Stefan Flanders at SpecOps Network in Munster

Stefan Flanders at SpecOps Network in Munster. 23rd August 2014.

After our crazy night of spreadsheets, the Lego Movie, non-alcoholic beer and vegan kebabs we had another short drive. This time we were heading from Hamm to Munster. Tom had played a different venue in Munster before, so we decided we’d head there and just hang out. Admittedly, did find a park to play in before that. Just big kids really. Anyhow, the cafe had Club Mate, which Jimmy had been telling me I’d probably like. Had a 500ml bottle, liked it. Had another bottle. Had a third bottle, and then got a fourth. That’s when Jimmy noticed I’d been to the counter a few times, and asked in a concerned voice if I knew that it was about as caffeinated as Red Bull. Think I spent most of the rest of the day with a death grip on various tables and slightly twitching. That stuff is good.

Name of the venue had been niggling me, because it sounded familiar. Turns out it’s named after the organisation in Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next books. It’s almost half bookshop, half social organising centre, half venue and half bar. Which makes it two things as a whole, but it did over achieve a lot. Headlining that night was Stefan Flanders. Finished up, then headed back to Essen to sleep.

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The Lion And The Wolf at a wedding

The Lion And The Wolf at a wedding in Germany. 22nd August 2014.

Today was possibly the day looming largest in Tom’s mind over the first few days of the tour. Mainly because he’d been asked to play a wedding. A wedding is traditionally a happy day in a large number of people’s lives, and The Lion And The Wolf is… erm… not exactly party music (“folk punk from the sadder end of the spectrum”, “thought provoking reflections on themes of painstaking love, loss, and homesickness”, “fragile emotion memories of sadness and loss”, you get the idea).

Of course, me and Jimmy were supportive, and in no way repeatedly mentioned this in the car, on the ferry, in the hotel room, while we were getting breakfast with Tommy. None of these.

It actually turned out to be fine – the most German looking of venues in the countryside. Tom had a bit of a warm up in the field beforehand, and then me and Jimmy played football with a little kid. We got wedding grub as well! All finished up quite early, so we checked into a cheap Hotel BB for the night in Hamm. Total Lads On Tour free evening – we got vegan kebabs, watched The Lego Movie, Jimmy watched the golf, I had alcohol free beer, and Tom did his spreadsheets.

Lads.

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The Lion And The Wolf at Cafe Zogel in Dusseldorf

The Lion And The Wolf, Jimmy Broomfield and Major (One Eye Open) at Cafe Zogel in Dusseldorf. 21st August 2014.

Next day after De Villa we had a short trip to Dusseldorf, so we had some time to kill. Took the option to stop off in Baarle – it’s a place where Belgium and the Netherlands have enclaves within each other and enclaves within those enclaves. You can walk along a street and cross the border three or four times.

After that we headed to Cafe Zogel in Dusseldorf to meet up with Tommy. Tommy plays in One Eye Open with Major, and Major opened up the gig. Played a bit of Ingress beforehand and ended up meeting one of the German Resistance (I’ve got an Enlightened take on life).

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Doghouse Rose at De Villa in Rijkrvorsel

Doghouse Rose, The Lion And The Wolf and Jimmy Broomfield at De Villa in Rijkrvorsel. 20th August 2014.

So, back in August I took a few days off from work to drive Tom George (The Lion And The Wolf) and Jimmy Broomfield (Jimmy Broomfield) on tour around Germany and Benelux. I love going out on tour when I get the chance – it’s a great way to see places you wouldn’t normally see, bands and acts you wouldn’t have had the chance to see, and make friends you would never otherwise have met. I didn’t actually know Tom before the tour, but decided this would be fun on the basis of a random Facebook post from Jimmy (I heartily recommend taking on random ideas from Jimmy).

Tom and Jimmy stayed over the night before, we loaded two guitars, sleeping gear and bags into my Ford Focus and headed off to Dover early on the Wednesday morning. Over the channel, through France, and then into the traffic jam otherwise known as Belgium. The show that night was in an awesome American style cafe in Rijkrvorsel called De Villa owned by Dietrich and Sofie. Chickens out the back, bands playing on an outdoor stage, good food and atmosphere. Headliners were a Canadian rockabilly/country band called Doghouse Rose.

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