Tag Archives: open mic

Tour update (with interrail anecdote)

The tour has started.

(Although I feel a bit self-conscious calling it a tour since I only have one paid gig, one short free gig, a few open mics, and some busking planned. But what the heck. I’m travelling between cities and I am playing music. What is that if not touring?)

Getting to the UK was fairly unproblematic. German trains are awesome. Swedish Öresundståg from Gothenburg to Copenhagen first stopped halfway down the west coast (not the train operator’s fault though, the police where hunting someone on the tracks—or at least that was the fast-spreading rumour on the train) and then it took ages to reach Malmö since the engine sort of broke down and they could only use 45 percent of its capacity. So I had to change trains in Malmö, but I got to Copenhagen in time to change for my night train.

After the night train from Copenhagen to Cologne—a fairly comfortable experience—I sat on the steps of Cologne Dome having breakfast as the day dawned. It was like 20 degrees out. It is not as hot in the UK, which is where I am now. My feet are cold.

I met a couple of Irish musicians on the night train. They had just been to Sweden, even played in Gothenburg (at Dubliner’s, of course) last week. What I like about travelling like this is that it breaks down the barriers between people. You get to talk to people you wouldn’t normally start a conversation with. And it brings out nice things in people, even though the vulnerability of someone on the road can be immense and it would be really easy to take advantage of that.

I remember when I was on an interrail when I was 20. Me and my travel buddy Anna where on our way back to Sweden and we were both really tired. Anna took out her sleeping bag and laid down on the floor of the station under a staircase. I couldn’t sleep so I went for a short walk, leaving Anna with all our luggage except my passport and wallet. When I got back someone had put a cup with €20 next to her. They could have stolen something, but they gave her money instead.

In any case, I arrived in Brighton yesterday (Tuesday) and I did an open mic in the evening. It was good—even though they, for some inexplicable reason, had a muted Harry Potter film on the TV above the stage. Kind of surreal listening to music with Harry Potter actors doing a bad job in the background.

Today I went busking in Brighton for a couple of hours (between crazy rain showers). That was good to. It paid for food today and I’ve still got enough money for a pint. But I’m going to bed now, saving that pint for another night.

Until next time.