. I arrived in The Netherlands as the buses went on strike. Is it something I said?
Even so, good exercise…
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 51
8 February- Another day of preparing our wares for the road by searching the racks and reaching into cupboards. I reckon we’re there now, I even discovered a few things which I didn’t know existed ( or maybe forgot about). Almost ready for lift off…
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 52
9 February- Our first ride in the van awaits later today as we travel a couple of hours North for a show at The Q Factory in Amsterdam.
It’s always an emotional night for me with old friends in attendance and memories of friends lost over the 30 years since I lived in the city.
I’m wondering if we’ll drive past my old home in Nieuwe Zijds Voorburgwal – a squat near the station which was emptied and turned into a kind of yuppie cafe ( I believe). Entire albums were recorded in my downstairs room on an 8 track recorder on the floor with yours truly lying on his side, playing a keyboard, crooning into a cheap microphone, because there was no chair or table.
There was a police station across the street and I recall being yelled at by one of Amsterdam’s finest as I procured a brick from a building site to smash with a hammer in a solo show later in the evening ( I went to the show by tram).
Just two snapshots.. a lot happened since then! Pass the word around- we intend to rock the Q Factory this evening!
The lovely photo attached was taken by Leif Niemczik who offered it freely via the internet . Thank you Leif!
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 53
10 February- The Q Factory in Amsterdam is a wonderful venue but… say it loud…”Hallo Cleveland!”
I had just found the dressing room when the the message came that food was being served.
The instruction was ‘ Turn left outside the door, exit the corridor through the door on the left, ascend the stairs, turn left , at the poster with the guitarist turn right, then right into the hall, walk through hall , turn left into corridor, then right into the glass chamber.’ Google Maps do not always help. Still Joep found me, a little panicked but still functional.
Happily the show was a stormer and if you don’t look TOO closely at the picture it appears we followed in the footsteps of some serious names.
Tonight we play in the small Belgian town of Ittre, just South of Brussels in a venue named Zikzak.
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 54
11 February- It was one of those days when the sun looked like the moon, pale as cold porridge, needing a hug. We crawled through the countryside, turning left right left right, frequently swerving as the roads narrowed, entering the village of Ittre and then leaving again for a place that seemingly borrowed the name. The poor postman needs a name.
The Zikzak venue is truly special, but also hidden from the busy highways, the mean streets, the ‘real World’. And happily enough people found the magical spot on the map to make last night’s show truly memorable.
Even so, now we move on. Another new club for us tonight – The Piano Bar in Dortmund. Spread the word!
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 55
12 February- Last night saw The Pink Dots play in Dortmund for the first time in perhaps 30 years and we couldn’t have wished for a better welcome.
Stepping into Musiktheater Piano was like tiptoeing into another dimension. History seeped out of the walls, ghosts foxtrotted across the dance floor, there were chandeliers, angels in the architecture yet no sense of decay. Much love had gone into preserving this very special theatre.
That love is also offered to all who play there. We have rarely been made THAT welcome anywhere in the World.
Today sees us driving for just an hour down the highway to Cologne and a show at Helios. We hope to see you there!
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 56
13 February- A day off from the road after a storming show in Cologne last night. This is the mellow end of the tour with a couple of short drives before heading East in the next few days. We even took the scenic route to Cologne yesterday as we had a little bit of precious time to fill, so it was a case of rolling up and down green hills and enjoying cakes and coffee in a small town that I have forgotten the name of.
Days like that are rarer than mysterious objects drifting over Alaska. Maybe a simple sign would be sufficient….
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 57
14 February- It felt like Spring in The Netherlands yesterday. With no urgent issues to attend to, I took the bus an hour North and spent the day in Nijmegen.
The day couldn’t have started better as I bumped into Ryan within 5 minutes of getting off the bus. Sometimes Lady Fate smiles, especially on sunny days, and we hastily exchanged 10 years of experiences.
The rest of the day involved pancakes, wandering by the river, and delicious quesadillas in the evening. The glorious 13th allowed me the rest I didn’t realise I needed.
Today is Valentines Day and we’ll spend it on the highway to Hamburg . Tonight’s venue is Hafenklang….if you’re in the area, we’d love to see you.
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 58
15 February- It’s grey out there this morning. The blanket of fog covering Hamburg harbour this morning is so thick, I’ll need a miner’s helmet just to cross the road.
