Thursday July 22

We headed to central Oslo to check out the local flavor and exchange some currency before hitting the road for Gothenburg. The city was really nice, so we did some push-ups and snagged a few postcards before heading back to Sweden. Grzeg drove hard and made good time so we could arrive in the city on time for food and to help get things get set up. The evolve guys took a bus four hours from Oslo to Gothenburg just to play this show, leaving at 9am and arriving in the afternoon. In the states, that would never happen, likely due to infrastructure problems, but also the car culture we’ve created. Over here, it seems that the backline is static and the kids go back and forth however they can with their drum breakables and guitars. It’s totally awesome that kids are willing and able to attend shows without the need for huge vans. It’s all based on community and sharing of cabs, drums and sometimes amps.

Speaking of sharing, Staffan who did our show, set us up with an entire backline and drums, sparing us the time and effort of setting up. When we arrived at the venue, a community center in Gothenburg, there was a three-course meal of salad, pasta and vegan goulash, bread and brownies. It was entirely vegan and we, once again, got too full for our own good before playing. We got a chance to hang out with Evolve, and had a great time chilling around town before the show. The show started with a couple good local bands, both of whom covered SSD. Evolve played next and were once again, super tight. The energy when they play is through the roof, and they were for the second night in a row, a tough act to follow. We played a quick set, both in speed and duration, and then proceeded to watch the world’s most efficient load-out occur. Stefan and his crew, including John from Malmo, seriously had the backline out and loaded in 15 minutes. While Grzeg took the backline to the storage spot, we chilled with Evolve and the gentlemen who helped with food and most of the night’s duties (sorry we forgot your name!). He loaded us up with leftover food and upon the van’s arrival and packing, we bid our farewells.

We stayed with Staffan, and he took great care of us. A purebred hardcore kid, we were once again treated like kings. The man even shared his own bed with us—that’s generosity.

Going, going, back, back to Sweden, Sweden.

Monday 19 July 2010

Today we had an off-day to grab some gear from Kiel before catching the ferry to Denmark and then driving onward to Malmo, Sweden in the south of the country. We departed Hamburg after a stay at the local hostel. Alex from Hoods up and the venue really put together a nice show and great accommodations for us. Two shows in and we’ve been treated better than we could ever deserve. I guess Let Down fibbed about how Europe really is. We finally stopped for lunch when we arrived in Kiel and proceeded to piss off the non-English speaking Turkish entrepreneurs with our indecisive ordering and Deutsch that is nicht sehr gut. Either way, it was a good lunch that followed our playground pushup and pull-up workout. We grabbed funny tasting sodas and bubbly water before hitting the road to Denmark.

The push-up count between Hamburg and Denmark ~700 for the band, mostly Chuck, Hess and I, butt Geoff did at least 10.

We drove through some scenic German countryside, and the neo-historian in me could nary help but wonder what it must have been like to fight an infantry war through the landscape as our grandfathers did. The fields and farmhouses take on an ominous property as I think about the potential for snipers and landmines across hedge rows and forest edges. Geoff snapped about 1000 pictures, and Hess drank at least five German mystery drinks before we hit the ferry terminal full of holiday-goers from across the continent.

We noticed that everybody was bringing cases of German soda and beer in across the border. I’m not a customs guard, but I might check on the spendthrift Costco lifestyles that the Danes and Swedes live while down in Germany. I’d leave sketchy Americans with instruments alone though.

The ferry was reminiscent of those in Washington State and British Columbia, but minus the internet access. We kept our wallets in our pockets for the impending currency switch, and proceeded to take in views of the ship-goers and funny signs. Gzeg caught a nap while Robert kept the edge strong on the portside deck.

Upon arriving, we pulled off to a gas station for the first push-ups of Denmark, where we weirded out the locals. For my workout, I was rewarded with free ice cream that was oddly sitting in the parking lot. We drove onward, from push-ups and ice creams to the border, where we doled out our toll money and entered Sweden. The landscape was flat, and had obvious glacial outwash soils with very thin and young layer supporting agriculture and lots of managed forests. This did not interest the rest of my band, but then again, I’ve nary seens soils like that unless getting close to the arctic.

We drove a few hours, arriving in Malmo just in time to change Euros for Krona and get supper. We smashed some Thai food with Kalle, meeting Andy, a one-time member of the Satanic Surfers, along the way. It was no Seattle or Vancouver BC Thai food, but then again Thailand is pretty far from Molmo, so we can forgive the folks who made it. We ate in the central square and hung out with numerous locals. Gzeg and Robert ate mad vegan ice creams, like kids in a candy store. The explanation we received for them eating five and seven vegan ice creams each was “When in Sweden, you must live this way, because we have no such things in Poland.” It makes sense to me, but it also seems to provide a stomachache.

After dinner we had to unload the van into a practice space because Molmo is “Crime City” and we didn’t want to chance any funny business. Post-load in, we rolled back to our host Clara’s, and split up between her and Tijana’s houses for the night. Both Clara and Tijana are in a rad all-female band called Beyond Pink. The first pressing of the LP sold out for good reason, but if you can, get a copy. I’m sure you’ll hear more about their band in the future. Think the Donnas meet Infest and Swedish punk rock. They all love coffee more than their respective boyfriends and have the tattoos to prove it.

Hamburg 18 July

Sunday 18 July 2010

We went to brunch with Robert, Gzeg, Jenny (Robert's partner), Seb and some of the other members from High Score, Mean Mike and a few others. The place was run by former hardcore kids and had a sliding scale payrate between 6 and 9 Euros. We got coffee and lots of great vegan food, and only slightly annoyed our less American fellow diners. Stomachs full, we had a nice drive from Berlin to Hamburg, passing many other tourists en route to a Jeff Hess van pull-up opportunity, Capri-sonne, and finally the venue, another large squat with 20 years of history.

Note the use of Al from Dangers on our flier. I suppose it could be related to our post earlier on the blog...

This particular squat, Rote Flora, was an old theatre/opera hall that was bombed out in WWII, leaving only the entry. It supports two show spaces and a large kitchen. Alex of Hoods Up did the show and saw to it that we were taken care of really, really well. The food was great vegan pasta with veges, and the dinner conversation was outstanding. I can honestly say that Alex is a student of the European scene and knows everyone. He gave us the history of the venue, his philosophy on US bands touring Europe, talked about his American show-going experiences, and gossiped with us on all things HC. The overall band ranking of the venue and promoter were the highest of honors: Top Dude.

The venue from outside.

Alex in the background at the radio station...

We played third with a punk band and great pop-punk band. We found ourselves getting tighter and had a blast ripping through the set. We saw some cameras rolling, so hopefully the filmers in attendance can send us documentation for those playing along at home.

We wrapped up the night with a radio interview that consisted of us playing our favorite Clevo hardcore classics as well as the Big Tymers. We had more than a little explaining to do and hopefully didn’t give away the extent to which we’re really just goofballs. They had goofy signs in their bathrooms to outdo us anyway. What's stranger? You decide:

or

We parked the van at a secured lot and proceeded to go to the hostel and get pizza. A few push-ups, Grzeg checking email and some showers later and we were all down for the count.