Mudd (Cavern) Club

Last Friday we felt what it should have been like to play the Cavern Club in Liverpool way back in 1961. The Mudd Club, located in Berlin's heart and soul Mitte, is as cool as the old Cavern. It's small, it's damp, it's got a vaulted ceiling and it's way too loud. Simply great! We were on the bill with the Italian band Verdena, which I recommend to take a good listen, their latest album being "Il Suicidio Dei Samurai", including some really great tunes (Luna and Elephant being my favourites.)



After soundcheck we all went to an "American diner" kind of restaurant near the club, and as usual in all those kind of hip places, the service really sucks and it's way too slow. I even managed to disappear and go for a beer somewhere else inbetween... Typical. For this gig we had rehearsed a very brand new song by the title of "What's The Voltage William?" to start the show. Voltage was written a few years ago but I'd never played before. The stupid title came when former drummer Miguelo and me were talking about REM's "What's The Frequency Kenneth" as one of the silliest but somehow cooler song names ever, when I said "Yeah, I'm gonna write one called What's The Voltage William so that it sounds like two nerds in a physics laboratory." And so I did, and a few weeks later I had finished the song. I wasn't sure about the title at all, as the lyrics are about something else, but Timo liked it, so we kept it. Anyway, the songs rocks.



The rest of the gig went quite well, except for the final chorus of Throwing Up where the Orange box from the Verdena guys got fucked up and we had to finish the song in a drum'n bass style. Always open for new sounds, this little band...

Then it was Verdena's turn, and man, was it LOUD!! Already during thekir soundcheck, the owner of the club (a fragile-looking old guy) was asking the sound tech if it was possible to turn the goddamm thing down a bit, or if that would affect the sound. Great! I love it when owners or neighbours start complaining about the volume, it's so very fuckyouthisisrockandrooooollmotherfucker!



I finished at a friend's flat near the club at 5 a.m. with a few other Spanish friends, sipping a cool Mexican-style Bailey's made with tequila and coffee and listening to (and worse than that, providing) a neverending series of the worst jokes ever. But it was a laugh anyway, and I went home with a silly grin, a sore throat and ringing ears. Just as it should be.

Love & shampoo,

Stone

Uelzen stories

My agenda said: "Friday, October 7, 2005. St. Mark and St. Julia" and written below in blue ink the words "Gig - Uelzen, Café Komma". That meant that another dose of powerpop was on the way...

Robben & Wientjes fucked it up once again (and counting). Instead of giving us the 4-seat bus we'd ordered, we got a 3-seat one, which left our manager in Berlin waving us goodbye with a handkerchief and a tear rolling down his face, unable to come with us as planned. During the trip to Uelzen (about 263 km from Berlin, and way too far away from any highway), the CD player puked the following mix of records: Rage Against The Machine, Joss Stone, Foo Fighters, Britney Spears, 49 Stories, Alicia Keys, Slipknot and a few others I can't remember right now. The total schizophrenic mix, I know, but we love it.

When we arrived in Uelzen it was already dark and we were dreading that we were too late, which we were in a way. Before that, we drove through the worst smelling town ever, Neustadt-Glewe, which must have something like a puke factory, as it terribly smelled like puke for too many kilometres. It was so bad we decided to close all windows and breathe Tobi's socks, which isn't precisely healthy either.

Anyway, after our nostrils were again functioning, fast soundcheck (or KlaKo) and a real cool location. The Komma is located in the heart of Uelzen, and is the top rock spot in town. The best bathroom signs ever: on each door, a car license plate with the words "Elvis" (gents) and "Ushi" (ladies). Simply unbeatable. And an owner who knew more Spanish bands than I did, incredible Knut.

At exact 10, it was showtime. A fucking tight set, an incredibly loud crowd with a nice share of lovely girls and some heavy frog'n roll to offer. My elbow gave me slight signals of "hey buddy, calm down or I'll start aching again" but fortunately resisted through the gig. Hot, sweaty, loud from both sides, like a real cool gig must be. Great audience, I'm wishing to return asap now that a lot of new Allergics are spinning in a lot of peoples CD players there...

Elbow Inc.

October started with good news. My left elbow ist fucked up. I got hit with one of Timo's flight cases in Schönau and somehow the liquid bag that works as a lubricant between the bones is inflamed (bursitis olecrani). Great huh? That means, total rest of the left arm until further notice and no guitar playing at all. Fantastic, as we have the next gig this Friday! The doctor said she wasn't sure if I could play the gig, so it's still undecided...

This is how it looked yesterday...


And this is how they left it today. If this goes on, tomorrow I'll look like The Mummy...