It's the last day of the Cowgirl and You Should Get To Know Us tour of East Europe. With 2,970 km (1,845 miles) covered and a total audience size of 107 people, it's been a resounding success. So how did these kick-ass rock'n'roll bands decide how to end such a climactic tour? With a kick-ass rock'n'roll show in Berlin. Keep reading to see what happened.
27 July - Berlin Artliners
Tour report: You Should Get To Know Us
We were so happy to have our van back that we decided to sit in it for the whole day. That worked out pretty well since we had quite some traffic jams on our way to Berlin. We went straight to the venue and arrived perfectly in time to set up and play. The place, Artliners, was very nice with true rock 'n roll staff.
Once again, the authorities tried to stop us from rocking: full drums were not allowed. We did a mellow set with some softer songs that were very well received. Josse totally aced the stripped down drumkit and invented new rhythms on the spot. We played some classics from the past like 'In The Universe' and 'Everything=Nothing'. Merlijn announced quite dry that the last song was a dancing song and to our surprise some people went to it.
Drove back to the hostel in a very badass neighbourhood and had beers in the hostel bar. We gave the guys from cowgirl all CDs of our oeuvre and got cool cowgirl shirts in return. Hostel room was clean but sauna-temperature. We evaporated during the night but were brought back alive the next day by lots of coffee. It was a great tour. Big thanks to the guys of Cowgirl, we had a blast. Also thanks to all people at Desert Mine Music that kept you updated about our very interesting lives. To be continued...
Tour report: Cowgirl (Sam)
The final day of the tour! We figured it would be best not to push our luck any further in Krakow, so for that reason and the fact that we were playing in Berlin that night, we left. It was a long drive, 9 hours man. The air conditioning chose a convenient day to stop working, just eight sweaty dudes in a van. Over the last couple of days Tom had adopted the 'topless in the van' rule and today he had company in Josse who also chose to 'go back to basics' and show off his sculpted torso. It wasn't long before we were stuck in a huge traffic jam. Cars were stationary for as far as the eye could see. Everybody was outside of their cars wandering around and stretching their legs. But, nothing lasts and the good ship rock sailed on.
Time was looking tight for our gig but Berlin law required us to purchase a sticker for the van, a congestion charge kind of vibe. But, there was no time, we had a rock show to play and fans to please. Natural born rebels, we had again, been caught on the wrong side of the law. Rocked up to the venue and loaded our gear into the bar. A mural of Lemmy graced the wall of the bar, however the proportions were a little off and he looked like his legs were two foot long. God bless you little leg Lemmy!
It was nice to catch up with friends who were either visiting or living in Berlin. YSGTKU played another knock-out set on what was without doubt the smallest stage I've ever seen. Next up it was Cowgirl's turn, good atmosphere and a text book set. Shout out to Ted for the tequilas! After the gig we loaded our stuff back into the van as we still needed to check into our hostel.
I thanked the barman for having us play and the only two words he uttered were 'Henry Rollins'. 'Huh?' I responded, 'Henry Rollins' he repeated. 'Henry Rollins?' I said. 'Henry Rollins' he repeated. 'Yeah, I like Henry Rollins' I replied. And I walked off bemused then realised I don't actually like Henry Rollins.
Danny went rogue and went off to some bars with his cousin, Eddy. The rest of us checked into the hostel and had some beers and some shots. Jack, Tom and myself (Sam) had to get up at 6am to fly back to the UK so I am currently writing this on two hours sleep. The other guys carry the torch of rock for another few days, potentially playing a show in Nijmegen but definitely having some fun. Over the last week there have been overwhelming highs and there have been Earth shattering lows but one thing I'm sure we can all agree on, is we blew the roof off that mother fucker. Over & out.
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| Josse from YSGTKU loves to drive his band-mates around Europe |
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| Sam from Cowgirl: original rock'n'roll outlaw |
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| Josse from YSGTKU and Danny from Cowgirl having a fun-packed time on the road |
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| You Should Get To Know Us play the world's smallest stage in Berlin |
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| You Should Get To Know Us melting hearts and faces in Berlin |
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| Danny from Cowgirl celebrates a successful European tour |
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| Lavish end-of-tour party in Berlin |