For additional photos of the band & crew relaxing, at soundchecks & in performance . . .
of my tourmates Pat Goodwin, "Disco" Don Hess and my bride, Marti . . .
and, of the many wonderful European and American Spreadkin
with whom we shook it on down,
click here!
Hannover>Berlin departure, August 13.
Left to right: Arne Heinen, me, Pat Goodwin, Harmut Weissbrodt,
Bill Mixon, Matt Butterweck, Stacey Gates, Annaliese Heinen.
--photo by Jeff McLean--
SUNDAY, AUGUST 8, 1999 -- This morning I'm heading out to CDG to fly up to Amsterdam for the beginning of Leg One of Mr Phil's Europanictour 1999. Needless to say, I'm excited at the prospect of seeing all my friends in the Widespread Panic crew & band, not to mention my Eurohead pals, all the Spreadies I've met on previous tours & a number of folks I only know thru the listservs. As in the past here in Europe, I'll be covering them for RELIX Magazine. Panic will be playing 14 shows in 18 days. Make that daze. I'll do the first four (Amsterdam>Hamburg>Hannover>Berlin) & the final four (Paris>Glasgow>Manchester>London). Marti will go to Paris>Glasgow & London.
Marti & I have been enjoying a fine -- albeit foreshortened -- weekend together: movie date on the Champs-Elysées after work on Friday (we saw Washington Square starring Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ben Chaplin, Albert Finney & Maggie Smith, based on the Henry James novel -- it was excellent); terrasse lunch at the Tabac de la Mairie Saturday; a search for (& finally finding) the special eclipse-watching glasses; last-minute shopping; putting up more posters for the Panic Paris gig; and, packing.
MONDAY, AUGUST 9, 1999/AMSTERDAM -- Today is Jerry Garcia's deathday, gonna try not to think about it. I much prefer to remember people who are gone on their birthdays.
Arrived in Amsterdam yesterday afternoon, hooked up with Pat Goodwin & basically did the coffeeshop circuit. Pat had flown in from Chicago earlier Sunday morning. We hit the Grey Area at exactly 4:20. Jon Sprayberry, Heidi & Kip, in from Georgia, met us there. We did a serious hang there sampling Grey Mist, a Cannabis Cup winner.
The Grey Area by night.
--Grey Area photo--
Later the five of us hopped a tram, rode "black," to the Leidseplein. Mexican dinner at Sarita's, food generally good, waiter uncomprehending, unintelligible & s l o w w w w w . . .
We repaired for after-dinner drinks & smokes at the marvelous Rokerij, just a few doors away. The pseudo-Indian decor, spacy ambience & racked-out waitresses always combine to make the Rok a good call. After a delightful idyll there, we pressed on to the When Nature Calls smart shop to obtain mycological specialties. Pat & I parted company with the Georgia 3 at this point; they went back to their hotel to change out of their shorts & we went to the Dampkring. Very nice. Probably my favorite.
The Dampkring rocks.
--Dampkring photo--
I bought a shirt, which I'm wearing as I do this post from the Internet Cafe across from our hotel. We hung out at the Damp with a couple of Spreadies from North Carolina.
On the way home Pat & I stopped by the Speak Easy, recommended by Ed Fairchild, the computer-savvy Spreadie that I call Ed The Human Pocket Protector. Picked up some Jack (Herrer, not Daniels). Pat went to bed after that & I went to another Rokerij, right across the Singel Canal, very near to our hotel, for a nightcap.
This morning I waited for Pat to pull his act together so we could go to the topless beach at Zandvoort, but I guess he slept in. More American Spreadies are beginning to gather in Amsterdam, cruising the coffeeshops, shaking off jetlag & counting the hours until Widespread Panic kicks off its third European swing tomorrow night at the Paradiso. European jamheads are arriving as well, with everyone putting faces to email addresses.
