It's apparently (according to phone weather apps) pretty cool temperature-wise in Wiesbaden, and it'll be even cooler in Paris, but a little rainy. Only 3 more shows left. Today, tomorrow, and Sunday.
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The venue was incredibly impressive. The place wasn't the biggest, but there were key points that made it, in my opinion, the best venue we've played all tour.
The load in was very easy. We parked out the back door and barely had to move things a few feet. Once setup, the sound on stage was really good, and when we were done sound check. I found out we didn't have to move anything. The support was going to just setup in front. I was stoked. I don't have to move my drums and no one else is going to be playing ok them? Best night ever.
Then, the backstage area. I walk downstairs to find a full kitchen, dining area, fridges stocked with water, sodas, and juice, and then in greeted by Mike in his "office" going over some things.
They had bread, meat, and cheeses, along with fruit waiting in the kitchen, and then a little later, there was a rice and curry dinner. I was sad when they said they couldn't find the dish of chicken curry, but the veggie curry was just fine.
The backstage was also fully equipped with a lounge, bedroom (with 3-tiered bunk beds), two bathrooms with showers, and a whole cabinet of towels.
...and a hair dryer. There was even Nutella in little squeeze packets.
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The show was fun. The opening band was droning and heavy, the second was a solo electronic act we had played with before on a tour a few years ago. People were excited while we played, which made for a good vibe in the room. The German crowds tend to hide their excitement more than most. They'll stare and watch the show, arms crossed, and with a flat expression, but they'll tell you how much they loved the show afterwards. This crowd was stoked for us, and they showed us.
Unfortunately there weren't enough people there to do many stage dives, but damnit, they tried, and that's what counts.
The drive tomorrow isn't too killer to Paris, so we get to sleep till 10am, then we're on our way.
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Cloudy and rainy today, and once outside of Germany, we no longer have to pay for toilets at truck stops, cause that sucks.
--The venue in Paris is quite possibly the best we've played all tour. Great sound, great crew, great room. The show itself was free, so we expected a bunch of people to show up, but when the doors actually opened, there wasn't even enough wiggle room to get through to the bathroom.
The show felt great, and is a great closer to the tour. We're all pretty much considering this show the last of tour, since Ieper fest tomorrow will only be a 20-30 minute set, and we're not sure of how the crowd will be, so we go out with a bang, and then have a fun festival show to cap it off.
Almost home
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So far Ieper fest has just been a mass of confusion and annoyance. It took forever to find someone to even tell us what the deal was for loading, playing, and dressing room stuff. We're given backstage pass laminates, which is the norm, but also given wrist bracelet things, which I hate, but worst is that they don't seem to get you anything special. I can't go to the French fries stand and get some fries, I'm limited only to the food backstage, which is pretty okay (but all vegan), but it's not French fries, or a sandwich.
We also only get a dressing room that's available only 15 minutes before we play, and 15 minutes after. On top of that, we're playing the smallest stage, under a tent that is basically just a giant sweat box, so...yea. I'll be happy just to play for 20-30 minutes, and then leave.
We're staying with a friend in Gent, and then we're off to Frankfurt airport, and on our way home.
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The show turned out to be pretty fun. We completely spazzed out on the last song, and we ended the tour awesomely.
We left Armine in Belgium for his show with mike Wohlberg, and headed for Germany. Matt finalized all the money for rental stuff in the van.
We dropped the gear back off at GateToHell and then got dropped off at a hostel in Frankfurt. We said our goodbyes, and now we sleep, and tomorrow, we're homeward bound.
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