hamburg
nice gig
not too many people
thats a shame but we played well
i had some tofu n seitan for dinner
under a lovely tree outside under a warm evening sky
hamburg throbbed along oblivious to my presence
just as it still does now i have left
this travelling can make ya feel real impermanent
some times im unaffected
other times it becomes hard to keep afloat
i saw nothing of hamburg
i did nothing except play n sleep
yoga n xi gong of course
in the warm sun of a german hotel room
at 8 am this smorning
stretch my tired bones out
calm my mind down
i listen to popul vuh hosianna mantra
im listening to it now off my lappy
as i sit sit sit backstage
in hengelo holland
our last continental gig
in a small dutch town
why?
logistics
we dont just randomly lurch about
its supposedly been figured out
availability of venues on certain nights
etc
anyway i feel sad to leave europe proper
not looking forward to you know where
where we fly tomorrow on ryan airways
the wurst in the world that i been on
but theyre cheep, people
and so we get up real early
drive to la dusseldorf where i wish we were playing
fly to uk
drive to brighton
do a soundcheck
dinner
do a gig
have noivous brakedown
commit chop sueyside etc
i really dunno
the future is uncertain
i love the music
but
but but
i dont wanna get on aeroplane
i dont wanna feel exhausted n miffed
standing in queues n lines
today i drove half way from hamburg
traffic on dutch border starts to slow to crawl
roadwork then a roadblock
we talking a big arterial autobahn
friday arvo
all them germans pouring into holland
all them trucks n bikes n tourists n families
all grinds down to standstillion
our 2 lanes become 1 n a half
in our big van i feel like im getting the squeeze put on
between mammoth trucks n steel barrier
then all traffic is slowly diverted into a carpark
everyone on the teeming autobahn
gets filtered thru this carpark
we get waved thru
others in a party stopped searched minutely
dutch cops looking for drugs?
yep or alcohol
or anything you aint sposed to have
within half hour of arriving at giggy
i have been to coffee shop
n purchased jazz smoking materials
thanks i say to red headed dutch girl
who takes me to the shop
no problemsh she says in that strange dutch lilt
i needed to buy shome hashh for myshelf anyway
ok ok
oh its a little strong i must say
peter k procures some absinth
but im unconvinced its the "real deal"
if you think its all frivolity
just remember i did 5 hours in the effing van
flying down the bahn
or grinding to halts
i m writing my blogge
then some kinda dinner
(have no idea how good or what?)
yeah then a soundcheck
then a short lull
then wallop
a gig
boo hoo!
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57 comments:
Um...don't cry?
Thanks for the insight to your tour this month. I wonder if my cousin Martin showed up last night in Hamburg? I would love to have had the oppourtunity to hang out in Europe myself. Any chance the band will tour the U.S. this year?
with envy,
Marcus
Well, we're looking forward to welcoming you Steve.
I know you don't love London but you had a great time last year!
I've been counting down the days to your arrival and I'm getting ready to drive down to Brighton.
I hope I get to say hi at some point.
Love you lots anyway!!
Welcome home......
Dave M
xx
Don't get busted! It ain't worth it SK. Don't carry it about, eh?
Love
I don't know, TB, I think the lack of sleep would do me in on something like your tour schedule. We wuz wondering last year how you got booked to places down he-ah (down south, US way) to places like Jacksonville and Myrtle Beach (?) Real head-shaker locations for erudite space-rockahs.
On the other hand, Dutch Coffee Houses - that could bring a smile, gotta experience that once in mah lifetime.
Book some days off in the good locations.
to anyone who may have missed this from the previous blog: i just want to give a shout out that today (april 27th) is queen hetshepsut's birthday....
HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DENISE!!!!!! ***hugs*** ***hugs*** ***hugs***
i'm raising a champagne glass to you~~have a great one!!!!
much love,
veleska
so we fat americans mr. sk are following you around europe. have to wake up at 530 in the am to catch a ferry from dieppe france to see your ass tomorrow and it is all we look forward to. i am very sad that I did not travel with my amsterdam weed by train. no one checked a thing and now I am potless and sad. french keyboards perplex me. see you tomorrow thankfully.
sorry you haven't gotten to see much of deutschland, steve. never been there but i hear it's a byoot. yeah, i guess that's the problem with your job~~you go everwhere but don't get to visit and play tourist. a HUGE downside. :(
i hope you and the rest of the crunchies have a safe flight.
have a good show this evening. knock 'em dead!!!
lotza love....
veleska
Steven,
!%*)*%&^%!!! That's for Joyce and my mum as I know they both abhor swearing. However I just wrote a fairly long comment - and I rarely have time to comment anymore and the blogger monster ate it up. ANYWAY - as I was saying - I think most of us are old enough to know the frivolity has flown the coop! Is there any glamour left under Marty's shoe or did that scamper off too? I couldn't do what you guys do. I'd need about 10000 um, little garden 'friends' just to get myself through a couple of cities. I like how you tell us what you eat for dinner. I don't know why. It's cute.
Also, I'm always days late with the bloggy but yes, I must echo the other bloggers - your twillies are absolute stunners! Just lovely girls.
I'm greedy and selfish and jealous of everyone who's getting to see you guys play and yes I wish you would come back to my backyard here in So. Calif. Last summer was crazy but fun - I miss Marty bossing me around. ;)
love to you always,
denise xxoo
p.s. thanks Veleska for the GREAT BIG b-day wishes. It's my um, 23rd anniversary of listening to the Church! :)
the whooosh of take off
the bump oh of landing
the best part of flying
window seat
good music, mmmm
the Church
ah on headphones, alas
the rest of it:
blah blah
lines and all
stuffy people and recycled air
long time to sit on ya sassafrass
jet legs laggin
wah!
I don't feel a bit sad
not at all
looking forward
a month of easters, christmas and birthdays
rolled into one
strange 30 daze bloc party
a grrls gotta do
mister district this is a red eye flight
with a green light flashing
gogh gogh
muse:
nevets your smile lights up the room, rest your lovely TB self,
have a toke
get in the van pool lane
you want more faster
swimming is easy float
on through your next gig
and then...
I can
so bee
do what ya like with
jazz clubs, absinthe
there's one way to tell if it's the real stuff
how it goes down
real easy
the way it tastes
warm inside
then hot
then a little light headed
then poetry
lifts your spirit
lick your lips
after it kisses you
sounds good to me
we don't get that stuff stateside
it's illegal
unless you know how to make it yourself
all the elements can be had
at local herbalists
even better-
you can choose the genies bottle
Love
Peace to ya,
~J
the future is uncertain
i love the music
but
but but...
el futuro es incierto
amo la musica
pero
pero pero...
denise~~!! i didn't know you've been listening to the church since you were born!!! so you're 23 today....you're older than i thought. i thought you were 19.
;)
love ya, girl!!
If U2 and all them other shithead bands fly aroung in private jets and get to play in giant stadiums, the Church deserve to be playing to whole continents.....but hey.....it's a sign of the shitty world we are cirrently living in.
Although I would love to see you guys play in an Ancient Greek theatre, outside of Athens, on a warm clear night, with the moon as a backdrop...with 2-3000 people max......perfect.....That's where you belong SK....up there with Aristophanes and the rest...
Be strong ......
amen, tommy gunn, amen. kudos to you.
thats right, tommyg and veleska! sk, if it makes you feel any better, i am not too permanent either. i feel like some sort of.. gypsy. sounds like you will be flying high soon enuf ;]=~~ my bro better be hooking me up to some jazz this w.e.
keep rockin!!
oh yeah, and happy b-day, queen!
happy weekend all ;]
hey dont give up the spirit,we in the uk are serious fans too ya know .btw ,do the rest of the band do yoga/excercise or anything ? whats his name is turning into a lard arse
I know how big an ordeal it is for me sometimes to just road trip for 5 hours, or take a flight - a real pain sometimes. I can only imagine having to do that daily for weeks at a time.
In the end, you and the guys have to decide what is best for you - but we appreciate your work and are glad when you make the rounds.
Daniel W.
