Happy Thanksgiving (Canadian Style)

And where do you want to spend your Thanksgiving this year, my good man? Why Canada, of course. They have turkey here, right?

Well, actually I'm back on tour with those lovable Canadians, Bedouin Soundclash. We just finished up our headlining tour of the UK, it was smashing, I might even post a story or two, and now we are doing 3 weeks headlining in their homeland. They even have their own currency, it's off the hook.

I'm starting to think the FAA has me in their system as "one to harass". Yes, I have had the most hellacious travel week. Step in to my world.....

So I left London on Saturday and my flight was delayed about 2.5 hours. I had a connecting flight at JFK in NY (thanks travel agent, why on earth would I want to fly direct to Dulles which is only 15 miles away from my home instead of making an unnecessary connection in NY?) so the delay was going to make me miss my connection in NY and that was the only flight to NY that night. Now, being that I work with bands, I travel with gear (mics, outboard gear, etc.) this stuff has a little weight it. Now flying from the States overseas, you can check two bags and have 2 carry on items, no problem, just one charge for the overweight gear. Now, flying out of London, you can check 2 items but only carry on 1 item. What the hell? This is extortion. I originated in DC with 4 bags total, what am I supposed to do with my 4th bag? Sell off the contents? NO, they are going to charge you for checking a 3rd bag, PLUS charge you for that overweight item you know is overweight because it's electronic and for your work.
Unreal.

So I get into NY, have to go through immigration, customs, etc. Find the American Airlines counter to pick up my hotel voucher and plane ticket for the morning. So luckily, I get all my bags, throw them on a cart (btw, these carts are FREE in Europe, but $3 in the U.S., again, unreal) and head to the train to take me to the hotel shuttles. That alone was an ugly experience carrying all of this gear, but I finally made it to the hotel, grabbed a few beers, overpriced chicken Caesar salad and then to bed, just to get up at 7am and do the whole thing in reverse.

I make it back to DC Sunday morning, with all but one of my bags. Just grand. I go back and forth with the airlines to find my bag. In the interim, I find out my flight to Canada the next day is at 6:30am. WHAT IS THE DEAL???? My bag finally gets delivered by 5pm and I even get some laundry done. Bonus.

OK, so it's the next morning (Tuesday), I drag my ass out of bed and make it on time back to National airport. So everything is fine, I make my flight to Montreal, bags and all make it through security, I'm on my way.

NOW, I get to Montreal and have about 30 minutes to make my connecting flight to Moncton, NB. I have to go through customs and immigration again, and I find out I have to pay for my $150 work permit downstairs. The clock is ticking. I get it all done, and have about 15 minutes to get on the flight. I recheck my bags and head through security. They screen my work case, which I am used to, and the agent says "we have a problem", oh my. I had a couple of screwdrivers in my bag and he says, go back to the counter to have the agent check the bag for me. I barge up to the desk, tell her "I have 10 minutes to get on this flight, can you please check this for me? (this will be my 3rd bag to check, which I'm sure she's going to charge me a bundle for). I don't even get that far, she says, "It's too late, I can't check the bag, the flight is leaving." Super.

So now I have a dilemma, leave my work case at the airport and make a mad dash for the gate, or get on the next plane to Moncton, NB which is in 4 hours. This is a no brainer. It REALLY sucks, but I have no choice. I ain't leaving hundreds of dollars in gear randomly at the airport in Montreal. And of course I could have slept an extra 2 or 3 hours, but what's sleep anyways?

OK, I made it. Woohoo. Hooray for Mike. and here I am in Canada. Bags and all.
Happy Thanksgiving. I can't wait to fly again. What's that? Great, I get to fly to Montreal on Sunday. I'm so excited.......

Bedouin Soundclash UK & Canadian Tour Dates

The lads have asked me to come with them to the U.K. and Canada. Great bunch of guys, very glad to be out with them. Here are the dates. These are all headlining dates (and well deserved). Come out if you can:

UK
Nov. 04
Oxford, UK
The Zodiac

Nov. 05
Southampton, UK
Southampton University

Nov. 06
Cardiff,UK
Cardiff University - Great Hall

Nov. 07
Sheffield,UK
Plug

Nov. 08
Norwich,UK
UEA

Nov. 10
NewCastle, UK
Newcastle University

Nov. 11
Glasgow, UK
Classic Grand

Nov. 12
Manchester, UK
Manchester Academy 2

Nov. 13
Birmingham, UK
Barfly

Nov. 15
Leeds, UK
Stylus @ Leeds University

Nov. 16
London, UK
The Forum

Canada
Nov. 20
Moncton, NB
Oxygen

Nov. 21
Saint John, NB
Monte Carlo

Nov. 25
Montreal, QC
Metropolis

Nov. 26
Ottawa, ON
Capital Music Hall

Nov. 27
Kingston, ON
The Ale House

Nov. 29
London, ON
Cowboys Ranch

Dec. 01
Toronto, ON
Koolhaus

Dec. 03
Thunder Bay, ON
Kilroys

Dec. 04
Winnipeg, MB
Burton Cummings Theatre

Dec. 05
Regina, SK
Distrikt Nightclub

Dec. 06
Calgary, AB
MacEwan Hall

Dec. 07
Edmonton, AB
Starlite Room

Dec. 08
Edmonton, AB
Starlite Room

Dec. 10
Vancouver, BC
The Commodore Ballroom

Fall On Me

Back on the "Steel Horse" again. Oh I love the cheesy road lingo. I picked up a tour with a bunch of lovely Canadians (aren't they all?) called Bedouin Soundclash. We are opening for Hot Hot Heat in the U.S. for about 5 weeks. Here's are the dates:

