I am writing this note on a ferry bringing us from Bergen
in Norway to the Vikodal Festival. It is a 2 hour ride
through amazing scenery of mountains and forests. This is an
unbelievable part of the world and I only wish the freakin
weather could be better.
Yes, as is the usual thing
with the Young Dubs, it has rained everywhere.
EVERYWHERE!!!. We arrived in Denmark on June 27th and the
tour and rain began in perfect harmony. Our good pals at
British airways lost all 10 bags we had and we had to wait
until about 1 hour before the show to get 8 of them back.
the other two are still missing almost 3 weeks later. Last
we heard they were in Milan , Italy. I hope they are having
a good time and getting some good pictures. Hopefully we
will reunite before tours end so we can share stories!
Other then that it has been a great tour. The gigs have all
been big and well received. The festivals are all really
well attended despite the shite weather. In fact they almost
seem to enjoy the mudbaths that appear all over the place.
Luckily we are usually looked after with a dressing room and
hotels etc but even the short walk from the band room to the
stage can get you covered in mud.
When we arrived at
the airport our fearless translator, confidant and driver
Jorgen was standing by to whisk us off on our month long
voyage. Our first show was the Kloften Festival and it was a
great success. The rain stopped briefly to allow us to get a
great crowd and we rocked them as hard as we could. The
papers the next day listed us as a highlight with a cool pic
of Chassie rockin out.
The following day we went to Faaborg for a small club
date. We met the promoter at a show on the last tour and he
decided to bring us to this quaint little town in Southern
Denmark. It was a good house and again the show went well.
However jet lag had gripped us tightly and I think every one
was wrecked. After the show we headed back to our hotel in
Odense and crashed hard.
The next day we left for a
summer house in Fredericia. This was organized by our Danish
agent Thomas (or Buks as everyone calls him). He found a
beautiful beach front location for us with about 10 rooms.
Perfect for the boys to spread out and get out of each
others hair for a while. The weather sucked but every now
and again there was a little sunshine. We spent most of the
time walking and enjoying home cooked meals provided by our
tour manager Adam. It was a great break.
Back to work then with 5 gigs in a row. The first was the
only dodgy show of the tour. We had been asked to play a
private show for the volunteers working at the Nibe
Festival. I suppose we thought it would be a club of some
sort but it turned out to be another mudfest of tents in
the middle of the vast festival grounds. Dont get me wrong,
everyone treated us a wonderfully as always but the
conditions and size of the venue were messy. Nonetheless we
rocked as hard as we could for 2 shows and made it a
rehearsal for the upcoming shows.
Our actual Nibe show
was the following day and it was crackin. I really enjoyed
the show as there were loads of kids rockin out mixed in
with an all ages audience. It was another step forward in
our plan to break Denmark. Of course it was raining and
muddy so the only thing to do after the show was enjoy the
beers provided back stage
TANGENT The beer is great
over here. Even if you are normally a a wine or hard liquor
man you have to hand it to Scandinavia, they have tasty
beer. A good deal stronger then the US so be advised you may
be speaking in tongues a little sooner the you might usually
be so proceed with caution.
After Nibe we went to what
would be one of the biggest shows of the trip. Skagen. We
were to play directly before Runrig, one of the most
successful Celtic rock bands in Denmark (even though they
are Scottish) 3000 people packed into the venue while the
opener, Beggars Row got the crowd going. We went on and
worked hard at lifting the show up to the highest point. By
all reports we succeeded and our Danish record label seemed
very pleased. I was personally delighted when that one was
over as it had been a milestone in the tour. We never met
Runrig which was a pity but for some reason they were very
much keeping to themselves. They escaped a night on the tear
with the Young Dubs, maybe it was for the best, for them!
To finish off the week we headed for one of the most
remote shows of the trip. Tuno Island. The island is about
as big as a golf course with hardly any actual residents
(less then 150) However when the festival comes to town
thousands head out to watch the bands (in a big tent thank
God as the rain continued) This may have been our best
performance of the tour and I really enjoyed it. We were
all in a great mood after the show as we had survived 4 in a
row spread all over the country. Some drinks were had!!!
Signing off now. I will continue after Berlin!!!
Im Back.
The next day the inevitable headache arrived to remind me
that there is a reason not to drink nasty Danish shots with
your pint! This was to be the most challenging day for me
personally as I was on a mission to meet my pals in Berlin
for a bachelor party. I ended up on just about every type of
transport known to man on this day. It started with a trip
on a small boat to get off the island. Then our driver
Jorgen drove us to Odense. The boys were all staying at a
hotel there for the 4 days off. I however jumped a train to
Copenhagen and then on to the airport. When I got there I
found that my flight was delayed for 4 hours!! Pain in the
arse. I made the most of it by sitting at the bar and
meeting folks coming and going from all the world. Quite an
interesting bar actually.