It is a downer to read about the brilliant Church playing in front of small crowds. The CD "Sometime Anywhere" was the most unique, dreamy and wondrously moody recording in the annals of music. It was virtually ignored. A few years later Radiohead released the inferior but brilliant OK Computer and they were universally adored.The Church have been screwed by outside forces since 1990. It is my opinion that the Beatles are the only band that were indisputably better than the Church. However, Steve Kilbey is more talented than any solo member of the Beatles. My favorite Beatle is still living and he happens to be a vegetarian who has loved his weed for decades. Kilbey has McCartney's love for animals and vegetarianism while he has John Lennon's dreamy sound and deep lyrics. Forgot: Kilbey and McCartney are stellar bass players and have recorded Ambient music.
brac ack-ack-ack,
co-ax, co-ax.
boo hoo, try waiting here in me dark room for years just for you...
Hollywood
thats showbiz
Mastery acts on what is below.
Artistry submits to what is above.
It sounds like a hard slog sk, I just hope to god this tour hasn't put you off playing live ever again, ANYWHERE!! I hope once you're back home with the fam, love & happiness will take over, all will be forgotten, and you'll catch the next flight to Melby for that Mimesis/solo/whatever gig ok! (yeah right!!)
Take care and love you always,
Amanda
xxxxx
He wrote "standstillion" and I chuckled. You are up there with Dr. Seuss and Roald Dahl in the wordsmithing department. These are compliments and sincere.
-z
Well,
Maybe we could commission a love boat and travel coast to coast,
we could have live music, yoga, horseshoes, theatre/comedy, with good food throughout the day and a choiche show every over night, we could bring about some nice exotic trees from Humboldt, CA and zesty psychdellies from Amsterdang..
Oh man,
I hope The church, and the good saints on Earth get my transmission .._>>.._>>
Who'dve thought a surfboard could get you to the moon..
.._>>.._>>
jaime r........
come see us in atlanta, sk
please?
i get the feeling you don't like this tour.....?
Nevets...
I am bustling, crazy and roo-ing a new crunch song.. I thought I had heard em all, faintly remember hearing it sometime anywhere but you know how it is. My secret fav) not my other real fav like telepath..
was Tel Aviv, now it's "Feast" of the GAF sessions?? or the QSAS session " Quick smoke at spots" dunno...But Dammm You lot know that one, It's like you're at this dinner table with people ya just figured out that ya don't share anything in commen but ya canne leave. Wowzers.. awesome.
Yeah' people act-in is a hard craft..ya gotta pretend ya happy when yr not..focus when yr un-focused.. But hey ya gotta step up to the plate. Man What I would do to be insensitive like TRUMP or Murdock.. I would be famous like Tom Crewz..caus I wudda given a fuc!!
Great to see that truent nucklehead has left us all alone...
Thanks RK took you a while though!!
average security at the tb durr-in the invasion!!
Take care Veles.. glade to see ya writing and well.
bye druids off to the beach for a few day's.
SK ya gotta do me a commission when ya get bac to Sidnee..
Matt
hang in there mr kilbey the day shouldn't be too far off when every concert has a podcast subscription so you'll be playing to a full virtual house of fans every night
ps* Rock & have a great gig ma man.
"this travelling can make ya feel real impermanent
some times im unaffected
other times it becomes hard to keep afloat"
I hear ya, druid. But that feeling of impermanence can be one of the benefits too. It's a great clarifying factor. You really get an immediate and clear sense of what's most important in your life. What's superfluous, and what you really can't live without.
Hope the UK treats you guys well. You're in the home stretch... :-)
ryan
Yes impermanence = unsettling, the evil twin of feeling in a rut. I smiled that you were listening to PV before your gig as I'd play PV on my way home from work, to unwind, never on the way. Maybe thats what Im doing wrong?!
Frivolity? yeah ... reserved for the ones with time and a big $$ tour budget. You guys deserve some of that.
"Let It Be" is playing in the background here, vegemite toast & tea, for lunch. While thats totally boring for anyone to know, like our regal birthday girl said, those little details you write maketh your blog. Its gives a little connection to where you are in the moment. btw I have royal blood so a princess of sorts has once fallen for you dude :) You weren't in a bar at the time but not far off LOL
x
ps look fw to the reviews UK travellers.
