Damo

Damo Suzuki with CPU² , Rüdiger Blank (Keyb), Ray Buckmiller (Electronics , Keyb), Didi Foth (Sax ) and Erik (Drums)

http://jubez.de

Karlsruhe is part of famous Black Forest and warmest city in Germany. It’s Sunday, said Chris when we had first contact for this performance, therefore we may start earlier, what about to start late afternoon? Around 16:00? Yes, sure many people like to have relax on Sunday as next day back to normal everyday. Ok, Chris it may not bad to perform different time like usual. After all, once I performed early in the morning around 7:00 am, yes, 7:00am.

It was many years ago in Melbourne at part of long weekend techno party, a DJ contacted me the day before, What you’re doing? Do you have interest to perform with DJ on Sunday, at 7:00am? 7:00am? I wasn’t sue that I hear it real. Yes, 7:00am. Yes, I’ve done early early morning performance. Few years before I performed here, a quite reasonable amount of people came, so we’re expected amount of audience at least like last time.

To see what going on even we started to a bit later to perform, still few people came, this was absolutely minus in account concert. As performer, honestly I say, it’s quite disappointing and it’s difficult to get motivation before the show. In fact, it’s not easy to perform in front of few people, you can see huge empty space from the stage. it’s easy to perform in front of huge audience like festivals with thousands of people. Basis motivation is totally difference. But, let’s think this is opportunity try my self, just any kind of situation I solve, and most important is that audience enjoyed our show.

This day was rainy day, there was some event on the street and another part of the city, but where is people? Everyday is fine, also even the day like this, I have to live with this…..just I’m not familiar to somebody losing money….promoter. Now a days very difficult to get people for concert expect parties. Chris was saying. Day like this happens, so just leave it.

After the show I spoke with one from audience, he asked me, when I come here again. I find no words to make answer or I was happy to hear his word he enjoyed the show and he likes to have more of it? Break for 2 days, next trip I bring you to UK and Ireland. Never Ending Tour still continues……

Damo Suzuki with Die Okraschoten : Eric Zwang-Eriksson (Drums), Daniel Layer(Sythesizer/Keys), Valentin Metzger (Trompete) André Möbius (Bass), Alexander Möckl (Gitarre) and Shapoor Shiravani (Percussion) http://www.ballonfabrik.org

Augsburg is one of three oldest cities in Germany that is more than 2,000 years old beside Trier and Neuss. Augsburg is also a part of Romantic Road, once the city was booming town at middle ages, a centre handling city.

André is like Horst, a sound carrier, contacted me before I got sick in 2014. He is patient enough waited me for today, waited me to get healthy and able to perform, also I received some warm mails during that time. Finally we see us together and perform together, yeah!. Strangely, I don’t know why I have tight relationship to bass player than other music instruments player, concert offer often comes from them, contact mails come often from them and continuing friendship mainly with bass player. I guess, probably, bass player is kind of a carpet at space keeping band together, not a ego types.

Special for today he arranges the band named Die Okraschoten, you may hear it from somewhere, ha? From mistake one can learn, to avoid hassles like last night, we went to hotel that is middle of old town, first for check-in. We find good parking as well, so we took taxi to the venue. Ballonfabrik is at industrial area, relative far from city centre, so not a bit of Middle Age Booming town. Our friends Rainer and Christoph from St.Gallen, Switzerland well come us there. They’re visiting me in hospital few months ago. Sound carriers were all there even already set up. Wait for a while, tonight will be rock based show as I felt at sound check. André’s wife cooked us, we’re together at the room beside concert hall.

Quite good amount of audience, there’s opening band, that made heat, but not fits before our performance. Supporting band brought some of their fans, is not really found of instant music, I felt. Still concert went well, Rainer and Christoph were so happy to see me on the stage, they know I had hard time last 3 and half year.

Here is review from a sound carrier (in German)

http://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/augsburg/Laie-trifft-Profi-Wie-es-ist-mit-Damo-Suzuki-id41411426.html

A bunch of young people invited me for smoke after the show, in speech, they didn’t believe me I’m almost three times older than them……..

