2 May, 2009 | Shannon Callahan
Hannover was green, warm and a lovely way to start May. We got in late from
our drive and were happy to get a good rest. The helicopters and police
cars began circling at midday because of the May 1 demonstrations. Because
of this, we had to be taken to the gig in a special car. Our bus wouldn't
make it.
We played in a nice, old theater in the middle of the city. There were some
fans there to welcome us and the mood was good. Chris mentioned that the
original Smokie guitarist, Alan Silson might be showing up. Just before
going on stage we got to meet him. It was a priviledge to meet one of the
other Smokie members! We started the show and when we got to 'If You Think
You Know How to Love Me', Chris asked Alan to come out and sing with us. It
was great! The audience went crazy clapping and cheering. It was a great
concert. For the encore we played 'Oh Carol', and Alan came out and played
guitar. It was an honor sharing the stage with him!
After the show we said goodbye to Hannover and drove to Dortmund. It was a
smooth ride with the Stones movie and jokes in the front of the bus while I
watched movies in the back with Chris.
We're all looking forward to the show in Fellbach! See you there!
30 Apr, 2009 | Shannon Callahan
Berlin was fantastic. We were all nervous about the filming of the DVD. But
in the end, we came together and had a great time. Tempodrom was packed and
the mood was great! We loved Berlin. Afterwards we took the nightliner and
listened to an amazing singer/guitarist Susan Tedeschi and then watched the
Seeger Seasions on DVD followed by the live concert in Dublin (Bruce
Springsteen). Dorino and Axel fell asleep. Martina and Geoff did sit ups
and danced. George and Ray continued expanding their joke repetoire while I
ate gummi bears and listened to music. For some of the drives Chris goes by
plane or private car, so he was on his own last night. We missed him! Still
it was a good ride.
I have only one thing to say about tonight: LEIPZIG ROCKS! Great show.
Great crowd. The audience danced and clapped from the first songs and we
really had fun playing. Chris even played a Chuck Berry song and improvised
a bit before starting Midnight Lady. (The fact that the rest of the band
was able to follow him and play great without knowing the song amazes me!
All I had to did was clap and listen to my amazing colleagues.) Thank you
Leipzig!
28 Apr, 2009 | Shannon Callahan
The last concerts have been followed by long night drives with sandwiches,
gummi bears, wine and cough medicine. All of us have been struggling with
colds throughout the tour so far. We've listened to the new Bruce Springsteen
CD (GREAT!), watched the Stones movie (GREAT!) and have told each joke at least
3 times by now. Still, the mood is good and the concerts great. The Frankfurt
audience was by far one of the most fun. They danced with us and cheered us
on. And it was amazing to be able to perform in the opera house (where I busked
infront of 9 years ago!). The show was recorded by a local radio station.
It'll be nice to hear it. It was interesting to drive onto the Theater Island
in Hamburg last night. The sets and costumes of The Lion King are amazing and
it was nice to sing Endless Night in the theater that it was written for. The
crowd was also great and we all had fun on stage. We pulled into Berlin around
3.30 in the morning. Nice to be on home turf. The DVD will be recorded tonight and has us spinning a bit
about what to wear and how it will be. I hope it will be fun! See you
there....
23 Apr, 2009 | Shannon Callahan
The show went well in Magdeburg. Lots of people showed up and cheered us on. We're off to Chemnitz today and will have a day to rest before going on. It's much needed since a couple of us have been struggling with colds and sore throats. See you all in Chemnitz!
21 Apr, 2009 | Shannon Callahan
We’re back on the road after a week of rest. Dresden was a great start to the second leg of the tour. The Frauen Kirche, the lovely cobble stone streets, the gathering of happy fans, the joy of playing music together again. And ah...the sweet song of spring birds, the roar of the crowd after the zugabe, and finally the drilling at 6 am just outside our hotel....on the road again! We gathered in the square with our new driver, Bryan, and passed Dorino’s soccer ball around before getting on the bus to Cottbus. It was a smooth ride and the show was fantastic. The audience sang and danced with us which always makes the concert more fun. We’re on the bus now listening to Nat King Cole. George and Ray are expanding their repetoire of jokes. I’ve finished off far too many ‚american cookies’, Dorino, Axel and Geoff are discussing the guitarist playing on this CD. Martina is bouncing and singing along-she knows every song! And I’m getting ready for bed....Zwickau, here we come!
7 Apr, 2009 | Shannon Callahan & Dorino Goldbrunner
The show in Erfurt was good. Lots of people were there and there was a great
mood. We're on our way back to the hotel now. This is our last stop before
Halle and then Easter Break. Our great bus drivers that drove us safely
over the last weeks are leaving us.:-( But the show must go on...George is
navigating our way to a McDonalds for a midnight snack, Martina and Axel are
exchanging jokes, Dorino and I are writing this blog while Geoff drinks
water and Chris watches the road. At the hotel Dorino and Martina are
planning to drink a bottle of Riesling 2007 Buergerspital Wuerzburg. Axel
is looking forward to his hot chocolate and looking forward to watching a
program ueber den Feldhechel.(What!?) Axel just let me know that there are
only 100 Texas Blind Salamanders left on the planet. What a pity! "Save
the Salamanders!" :-) ...there's only 1 McD's in this town and we can't find
it! Halle, here we come!!!! And 'Goodbye' to John...it's been a great
ride.
6 Apr, 2009 | Shannon Callahan
A liquorice night with white lines. On the way to Erfurt. Munich was
great. We had 2 days off and recovered from the last weeks shows. Now we're
listening to the Finn Brothers, drinking wine, and eating sandwiches.
Dorino is talking about his sweet daughter, Lily, who came to the
soundcheck. Martina is falling asleep. Chris is getting the guitar out and
going to play some blues with Axel. The mood is nice on the bus. We're all
looking forward to the next show!
1 Apr, 2009 | Shannon Callahan
The gig in Karlsruehe was cool! The crowd was very welcoming and really
partied with us. This makes it fun. Jeff danced across the stage, while
Axel bounced around with Jeff's sunglasses on. We had a good time.
Now we're on the bus. Martina got a free bottle of champagne from the hotel
we were at last night. She couldn't sleep so well because there was
construction near her room. Lucky for us! Ha! Ha! Chris is talking about
the demostrations in London. Our driver, John, is talking about sports and
we're headed towards the autobahn. Nuerenberg is next. We're looking
forward to it!
31 Mar, 2009 | Shannon Callahan
On the bus to Karlsruehe. Martina, Dorino, and Chris are watching the
recordings of our show in Duesseldorf on Youtube. We're all amazed at the
quality of sound that's possible with those little phones! Jeff is reading
a book. George is telling jokes. Axel is watching the road and I'm sitting
writing this blog at the table on the bus. We're all happy to see the sun
shining on our off day. It was a great gig in Mannheim and we're hoping it
will just continue getting better!
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