Steve, will you get to see your girls again before you leave?
Hey Steve.
I havent been on the ol computer much latley but i've enjoyed catching up with yer road tales.
I quite respect the way you stick by your vegan flower guns in such circumstance.
Im generaly vegetarian but i find myself in eat or starve dilemmas every time i start clocking up euro miles.(the states must be worse)
Performing whilst dealing with so many compromises must be testing.
Even so it's all made for a great read. I see a poetry to your tour tales that wouldn't be there if it was first class travel with a road crew. Kinda reminds me of tales i've read about old jazz and blues musicians, i think your really living an artists life.
Have a great gig in Brighton.
Don't forget to tell the bouncer not to let anyone in called Jesus carrying a tambourine.
I guess if he's called Jesus and has a halo instead of a tamborine the bouncer should give him a backstage pass.
Hmmm, a halo Jesus with a tamborine could be a real crossroads dilemma.
Daniel
i'd like to hear more about
the red-haired dutch girl...
Personally I could use a good road trip.
"Positive waves are what I send"
^_^
falun gong is supreme
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steve is a gay boy
Couldnt think of anything worse than having to leave the sensible & tolerant Holland for England. If it had been via the ferry however I'd have been installing a glad wrap suppository.
So how did Die Kirche's version of "Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand" go down with the locals in Hammy ?
Hey RK, can you do the same to matt davison as you did to "truent knucklehead" please? ;)
Dear anonymous (3:33pm),
Are you SURE this blog really needs that kind of comment ??
Am in Hengelo, same hotel as Kilbey I saw in the ledger. Wonder if he'll call it a prison. It *is* rather sparse. But comfy.
30 people at the gig, mostly travelling fans. Gig started off a bit iffy, then came together nicely. SK not giving it loads, but band very tight.
Some pictures here, more when I get home:
http://tinyurl.com/2n7rgy
Dear S.K
Maybe its time?
Maybe its time to stop that particular thing/method?
Or just take the bad with the good?
Or change?
Whatever it is.
Just take care of yourself.
And then come home.
you played to 30 people?!!!!!
there's 9 of us just in our minibus!
what the hell is goin' on.
please, killer don't.
don't let it phaze you.
DON'T.
DON'T.
i know that ego of yours does need feeding, that goes for MWP, PK and
timbo too.
it's vital to give you a sense of 'worth'.
even i have days when when i think 'wer'e crap tuneless drivel'
'we just don't stand up against the big boys' 'never gonna get a deal coz the stuff's just not good enough'. ect.
then steve kilbey,yeah not just anyone,steve kilbey, that's right,
what, the REAL steve kilbey, the guy from the church? yes. oh the guy who wrote all those cool songs!
fuck me andy, look at this.....he says you guys rock! eh? yeh something about you being his main man. nah! yes, yes, come and look!
so people start listening a bit,
we start up the myspace site, it
gets a few hits every day, qute often about fifty.
but it's the comments.....they just blow us away, i won't detail any of 'em on here because i'm not trying to use this as a platform to go on an ego trip or plug the band.
rather i'm trying to tell you steve
just how important you are to people who dig real art,crafted with care. something that comes from further inside than almost
anyone else can reach.
i know because we try so hard to achieve that ourselves.
you play to, and for, an enlightened offshoot from mainstream humanity.
NO-OTHER BAND ON THIS SPINNING BALL OF DIRT COMMANDS, OR INDEED DESERVES MORE GENUINE LOVE, RESPECT OR ADMIRATION.
DON'T ever doubt it!
make sure you get me that bloody chair, or i'll have something rather less complimentary to say about you!
soon,
andy L.
Lucky lucky lucky Brits!!!!!!
wow!!!!!!!!!!!!
check out the pics from vienna on pagey's site: violettown.net
theyr'e awsome!!
now ifnz he's called jesus
does it matter what musical device
he's playing
could even be a turtle shell with strings
or a harmonica
(I got one and the only creature who found it tolerable was my cat;)
let the guy in
for chris sakes
put him on the guest list
have tea w/ him even!