Sunday Sept. 23rd
Domino Room
Bend, OR

Monday Sept. 24th
Wonder Ballroom
Portland, OR

Wed. Sept. 26th
SOMA
San Diego, CA

Friday Sept. 28th
Majestic Ventura Theatre
Ventura, CA

Monday Oct. 1st
Gothic Theatre
Englewood, CO

Wed. Oct. 3rd
Fine Line Music Hall
Minneapolis, MN

Thursday Oct. 4th
Vic Theatre
Chicago, IL

Friday Oct. 5th
St. Andrews Music Hall
Detroit, MI

Wed. Oct. 10th
Higher Ground
S. Burlington, VT

Thursday Oct. 11th
Paradise
Boston, MA

Saturday Oct. 13th
Webster Hall
New York, NY

Sunday Oct. 14th
TLA
Philadelphia, PA

Monday Oct. 15th
Ram's Head Live
Baltimore, MD

Wed. Oct. 17th
Center Stage
Atlanta, GA

Thurdsay Oct. 18th
The Social
Orlando, FL

Friday Oct. 19th
Culture Room
Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Saturday Oct. 20th
State Theatre
St. Petersburg, FL

Monday Oct. 22nd
Meridan
Houston, TX

Tuesday Oct. 23rd
Emo's
Austin, TX

Wed. Oct. 24th
Granada Theatre
Dallas, TX

Sat. Oct. 27th
Rialto Theatre
Tucson, AZ

Sunday Oct. 28th
Henry Fonda Theatre
Los Angeles, CA

Monday Oct. 29th
House of Blues
Anaheim, CA

Tuesday Oct. 30th
The Fillmore
San Francisco, CA

Summer recap, coming up....

Lump Sum

Gonna lump a few of these together since they are lump-worthy. Albany, NY. What can I say. Wow. Albany. Nice theatre, lots of weird folks. Lots of weird heckling but only from one guy. During the show, this guy starts yelling out to Sean between songs covers of other songs, from, "Listen to what the man said" (a Paul McCartney and Wings song, no less, dumbass), "Goldtop Mountain Heart Queen Directory", & "Lenny Kravitz". What an ass. We soon escorted him out, turns out he was quite drunk, big surprise, and when the state troopers are escorting him out of the building, he apologizes, says he had a little too much to drink, was having fun, and fessed up to smoking a little pot before the show. He was immediately placed in handcuffs and into ye olde State Limo. Have I said, "dumbass" yet? Glad to reiterate.

Northhampton, Mass. The Iron Horse is this little old ski lodge looking place that holds about 150 people and for some reason they insist on booking rock bands there. I don't get it, it's just too small and loud, but what are you gonna do, gotta make the best of it. One highlight of the town is a cafe called Haymarket which has great vegan/veggie delights and great coffee. We did also have fun at the open mic night across the street from the club in some little bar.

OH Wait, funny story. So this guy that is on tour with us (I promised I would not mention any names here to "protect the innocent" had a funny run in. So there is a theatre across the street from the club we're playing and they are having a show the same night as us. So after our gig is over, we load out, pack the trailer and we all head over to this little bar for a nightcap before we drive to Boston. So our bus driver moves the bus back to the hotel and the bus from the band that is playing at the theatre is moved into the exact same spot where OUR bus was parked. The ole switcheroo, as it goes. Here's the real kicker, this guy with our group, doesn't realize it's a different bus, and the entry code to unlock the door is identical to our bus. Weird? Weird!
So he heads to the back of the bus, there are a bunch of dudes hanging in the back lounge he doesn't recognize, but he says "Hey" they say "Hey" and they sit around and talk for about 45 minutes. He says he wants to open the window and they won't let him and it gets a little ugly, next thing he knows he is getting carried off of what he thinks is HIS bus. Furious and cursing like a sailor all the way, he gets outside the bus, looks at the side of the bus and says, "wait a minute, this bus is blue, ours is red, whoops! Who's bus was I on?"

Funny? Funny!

Boston was just plain uneventful. Great crowd, cold rainy night. Sean was really affected by the fans in a good way. They were singing EVERY word, LOUD, to every song. It kind of freaked him out but he and the band completely enjoyed it. It was awesome to see him react to them and vice versa. Wonderful show, but I'm ready for a day off. Oh, and the mango at the Thai Place down the street, Brown Sugar, was not ripe at all. Good sticky rice, though.

Stuck out here in this beach town of New Jersey

Ah yes, the famous Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ. Why is this little beachside rock club so famous? Some of Rock's greatest have cut their teeth there. Patty Smith, Joan Jett, The Replacements, Ian Hunter, Glen Burtnik, and probably the most famous, Bruce Springsteen. Like he'll ever go anywhere.

It was a balmy 43 degrees and party sunny this day, and even colder in the club. What gives? These fingers are very delicate and have many knobs to twiddle and lord knows I can't do it with frozen little fingers.

It was one of those weird crowds who thrive on rock history and nostalgia, perfect for the son of a Beatle. For the most part, they were into it and there weren't too many request for "other" artists material. As a whole, the town is just sort of weird. It's a beach resort that used to be a big deal from about 1890 and into the early 1900's. Read more about it here.

They went through a bunch of degradation, erosion, crime, financial collapse and are now in a period of regrowth. Not the most inspiring town or hot spot for a beach vacation, but just up the shore there are more desirable locations, but there is a certain dark charm and feeling of being part of it's history that lies here. Farewell from Asbury Park.