Happily the drive is just 3 hours to Berlin today so there is time for it all to clear, but for now the horns will howl and the city will crawl.
As for last night’s show, I have to say it was delightful. We played the Hafenklang a decade ago and perhaps 40 or so people showed up but that was not the case last night. It was a great turnout- especially for a Tuesday Night – and they propelled us into a fiery performance.
Tonight we play one of our favourite venues in Europe- the Quasimodo. We’d love to see you!
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 59
16 February- There is always a special thrill attached to playing in Berlin although I’ve lost count of the number of shows we’ve had in the city.
Even so the swift swoop down the autobahn to the German capital yesterday struck a startling contrast to our first shows there.
For a start there was a border. Passports would be gathered and we’d watch them shuffle down a kind of hanging conveyor belt in order to be stamped and issued with transit visas. Welcome to the DDR!
The highway to Berlin from then onwards would be a bumpy corridor which we were strongly advised to stay on.
Still on the Skinny Puppy / EK solo Tour of 1988 , we perhaps unwisely chose to leave the corridor and check out the town of Neubrandenburg.
Worse…. there was a compound with tanks and we had those new fangled video cameras onboard.
When we hit the East German border close to Berlin, our bus was turned over for two hours – yet they somehow missed the camera with the incriminating footage.
We were relieved and limped to the WEST German checkpoint. They too searched the bus interminably- it was as if the guards in the East phoned their equivalents in the West. Solidarity.
As for last night, it was perhaps one of our favourite shows in the great city.
Onwards to beautiful Prague tonight and a show at Underdogs.
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 60
17 February- I first visited Prague back in 1978 . I was a wide-eyed idealist looking for Utopia on the other side of the Iron Curtain.
Of course I didn’t find that promised land but I had a thrilling time after befriending a Bulgarian student named Wessalinka who sneaked me into her student quarters via the window after I found myself stranded at Prague Central Station. An impromptu party with around 15 Bulgarian students ensued before I collapsed in a corner on my mattress.
I never would have believed it if someone told me back then that I’d be standing on the stage at The Eden Hall before a huge crowd little more than a decade later.
Prague remains precious to me – last night’s sold out show was a real stormer. The city has changed radically since those days of State tourist vouchers, visas and secret shows by courageous defiant Czech bands, but the magic never fades.
Onwards to Budapest tonight and a show at Instant.
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 61
18 February- I’m typing this missive in an Ibis hotel room in Budapest after an enjoyable show in the city last night.
There’s plenty of time to kill as today’s drive to Pecs is a short one, but I’m excited to see a new city!
Even so I’m relieved to hear that 100 tickets have been sold for the event so far as our last show in provincial Hungary was a little bizarre.
That was back in 2005 when we were scheduled to play in Debrecen.
As we drove East the proposed venue seemed to change but we dutifully followed the new instructions only to arrive in front of a locked door with a note on it.
The note revealed that the show would happen at yet another location after a last minute change.
Again we followed the instructions and landed at a small pub with around 9 people inside. They looked surprised as we hauled our equipment inside and began setting up and sound checking.
Ultimately the promoter ( a lovely guy I must say!) and a few friends watched the show as the original 9 occupants of the establishment fled.
I promise it will be different at the Nappali Club tonight!
The pictures are from last night’s venue.
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 62
19 February- Pecs is wonderful. It’s a truly beautiful city in the South of Hungary that dates back to Roman times, and a new mark on the map for The Legendary Pink Dots.
The small Nappali club was packed for our show last night and the welcome we received was heartwarming.
I think we rose to the occasion despite one vital cable dying after 20 years in the second song and causing the whole sound to drop out. The gremlins were out to get us last night but they weren’t going to bring us down.
Off to Bratislava today and a show at the Fuga Club. Do spread the word!
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 63
20 February- Club Fuga in Bratislava is a magical labyrinth. Corridors lead to passages and secret spaces and the main room is resembles a long cave. We swam through the smoke to reach the stage and I confess that this kind of atmosphere always inspires us like no other. It was an intense show!
It also struck quite a contrast with our only other performance in the Slovakian capital two decades ago.
