Lichtensteig and Basel but now home.
Friday night I got to return to Lichtensteig, a small town about half an hour from St Gallen in the east of Switzerland. I’d previously played a house concert down the line at Watwil and also at Behind The Bush in Lichtensteig so I think that was the connection. FeinerFreitag is organised by Thomas and his friends - it’s a monthly evening of food and music at his wonderful house. A carpenter and a painter, his place was full of stocky furniture and figurative paintings on each wall. I rode seven hours down to the stop and he picked me up, drove the 5 minutes home and made me as welcome as could be.
Much earlier on the first train I met Malena who was visiting her mother in Austria and was in possession of some of the most handsome Italian shoes I’ve seen. We chatted at the end of our shared journey, too briefly, and then she took me to a café in Munich for ridiculous donuts and cakes. She asked the name of my music thing but I changed the subject, I’m often ashamed or embarrassed or something I don’t know. It was daft not to at least exchange contact details as I’d enjoyed the conversation, her shoes and the donut, but so it is sometimes.
Anyhow, sat on some more trains, grew alarmed at the amount of thick snow the further south I got and realised an old suit and no jacket were probably insufficient for Switzerland in March. Trains and music venues are warm went the thinking.
So, the concert in Lichtensteig. Two big tables with local friends and strangers, delicious winter salad and lasagne and many cold bottles of wine and beer. I played three sets, I think - kind of in between the courses and after the food. Got to sing some songs I rarely do because it was a super sit down and be quiet kind of deal. Also a lovely bunch of people knew some of my things so they asked for a song and that set me to thinking of others. I played a new song ‘There Is Joy Yet Between The Pages’ that has been finished once but will change a little more and seems to be fairly liquid and malleable at the moment, which is a fun state to be in.
Anyhow, was nice and pleasant and perhaps I missed out a little on the wonderful meal everyone was enjoying but a lovely evening nonetheless.
Next day, after a lazy morning and a delicious breakfast and twenty minutes playing with the cat I walked down the hill and across the bridge to the small train station and a ride across country to Basel.
We were taken to eat at Hirscheneck and had a brilliant meal there. Great atmosphere, very loose and friendly and delicious food. Spitting sausage. I suppose everyone in town knows the place but it was somehow new to me and I liked it there a whole lot.
That evening’s concert was downstairs in the Irrsinn Bar, in the Loch - super smoky, tiny, dark and lots of fun. Lukas stood up and sang and had new things and then I sat down and played for what seemed like ages and ages. Some people in the audience knew a few of my songs which is always surprising so I tried to play those. I did ‘Brighton Gallows’ for Chrigel, ‘When I Was Away’ for someone and ‘We Could Have’ for someone else.
Later and away from the smoke the conversation turned to Ireland, Flat Earth Theory and the Sussex Panther. I dragged myself home late and then realised I had forgotten my scarf and hat so dragged myself right on back.
I’m home now, watching the wind blow the pigeons every which way. It’s Monday afternoon and I’ve more concerts this week. You alright?
In Basel
I’m at Joelle’s place in Basel, listening to this Talk Talk tape and getting ready to leave for the concert I’m playing in town tonight. I’m at Irrsinn Bar, which is where we met last year at a night her brother arranged. He makes music as The Cause Acoustic and often they play concerts together, brother and sister combo. Truth be told I should probably leave for soundcheck, drinks and a quick bite to eat. I don’t have all the time in the world. Post this and run, splash and dash. More later.
New live recording - 31/01/19 1000Fryd, Aalborg, Denmark
A new live recording from the north of Jutland is available as mp3 files on my site here and to stream and download on my Bandcamp page. This concert was a whole bunch of fun, with a nice and chunky guitar sound, shit loads of echo and some friends joining me on stage towards the end:
Lichtensteig and Basel this weekend
I’ll unpack my guitar this weekend when I get to play two concerts in Switzerland. The first is in Lichtensteig at FeinerFreitag and seems to be a special sit down and eat brilliant food and at some point music is served too. I’ve been to this part of the country for concerts before and they’re a good crowd there so I’m looking forward to this. Information is on their site here, but be quick as it seems you have until Wednesday to reserve a place.
https://www.feinerfreitag.li
The next night I’ll travel across to Basel for a concert at Irrsinn Bar with my friend Lukas and his The Cause Acoustic project:
Irrsinn Bar is underground, dark and sometimes smoky and last time was just great. Starts at 21:00 and it’s at Rebgasse 43, 4058 Basel, Switzerland.
So that’s my plans for the weekend. Out of town, always good.
Moving
I’m moving house this weekend - not leaving the town I’ve been living in for the past couple of years and only relocating a little further up the street - but moving my camp and my sleeping place just the same. It seems I have somehow accumulated a lot of objects which I’ve spent the past few days trying to pack into weak, tired boxes. I was advised not to move them, but the time it would take to sort through everything is so much more than the minutes it takes to simply pack them into the boxes. It’s books, leaves of paper, boxes from valuable phones and audio devices - non specific stuff for the most part. I thought I was simpler than this.
Aside from this physical move I’ve also been moving digital materials from one place to another - building a basic site here that I hope to be able to manage and call my home on the web. I’ve done this before a few times but in recent weeks, and for reasons unknown to me, Facebook has flagged my web site as being against their community guidelines and simply erased hundreds of posts, photos, videos and messages from their Facebook and Instagram platforms. I am bewildered by this and am trying to get the flag removed, but in the meantime I think I would rather spend my efforts keeping anyone that’s interested in my music updated through other channels. Simpler channels. Things like a mailing list and this blog. So here we are.
I appreciate it doesn’t have the bells and whistles or the sheen of social engagement that we’re used to - it’s less public and perhaps less sexy to some people. But I’ve never been so comfortable with the constant twice a day posting habits that I’m told is essential for ‘putting your music out there’. I like to write these songs, I like even more to go and play them to people. I’m not educated in social media marketing but in recent years, and in weird flashes of delusion, I’ve often believed that I could be. It’s not true and it doesn’t come easy to me.
Like everyone I used to keep a blog. Over on my Tumblr there’s dozens of posts I wrote when I first started playing concerts in Europe. I’m going to transfer them over here soon, people have told me they used to enjoy reading them. That means the world to me as they were fun to write and even more fun to live.
Anyhow, I’m rambling. I had some clever idea about how I was moving and this is a new home and all that, but it’s not really. It’s just the stuff that’s necessary to making work but I hope it can be a bit quieter and more personal.
So, hard sell - please join my mailing list . I will send emails every month or so, it will include music just for you, news about shows and the such and I like it very much when people write back to me.
Otherwise, please check back here every now and then. I’ll post as often as I have half a thought or a scrap of something I’d like to share.
Be well,
Stephen