(Photo courtesy of Sherry Nelson)

Mountain Mama

OK, there were a few mama's in the mountains of Charlottesville. I'm sure they ARE there, I didn't see a whole lot of them, but I can tell you, it was damn cold. It's April, what is going on with this whole Global Warming craze? It's eluding this tour.

And another thing about stairs. If you're going to start a rock club with live bands, why on earth would you put the stage on the second floor? Band gear doesn't just "magically" appear on stage, it needs to get "loaded" UP the stairs, OUT of its cases and ONTO the stage. Then back DOWN the stairs and into the trailer. My coccyx still hurts.

I did have a nice piece of tuna steak, though. Thanks C-Ville.

North Kackalacki (& compton)

Asheville, NC is one gorgeous mountain town. From the smelly little candle shops, to the quaint little restaurants, to the indie coffee shops. Oh, and of course the fresh, crisp mountain air. And, The Orange Peel, and great, liquorless, music venue.

The Biltmore Estate is one of the most historical landmarks of Asheville. Some great movies have been filmed at the Biltmore or around Asheville such as Mr. Destiny, Bull Durham, Dirty Dancing, and Being There. If this city can attract such luminaries as Michael Caine, Peter Sellers and The Beloosh, Jim Belushi, it has to be special.

Other such notables who once called Asheville home, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Robert Moog (inventor of the Moog synthesizer), and Shirley Hemphill (yes, THAT Shirley from "What's Happening).
Beyond that, the gig was a good one. The Orange Peel has a great P.A. and comfy feel to it. The band played well although Sean was still struggling a bit with his voice but as always, he's a ringer and the charm and talent prevailed.

I was looking forward to Chapel Hill, a town I once called home. I lived here for about 4 years in the 90's when I worked with those pop-rockers Dillon Fence. Dillon Fence's drummer, Scott came out and met me, my brother and sister-in-law for dinner and took us to a great little Japanese nook that Scott has a knack for finding. He pretty much knew the entire staff by name, but as expected, it was wonderful.

My friend, super drummer and super funny guy, Jon Wurster came out. Jon and I had a beer after the gig and caught up on the past several months from when I worked with him in the Robert Pollard Band. He is now playing with a group called The Mountain Goats.

My other notable and good friend Jay Brown, from the Tift Merritt band and Stillhouse came out with his new-rawkin' girlfriend Tracy of Wembley Stadium. It was great to see them, unfortunately we didn't get to hang out too long, I had that "work" thing to do and they had a gig early the next day so had to skee-daddle after the show.

It was a really good show. Great crowd, Sean was extra chatty tonight. And the best part, it was snowing. Yes, snowing, in April, in Chapel Hill. What the F&*$??? Maybe it will be sooo much warmer in Charlottesville. Yeah, right!!!

Georgia by bus!

So the halfway point from Austin, TX to Athens, GA is Jackson, MS. You know what's open at 9pm on a Sunday night in Jackson? Not much. Everything closes down around 6pm, just after church lets out and everyone has already eaten supper by 3pm. But the one thing that IS open on a Sunday night in Jackson, MS? The Outback Steakhouse. That's right. Meaty goodness. How bizarre is it for a tour bus to pull up in the parking lot and several musicians, crew personnel and one Sean Lennon enter the establishment? VERY bizarre. But the irony was Sean raving about how great his steak was. In fact if I may paraphrase, him saying, "this is one of the best steaks I've EVER had." He's all about the drama.

When we were ordering our drinks, our young, Christian server, Merry (yes, that's how it was spelled) was asked by Kamila how the Southern Pecan Ale was and dear Merry replies, "I don't know, I've never had it." Kamila responds, "Sure (wink wink) you've never tried the beer." Innocent Merry informs her, "No, I've never had beer, I'm only 19." Ok, no further questions about the beer.

So the Atlanta show was quite good, sold out crowd, crappy load in up one flight of stairs, but we had the great DeWitt Burton from REM's crew helping us out and I went to dinner with my old friend, the minotaur, the professor, Dr. Chris Goode and his lovely wife Donna. Some good sushi, a mid-evening iced coffee and show time. I don't remember much of the show, so it must have been a good one.

Athens, Ga. was quite nice but way too sterile. The Melting Point was the venue. The venue and hotel were in the same complex so for convenience sake it was marvelous. Athens is all of about 4 blocks by 4 blocks so easy to get around. Some of THE BEST coffee I've had in a long time, espresso royale. Order some today, you won't be disappointed, (I hear by endorse this coffee.) As well as the staple vegan restaurant of Athens, The Grit. Meat loves won't know the difference.

I sure do like visiting Athens but I wouldn't want to live there. Thanks for the good nights sleep and veggie burger, but heading north.

Austin-tatious, Me thinks Not

Damn, I love Austin. No two ways about it. Be it the Driskill Hotel, Magnolia Cafe, the original Whole Foods Market, and of course the righteous Stubb's BBQ, Austin has got IT going on.

We woke up on the bus, right off of Cesar Chavez & Brazos which means I was only a few blocks away from huevos mas macho which also means I was going to the Avenue Cafe (Las Manitas). A staple in Austin. What a great way to start the morning.

The venue, The Parish was right on 6th street, about 2 blocks from the Driskell Hotel. Everyone at the club was so nice and professional. What a great day. The band put on a super show even though Sean has been fighting some throat nastiness, but he rose to the occasion. The sold out crowed was most pleased.

