Dolphin Neck Tattoo

Still in Germany. No amount of Gummi Bears and Underberg can make me not want to run screaming into Poland.

This is what happens when you leave the label maker unattended.














Our first club show in an old slaughterhouse. They are all slaughterhouses of some sort in these parts. Apparently Morrissey refused to play here after learning of the building's history. Sucker.
















Guess what? It rained today. And the forbidding German sky spat out a nice big rainbow.















And then quickly turned apocalyptic in color.














This can only mean bad things.















See what I mean?















Morale is surprisingly high these days. I think we are all united in our hatred of the big yellow bus and the constantly inclimate weather. Our only recourse is mischief. I caught Ally taking the grill off the fan's intake and filling it with pizza. It was an air conditioned mozzarella nightmare that night.















There also happened to be a wagon attached to the rear trailer hitch. I mean why not?
















Tonight, after our show in Copenhagen we are off to the great, white North. I expect that it will be mostly daylight for the next few days, and I plan on seeing many different kinds of cheese and condiments in large tubes. Maybe the sun will shine on this dog's ass of a tour. It has officially rained every single day so far. Until then...

The Drunk Wheel Gets The Grease

Barely here.

















Somewhere in London there are 2 big rubber containers containing a half dozen sets of boots, rain gear, umbrellas, tents, etc. All that you could possibly need for a couple weeks of festival high times. Trouble is we are in Germany, aforementioned containers are still in London. Cool. As long as it stays sunny and dry we should be alright.



















Not cool.

















Hurricane Festival, Germany. It rained.




















And rained.....

















At least a day in the rain was better than a day on hotel stinkeybus. The lights stopped working after 2 days, there was never any running water and the addition of 8 pairs of muddy feet only made things worse.


















The real kick in the pants was a number of the crew (myself not included) lost their luggage en route to Dusseldorf. Most of it turned up a day or so later. Harley's is still missing. Apparently it was spotted in Singapore, and then as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. Poor little fella. Here he is looking on the bright side of life. Not too bad for a guy who just washed his clothes in a sink.



















I'll dispense with the negativity. Mogwai played both of the German festivals (Hurricane and Southside) with us. Always a good time. Even when nothing works on stage it still sounds amazing, and the band laughs it off.

























































It ended up being a 19 hour day after all was said and done. Interpol headlined the second stage. The crowd was great, and it looked alright if I do say so myself. It was the first show with all the gear we are carrying, so I programmed everything without seeing it at all. I do love a challenge, but usually one at a time will suffice.




























Another day, another German festival in the mud. I ran into a bunch of old friends, The Bloc Party kids, The Sounds, The Arcade Fire bunch (who are in remarkably good spirits these days). I really got into watching Frank Black both days as well as Modest Mouse. With six or seven records I guess it's pretty easy to cobble together a decent 60 minute set. The addition of Johnny Marr can't hurt either.

















This was my little house for the day.
















Lucas still hates the bus. I think a well-timed electrical fire might be the answer.















I believe in gang terms this is known as showing your colors.