Finally at 11.30 pm the plane
took off. I arrived at the hotel in Berlin at 1.30 am. Not
to worry, its Berlin and so the festivities continued into
the morning.
After my little excursion to Germany I rejoined the
band in Copenhagen and we headed to Norway the following
day. Unbelievable. Bergen is a beautiful city and right away
we knew this would be a good place for us.
Both club
dates were well attended and we had great shows. The
highlight however was the final show at Vicodal Roots
festival. The crowd proved that they are Celtic Rock fans to
the core. We went on at 1 am and the place was packed.
Thousands of Norwegians sang along and rocked out for our
hour long set. What a great place. The Jam session after the
gig with two Norwegian bands back stage was also a major
highlight.
Then it was back to Denmark for the last
week of shows. It began with a TV appearance on TV2 ( a live
set with Bob , Chas and I). Then we headed to Randers for a
club night. Despite the fact that we had never been there we
had a great crowd and we had a rockin show. Then it was back
on a boat to Samso island for yet another big festival. This
might have been the best show we did all tour but it was 3
pm and the sun had finally shown its face, right into
ours!. I forgot to put sun block on and I was roasted. Still
the gig was massive with a huge audience. The food
afterwards was phenomenal, compliments to the organizers of
Samso, they throw a hell of a party.
Our last show
turned out to be the mother of all shows. Quite possibly my
favorite Young Dub show of all time (see video to be posted
very soon). It helped that we were in one of the coolest
parts of the world I have ever been, The Faroe Islands. For
only 5 years now they have been hosting the G Festival. It
is undoubtedly the most amazing show we have played. We went
on at 2am, yes folks 2AM!!! We were the last band on the
main stage and it was brilliant. Thousands of people were on
hand and they acted like we were their favorite band of all
time. What a response. That made us play a rollicking 90
minute set while the sun rose over the water ( remember
there is only about 2 hours of darkness in this part of the
world during the summer).
It was the perfect way to
finish off the Scandinavian Tour. We have now officially
added Denmark and Norway to our list of fav places to play,
with the Faroe islands getting a most favored nation score
on every bodies books.
I am writing this on the plane
as we head back to North America to start our US summer
tour. I have forgotten so many cool details which hopefully
I will write about next time. A big thanks to Thomas Hansen
and Jorgen for another well organized and fun filled trip.
It has been a wonderful tour and we are looking forward to
returning next spring. Until then Scandinavia..........
Keith
IRELAND 2006
A TALE OF FOUR CITIES, 70
AMERICANS, 5 BAND MEMBERS, 2 CREW MEMBERS
AND
STEVE!!
A LETTER WRITTEN ON THE PLANE TO IRELAND, NOV 2006
Just left on our sort of European tour, Ireland and
Denmark at least!! It was the toughest goodbye I have had
with my family. Not because of the length of the tour or
even the distance. Mostly because the little man is now
starting to fully understand that Daddy is going away and
wont be there to tuck him in tonight.
He knows what
I do for a living, God knows he has seen a lot more rock and
roll shows then most kids his age, and I think he digs it.
But the sad part is also sinking in now, rock and roll means
going away sometimes and that part is hard for him. I wish
it could be done some other way but it cant. A band has to
tour sometimes.
Anyway, I may be over emphasizing
his sadness, its probably more my sadness. Maybe Daddy now
fully realizes that he has to go away and leave them from
time to time and he doesnt want to miss a moment of the
little mans growing up.
So I have taken steps to
lessen the blow. We now have two computers that have
isights. For you non Mac users that is what we call cameras.
I can now see and talk to Jake live from any country I am
in, very cool. Will try it out for the first time in Ennis
tomorrow. Fingers crossed that they have good internet at
the hotel!!!
The airport was nuts as usual today. We have so much crap
to fly with that we had to enlist the help of some of the
folks that are following us on tour. It was quite the sight
to see Wally and Francine (long time Dub fans) checking in
cymbals and a bag of merch. Those rockers!!!
Once we got that nightmare out of the way it was up to
the international bar for a pint and a burger. Diets are
usually the first casualty of a tour. First the bad food
moves in and then comes the lazy days where you really
intended to run for a while or even a fast walk but ya just
couldnt quite get your butt out of bed. Doing gigs late at
night and then enjoying some 'refreshments' afterwards is
not conducive with a healthy lifestyle. It just isnt!!!