Today's 4:20 at the Greenhouse Centrum saw Pat Goodwin starting to round up his posse, as well as Rudi Tewes & Ralph Metzger representing the vanguard of the German krew. Homies like Wende White & Steve Dumack were in the house. I was the envoy from Paris. Weather has been sunny & mild with intermittent showers, cool in the evening. It's always cool in the coffeeshops where the tribe has been performing the sacred rituals, inhabiting cannabis dens such as the Grey Area, the Rokerij, the Dampkring & the Speak Easy. Lots of stoners in town during this, the high season. Another onslaught of Panickers is due in tomorrow from the States & from around Europe. I've been submitting stuff to Hanno Bunjes' Euro Tour listserv; Goodwin would have submitted something to S-net or AN HONEST TUNE (or wherever the Hell he's supposed to be posting) had he not been distracted for hours by the coffeeshops & by his inflatable doll, Brandi.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 1999/AMSTERDAM -- Show day! Panic kicked off the Eurotour tonight at the Paradiso. Long sleep last night, lazy morning today . . . I'm getting into a nice tour rhythm.
After going to the cyber café near the hotel to post to my page, I got some lunch then walked down to the Speak Easy, where I ran into Fairchild (Ed The Human Pocket Protector). He had flown in from Dulles earlier this morning. It was great to see him again; we met last year at Wende's place during her Another Saturday Night Deadhead event at the Paradiso. I had a brief hang with Ed, then I was off to soundcheck.
The Paradiso, August 10.
--photo by Hanno Bunjes--
I ran into Sunny Ortiz & some of the Panic crew when I checked in at the Paradiso around 3:30 p.m. I visited with them for awhile, then headed to Dutch Flowers for the 4:20. I saw Mike Houser out on the street, told him about the Dutch Flowers 4:20 & gave him the coffeeshop map from Jon Sawyer. (Mikey eventually wound up at the Rokerij.) Stayed awhile at Dutch Flowers (there seemed to be some confusion over where today's 4:20 was actually being held), then I went back for soundcheck & encountered J.B. He had just woken up, had stumbled into the Paradiso & now was going back to the bus for a nap -- everything was running behind schedule. This is not to say that Trey Allen wasn't doing a great job as tour manager.
When the soundcheck finally got underway, I reunited with the rest of the gang: Todd, Schools & JoJo. Things were pulling together now. The boyz went back to the bus to crash after soundcheck & the Spreadkin filed in.
--photo by Hanno Bunjes--
Saw the German contingent, Ralph & Rudi, Hartmut (with whom we're staying tomorrow night), the Frenchies (Michel & Serge), the Amsterdam-based American expats Steve & Wende, plus all the tourhead Americans, including Pat Goodwin, Ed Fairchild, Woods & a few hundred others.
The Paradiso, August 10.
--photo by Hanno Bunjes--
"Travelin' Light" was the opener. The musicians were pretty fagged out from their long flight, but you'd never know it from the long, dark, dank (in both senses of the term) show they played. Here's the setlist:
Travelin' Light/Sleepy Monkey/Henry Parsons Died/Raise The Roof/Junior>Jam>Blackout Blues/Aunt Avis/Tall Boy/C. Brown
Surprise Valley/Arlene/DyingMan>Makes Sense To Me>Pleas>Swamp>Fat Jam>Drumz>Maggot Brain/Driving Song/Breathing Slow/Radio Child
E1: City Of Dreams
E2: All Time Low
After the show, JoJo, his pal Ron Shapiro & I hit the streets on a coffeeshop quest, but it was too late. We ducked into a joint where two sexually charged couples were going at it at the bar. JoJo & I were checking out the two women of the foursome becoming very affectionate with each other. Already horny & we've only been away from our squeezes for a couple of days. We went back to the dressing room at the Paradiso for awhile, then the venue managers kicked us out, so the group made their way onto the bus for the trip to Hamburg. The roadies still had another hour or two of loadout before they could roll.
I found Jon Declos, whom I'd met during the Chesterfield run, shared a cab with him as we returned to our hotels uptown.
Eclipse gazers, August 11.
Left to right: Ralph Metzger, Hartmut Weissbrodt
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11, 1999/AMSTERDAM>HAMBURG -- Today was Eclipse Day & in the throes of solar fever Goodwin & I managed to cross our wires completely. He wound up stranding me in Amsterdam, while he gaily went to the rental car place & drove off to Hamburg alone. Well, he is from Indiana & a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
This did not deter me from having as much fun as I could during my remaining hours in Sin City. I went to the Internet cafe, read my email & posted to my page. Then I stepped out to watch the eclipse with the special glasses Marti & I had acquired at the last minute in Paris on Saturday. Abandoned by my tour buddy & the rest of the krew, I gave away the ten extra pair of eclipse shades to grateful strangers nearby on Shakedown Street. Random acts of blindness . . . prevention. The eclipse, partial though it was from this northern vantage point, was pretty damn cool. We had been forewarned that it would be cloudy and rainy, but the sun shone in Amsterdam, to my great joy.
