I'll put up a video log soon!
I will take a break from touring during the summer, finish the recordings and book the tours for the fall.
Here's the very very delayed blog and video log from the Indienational tour I 2008
Enjoy,
love
*Helena
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Germany/Holland/Belgium
Another Indienational tour. This time with these bands:
Shooting John | Helena Arlock | Gustav and The Seasick Sailors
With the bass player and drummer from GATSS - a bit more groovy!
29.3
Bremen, Germany
A ruff week-end. We arrived this friday, the 28th, greeted by our sweetest Nando.
So good to see the the crew of Eisen again!
The show was great and we stumbled into bed late that night accompanied by the early morning birds. By then we'd been awake for 24 hours.
..
We had the saturday off and Nando had managed to get us all tickets to the soccer game - Werder Bremen VS Duisburg.
My first game ever, exciting, and a great experience.
After the game (Bremen lost so we were all a bit sad) we got some food and went to a concert an Lagerhaus. Thank you Kogge Pop for the tickets!
The night went on and we went to the best coctail bar in Bremen and rounded it all off at a crazy rock and roll bar Heartbreak Hotel.
..
30.3
A sad farewell after two splendid days in this nice town.
Only one not so nice thing, I got two sharp pieces of metal in my breakfast the last morning, the cafe is a great place, but that was scary. Blood everywhere :)
You need some action, right?
Off to Hamburg and Astra Stube.
Nils Rose showed up - not wearing his sunglasses though, i am a bit disappointed.
It'd been 6 month since me and Gustav played there the last time.
During the soundcheck the door opens up, I hear Gustav screaming "no way!!" and I turn around...there stood Frank Gebauer, a friend whom we hadn't met in a year.
He's a friend of Alina, who we stayed with in NYC, and they both travelled with us to our very first US show in cold cold upstate NYin February.
Thank you Frank for staying the whole night, it was great to see you again.
After the soundcheck - Michael, you are astonishing! - we all went to meet up with Jon, the base player, who were to join the tour.
He'd been travelling for two days, coming from New York City to Amsterdam, then four trains and finally a tram to get ot us - what a hero!
The show was so so good, an audience like that is the reason why you do this...
31.3
-We are now at Ä in Berlin. It's a really cousy place, the room where you play feels like a big livingroom.
We played together with Illute (Ute) who set this night up. She was great.
Right before the show I heard a swedish voice asking if we knew if this were the plaec where we'd play tonight.
This girl from Stockholm had moved to Berlin a couple of months before and her old flatmate had tipped her off of the show, so nice. A shame that I didn't get to meet her friend though. It's always strange being on tour and suddenly hearing your own language from someone else. It takes a while before you realize that it is Swedish they speak..
We had to go home right after the show, the next day we had to drive to Amsterdam = leaving 7am...
Ute's friend Paul were so kind and let us stay in his apartment that night, thank you.
1.4
7am, so so so so soo early!!
But we managed to pack up the car with all the gear and got going.
We made it in time, barely, and the show at Desmet Live went good.
Unfortionately we didn't have time to hang out in Amsterdam this time.
Insteda we started driving towards Kruibeke, Belgium.
Around midnight we arrived, and two tired friendly faces greeted us.
Jerome and Veerle.
We also got too meet the tired new family member, Hifi - the dalmatian.
Sleep...
2.4
Back at t'Elfde Genot in Sint-Niklaas. Jerome came witht us but Veerle stayed in their bar.
Nice show and even nicer laughing and drinking that belgium beer at Cafe Carnot afterwards.
3.4
It's Jerome and Veerle's 4th anniversary and we are all oing to Antwerp.
Me and Gustav have a mission - find a heart-shaped cake to hand to them at the show tonight!
A nice day, wooden escalators, beer, vinylstore, beer, strolling, beer...
And the show at Cafe Carnot was succesfull. It was the first night of the small festival - Folk You - arranged by Cafe Carnot and Jugdhuis T'erwalle (Kruibeke, BE). This night it was me, Helena Arlock and Gustav and The Seasick Sailors that played.
We found a heart-shaped candy cake after all. And it was another late night at Carnot.
4.4
Tonight Shooting John will play at Jugdhuis Terwalle with another Swedish band - Giant Wide.
Now off to Carnot to help Jerome move the stage to the other venue!
5.5
The whole Folk you festival was great. After the show last night we had one last afterparty with Jerome and Veerle.
Jon (the bass player) were very eager on the shots, on of Jeromes specials is called "wake up the dead" and I guess you can figure the rest of the night out from there...
Breakfast and another sad goodbye....
So the great finale at Tonenburg, Höxter, Gemany.
Cannot describe how happy we were to get an ending like that.
An amazing tour.
Thank you all who made it happen..
The audience.
Nando, Benno and the *Eisen* crew
Spike
Nils Rose, Michael, Martina @ *Astra Stube*
Ute and *Ä*, Paul
Kevin @ Desmet Live
t'Elfde Genot
Jerome, Veerle, HiFi, Cafe Carnot
Kevin, Jugdhuis t'erwalle
Christina Seckelmann
Immylou Coalminer
Tonenburg
Special thanks to Jon and Patrik.
and to Peder and Gustav