Before hand I met up with my friend Stephanie for some rockin' grub at Stubb's. Her and her equally, literally rockin' husband, Brad Rice, both used to live in D.C. and we would hang out around town, but they gave up the stuffy, liberal-yuppified city for Austin. A wise choice, indeed.

I wish we had more time to hang in Austin but after all we ARE workin' out here, and we gots a LONG drive to Atlanta ahead of us.

The Parish, Big Red Balls and all....

Let it Begin in Dallas

You'll notice (that's all of youze reading this) that I will now be jumping around from catching up on my EuroBlog and my new U.S. tour blog. That being said.....

What is it with tornadoes and torrential rainstorms in Texas? I don't really need an answer, it's just rhetoric. I was lucky enough to make it out on time from National Airport in Washington when a flight on a competing airline, leaving a half hour later than me was canceled due to nasty weather conditions in Dallas, TX. I had no problems getting in. The rest of the band didn't have such luck getting out of New York, but we all made it, safe and sound.

I don't ask much from a hotel, clean sheets, clean or no smell, CLEAN bathroom, cable TV is nice, quietness, and possibly free Wi-Fi. An abundance of easily accessible electrical outlets is a nice perk too. But for the most part, just be functional. The sales manager at the front desk was so happy to greet me and rave about how the hotel (Hotel Indigo) was brand new and a gem in the downtown area. The bright colors of a purpley- blue & egg yolk yellow were either making me nauseous or want to go to the promenade deck for shuffleboard and a rum colada. The room was nice, even nice enough to get room service since it was pouring rain and I really didn't feel like braving that. Back to the functionality gripe, have the trash can in the bathroom in the same place as the sink (the shower & toilet were in a separate room from the sink), have towel hooks or rings for the hand towels, have the bath towels actually IN the same room as the shower. Maybe I'm nitpicking, maybe I'm just bored, but I'm just trying to be constructive here, no hard feelings. All in all, a nice place.

I did take a quick walk in the morning down to Murray Street coffee over in Deep Elum, the hipster part of Dallas where the now, as of our show is closing it's doors. They told us the landlords were jacking the rent up so they are being forced to leave. Rumor has it a House of Blues is opening in town. Sounds shady to me. Had a great Tex-Mex dinner at Sol's Taco House, and not so great time mixing the show from behind the bar, being jostled by the bar backs and bartenders girlfriends (who took it upon themselves to do lights unknowingly. Don't worry mama, pressing your backpack, pursey thingy into the lightboard turning on all of the yellow lights on stage is an extremely flattering effect. Nice touch).

It was a sold out show, everyone was in a good mood, not even the lake being formed from the leaky roof in our dressing room could ruin it for us, but it was high time to high tail it the gem of Texas, Austin.

R.I.P. Gypsy Tea Room

PS - Mike's Movie Tip: Rob Zombie's "The Devil's Rejects" (in that classic B-movie, Texas Chainsaw, Russ Meyer, Roger Corman vain). Dig it, blood, guts and all!!!

TouLyoNice

I have to throw these cities into one blog since I can't remember a helluva lot of details.

Toulouse, I got nothing. Not even any pics. We didn't even stay in the city and left right after the show. I hear it's quite nice though.

Speaking of "Nice", what a dump. Ok, that may be a bit harsh but the entire city is under construction. I think they are putting in a new metro system or something, but not the elegant sea resort I was expecting. The streets down by the the water were really nice, quaint, cobblestone streets. Plus there was a big carnivale parade going on so lots of festivity. After our show we went cruising down the back streets of Nice to find some seedy bar to have a few drinks at, mission accomplished. And on the way back we had probably the best kebab any of us had ever had. I wish I had a photo to share of the kebab but you'll just have to settle or these:

Scene from Nice Carnivale

Lyon, was short and sweet. The venue, Ninkasi, was a cool little rock and roll bar with a side restaurant attached that we hung out at afterwards. We were tipped off where to go drink and took several cabs down to this bar which was actually a house boat. It wasn't adrift but that would have been extra cool. Lots of cool folks there that had a great time at the show and wanted to do it up all night, but we had to hit the road. And hit the road we did. Next stop, gay ole Paris.....

Sean Lennon Spring '07 Tour

On the Road Again......

March 30
Gypsy Tea Room
Dallas, TX

March 31
The Parish
Austin, TX

April 3
Smiths Olde Bar
Atlanta, GA

April 4
The Melting Pot
Athens, GA

April 5
The Orange Peel
Asheville, NC

April 6
The Cat's Cradle
Chapel Hill, NC

April 7
Starr Hill Music Hall
Charlottesville, VA

April 9
The Stone Pony
Asbury Park, NJ

April 10
The Swyer Theatre
Albany, NY

April 11
Iron Horse
Northampton, MA

April 12
The Paradise
Boston, MA

April 13
Irving Plaza
New York, NY

April 15
The Traif
Buffalo, NY

April 16
St. Andrew's Hall
Detroit, MI

April 17
Pabst Theatre
Milwaukee, WI

April 19
Blueberry Hill
St. Louis, MO

April 20
Grand Emporium
Kansas City, MO

April 21
Bluebird Theatre
Denver, CO

April 24
The Roxy
Los Angeles, CA

April 25
The Belly Up Tavern
Solana Beach, CA

April 27
House of Blues
Anaheim, CA

April 28
Downtown Brew
San Luis Obispo, CA

April 29
Great American Music Hall
San Francisco, CA

Taking Slack to a New Level

OK, I gotta tell you, I've been extremely busy. One can't sit around reminiscing about traipsing around Europe, can one?