Next day ….. This is example of not always sunny side of life with performance. I’d never problem with musically part of performance. But, I cannot influence good amount of audience come to visit Network performance. As far as there’s promoter arrange the show, I don’t like them to loose money. Always good to be win-win situation… Promoter, sound carriers and audience, all is happy after the show this wish many concert as possible.

(Festival : The lucid dreams of Dr. Sardonicus Damo Suzuki with Peter Bingham (Guitar), Glenda Pescado (Bass), Horst Porkert (Synths) and Lee Relfe (Sax)

https://cairo.wue.de

Würzburg is start point of „the Romantic Road“ one of Germany’s touristy attraction that finishes at Neuschwanstein Castle, you may know the fake from Disney world. On Romantic Road you may pass many interesting middle ages towns like Rothenburg, Nordlingen, etc…. Back to middle ages.

Horst, my friend sound carrier is the organiser of this small festival, doing this for years. Now he cooperated with Cardigan, Wales, he was there he explained me, so my sound carrier tonight is also members of West Walsh band Sendelica, so I know some faces from few years ago when I performed in Cardigan. This short German trip one thing is similar. Local promoter join as a sound carrier. This happens quite often and why not? Horst is proud about getting visitor from other countries like UK and Sweden. I also met a guy who bought my merchandising, he is from Luxemburg. This is familiar festival, so many visitors comes every year, many are getting friends, so from this atmosphere nice to perform here. A everybody knows everybody festival.

As usually for festival sound check is just before the performance, so we arrived here early enough. An Italian lady did an interview with me during full of break time. At late night we had trouble, as we didn’t check in at hotel, so someone else took our key and we don’t have our reserved room, it was late around 2 o’clock, middle of silence night. Night porter checked and checked find no solution for a while. Must we sleep dining room of the hotel? Around 3:00 am we’ve got solution that we would stay at a double bed room which is not in use. This is naturally reason we slept long that we missed breakfast. First then have to do is get something to eat OFF COURSE! Time is closer to noon, so without breakfast get reasonable lunch. But, to get lunch is too much, so some snacks as spare breakfast? One of my habits is walk around to find interesting place to eat, even hungry situation I can do this, because I don’t like to mess the day start with bad food. I don’t care about information in internet or I don’t like to ask people for tasty restaurant, it’s non sense, peoples taste is that much different, also you cannot ask people you don’t know, you don’t know his/her taste and what usually they’re eating. Internet restaurant guide? I’m sure one of you may be witness of restaurant point manipulation. So, better walk around find interesting place, smells of something interesting, also inner architecture and looks of service personal. Let’s have time and enjoy…..

Würzburg is not only spot for Romantic Road, they have wine hills even behind railway station you may see one of them. They have good quality white wine, it’s so unique bottled in flat round bottle that you never see anywhere in the world, it’s their copy right no one allowed to use this style of bottle. Also you may find some gourmet restaurant here, a traditional local food, as finally we found, not far from problem Hotel not key was problem, we’ve got a room on 4th floor without elevator, it’s incredible service in middle of touristy city. Poor Elke had to carry suits cases with a little help from night porter as you know I’m handicapped, my Doctor don’t allow me to carry heavy duty.

Well, back to the restaurant, it’s huge restaurant, I don’t know how many guests may find seats, and probably it may around thousands? Weather was good we took ourselves in garden seats, and finally satisfies our empty stomach. Anyway we’ll back this restaurant next time as we ordered small dish, next time course menu! Few days before Luca (Julie’s Haircut from Reggio Emilia) mailed me that they’re going to perform at this festival due to cancelation of another band as spare. But, they perform the day after our performance, fortunately they performed as first band of the day, after small lunch went back to Cairo say hi to them. We perform few times together, even they visited me at home in Cologne, a year before that time I was much sick and looked older, they motivated me at that time. We stayed there until end of 2nd piece, then drove next stop Augsburg.

Live documentation of this show :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1hEd60zuq4