Now that I am on the plane I have met a great bunch of
travelers who are all coming with us on the first half of
this voyage. 10 dates in Ireland. Right now we have people
on flights from Los Angeles, Chicago and New York all coming
to join us in Ireland for an adventure. That is a very cool
thing. Everyone on this plane seems excited to kick it off.
I hope they all nap a bit because when we get to Ireland it
is already morning and the day has begun. I will be going
straight to the hotel and back to bed but they will see the
Blarney Castle........oh yeh, they will be tired tonight
Thats all from day one............talk soon....
K
I wrote the above on the first day of our trip with the
idea that I would write a few paragraphs everyday. It is now
over two weeks later and I am finally getting back to this,
what a putz!!
What can I say, things in Europe are fast and furious and
you don't always have time to think nevermind write. Anyhow,
here are my recollections of the trip so far.
Day two we landed in Dublin for a brief stop over and
then headed for Shannon. But not before we had the first
creamy pint of Guinness on Irish soil, the first of many I
am sorry to say... As we arrived in Shannon the weather was
remarkably mild as it was to be for the whole Irish trip.
Sun was shining and it was almost warm!!! Further prove that
there is something wrong with the world temperatures right
now. I remember Nov being rainy and freezing when I was
growing up. One of the main reasons I was late for
school.
We met up with Steve our trusty driver for the adventure
and headed off to the first hotel. Like all the rest of them
it was a beauty. Nice rooms, friendly staff (although none
from Ireland, immigration is booming in the emerald isle).
We had decided to stay at the hotel bar for the first night
so everyone could get to know each other. At once it was
apparent that we had a hell of a group. It was like a party
where everyone already knew everyone. I could tell that we
were going to have a great time from that night on.
The first show was the following night in Westport.
Another fine hotel and a show at Matt Molloys. It is a small
little place so we decided to play acoustic, sitting down.
The place was packed with our group and curious Irish. I
also had a few friends drive down from Dublin and the guest
of honor, my Mum!!
We went on a little late (no, not the Dubs, on late,
never!!) as I had left my guitar in the hotel room, nice,
what a plonker. I raced back and grabbed it and we hit the
stage by 10.30pm. It was a wonderful night to start off the
trip as everyone sang along and danced for the duration of
the show. Afterwards it was back to the hotel bar for
another all nighter. My God there were a lot of all
nighters.
The next day was a day off in Westport. I spent the
afternoon with my Mum while the rest of the band and crew
milled around town eating and drinking and even taking in a
movie. It was a good chance for me to catch up on family
matters and afterwards I met up with the gang in town. There
is something magical about a night out in Ireland. I can
never quite put my finger on it but I'm sure all those that
were there would agree. You sort of float through the night
from pub to pub. You always meet a few characters as you go.
I was happy to bump into some Irish folks who had seen the
show and loved it, first timers. I told them to spread the
word in Galway where they were from and that we would be
back again soon.
Getting up in the morning is never easy in Ireland. At
least the band could make it a little later then the rest as
we were not touring the countryside. The group however were
up and at it by 8am usually as they took in the beautiful
scenery through bloodshot, hungover eyes (some worse then
others). My heart went out to them as I awoke at the crack
of noon and headed down for our van.
Off to Derry today, across the border into what is still
technically the UK. Dave was astounded to hear that his Euro
was no good here. Having just mastered the coins and notes
of Southern Ireland we now had to master her Majesties
currency, the pound. We stopped right at the border and
exchanged our cashola and then raced on to the hotel. I
really liked that hotel, another top class gaff. You can see
all the hotels on our home page. It was another night off
for us and a big dinner was planned for everyone in the
restaurant. There were 4 group dinners included in the trip
and I managed to make two of them, one more then last year.
Well done me!!
After dinner a few of us headed off to see the club we
were playing at the following night. I had found Sandinos on
the web and it turned out to be a great choice. From the
place itself to the staff it was probably my favorite venue
of the whole tour. We had a few pints there that night and
then returned to rock the place the night after. This time
it was full on rock show and it felt good to let loose
again. As usual the Americans sang along as the curious
Derry folk joined in. Back to the hotel and more liver
abuse......
I saw a few very funny shirts over the trip. One said the
Liver is evil and must be punished and one was worn by our
driver Steve. It said. alcohol is my religion, will you join
me in a prayer, nice!!