So after Lisbon we headed to Bordeaux and were there for about 3 days. Lovely little French town but again, if I see one more Zara, H&M, and McDonald's, I'm applying for dual citizenship.

Here's a peek:


I did get a groovy pair of jeans and sweater from a GAP-esque place named Cello, not to mention a few pairs of socks. The coffee was good, but again, what's the deal with the cappuccino and the giant dollop of whipped creamed? Jeepers.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, we did have a great meal in this quaint stone restaurant on the square by the old church (that should narrow it down, in France). Cameron (the most excellent guitarist) ordered the entree of the tour. It was some crazy fowl carcass stuffed with all kinds of meats and veggies. It was something to be seen. And when they say "carcass" that's exactly what they mean, bones and all, I'll say no more. Well, except, yes, the city does have some sort of reputation for wine, and we did our part in quality control.

Madridugal

Can you say Slackin'? Yes, you can. No, but I really have a good excuse, really! This little thing we tend to take for granted, TIME (and a solid internet connection).

We really started moving around a lot on the tour. After Barcelona we hit Madrid which was a real quick stop. The only thing I remember about the show was the house sound guy was wreaking from alcohol, and the club was called Sala Heineken (Club Heineken) the Starbucks of rock clubs. Pretty awful, I must say. We saw a little of downtown Madrid, had a decent tapas dinner in a little local restaurant around the corner from the club, but hit the road right after the show. No one was really complaining.

Next stop, Lisbon, Portugal. I was really looking forward to this stop on the tour and was not disappointed. What a beautiful port city in that classic old historic style. Rocky, cobblestone streets and buildings. Very narrow streets, tiled roofs and all overlooking the Atlantic. Portugal is the western most city in continental Europe.

We knew we were in for an interesting day when the bus wouldn't fit up the street where the club was, so we had to load all of the gear out of the trailer, into a cargo van, then from the cargo van into the club. It took the van almost 45 minutes after we arrived at the club to get there due to so much traffic and windy one way streets.

This was probably the smallest place on the tour with the smallest amount of production, but we were all in a good mood and happy to be in the gorgeous city. Once we finally got soundcheck over with, we walked up the street to Resto. This was probably one of the best meals we had on the tour, and we ate a ton of food. It was that good. The Portuguese red wine, the olives, salads, and my amazing Argentinean beef, was outstanding. I could have cried it was so good.

The show went on to an intimate and appreciative crowd, then we did the cross load out again, and were taken to a Fado bar. Fado is basically the Portuguese blues. What Flamenco is to Spain, Fado is to Portugal. It was a small restaurant down a narrow cobblestone street (go figure) and just several of us with a few guys from the record label. They bought us an remarkable bottle of red, and about every 20 minutes, a quartet sits down in the corner and they perform about 3 Fado songs. So much emotion and musicianship in the playing. It really is a craft and an inherited style of music. Very moving to say the least.

We didn't really get to eat so we begged our guide to take us to another bar for a drink and some food and he said there was really nothing open late on a sunday night. He gave it some more thought and took us down by the water to this trailer by a park where a few locals were hanging out. This was the equivalent to the American diner. It was a grill/bar on wheels. Burgers, beers, candy, snacks, you name it. It was heavenly. The "burger royale" was a cheeseburger with fried egg, carrots, potato sticks, all wrapped up in one. That was the ticket.
And a beer, of course. Just what you want at 2am before you go to bed. I'm young, right?

We had the afternoon off the next day, so we walked around as much as we could. Nothing too touristy, a bunch of shops, monuments, statues, drug peddlers, cafe's and brunch. Not a bad day. We all met to grab dinner down the street before we headed out for France. If you have the chance, go see Lisbon. Drink the port, the local red wines and see the castle, if you dare, it's one of the best places in the world to windsurf.

Barcelona, there is none other!

I had really been looking forward to this stop on the tour and Barcelona is all it's cracked up to be and more. It really has that wonderful city feel, ala New York or as Tom pointed out, Barcelona is the LA of Europe (and as I added, without the silicone implants). It is so easy to fall in love with this city, with the cafe's, Spanish architecture (of course), mild weather, palm trees, sea air, and natural good vibe.

Once we got in we headed right back out and took the metro down to Las Ramblas which is pretty much the touristy city center, but a great stroll past all the hotels, cafe's and shops, and non-stop tourist stands. I was pretty amazed at many conversations in English we heard from passers-by, some business types, some students, some assorted foreign bodies. It was getting dark fast, so we grabbed a quick bite and Coca-Cola Light (the word "Diet" doesn't exist over here) then back to the hotel for a shower then out to dinner.

Tom's sister recommended this great restaurant La Fonda which had a great spanish/cuban vibe, surprisingly reasonable prices and fantastic food. So far Barcelona was not letting us down, and things were only going to get better....

