Croatia, the Alps, France, Italy...

Wow, let’s see, where to begin with this one…? We finished the first leg of our ex-Yugoslav adventure with a show in Zagreb, Croatia. Zagreb is a beautiful city - plenty of upscale areas with premium shopping, yet embraced by nature and history, with many lush green parks and lovely old architectural landmarks, including a really nice cathedral. We had a great show there. Although it had it’s share of technical difficulties and sound mishaps, the place was jam-packed and the energy was zinging!
The next day had us making a long journey back into France. We passed through five countries in about 11 hours - Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland and France. Being from the US, where you can drive all day and not quite make it through Texas, this is a strange and interesting concept! Thankfully the trip included a drive through one of the most beautiful spots on Earth - the Alps in Italy and Switzerland. It is an indescribable beauty. Bold, stark mountain cliffs towering over crisp blue mountain lakes and green valleys. Snowy peaks blocking the sun, occasionally letting a few lucky rays shine down on quaint mountain villages. My only regret is that I usually observe this beauty zipping through it in the van. It has become high on my list of places to revisit when I actually have some time to explore and enjoy…
Our first stop back in France was the city of Besancon, a small, charming city lined with tiny streets and ancient-looking buildings. We arrived late at night and were greeted by our hosts from the club, Les Passengers Du Zinc, who had a spread of food and drinks ready for us. The club is tiny and full of vibe. There is a small bar upstairs and a dark entryway to the club below - you actually have to walk through the hood of an old French car to go downstairs! The owners were putting us up at their flat a short walk away. I was hoping to explore Besancon, but it rained the entire next day, so I took the opportunity to rest. During our soundcheck the power went out on the whole block, and it seemed for a time that it might not come back on. But it did, and when we showed up to play, people were spilling onto the street and the venue was packed full. We played a great, hot, sweaty show and spent the rest of the night and well into the morning partying with Anto from the club and some very friendly locals.
The next day we headed to another beautiful city in France called Cluse. We were playing a big outdoor festival called Musique en Stock. The stage was in a small town square entirely surrounded by steep, sheer mountains. It was a proper setup - a huge stage with a top-notch sound system, and an excellent crew who knew their stuff very ably. After soundcheck and a quick stop at the hotel we dined on salad, grilled salmon and rice in a beautiful outdoor café. We returned to the stage area to find a crazy scene, the streets absolutely filled with people. Shortly before our set I was told that around 9,000 people were in attendance. The whole experience of playing to such a large number of people is never any less special than the last, and this was no exception. The crowd was impressive and amazing, a mass expanse of heads in every direction. We gave it to them good, and they gave right back. The set went by in a blur. When we finished and came back for an encore, the sound of the people was deafening, and I was on a high like no other. Completely supercharged, and feeling an overwhelming amount of love from the vast sea of smiling, exuberant faces in front of me. We played two, high energy, spirited encores and left the stage to an unbelievably loud applause. Back in the dressing room, I felt as if I had been run over by a freight train. We played hard, and the bewildering excitement had taken a lot out of me. Sleep came easy back at the hotel, but my morning alarm sounded far too early to feel rested.
Yesterday we headed back into Italy to a festival in Salsomaggiore, a small town near Parma. It was a humble setup, but tons of people were on hand at show time. Our set was off to a very good start. We had just gotten the groove really cooking when an unfortunate thing happened. We were right in the middle of a song, rocking as hard as we know how to, 3 or 4 hundred people in the palm of our hand, when suddenly and without warning the power went out on stage. Complete silence. The crowd was stunned and the stage went dark. For a while it was a helpless situation. Stagehands were running frantically every which way, checking cables and connections. The people out front were chanting our name. Coitus interruptus on a large scale! After a good 20-25 minutes the power came back on and we played two more songs. We were all still feeling pretty wiped out from the past few days, so shortly after finishing we headed back to the hotel. This morning we will head south through Rome and onto Ceccano, the farthest south I have been in Italy.

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