We had spent 4 hours at the border trying to have this ridiculous customs form stamped. The unnecessary abuse of power was finally addressed by the promoter of our show who drove to the frontier to remonstrate with irritating men in uniform. After a loud argument he signaled for us to ‘DRIVE’.
So we did ….with customs officers screaming and waving their arms at us as we sped away. I needed a long drink that day – I just should have waited until AFTER the show.
A short drive to Vienna today, the venue is Replugged. Hopefully see you there!
The mysterious picture zooms in on a hole in the wall at Club Fuga.
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 64
21 February- It was a rip roaring show in Vienna last night despite an almost painfully long introduction.
Potentially it’s the band’s worst nightmare – they’ve taken the stage after a relatively smooth sound check and the machines remain stubbornly silent.
Yet again a cable was to blame but it wasn’t clear which one, and poor Joep had the task of scrambling around on hands and knees to find the culprit.
Meanwhile Erik strummed his guitar, at first tentatively but with more and more purpose as the seconds ticked by while I had a conversation with God about dying cables .
Of course when the story was getting interesting, the problem was solved… such is life.
Off to Munich today for a show at Backstage. Traditionally the city in South Germany is a difficult one for the Dots, so please spread the word! Tonight the wires must work!
Today’s pic was taken on a stroll through lovely Bratislava yesterday morning.
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 65
22 February- It feels like a good moment to talk about food on the road.
After my rant about cheese in the U.S a few months back, a few kind souls have been bringing their local produce to convince me that Texas isn’t the place to go for a culinary treat.
The cheese I was given in Vienna (thank you Michael!) was excellent but I really should have washed my hands and indulged in a little mouthwash before taking the stage. Very quickly the microphone reminded me of cheesy treasures earlier in the evening.
Still, rule 1 on the road is ‘always eat in the city’ if you can. Highway stops can be challenging..
I guess the most honest break I had at a road stop was way back in the 90s, in the middle of the night close to Osnabruck.
The menu came with a disclaimer which went like this: ‘ We know our food is perhaps not of the highest quality, but are you truly expecting anything any different?’ I ordered the mushroom omelette and struck oil with the first stab of my fork.
Thanks to all who made last night’s show in Munich such a treat – maybe my favourite ever in the city.
Onwards to Sedel in Lucerne today and the dreaded Swiss border. Wish us luck!
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 66
23 February- Our show in the welcoming Sedel venue in Lucerne last night coincided with the end of the carnival so attendance was sparse.
We were told it’s traditionally a night when people stay home to recover from the previous days of Dionysian excess and a late appointment with The Pink Dots was seemingly a little too much for fragile constitutions.
Nevertheless we enjoyed our intimate show. The 40 or so people who attended got behind us and made the occasion truly special.
Switzerland is an astonishingly beautiful country and we do love visiting but today we’ll drive South to Bologna in Italy for a date at the Freakout Club. Hopefully see you there.
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 67
24 February- I’m typing this diary entry from a hotel on the edge of Bologna after a fine show on the city last night.
Italy invariably means an adventure and this was the case even a few hours ago when the hotel clerk seemed determined not to find our reservation. Still it’s decidedly minor compared to events in the past.
Last night’s small dispute in the lobby reminds me of one stressful night 18 years ago when a polite request for my passport saw me search my bag only to find nothing.
I turned everything over, a small mountain of old boarding passes, one dollar bills , supermarket receipts and scrawled messages mounted on the desk.. but no passport. It was the beginning of a tour and we were going to Naples and then a return trip to Athens by ship and although I managed to claim my bed that night sans passport, I didn’t sleep a wink.
The sleep deprivation took its toll after the Naples show when I literally fell asleep leaning on a pillar in the club.
Remarkably we managed to crawl all the way around the South of Europe with one missing passport until we were stopped in a tunnel trying to enter Switzerland.
The border police were unimpressed with my Dutch residence permit but, after a long argument , decided to run it through a scanner. And …..it worked!!
And my passport? I’d left it on my chaotic couch at home.
Tonight we play at the Bloom nightclub in Mezzago. Hopefully see you there!
The picture accompanying this missive depicts Objjjjustcrombivob , the obnoxious demon who hides passports.
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 68
25 February- After a couple of hours playing ‘tag’ with restless trucks on the autostrade, the village of Mezzago came as quite a surprise.
It’s just 30 km from Milan but exists in a dimension where traffic jams are caused by straying tractors and it’s safe to breathe deeply.