I had peeked at the Euro-Guide I bought before going out for the night and it recommended Bar Marsella, a historic bar that Picasso, Gaudi and Hemingway used to hang out in. There were a bunch of folks just hanging out on the corner, we thought it was some sketchy neighborhood and I looked up at the building and there it was. The guy at the door kept closing the door but didn't seem to be carding or keeping people from going in, but the bartenders eyes were focused on that door every time it opened. Who in the world were they expecting? The first thing I noticed was the smoke, wide array of patrons and layers upon layers of dust on the bottles on the wall. It was like a saloon from the old west. Seriously, this place has NEVER been cleaned, since at the least the turn of the century. The poison of choice here is The Green Fairy, Absinthe!!! 4 Euros, gets you a brandy snifter about a quarter full, a sugar cube and a bottle of water. The idea is you light the sugarcube over the glass, let it burn for a bit then douse the flames with the bottle of water into the glass to dilute it all. You will be thankful, trust me. Apparently you can't order more than 3 of these, the bartender WILL cut you off. Just glancing around the bar I watched patrons giggling, smoking, one hoisting his suitcase over his head, another lighting his friends hair on fire, and THEN the fun began.

Before we got even halfway through our first round, a man at the bar starting getting irate that the bartender cut him off. He kept screaming something, I couldn't really tell what language it was but I had a pretty good idea of what he was saying. The 6'7" - 280 pound barback wasn't having it. He waved the guy off and pointed to the door. This made the man even more ticked off and jumped on his stool and shouted something to the crowd, pumping his fist in the air, and the bar resounded in a unified "YEAH!!!" That was enough to get the barback to jump over the bar and assist the man out of the bar. There was another doorman at the side door who was also helping get the belligerent mans friends out and things got ugly on the street. Next thing we saw, the first man who had been mouthing off popped back in the bar, grabbed a barstool and hurled it over the bar AT the bar. Shattering a good section of the bar and the historic dusty bottles. Some more of the people from the street fought their way back in and a few more chairs and stools went flying and the melee was in full swing. Tom and I kept looking at each other while this was going on. It was like we were watching this on a movie screen from behind a glass partition, but we were just curious passers-by, taking it all in from the corner of the bar. Soon enough they cleared the bar, we were on the street and next thing you know several cops showed up in full riot gear. We followed the action for a few minutes then I reminded Tom our passports were still on the bus so we may want to make a quick exit. He agreed and off we went. I think I have great pilot to sell here.

If that weren't enough, we met up with the band at a bar called Rebourn in the El Born district of Barcelona, the hip, east-village part of town. We had a beer, walked around the area for a while taking in the late night sights and made our way back to the bar. It was at least 3am, and they had stayed open for us. A few drinks later, me, Tom and Sean were talking about heavy metal in the corner when someone started playing the piano. Naturally, Sean was distracted like a cat to string, and sauntered over pleading to play the piano. I bet Tom a beer he would play an Elton John song. Sure enough, from across the room I hear the opening piano riff from "Benny and the Jets." I got my beer. Then Sean informed us that Elton was his godfather. Why did this not come as a surprise? Next we knew we were all singing "God Only Knows", "Moondance" (at the request of the Spaniards) and the next request that Sean was just drunk enough to tackle was his father's "Oh, Darling". I don't think there is a more appropriate use of the term, surreal. Only fitting for this night.

About 5am, it was time to cab it back to the hotel, then Sean invited us back to his room for a nightcap. Minibar, anyone? We sat around and gabbed, listened to some songs Sean had been working on and just shot the shit like any guys in the music biz would do. It was the perfect end to one wild night.

The next day was a standard day of some quick sightseeing before the gig, then we had to leave town for Madrid after the show. Barcelona, I am not through with you, but you now have alot to live up to.

Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia

The Atlantic Ocean from the Other side

Sean in Red

Swiss Chard

This one will be brief, Zurich & Lausanne, yes, lovely cities, but damp, rainy and I really didn't get to see any of these cities. The venue in Zurich was in an industrial park and the only time I got to see a glimpse of the city was on a quick trip downtown to the music store. I did have a nice salmon salad in Lausanne and we hung out at a cool little bar after the show, but nothing too exciting. I even had a chance to take a few photos of my new condo on wheels:

The Bus in front of the Hotel in Lausanne, Switzerland

Bus complete with Monitor Engineer Tom Pambrun and Guitar/Backline Tech Rick Sanger (working hard guys, eh?):

Drummer Bill Dobrow in Action:

Ciao, Bella.

Italy by FAR has it going on in Europe. Sleep in, have a light breakfast, take it easy during the day. Stroll around Duomo taking in the astounding architecture, churches, non-stop shopping, have an afternoon coffee and pastry, then around 6pm, stop by Buonorotti, the area where Giuseppe Verdi once lived and composed, stroll into a café, by yourself a beer or glass of wine for about 6 euros, and help yourself to the complimentary buffet. And what a great spread; proscuitto, salami, cheeses, quiches, mini-bruschetta and so on. It is such a great environment. Don’t worry, that will hold you over until around 10pm when you can venture out for a proper dinner, since ristorante’s stay open til at least 1 or 2am (weekends & weeknights, the way it should be).

My biggest gripe, all the guys, mostly 30 and under ALL, and I mean ALL wear the same jacket. It's an olive green nylon looking jacket with a hood and the hood is lined with fur. Trendy? I think not. That jacket is the American college answer to Uggs.

Lets see what it looks like:









Quite a lovely place with equally as lovely people, but the really seem to try TOO hard. They must wake up at 6am to get ready for going out at 5pm. They'll pull it together...........someday.

Eine Klein Munich

I would have never of anticipated this, but the best latte so far on the tour. Not to mention the 2 – 1 liter beers from the Hofbraeuhaus (the big Bavarian beer house) and of course the assorted sausage platter. Munich was definitely the modern business center of Germany. There were some amazing churches and buildings to take in, as well as plenty of shopping spots down by the main square. The important thing is there is never a lack of beer opportunities close by. A huge, salty pretzel, white sausage, beer, kraut. You're all set.