Next I wheeled my luggage over to Central station, boarded the 1:34 p.m. iron horse. Off to Hamburg on 3 hours' sleep. I visited with the many Spreadies who were rolling on down the line on the same train. Around 6 p.m. I had dinner in the dining car.
Arrived shortly after seven, cabbed to the Reeperbahn, Hamburg's red light district. Rolled past the former site of the Star Club, where the Beatles played 8 sets a night in the early '60s. Just beyond was Panic's venue, the Grunspan, a small club with excellent sightlines. Ran into WSP manager Sam Linear & Capricorn rep Mike Bone immediately. Someone pointed to a corner in a back room where I could stash my bags. Panic was soundchecking with "Blue Indian" from the new CD.
In the house were Arne & Annaliese Heinen, two heavy-duty Deadheads from Hamburg: Arne hosts a monthly Dead show on public access radio & Anneliese sings in her own band. These two freeks had worked hard to bring out the local Hamburg heads & it showed. This was the first European show I've seen in three tours where the number of natives was nearly equal to that of the American tourheads. This fact was not lost on the band, who afterward expressed their pleasure at having received such a strong grassroots welcome.
Here's what they played:
Let's Get Down To Business/One Armed Steve/Pigeons/Rebirtha>Wondering>The Waker/Disco>Diner>Climb To Safety
Party At Your Mama's House>Space Wrangler>Greta>Love Tractor/Papa's Home>Drumz>Papa's Home>Pilgrims>Porch Song
E: Bear's Gone Fishin'/Junko Partner
A very hot show, played hard & sweaty, without the murky, snarling overtones of the previous night's epic at the Paradiso.
--photo by Hanno Bunjes--
Following a small aftershow meet'n'greet in the hall, many Spreadies cabbed over to the Mayday, a late-night bar where Arne works. I found Todd downstairs at the Grunspan & he was up for partying. JoJo had to make some calls to the States from his hotel room. (A recently-engaged man.) We picked up Mikey on the way out & our posse took 3 cabs over to the Mayday. Arne & Annaliese had decorated the place with Panic posters & a huge Stealie, creating a hip ambience for this laid-back post-show hang. The scene there was very chill. Amsterdam coffeeshops revisited. The Spreadkin generally left Mikey & Todd alone to schmooze with folks in their own time. We all drank & smoked & joked until 4 a.m., when we poured Mikey & Todd into a cab. Then Pat, Hartmut & I walked over to Arne & Annaliese's home for a badly-needed crash.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 12, 1999/HAMBURG>HANNOVER -- After a tasty breakfast & a pleasant hang chez Heinen I was now aboard the Patmobile, with Hartmut at the wheel. The hapless Goodwin was a bit highway-shy by now. He had spent five hours lost in Hamburg the day before -- some sort of instant karmic payback for having ditched me in Amsterdam, I reckoned. Completely disoriented, Pat had required the services of some friendly Russians, who literally led him in a two-car caravan to the Grunspan. "Follow us, Amerikanischer Dummkopf."
Only an Indiana corncob could take five hours to find the fucking red light district in Hamburg! Well, at least he arrived in time to tape the shows. On today's drive to Hannover we listened to Goodwin's Hamburg playback, which demonstrated that things were catching fire.
We went to Harmut's lovely pad in Hannover, stashed our bags. Others beside Pat & me who would be staying there included Arne & Anneliese, who drove from Hamburg separately; Matt Butterweck, a photographer friend of Harmut's; and, Stacey Gates, Bill Mixon & Jeff "Sequoia" McClean, American tapers who were touring together. In the late afternoon I took a cab to an Internet shop & posted to my page. Then I cabbed to the Panic gig at the Musiktheatre Bad.