~
i have gone years at a time playing nothing but church and church/related albums.
don't forget it
I was going to post that I'm thinking of you flying and sending positive vibes, but I just checked the time and think you've already flown by now. So I'll send good vibes for a decent hotel room, great meals, easy travel, lots of fine jazz, and terrific shows with many appreciative fans.
You are dearly loved by many, even if it's sometimes hard to see evidence of it. Always remember that Steve.
and on the bright side -- your blog readership is up 150-200 (sometimes more) per day since the start of this tour. :-)
Hey There ~ said 10.30 pm
I wasn't dissin Jesus the Messiah or anything, In fact Jesus rocks my world.
To me Jesus was the original anti establishment rock star.
That 'You've turned my gods house to a marketplace' stuff really stuck it to the man.
What I was refering to was an old Church tale about there first ever
gig in England.
I heard some guy calling himself Jesus played outa time tamborine front of stage all night.
If you've ever been a dancer or a musician you'd know that something like this can be extreamly disconcerting.
A turtle shell with strings would probably be ok as it wouldn't have the top end cut through of a tamborine.
Then again i've not heard of a turtle shell with strings.
I have heard a shrango though.(probably wrong spelling)
Sharango's originate from south America and there traditionally made with Armidillo shells.
They can sound quite dreamy when tuned and played properly.
A bit like a mandolin but not as brite as they traditionally use gut strings.
Again another dilemma for vegetarians.
Should one enjoy music played on instruments comprised of dead animals.
i don't know? . Can anyone direct me to some Sharangao music played with Armidilloes who've died natural deaths.
Daniel
Daniel
hi, I was down under last week in New Zealand auditioning local talent for the prouction of a TV commercial for a leading American brand prophylactic, for Titanic Prophylactics Inc. I stumbled upon your Blog in between auditions and it's great in "Titanic" proportions! I spent 2 days in the city of Aucland in search of a suitable confident good looking male actor to play the part of a vulnerable human Penis. I screentested a couple of extras and one desperate hammy actor, but none were adequate. Russell Crowe has shown initial interest after a recommendation from a good mate of his in NZ who unsucessfully auditioned for the part.
Hope the rest of your tour stays well above the Sealine.
J C
funny you should mention that james, prophylactic companies do like to test their products in New Zealand, I was reading about that the other day, due to statistical frequencies or something
maybe I can google it for you
yes here it is
http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/New_Zealanders_being_urged_to_become_condom_testers
daniel
here is the info about the charango and the armadillo
http://www.ancient-future.com/guitar/charango.html
Seeing The Church live 3 times in 1 week is something I could get seriously used to. I am feeling the first twitches of withdrawal symptoms already. Drugs, Church, what's the difference?
Depressed afer you've gone across the pond....
hi daniel,
I was attempting to be
funny
sometimes I don't sound like it
if you met me you'd see
I laugh often
and prolly too loud
people think I sound angry?
I'm not-
I wasn't thinking your comment about jesus was a diss
at all
forgive my ignorance about the concert situation
and I wouldn't expect anyone
to harm a turtle for it's shell!
or for any other part of it!
pythagoras mused that it may have been the first musical device
played by human hands
and a gift from the egyptian gods
I've never seen the movie Titanic
didn't know james c produced commercials
I have seen much footage
from natl geo about it
the tip of the iceburg
or was it that the captian thought the ship could not be sunk
that was the error
I would hope that the survivors
and the many ships that successfully navigated those waters
after titanic and learning from it
is an important point
they often overlook
although I consider myself a lover
of great love stories
and titanic the movie had one
although it ended tragically
which maybe why I never watched it
I'm not guessing
sorry to hear about the part matt d
I would've given it to you
I have a sharp memory
I can't forget...
russell crowe throws phones
which is just aggro
considering they can be handy
esp if they can take pictures
and your sharp memory failed to remind you to bring along a camera
I have the misfortune of losing/having them stolen
so I can't talk to my family
I'm lucky nice folks have helped me out
all my life
I wish the same for everyone
peace to ya all,
luv
~J
great photography at violettown!
kudos to the rockahs
and the photog
~
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