"Thai, with disco". That's what we were told the food would be at 11:30 p.m. after our first show.
We strolled from the hotel in the cooler evening air looking for food, and the sign in the window said "Best Swiss Food In Town." A seemingly authentic Swiss menu hung on the wall, so we asked if they were still serving. A quick reconnoissance conversation in German by Tour manager Andrea determined that they were actually serving Thai food...with a dance club opening soon underneath. Sounds like a Swiss version of clever late night marketing, to me... We went elsewhere for Middle Eastern-ish chicken wraps.
Jeff, Andrea and George
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As far as I can remember, the first show of the tour was the Absolute Sweatiest Gig Ever. The afternoon sun had baked the circus-style tent home of the Stimmen Music Festival...a weeks-long series of various artists, with our night billed as "Best Of A Cappella." Inside the heavy tent the temperature soared to sauna-like conditions. A few weak electric fans blew from offstage. The sun was moving down by 7:30 p.m., but not fast enough. The dressing rooms were long portable metal boxes with no fans. Standing outside was better, but showtime could not be denied.
Rockapella at Stimmen Music Festival
We went on at 8 p.m. and started to get wetter and wetter. Peculiarly, large puddles of moisture soaked through spiffy show clothing. A super hot show is particularly worrisome for me because the special tape that holds the infamous vocal percussion throat pickups on under most conditions can loosen if there's enough sweat and heat. George and John, wearing shirts that would clearly show wetness, left their suit jackets on the whole time...which just goes to show that when the chips are down, Rockapella puts fashion forward!
We made it through, with apparently great success. Our audience, though new to us, responded like old friends. The smiling woman John brought up onstage for My Girl/Ain't Too Proud To Beg knew no English, but that fact escaped everyone until it was too late. When the truth came out, it provided much hilarity amongst the largely English-savvy audience members. Overall, a successful show, followed by strong headliners, Naturally7.
Naturally7 at Stimmen Music Festival
After a van ride to Freiburg the next day, we launched our second sweatiest show. This pretty town is the home of our German booking agency. This time the "tent" was actually a historic structure with wood walls and stained glass. The only canvas part was the roof. Quite pretty, but the wood gave it an even more sauna-like interior. Fortunately the sun had gone down right before this 9:30 p.m. show. With a sitting audience in the side booths and a standing audience right in front of us, it was a good time.
Zelt-Musik Festival
The next morning began a relaxing day off in Freiburg. This town is where we've spent the most time on our two previous short visits to Germany. We got a bit of sightseeing in and ended the day with a dinner at our favorite local restaurant, followed by gelato ice cream on the street. Though they live in town, agency rep/tour manager Andrea happily joined us, along with her office colleague Mirjam (pronounced like "Miriam"). It feels like we've really got our feet wet in Germany now.... and most other overheated body parts!
Kevin Enjoying Some Gelato
As I write this, we're back on the high-speed train (190 mph, according to Fred's kph conversion), this time to northern Germany's much more rural Wesel/Marienthal area for gig number 3, where the hotel brochures say people are "down to earth". Alrighty then...
Rockapella on the High-speed Train
Random travel fact: Swiss McDonalds are very expensive. And the Swiss menu features a "McCaprese" tomato and mozzarella sandwich. Oh, and fried McShrimp. I can't make this stuff up, people...
Jeff
Related Content:
Check Out More Photos from this Episode
Greetings from Europe! - Part I
Stimmen Festival Video Recap