--photo by Hanno Bunjes--
It was a very small venue in a park, far from the main road. The bucolic entertainment complex included an empty swimming pool with a stage at one end for grander concerts, apparently, than tonight's WSP performance, plus an al fresco movie theater. For us, however, the action was indoors in the tiny club:
Jam>Happy>Blight>Walkin' (For Your Love)/Holden Oversoul/Dear Mr. Fantasy/Impossible/Blue Indian/Chilly Water
I'm Just An Old Chunk O' Coal/Blue Girl/Tie Your Shoes>Jam>Proving Ground>Jam>Jack> Jam>Spoonful>Drumz>Conrad>Proving Ground>Knockin' 'Round The Zoo
E: Heaven
Another smokin' show. Not as many natives in the audience as there had been in Hamburg, but still a strong contingent of locals. All the Spreadies agreed that the shows were getting hotter night by night.
Terri,Bert & Randy, August 12.
--photo by Matt Butterweck--
In between sets in Hannover I introduced Capricorn's Mike Bone to Hanno Bunjes, the young guy who had created the Widespread Panic European Tour 1999 page that in the weeks leading up to the tour had proved so helpful to tourheads on both continents. Mike thanked Hanno, then asked if he had met the boyz; when Hanno indicated that he hadn't, Mike invited him to the post-gig event. Hanno told me later that he couldn't believe his good fortune!
Hannover aftershow party, August 12.
Left to right: Me, Hanno, Pat & Harmùt
--photo by Matt Butterweck--
The aftershow party was held in a small room in the back of the club. Dave Schools was melting under the manipulations of a Stacey Gates massage, but that didn't prevent him from holding court for the benefit of his adoring fans. He really is a funny guy. Dave & Spreadie Eliza McCall traded Richmond, Virginia high school memories. Dave was teasing a nasty Jerry Garcia joke, which he claimed was not suitable for reverent Deadhead ears.
Since I'm in no way a reverent Deadhead, Schools finally told me the joke. I've sworn not to attribute to him. But if you email me privately, I'll share that sick Jerry Garcia joke which I swear Dave never told me.
Hanno got to meet everyone in the band; each musician in turn graciously thanked him for his Internet effort on their behalf. The kid was beaming with joy; it was fun to see. Meanwhile, our Hannover host Hartmut Weissbrodt informed J. B. that the next night in Berlin would be his last show for this tour. (Harmut had been on loan from his wife & daughter, who granted him a reprieve from the family vacation so that he could catch a few shows.) So to Harmut, a hardcore "Rustie" (Neil Young fan), it was imperative that we get a Young cover in Berlin. As soon as Harmut walked off, J. B. turned to Mikey & said, "I guess we'd better take care of this guy."
FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 1999/HANNOVER>BERLIN -- Arne & Annaliese, Stacey & Bill, Jeff, Matt, Pat & I had all crashed at Harmut's place in Hannover on Thursday night. Now it was the morning of Friday the 13th & the Spreadfools were slowly regaining consciousness. Harmut had laid out a great brekkie spread of ham & dried sausage, eggs, cheese, bread & coffee. I ran to a konditerei to get some pastries to contribute. I had hoped for a mid-morning start but there was no way it was gonna happen as Hartmut was traveling with Pat & me. Before he could hit the highway Hartmut had to fulfill his responsibilities as host: get all his guests up, bathed, fed & out of his house.
At 12:30 p.m. the three of us finally rolled out. Destination: Berlin.
Harmut's driving & his directions helped get us into Berlin in under three hours. We dropped him at a subway stop so he could meet with the friend with whom he would be staying. A city boy, I took over the driving as Pat & I headed crosstown to former East Berlin.
Now Pat is great guy & lots of fun to be with on tour. He has a comprehensive knowledge about Panic, its repertoire & loads of other music. His sense of direction & roadmap-reading skills, on the other hand, are on a par with say, your average rock. Driving around lost in a big city? You'll do well to have just about anyone other than Pat riding shotgun, shaking his head as he becomes more & more mystified by the fucking Rand McNally.