There also seems to be a complete absence of public transport so we were worried that almost nobody would show up for our performance last night.
Happily the attendance was more than respectable and we had a fine time.
Sometimes the unlikeliest places can turn out to be the best.
One such visit that comes to mind was perhaps 20 years ago when we were invited to a very private evening at a farmhouse near Lyon.
Imagine a full P.A system on the second floor of a large barn and 100 people gyrating to the Dots on a floor from another century.
The security was very effective too.. a serious and rather terrifying goose that did its best to prevent us from leaving our van.
Off to the Dampfzentrale in Bern today. A wonderful venue but, again, the dreaded Swiss border.
Today’s picture shows a lonely soul in stone outside our hotel.
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 69
26 February- Is a day off……The view is serene. It’s Sunday morning in Berne and we’ll saunter to a peaceful location in the French countryside. Have a nice day…
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 70
27 February- We enjoyed our brief sojourn in this remote corner of France. The large log cabin we occupied could have been a little warmer but the location near the town of Langres was special, literally a few paces away from a beautiful lake.
Even so, it’s back to the highway later today for a show at Petit Bain in Paris.
It’s a city we always look forward to returning to as our relationship with the French capital is precious and stretches back for decades.
The second phase of the Post Pandemic Tour is almost done but we’re planning a closing chapter for late Autumn.
Now we‘ll go in search of decent coffee and a fresh baguette.
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 71
28 February- Hard to believe we were playing on a cold Monday night in February on a boat a few hours ago.
We were given a heartwarming Parisian welcome on the floating Petit Bain and the floor was packed. The Dots have an enduring love affair with the French capital that stretches all the way back to 1986 when the venue was The Rex Club yet it was encouraging to see a gathering of all ages before us. Even so, there were many old friends in attendance which made the show especially emotional.
Today we drive 5 hours South for a show on ANOTHER boat that we also have a long relationship with- the Sonic in Lyon.
It’s the final date of this chapter of the Post Pandemic Tour but no – we’re not done just yet..
Today’s picture is the view from the hotel window this morning. I was a bit slow with the lens yesterday , but at least it’s a nice day…..
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 72
1 March- Lyon.It’s the morning after the last show of this particular adventure and I’m preparing to head for the airport.
We had a fine time on the Sonic boat last night which was literally packed to the rafters, and it was a fitting end to this leg of the tour.
Nevertheless, the necessary flight at the beginning and end of a tour creates a special kind of stress.
Too often I have found myself running for a plane over the years, although nothing compares with the drama of a trip to Tromso in Norway for a solo show back in 2008.
Check-in at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport closed at 9.30 am so we thought we’d be safe by starting the 120 km drive just before 6.
However nothing could have prepared us for the chaos on the roads that morning. As we crawled up the highway, it soon became evident that the only hope we had of reaching our destination was to risk less travelled paths.
Deviations, diversions and the occasional semi legal move saw us reach the airport at 9.28 and 2 of us toppled out of the car and sped to the check- in desk as a dutiful policeman screamed at us for presumably breaking some obscure law ( we ignored him).
Thankfully the person at the check- in showed Alena and me some sympathy as Phil and Ray parked the car. But we made it. Just….
Let it be simpler today.
Today’s accompanying picture depicts an artist’s impression of a hero of mine on the wall of yesterday’s hotel in Paris.
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS POST PANDEMIC TOUR DAY 73
2 March- I guess we must have offended the Travel gods.
A day of misery began at around 9am as Randall tried to check in for our flight only to see that it had been cancelled.
We duly booked the next one which meant 5 hours in the deeply frustrating Saint Exupéry Airport of Lyon.
British Airways don’t seem to offer early bag drop so I was stuck with my grey monster for 3 hours. Of course the internet barely works in that thriving hub so a lot of time was spent kidding ourselves that the little blue line on our phones was actually moving.
Randall risked a snack at Burger King- it proved to be a lapse of judgement.
Passport control seemed rather empty yet still took around 15 minutes to get through. The second plane was half an hour late.
Then it was the turn of Heathrow… that seething sea of flesh bursting through elevator doors, mowing down the unwary.
Eventually we made it to the car park, but it took close to 30 minutes to get out of it.
But… HOME SWEET HOME!!!
