tour diary part 5 (I love Germany)

It's official. I love Germany. The audiences were fantastic everywhere. I was pleasantly surprised as I had always assumed Germans would be pretty much like English people.. you know, we're a reserved lot.. :-).. But actually, they were exactly the opposite.. As I said in my last blog, Hamburg was great.. The show in Berlin was very different - it was a sit down audience again, so they were quiet and attentive for the most part, which takes some getting used to.. BUT, after every song, the response was awesome.. shouting, cheering, applause.. seriously, what a friendly audience.. it made it so much easier to sing... I've now started making a point of running out to the CD stall at the end of my set, and again at the end of the show, so I can sign CDs and talk to people.. oh and also give people buying Joe's CDs the beady eye, in the hopes that they might buy mine too.. the strategy seems to be working.. :-)..

So.. after two great shows in Germany, I was beginning to feel like I'd conquered my nerves.. until we got to the Phonixhalle in Mainz.. ohmygod it is HUGE. Seriously I have never played in such an immense venue in my life.. So all my nerves suddenly came back, which was added to again by a quiet seated audience.. You know, it's funny at gigs in London I always complain about people talking through my sets, but when you get the exact opposite it's kinda weird.. I was half hoping a few people would start chatting, but no... I had a concert hall filled with people silent and staring at me.. *gulp*.. but again, like the audience in Berlin, they were fantastic, and I sold more CDs in Mainz than I have done anywhere else... so yes. I love Germany. I can't wait to go back with my own tour...

We left for Zurich on Friday, and had a gig the same day... We were playing a beautiful venue called Kaufleuten.. It felt a lot smaller than the venues in Germany.. (I say small, I think it was 1100 capacity or something).. We were on earlier, and had to play a shorter set.. I felt myself rushing through it.. I think I sang well, but my performance was decidedly flat.. Oh well.. You can't have a great gig every time.. I hope at least one or two people went away enjoying what they heard.. The upside of Zurich was I had the best meal of my life after the show. I almost wept it was that good...

We took the train yesterday from Zurich to Milan, which was an experience in itself. I never did the interrailing thing when I was a kid, so I feel very fortunate that I'm able to do it now. The journey took 5 hours, and during that time I didn't pick up my book once. I just stared out my window. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking. What a great way to spend a day... We're in a lovely hotel in Milan called Hotel Windsor.. very central, and free internet.. yes!!! We were also very excited when we read the thing saying the minibar was free too.. only to discover it's filled with water. hahahahaha oh well... We went out for dinner last night, but of course found ourselves wandering around for ages cos nowhere opens until 8pm... We specifically went to a place that's well known for its Risotto Milanese.. my god how delicious it was.. And I may have gone back on my no red wine on tour promise.. well.. I am in Italy after all..

Really looking forward to the gig tonight.. Biggest venue so far... 1700 capacity.. *MEEP*...

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