Eventually we made it to the lovely Hotel Griefswald, booked for us by Berlin's own Linus Scheffran & conveniently located two blocks from the venue: the Knaack. We checked into the hotel, checked in at the soundcheck then checked out of the Knaack. We were hungry & I wanted to show Pat the funky Tascheles art center I had visited in 1996, when I was researching my RELIX piece on the German Deadheads. We grabbed a taxi & in minutes were enjoying dark beers in the courtyard of the former squat that has evolved into a major avant-garde cultural center. At the outdoor theater next door a trippy little group was soundchecking for their evening performance. Pat & I are so hip that we blew off Panic's soundcheck so we could go listen to another band's soundcheck.
We downed the brewskis, then went across the street to Goa, a nouvelle Indian restaurant. We had a great meal on the outdoor terrace.
--photo by Terri & Randy--
Goodwin & I got back to the Knaack pretty close to hittin' time:
Traveling Light/Lil' Kin>Dyin' Man/Hatfield>Sleeping Man>Stop-Go>Pusherman>
Blackout Blues
Big Wooly Mammoth>Walk On>Driving Song>I Walk On Guilded Splinters>Drumz>4 Cornered Room>Ride Me High>Jam>Drivin'>Fishwater
J. B.'s got the Knaack.
--photo by Terri & Randy--
No encore. Whether that was because the Spreadkin didn't holler loud enough or because Panic didn't recognize the "encore" request that the Germans chose to express in their own language, is immaterial at this point. Maybe there was some sort of live music curfew. Encore or no encore, for this one Panic kicked it bigtime, in the second set particularly. Because it was Friday the 13th, folks had been calling for "Superstitious," but "Guilded Splinters" is an excellent, spooky tune for this misbegotten calendar date.
"Y'all are tourin' pimp style!"
The inimitable Moody Miller in Berlin.
--photo by Disco Don Hess--
After the show I followed Dave through the Knaack labyrinth, winding by the groovy disco, into an upstairs bar. For a short while I visited with Sunny in a booth, then moved on to the poolroom. JoJo & I got into a best-of-three eight-ball contest with Deepesh Misra & J. B. Deepesh is a great dude, a taper & in a previous incarnation, a pool hustler. We gave him & Mr. Bell a good fight, but them two sharks done cleaned our clock.
Jon Desclos enjoys the fruit of the vine.
Berlin, August 13.
--photo by Disco Don Hess--
Soon JoJo & J. B. left as the band bus was about to roll out & I crawled up the street to the hotel. Back in my room, I turned on the TV with the sound off, spread out the Saturday paper (newly acquired from Reception), then . . . instant crisis! As I started to take my contact lenses out, I realized I didn't have my eyeglasses & the little contacts case. Of course I searched every inch of my luggage, totally in vain. Friday the fucking Thirteenth.
Breakfast in Berlin, August 14.
(I'm smiling because Sequoia found my eyeglasses!)
Left to right: Pat, Terri, Randy, Jon, Laura, me
--photo by Stacey Gates--
SATURDAY, AUGUST 14, 1999/BERLIN>PARIS -- At breakfast in the hotel this morning, however, the planets realigned. Stacey Gates & Bill Mixon came down to the tables & announced that Jeff had found my glasses in the tapers area. I had stashed my Workingman's Briefcase there during the show. My eyeglass case must have dropped out of the outside pocket at some point. I am eternally grateful that I didn't have to hassle with replacing my specs. Thanks again, Jeff.
Before departing Berlin I spent a couple of hours wandering around the rapidly-gentrifying Kollwitzplatz neighborhood near the hotel. It's hard to believe all this was once grey, drab East Berlin. Dozens of cool shops, cafés & renovated living spaces have cropped up here; I noticed a dramatic difference from just 3 years ago. Back then all of the Alexanderplatz & the areas beyond were holes in the ground surrounded by huge building cranes. Today I was able to pop into inviting little boutiques all over this quartier. I had a light lunch outdoors at the Lido Café, then flagged down a taxi to take me back to the hotel to retrieve my luggage & drive me to the airport to fly home to Paris.
Tonight Marti & I went to dinner at La Armandie, here in the neighborhood. She loved the things I brought her from the trip: a top & bracelet from Amsterdam, a funky post-modern pen & a little wooden heart from Berlin.
Leg One of my Panic Euro Tour was over. A week from Monday right here in Paris, I'd join up again for the Final Four.
take me to
take me home to
Email: phildemetrion@yahoo.com
