Saturday, December 21, 2013

Honestly Tour 2013 - Köln

And so it was that the Tyler Ward Band returned to Cologne's Live Music Hall once again - the site of the infamous birthday concert in March of 2012. Again, we were warmly welcomed and taken care of (the Live Music Hall can rightfully boast of presenting the best pre-concert spread of the tour). And, it just so happens that the Cologne Cathedral is one of my absolute favorite places on earth to visit. This time around allowed us to happen upon a mass, complete with church bells ringing through the rain and organ music playing inside.

To say that Cologne is a beautiful city would be - (just as it would be for most of the European locales we've been blessed to perform in) - a massive understatement.

Außen
Klassiker
Time for church.

Monday, December 16, 2013

Honestly Tour 2013 - Stuttgart

Stuttgart, like München & Hamburg before it, was one of those towns we had never gotten to spend any real time in during our previous tours. It was always in-and-out: just enough time to ride into town, blow it up with a rock show, and then head out to the next one.

This year, however, we had a whole day off here. But, first...

The club, the LKA-Longhorn, is a really fun one to play. The setup is a little different, with the dressing rooms above the venue floor, enabling you to watch both the crowd amassing in front of the stage as well as the opening act from somewhere other than the side of the stage. Part of the backstage area is covered with tour posters from a bunch of bands that have previously played there, and there are a few doozies for those of us who grew up listening to rock music. All of this just amps up the excitement before you take the stage, which is great when you're already several shows deep in a tour and need a little shot in the arm.

Add to all of this the fact the our monitor engineer's name at this gig was, wait for it - Toto - and you have all the necessary ingredients for a really memorable show.


But, the really killer part about performing in Stuttgart is the crowd. They really bring the energy and let us feel it on the stage. (So much so that a few people always manage to faint during the show.) This town has certainly become one of my favorite places to play. The venue is great. The crew is great. The crowd is great. You can't ask for much more.

I've got some fun memories from our time in Stuttgart. A McD's ice cream run with some new friends after the show, the bodybuilding expo at the venue the next day that (for some inexplicable reason) we weren't invited to compete in, and time off spent around the beautiful Shlossplatz & Schillerplatz. We even got to partake in the chaos of one of Europe's own popular chain restaurants, Vapiano. (Nothing like free gummy bears while you wait and wait and wait... and wait... and wait... for your meal.)

But, the city has certainly carved its own Stuttgart-shaped niche in my memory. It goes without saying that I'm looking forward to the next time we meet (even though I just said it).






Taking in the Schillerplatz...
...and the Schlossplatz.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Honestly Tour 2013 - München

Ah, München. "By the monks' place". I mean, come on, what's not to love about a city found by a bunch of Benedictine's, right?

I have to admit, I love this city. Spending three days here at the beginning of the tour to do some rehearsal and prepare for the LAUT show was pretty serene. It's gorgeous, it's historic, it's Bavaria.

Coming back to it later on for an official T-Ward show was great, too. The fans in München have always been great to us: they've helped us put on some really great shows the past couple of years. This tour's performance was no different. It was a cool club, surrounded by (of all things) some really sick spray paint art.

And, thanks to WardHeart, at 2:03 everyone gets to see one of my favorite moments of the entire tour.


 
Just putting American spray paint to shame.

Autumn in Munich & the Hofgarten.

The Rathaus-Glockenspiel: keep telling yourself it's just a clock.

Honestly Tour 2013 - Bielefeld

The venue at Bielefeld was one of those rooms. 'Ya know, one of those where you have terrible buzz on your acoustic guitar for no apparent reason, weird sound bouncing everywhere, and yada yada yada. Despite that, the early-arriving Meet-and-Greeters were all good sports (despite the excruciatingly long, boring sound check) and the crowd turned out to be great. In spite of the technical difficulties and the weird room, I must say that I think we all enjoyed ourselves in our first time in Bielefeld (despite the loss of a favorite beanie on my part).

PS: This video captures one of the long-running inside jokes of the tour (every band and every tour has their own). This time around, we found ourselves singing any '90s-era grunge rock song we could think of in a ridiculous caricature of the vocalists of the time. It was one part hilarious impression, and one part sentimental memory of all the music we grew up listening to. As with any inside tour joke, we definitely got carried away with it at times, but if the local crew guys and fans don't think you're completely out of your mind, you're not doing it right.





Not gonna lie: I totally horked this picture from Keber's Instagram. But, it's one of the best pictures any of us took during the entire tour and it says "Bielefeld" beautifully.

Monday, December 9, 2013

Honestly Tour 2013 - Hamburg

The Große Freiheit is... well, let's call it a special area of Hamburg. The Beatles made a name for themselves there. Tyler Ward impressed the powers-that-be there in 2012, convincing Sony Music to ink a deal. (There are a few other reasons, too, but those don't need to be explored on this blog.)

The venue we played on the Honestly tour was the same stage we played on that fateful night the year before - Großen Freiheit 36 - so the club certainly holds a special place for us (and not just because of the delicious döner restaurant right down the street).

Hamburg, too, is a captivating city. I'd never gotten a chance to spend any substantial time there before (beyond the Große Freiheit), so I was happy when I saw a day off in Hamburg on the schedule. (And none too soon, either: I was exhausted by the time October 22nd rolled around.) A little walking around resulted in stumbling upon the beautiful St. Michaelis church, the Johannes Brahms museum, and another of the many gorgeous outdoor parks scattered throughout the cities of Germany.

They tell you to always leaving them wanting more. Hamburg most certainly did that.





Hamburg from the spire of St. Michaelis. 


Autumn in Germany.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Honestly Tour 2013 - Berlin

Ah, Berlin. One of those cities you always hope to get to. And now, thanks to this little band of ours, I have been. Three times. And even though the show fell on a Sunday night this year, we still had a great crowd. Familiar faces are quickly becoming friends here. Can't wait to get back.




Straßen der Stadt. This town's got some character.
.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Honestly Tour 2013 - Bremen

The performance in Bremen found us right next to what we here in America might call a fair. The Germans call it Freimarkt, and have been doing so for 978 years.


Freimarkt: great rides, great food, creepy goblins, and police telling people to just pee in the grass. Man, those Germans know how to party.


Nothing quite like seeing people plunge to their doom right outside your tour bus.

Honestly Tour 2013 - Dortmund

Aside from Tyler dropping his in-ear monitor pack the moment he ran out on stage, one of my cymbal stands falling off the drum riser, and the management of the venue preventing us from going back out on stage for our encore, I'd say the first show was.... survived.





The first night always merits the gear shot: some beautiful Tama Omnitunes with Bubinga shells and, of course, Zildjian K and A Custom cymabls.

Honestly Tour 2013 - LAUT in Munich

So, on a whim, I've decided to team up with the wonderful WardHeart (completely without her knowledge) to recollect some memories from the 2013 tour. Or, to say it another way: her videos + my photos.

We started in Munich, with the LAUT show for all the Sony mucky-mucks and the after party that followed.



3... 2... 1... tour.

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