Archive Sunday #24

SD: From Porto, we flew to Berlin because it was cheaper to get a Ryan Air flight than a couple hotel rooms along the way. I remember wondering if we were getting kicked from the flight because our boarding passes didn't have seats, and every agent we talked to delayed the process up until we were actually on the plane. Essentially we just awkwardly waited along the aisles until everyone else was seated then we filled in the four empty seats left scattered inside the plane.

Once we were in Berlin we checked into the familiar hostel popular among the clubbing crowd, and grabbed some cheap burgers across the street. The next day we met up with Julien Baker to play a show together at Bi Nuu. After the show we all grabbed falafel together outside the venue. Julien talked about how she wished she could tour as a band because traveling around with just one tour manager would get lonely sometimes. We wished her the best and parted ways the next morning.

We headed southwest to Prague early the next morning. We had a promo interview scheduled at the national Czech radio station located in town. It must have been something Will did on his own, because all I remember was geeking out over the paternoster inside the building. It's kind of hard to explain without seeing one, but imagine an elevator with two shafts linked in a loop at the top and bottom floors. Therefore on each floor there's two series of back-to-back door-less compartments; one going up and one going down. Needless to say we rode this thing for at least half an hour in total amazement. In theory it would make sense that you could ride it in a loop going from one direction to the other, but none of us had the guts to ignore the Czech warning signs and put it to the test.

That night we played a show Klub 007 Strahov situated on the top of a massive hill in the middle of a huge park. The venue was small and super fun to play. We didn't really know what to expect with it being our first time in the country, but we had a blast. Not sure if the insanely cheap beer had anything to do with the intense enthusiasm, but I remember we added Beach Life-in-Death to the set last-second to help match the energy.

The next day we traveled to Vienna, Austria. We played at a venue called Fluc right outside of an amusement park with a giant ferris wheel. I remember walking through the park after it was closed to check out the rides, but unfortunately we didn't have the time to catch it while it was open. After the show we had some trouble checking-in to the hotel because I guess it's customary not to have anyone there outside of normal business hours. On top of that there was this random guy trying to scam us or break into the hotel in the confusion while we tried to resolve the situation. Thankfully Luc told him off and we eventually received a code or something to unlock the door.

After that we went back the way we came to hit up Dresden, Germany. We played at this cool venue called Beatpol, and I still remember the awesome hospitality spread of local sodas, fresh fruits+veggies, and deserts they had out for us. Unfortunately we found out soon after we got there that our show coincided with an annual street festival that was all the rage with the locals. So a few hours later we played to just a handful of people in the audience. We tried to make the show a little special for the diehard fans, with some extra extended parts and some songs we don't normally play. Plus the fact that the show subconsciously felt like a little less pressure, probably made it one of our best performances of the entire tour haha.

The next day we headed back into familiar territory when we pulled in to Hamburg. We were all psyched that the venue had laundry in the green-room and all took turns washing everything in our bags. The show was packed and it was a great atmosphere being in a crowded room again. Andrew and I at this point were still selling merch before and after the show. We typically would set up a shitty display at a table when doors opened and sell a bit before we needed to prepare for our set. Then we would rush back over after the last song to sell for the out. But tonight after playing to an especially raucous crowd in a town famous for out-of-town partygoers, we came back and noticed our whole merch display was gone haha. Luckily we were at least smart enough to take our cash and stuff with us, so we were only out a few shirts and cds.

The following day we played at a venue called Trix in Antwerp, Belgium. I remember the venue was close to a roller-coaster or something. Because when we had the green-room window open we could hear faint screams in the background every few minutes. The only other thing that comes to mind about the show is that we played Connect the Dots at the end of the set. I always loved going to places we had never been before, even if we only had a bit of time to check out the city. But by this time we were all pretty tired, with our only days off being dedicated to more traveling. Yet we still had quite a bit to go!

WT: Julien's wistful talk about touring with a group is funny to me now - I've never toured with just one other person, and sometimes that sounds like a relaxing option! Although I also remember her needing to cover her eyes as her TM navigated the high-pressure streets of Germany, so maybe some parts of tour are never relaxing.

It's always fun getting to a venue and seeing a list of bands you're always just missing - tours tend to get booked in the same routes, so for an entire tour you'll be seeing certain other band names listed at all the venues a few days before or after you. It's like you're touring together, except you never see or hear them. I think Parquet Courts were one of those bands this tour.

AK: The only thing I remember from these photos is getting falafel with Julien a few blocks from our hostel. This was during the time when we were playing around with the idea of Dirtplug TV and I wanted to film a "Selfie Session" with her. I pitched whatever idea I had which was probably terrible and included a ton of profanity. Julien politely declined. I think that may have been the last time we spoke.