We left Derry the following morning and headed for the
most spectacular location of the journey, Newcastle. Still
in Northern Ireland it lies at the base of the Mountains of
Mourne. The hotel was stunning, my favorite of the
bunch.
Unfortunately during soundcheck the previous night I had
inadvertently stabbed myself in the eye with a guitar
string. What a gobshite. We had chosen not to bring a guitar
tech on this tour to save a bit of moola and now I was
seriously regretting the decision. After I did it I really
felt very little pain but the next morning all hell broke
loose. For the entire drive it weeped and hurt like a
bugger. I could not open it in the light at all. As soon as
we arrived in Newcastle I went to an eye doctor. He
confirmed that I had ripped the protective cover off the
eyeball and that it was now becoming infected. Bollox I
thought, a one eyed front man. Had it been done before.
Would I now need to invest in a parrot and a wooden leg?
All kidding aside I was freakin out. He gave me some anti
biotics and told me to see another doctor in Dublin if it
got any worse. I was well pissed off. Here I was in a
beautiful setting that I could not even look at without an
aching feeling in my eye. I went back to the hotel room
totally bummed out and proceeded to pour the medicine into
the injured curry pie (slang for eye in case anyone is
paying attention).
By showtime it had not improved. Word had spread that I
had damaged myself (mostly because I was telling everyone)
and my one eye looked like I had been on heroin all week. I
decided to wear my sun glasses to help with the lights. Im
sure many thought I was just trying to look cool but I
assure you that was not the plan that night.
Thanks to the help of some serious pain killers and
adrenaline the show was actually a success and I returned to
the room to celebrate by pouring more gunk into my eyeball,
and a pint or two at the hotel bar for medicinal purposes
only of course.
Miracle, the next morning I was actually feeling better.
The aching had gone and I could actually open the eye in
daylight. I immediately returned the parrot and the eye
patch, took off the pirate outfit and we headed for home,
Dublin City!!!
This was was a big night, Whelans was the venue, well
known rock spot and loads of family and friends on the guest
list. I was so relieved that the eye was better but nights
of talking , singing, boozing and the rest had taken its
toll on the old vocal chords. I didnt care. We just got up
there and did the best show of the tour. My Mum was there
again as was Brens. Brothers and sisters and friends galore
were in attendance and we had a blast. The Americans in the
group did us proud as usual and packed the place singing and
roaring along to every song. I was delighted to say the
least. Always a great feeling when you arrive back to the
place you were born and show that the last 15 years have not
been a complete waste of time. Jubilant is the word. There
was only one thing to do, back to the Burlington hotel bar
for an all nighter!!!
Wow, the last day. Woke up quite a lot later then usual.
It was big relief that all had gone so well on the trip but
a little sad that it was almost over. Everyone seemed to get
along famously and besides the dodgy eye incidence, all was
well. I had promised a pub crawl in Dublin for the last
night and was somewhat apprehensive as I was not feeling the
May West (slang for best, are ya with me?). But the show
must go on so I bravely dragged my lazy arse out of the bed
and prepared for one last knees up.
We started at the bar my Father had frequented for over
30 years before he passed away last year. By the time we got
there we had regrettably lost a few along the way to other
bars but most made it in and joined me in a toast to my Dad.
It was a moment. Enough said.
After that we crawled all the way back to the hotel,
stopping at ODonoghues, OBriens and a few more on the way
before settling in at the hotel bar again for a farewell
pint.
It was a sad farewell. Many new lifelong friendships
were made and everyone seemed to have had the time of their
life. I am glad and proud that we were able to
accommodate.
That following morning the group flew back to the US
while we headed for Denmark and the start of another
adventure......more on that later.
K
P.S. The computer worked amazingly well and I was able to
see the family live almost everyday. Well worth the
investment for you travellers.
P.S. The next Ireland trip is roughly scheduled for March
2008.....
THE AMAZING HOTELS WE STAYED IN ON THE IRISH TRIP
The Woodstock Hotel. Ennis http://www.www.thewoodstockhotel.com
Hotel Westport. Westport. http://
www.hotelwestport.ie
Great Southern City Hotel. Derry http://www.greatsouthernhotels.com
Slieve Donard Hotel. Newcastle http://www.hastingshotels.com
Burlington Hotel. Dublin http://www.jurysdoyle.com
THE DANISH CONNECTION
For information on booking
the Young Dubliners in Europe contact Thomas H Hansen. BUKS
Int. Gunloegsgade 15, 2300 Copenhagen S. Denmark. +45æ 3296
1092. buks@worldonline.dk