Here's a look:








I'm sure these are very important places but did I mention the wonderful coffee, beer, snausages & struedel?? I do also have to comment on German design. Yes, we are staying in nice hotels, but the hotels in Berlin & Munich were very nice. The engineering, ergonomics, architecture, form and function were a force to be reckoned with. Yes, IKEA is great, but where it the German IKEA alternative in the U.S. I ask you!!!!

Zagreb, Croatia

When you think about a country such as Croatia, you think of strife, war, and poverty. I’m not sure what the stigma is in my mind, but that’s somewhat what I expected, being so close to Bosnia. The reality wasn’t even close. Granted it wasn’t the most modern city I have seen, but the downtown area bustling with plenty of shopping, café’s, markets, and lovely ladies. I walked past some sort of Leonardo DiVinci School of the arts, a statue of Nikola Tesla (yes, inventor of the Tesla coil, and so much more).

We strolled though the downtown area and found our way into this park with a long staircase that led us up into Upper Town. There was this amazing old church, St. Mark's
(I had to borrow these pics from the web since I didn't have my camera at the time - thanks to Ralf Brown.) This area was also the historic district with a bunch of museums and such but it was late and we didn't get too see much, but all in all just the old buildings and architecture
were astounding. It really had that classic old feel. The city itself dates back to 1094. Worth checking out, maybe not a whole week, but nothing like it in the U.S. for sure.

Oh, and if you want a cup of coffee after 8:30pm, forget it.....

Boys Choir & All

Vienna, Austria – home to Mozart, Schwarzenegger, and the bear claw (still researching that last one). It’s a cool, rainy day here and what better way to kick it off than with a cup of local Viennese coffee. I have to say, in the week I’ve been on the road I have not had one bad cup of coffee. Even the in-room coffee ain’t so bad. Europe isn’t so big on the “coffee to go” idea. We keep getting strange looks when we ask to get our drinks to go. That would explain the little plastic Dixie cup they give you. Still, melted plastic and all, they taste great.

There wasn’t too much to see in Vienna, well at least where we were. It turned out the venue was about 10-15 miles from central Vienna and we left right after the show, so not too much to tell from here. There were lots of little shops and businesses but nothing architecturally stunning or magnificent.

The venue was decent, a good-sized rock room with great production. The complex it was in was a community center type of building with a courtyard in the centre. Each wing had something different going on, arts & crafts on one side, yoga in the other wing, hip-hop dance classes across the way. Yes, hip-hop dance classes. We all know all great hip-hop dancing comes from Austria, along with their sausages

Back on the Blog

Well it’s been a few days since I last left you (me). Internet access has been tough to come by in some of these venues and we surely don’t have it on the bus.

We played the first show in Berlin and it went well for the band not playing in over a month. The club provided us an amazing catered lunch and dinner. Then we got to check out our new home for the next 5 weeks, the bus !!!. It’s quite cozy with the 10 of us on there (5 band, 4 crew + 1 bus driver). Not too many places to run to to get away for some alone time with the exception of our bunks which are about 7 feet by 2.5 feet by 2 feet high. Roomy, huh?

The worst thing to get used to is sleeping on the bus. Most of the travel is overnight, so you really don't have much choice. Eventually, through sheer exhaustion or booze, one will fall asleep, although I didn't for about 2 nights.

Prague was the next stop. Pulling into the city about 8am and peering out from the bus didn't really get my blood going, nor did the hotel, which was about 15 minutes from central Prague. But once we headed to the venue, things started to look more like the old city I was expecting. Lets take a look:







And how "hip" is Prague, you ask? Looky here:



I was pretty amazed at how modern it was. It's not what I expected. We were in the main downtown district, full of restaurants, hotels, shopping (most retailers you can think of......Nike, H&M, Lacoste (mainly Euro ones, but lots of 'em).

We walked around for a bit after sound check but the best part was checking out the city after the show. That's when I really appreciated what a historic, charming city it was. Nice little bars and cafes (Pilsner Urquell rules the country). The buildings and streets were awesome. It was more of what I thought Italy would be, but a little darker and mysterious. We strolled down a bunch of back streets into the veins of the city and found old theatres, antique and clothing shops,a few neighborhood bars, B&B type hotels, just amazing. You can really get lost there for several days just stumbling around the city. I hope to come back soon, with some more time to get my exploration on. (oh, no gypies or vampires though, but they do have prostitutes).

Berlin, sind Sie bereit zu schaukeln?

The Berlin airport ain't so bad. Just look where everyone else is going, and follow like sheep, easy enough. Great, here we are. This looks like your standard issue conveyor belt for luggage. I'll just stand here with the rest of you, the only thing that separates us is a European Union passport and you getting your luggage, and me having to find the Air France lost luggage counter. Scheiße!!!!

Yep, no baggage to be found. Which did make the commute out of the airport MUCH easier, but since my time in Berlin is quite limited, I was getting pretty paniky. But who would be the vision of beauty to ease my mind and sooth my soul? To let me know things were going to be alright? The claims steward? No. The others on my flight in the same predicament? No. Lionel Richie, YES!!!!

I'm telling you, I couldn't make that up if I wanted to. He was in town to receive some German equivalent to a lifetime achievement award and just happen to be leaving the airport as I was arriving. Coincidence? Me thinks not. I really wanted to tell him how much I love that song of his "Celebration" and how it's changed every wedding and bar mitzvah for eternity. How proud he must be.

