Bremen to Arhus, Denmark

We played a really great show in Bremen last night. We arrived in Bremen a bit early and had a chance to walk around for awhile. Bremen is a beautiful city. It's fairly small (450,000) people or so. Being back in Germany felt very familiar and comfortable. I have the day off driving today (after my long spell through the UK) so it was nice to relax in the van today on the way to Arhus, Denmark. It was a short drive... 4.5 hours. We're in Arhus now and just soundchecked and are the venue are about to feed us. Bands are treated really well in Scandanavia. The facilities are very comfortable. Arhus is a tiny, tiny town on the central eastern coast. Feeling tired and a bit road weary but I'm very excited about this portion of the tour.

Southend-on-Sea, Ipswich to Holland

Played two shows in Southend-on-Sea and Ipswich, two small English towns on the eastern coast. The towns were very quaint and the people were excited to have a foreign band come through their towns. Two really fun shows at great spaces, put on by gracious hosts. Yesterday we took an early ferry from Bathwick, Enlanf over to Holland. It was a six hour ferry ride. For a such a huge ship I was surprised at the amount of swaying on the boat. We parked our van inside the ferry and they had several floors of public space to hang out during the ride. Landed in Holland, and we drove two hours east and stayed in an amazing hostel in Grossel, Holland, a tiny town in central Holland. A bit of a long travel day but fortunately most of it was on the water. Off to Bremen, Germany today.

Leeds to London

After the Glasgow show we headed down to Leeds and played at a great spot there called the Brudenell Social Club. Leeds was a really cool city. A proper college town but a bit industrial. Drove down to London yesterday from Leeds. I've been doing all of the driving in the UK and will be looking forwards to getting to the continent in a couple of days to have some downtime in the van. London has been really fun. Got a chance to catch up with some old friends last night at our show (in London). We're staying at a friend's flat in Hackney (northeast London). It rained most of yesterday but cleared up in the evening and today it's beautiful out. We have a short drive to our next destination (Southend-On-Sea) tonight so we'll get a chance to walk around London a bit.

Manchester to Glasgow

Had a great two days in Manchester. Stayed with friends in their beautiful home in Sale, a small town six miles southwest of Manchester. Having a day off helped to catch up on some much needed sleep. The weather was beautiful and we walked around the town and generally took it easy. Played last night in Manchester at a place in the city center called the Castle Hotel. It was a fun, sweaty show. Drove today up to Glasgow (220 miles). It took a little under four hours. Crazy downpours (some of the heaviest rain I've ever driven through) would come out of nowhere... Blue skies here now in Glasgow. We're playing tonight at a great spot downtown, called Captain's Rest. They fed us and we're relaxing before the show watching Champions League soccer on the tv.

Wales to York, England (second show of tour)

Did my first bit of driving on the (wrong side) of the road yesterday. We drove from Wales up to York. 220 miles. It took us around four hours. It took a couple of hours getting used to driving on the left... some of the roundabouts are the most difficult parts, but so far, so good. Funny how small the distances are in England. We basically spand the country from the southwest to the northeast and it's like driving from DC to NYC. Played at a club in York last night. Hot and sweaty but fun and the people were excited and enthusiastic. We sheepishly played an encore because they demanded it. :) Day off today... we'll drive to Manchester (90 minutes away) in a bit and take it easy. It's been beautiful the past two days weather-wise. York is a really quaint, old town. Feels a bit like Colonial Williamsburg with older buildings and cathedrals.

Green Man Festival Day 2

Had a great night sleep at the hostel we're staying at near the festival in Bwlch, Wales. (pronounced book with a guttural sound). A super cute hostel with a pub called The New Inn. Www.beacons backpackers.com. Played a two song set for the Greenman Festival TV program this afternoon. It's probably on the festival website... (Will try to find it and send a link.) Filmed in a small tent with a crazy forest themed set. Had lunch at a gorgeous little garden restaurant in the "downtown" of the village Bwlch. We're back at the hostel pub... Some of the locals are here watching a rugby match on TV... Wales played earlier and now they're watching Ireland vs France. It's so green and lush here. Rolling hills, narrow roads and tons of sheep. Overcast but bright, always on the verge of raining. It's been sprinkling on and off both days, but beautiful. We'll get to sleep in until a reasonable hour tomorrow (checkout's at 11am), and head up to York (220 miles... a 4 or 5 hour drive) for our next show tomorrow night. Photos coming soon.

Greenman Festival in Bwlch, Wales

Played our first show last night at the Greenman Festival in Bwlch (pronounced book-and then a guttural sound), Wales. Largest crowd I've ever played in front of.... At least 2000 people. We played great and the crowd was very receptive. Stayed at a cute hostel down the road from them festival. Have a day off today (will head back to the festival for a bit) and then head up north (to York) tomorrow morning to start the club section of the tour. I've been taking tons of photos and will upload them on my bandmates' computer once we have some downtime driving.

Jetlagged In London

Arrived in London this afternoon. Long flight from San Francisco. It started pouring unbelievably for the first few hours. Fitz (our tour booker/manager) picked us up from Heathrow in the the van we'll be using with the gear we've rented for the tour. He picked up the van and gear in Amsterdam so luckily the steering wheel is on the left-hand side. We were dropped off at my friend's flat in East London (where we're staying) and we grabbed some local Vietnamese food and tried to stay up as late as possible to ease into our jetlag. I fell asleep around 10pm and I've already woken up wide-eyed (it's 2am early Friday morning now). Will try to get some more sleeep. We leave tomorrow morning for Wales. Our first show is tomorrow night. The Greenman Festival out in the country in Wales.