Bremen
We all instantly fell in love with Bremen. The frustrations of that morning’s flat tire fiasco melted away as soon as we arrived. This is a place that needs no sun to help it shine yet we were lucky enough to have it in abundance.
I don’t know anything of Bremen’s history. In the short time we spent there I got the sense of a tangible personality to the place, a clear architectural identity that never seemed at odds with the more recent additions of graffiti and advertising slogans. I’m struggling to describe it, for some reason the word “honest” comes to mind when searching for appropriate adjectives.
The venue was located in what i can only describe as a secret street, like a film set almost, walled in by a tall metal gate. There were piles of timber scattered about the ground level and staircases ascending up to the auditorium and bar. The performance space exuded professionalism and had clearly been the subject of a long and painstaking process of acoustic treatment. The technical staff addressed us with a playful grumpiness that always fills me with confidence when setting up for a show.
We played one long set plus encore. About eighteen songs in total. We would have done more but my voice was in tatters and so I decided not to risk destroying it completely before finishing the tour.
We left Lagerhaus around midnight and found our apartment to be the most lavish of our career thus far - two floors separated by a spiral staircase, rooms littered with exotic masks and antique dolls, puppets and all manner of peculiar accoutrements. Our instructions had told us to be quiet upon arrival but there was no need… we were struck dumb.
Next stop: Lauenau
