Winter 2005 Tour Journal

writing from brussels. we played last night in ghent. what a beautiful city it is. we have been in brussels for two nights now and just took the short trip to ghent last night for the show and then returned to brussels. tonight we play here, and then tomorrow back to germany. the show last night was a lot of fun. my humor, or lack thereof, was completely lost on the crowd and at one point i turned to jack and just as i said “man i’m getting killed out here” he said “there’s no stopping you, hillman.” at which point we almost started laughing hysterically and really had to fight to keep it together. the crowd warmed as the set progressed, but i think it was more of a cultural personality because in the end they were really supportive. it was the only show so far where everyone sat in chairs for both our and eleni’s show so the whole vibe was a bit subdued… when we get to geslingen, jack and i will take a day and travel by train to ulm and then on to munderkingen where i lived with a family there for two months in 1990. they are still in the same house and they are all coming in (the kids are now grown and live in other cities) to see me. it’s been so long and i can’t wait. we will then train up to frankfurt in time for the next show… after 7 shows we’re pretty much in the swing of things. we miss having the whole quartet together, but hopefully next time. our best to everyone.

hello to all… we are in brussels and i cannot find an apostropohe on this keyboard to save my life.  had a couple of really great shows in dresden, halle, and last night in hamburg.  we have our first day off since the tour began, and we are spending it walking around the city.  i have not had nearly as much time to sight see as i thought i would.  pretty much moving from city to city pretty quickly.  having a day off is really needed…we hope all is well with everyone. we miss our friends and families… p.s. jack is able to bust out some pretty impressive college french, and i am kicking some low level ass in german. just thought everyone should know.

writing from Dresden in East Germany. We played here last night, and the night before that in Berlin. We are having a great time…seeing very beautiful countryside and the cities are incredible.  Our hotel in East Berlin was across the street from one of the last places where the original Belin Wall is still up. Even though it came down in 1989, the memory of it is still very present in the city and the art. The crowds have been great so far. Lots of people at the shows, and very receptive to Jack and me.  We did get a single heckler in Berlin though and to hear the heckle in a German accent was something special. The rest of the crowd rallied behind us though and called out for an encore after we finished. And then Jack and I killed him.  That’s all for now.  Keep the emails coming…

jack and i are in duisburg germany today. our first show was last night in utrecht, netherlands. very fun and the venue folk were as nice as can be. all the workers were volunteering just for the love of music…just like playing in los angeles, except not at all the same. we are missing our families, but having fun with eleni mandell and her band. just getting to know everyone at this point, but everyone is very cool… we also miss mike and jim (the missing quartet members) and we were listed on tonight’s show as the full quartet. won’t everyone be surprised. jack and i are sounding good though and the crowd response last night was excellent. the european speed of life is really suitable to touring…a bit slower and fun. great coffee, beer, and the good news about netherlands, weed…luckily my parents aren’t reading this. ok, all for now. thanks for everyone’s support so far.