In short, Tom (monitor engineer) and I made it to the hotel, check in with the tour manager and took a stroll around Historic Berlin:

Brandenburg Gate






Berliner Dom



A little slice of America



I tell you, it's amazing, in the square kilometer around the hotel, Dunkin' Donuts is up 4-2 over Starbucks. Having the Subway thrown in finishes the deal. Lordy, I hope I can find me a TGI-Friday's. Europe just won't be the same.

That was most of Day 1 in Berlin. We walked around the city for a while that night. Settled for a really good Indian restaurant, and remarkably found the recommended bar White Trash Fast Food for a nightcap. The seem to revel in American rock. That became ever-so-apparent when the big screen video was playing GWAR when we walked in. Yes, Berlin is good.....

The Joys of Travel

If I had another day to get ready, I would have duplicated my entire CD & DVD collection and brought them with me. All the while, not really worrying about making sure bills were going to get paid, I had all documents and flight/transfer/meet-up information, and how I was getting to the airport. Don’t worry, it all worked out.

There were a few hassles at Dulles. Delta had canceled my early flight due to weather, so rebooked me on an Air France flight that left later. At least they had the courtesy to call me in the morning to let me know. Of course when I went to the Air France check-in, they sent me and all of my heavy-ass bags (four en toto) down to the complete opposite end of the terminal to the Delta counter, where I had to wait for a good 25-30 minutes for one, count him, ONE (1), passenger to be helped. Surely enough he finally ended up getting sent to another line and I was out and back to the Air France counter where my bags were at least 3-4 kilograms over wait. Don’t worry monsieur, $50 will get those bags on the plane. Who am I to argue, pay the man?

The seats were quite comfy, I must say, until the asshole in front of me decided to exercise his “full reclining” privileges. I’m a survivor; there was no one next to me so I was able to spill over the sides, as they say. The meal was quite good I must say. Beef with mixed veggies, French bread with cheese, cous cous salad with salmon, and of course a 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine only helped so much, between becoming increasingly more uncomfortable from lounging Larry, his annoying 3 year old daughter wouldn’t shut up the entire flight and cried and moaned every chance she could get, with NO discipline what so-ever. People, sheesh!

I was ever-so-fascinated with the touch screen "In-Flight-Vision". I could choose from such gems of entertainment as BBC news, the Air-France shopping boutique, Droopy Dog cartoons, Frasier (absolutely awful), MacGyver, & a Beach Boys concert I'm guessing it was filmed circa 2001, I never actually watched it). I settle for "Little Miss Sunshine" and "The Illusionist". Sleep wasn't an option.

Anywho, I got in on time, and it only took me about 45 minutes to get off the plane, hop the shuttle which basically circled the aiport before dropping me of at a terminal the complete opposite side of where my connecting gate was, and of course I had to go through customs and RE-Enter security. Wonderful. When I finally got to the gate, about 5 minutes before my flight was supposed to take off, the girl at the counter gave me a look equal to, "What the hell are you doing here?" The let me on, and Berlin bound I was.

Sean Lennon Tour Dates

Sean Lennon European Tour 2007

Sun Feb 04
Columbiahalle
Berlin, Germany

Mon Feb 05
Lucerna Music Bar
Prague, Czech Rep.

Tue Feb 06
WUK
Vienna, Austria

Wed Feb 07
Kino SC
Zagreb, Croatia

Thu Feb 08
Backstage
Munich, Germany

Sat Feb 10
Lublijana Fair Center
Lublijana, Slovenia

Mon Feb 12
Rainbow Club
Milan, Italy

Tue Feb 13
Les Docks
Lausanne, Switzerland

Wed Feb 14
Abart
Zurich, Switzerland

Fri Feb 16
Club Razzmatazz
Barcelona, Spain

Sat Feb 17
Club Heineken
Madrid, Spain

Sun Feb 18
Santiago Alquimista
Lisbon, Portugal

Thu Feb 22
Rockschool Barbey
Bordeaux, France

Fri Feb 23
SDF Ramonville
Toulouse, France

Sat Feb 24
Theatre Lino Ventura
Nice, France

Mon Feb 26
Ninkasi
Lyon, France

Tue Feb 27
La Cigale
Paris, France

Wed Feb 28
Grand Mix
Lille-Tourcoing, France

Thu March 01
Botanique
Brussels, Belgium

Sun March 04
Bush Hall
London, UK

Tue March 06
IKRA Club
Moscow, Russia

Wed March 07
Baltic House Theatre
St. Petersburg, Russia

Gearing up for Europe!

Today officially started the offical getting ready of the offical "Sean Lennon European Tour". And how did I start my day, you ask? I went to the Russian Embassy, where else?

In order to enter Moscow & St. Petersburg, the last two stops on the tour, we need to get visas to enter the country. I toiled over the application for a few days, had some extra passport photos taken, printed my hotel voucher & invite from our Russian comrades. The paper looks something like this:



200 clams later, I have a Russian visa. Yes, money may not buy happiness, but it sure can buy entry to a former communist country. The temperature in Moscow was 9 degrees (F) last week. The waitress at the bar we went to last night just happened to be from St. Petersburg (coincedence, me thinks not), the temperature in DC last night was about 25, much less with wind chill. I asked the retired gymnist (just a hunch) how bad the weather was in St. Pete in the winter, she said, take your shirt off and go outside, then you'll be getting close. I can hardly wait, and I'm sure neither can the Russians.

Tomorrow, I may actually start thinking about packing clothes.