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| ARE WE THERE YET??? |
| Holland | Saturday, June 2, 2007 |
Maybe a little late, but here's a little of what went down with us and the dutch dudes in Smash the Statues.
Wednesday, May 9
We flew from Nyköping to Düsseldorf, where Tom, the singer of STS kindly picked us up. He also took us to Dortmund, where we had to pick up some shirts at Trashmark. After what felt like ages on Autobahn and dutch highways, we finally got to Nijmegen, where we were treated with a fantastic meal, which Tom's girlfriend Anne Else had prepared for us. Thank you!!! We sat there eating for a while, sharing some beers and just relaxing. After that we went to a nice punk cafe, called Café Bijstand, where we met up with the others in STS, and some of their friends. We hung there for quite a while, drinking and enjoying ourselves.
Thursday, May 10
We went to pick up STS's backline, which they were kind enough to let us borrow during our stay. Thanks again! Then off to Tilburg, where we were to play at a venue called "Little Devil". We got there quite early, so we had plenty of time for setting the stage and to have a meal at Roel's (which we hardly could pronounce, so he suggested we'd call him Charles instead...) house. We went back with plenty of time to watch the other bands, and it was a truly nice evening. First off were the July Knives, who played a solid set. Imagine a nice little bastard child of Samiam and Hot Water Music, and it pretty much describes what they sounded like. They made a pretty intense appearance on stage, so it was fun to watch! After that, Smash the Statues went up and set all knobs and buttons into "shredding mode". I hadn't heard much of their songs, except for the songs on their myspace, so i was really anxious to hear more. During their first song I almost peed my pants, and I didn't really know what we would have to do to top their performance. KILLER! When it was our turn, I was both nervous (because of the quality of the bands that played before us) and excited to show people what we were about. It went pretty well, without any major mistakes. The people there seemed to enjoy us, so we felt happy with the show. Afterwards, some of us went to sleep, while some others went for a night out at a rock/alternative club to await the dawn... THANK YOU TILBURG!
Friday, May 11
Woke up late, but no problem - Utrecht was only 1½ hours away, so we could take it easy. We met up at Nico's, the bassguy of STS, girlfriend Margreete's house to collect ourselves. We stayed there for a little while, and then headed off to Utrecht, where ACU was waiting for us. We got to Utrecht early, so we had some time to go to the city and take a look around. Nice place, with all the cobblestone streets and stuff. We took a little stroll to see what was going on... Back at the ACU, we homed in on the beer fridge, and started the evening. We got fed later on, they had made some thai dish, probably using lava and the sun in the process, cause it was unbearably hot. I forced down halv a plate - Nico and Tom four each... Tom cried later that night when he had to "poopje"... The show started with a brithish band I can't recall the name of. I didn't see much of their set, but they were decent. Unfortunately they seemed to like what Holland had to offer herb-wise, so I'm not sure they remember being in Utrecht... Next up were the Tenement Kids. What can I say. I really looked forward to seeing them, and they did not disappoint me. Extremely tight and solid set. Yeeees! I bought their record again, since I gave away my first copy to a friend. Well spent money! STS this night turned all knobs and buttons into "world domination" mode, so I felt even more nervous and shit, considering we were to play after them again. Shit what a solid live band those bastards are! Anyways, when we went on stage, we all felt really excited and eager to rip. I actually think we did. I even think Nico went to turn all the knobs and buttons into "world domination 1.2" and on level 11. We had a great time on stage, and the crowd really helped us to perform even better. They even made us do an encore! Yeees! After the show, we hung out at the ACU, and before dawn, actually, we all went to sleep. This is when Tom's ass nearly burned and fell off... THANK YOU UTRECHT!
Saturday, May 12
Yet another long sleep. We went to Albert Heijn to shop for dinner for the evening. This time, we were heading for Ulft, a smaller town near where Tom grew up. This meant we could stay at his parent's house, and we really enjoyed it! His parents were super friendly and hospitable, and his mother even washed Micke's dirty undies! We had dinner there before going to the venue - Convent - where we played that night. Three bands on the bill this time. First off were Of No Avail, a decent skatepunk band in the vein of Undeclinable et al. They made a quite energetic performance, and the drummer even broke his bass drum pedal in two. Hard hitter... Smash the Statues turned all the knobs and buttons into "Extincion of mankind" mode, and all I could do was scream like a girl. Our set was pretty weird. We made a million mistakes, and I don't really know what happened. We were solid, but nothing out of the ordinary. Just one of those days, I guess. Afterwards we were offered to smuggle cocaine into Sweden by some moron, and we awaited dawn at the venue. Dawn came earlier than expected, so we couldn't drain the beer kegs. Instead, we went to Tom's parent's house to sleep. We hung out for a while, and later, Mathias, by accident, hit me in the balls so hard that my knees buckled and I fell to the floor, almost crying and gasping for breath. I guess he needs to wear his glasses at all times... THANK YOU ULFT!
Sunday, May 13
Long sleep of course. We had a giant breakfast, and headed off for Arnhem. Almost there, the van, all of a sudden was filled with smoke. We hit the brakes and scrambled out quicker than quick. It turned out to be a broken radiator, and it was only steam from the over-heated engine. Luckily, the road assistance could help us out, and after a water refill, the van was as new. We came to The Stage in Arnhem, where we met the nice Mr Peter Bootsman, who actually helped us out with the little tour. Nice guy indeed! Thanks again, and see you in August!!! This evening, we had Antillectual on the bill, as well. I was really looking forward to seeing them, and I was NOT disappointed. Shitfucketyfuck did they destroy???!!! Awesome guys, playing like crazy, and I was just standing there, smiling. Great show. With them setting the standards for the evening, STS went up, turned the knobs and buttons into "Big Bang was a gust of wind" mode, and just went ripping. Undescribable. After the combined tsunami/hurricane given to us by those two awesome bands, all we could do was kill. Or at least have the energy and power on stage to do just that. We did our very best, having to do so, considering the standards set, and I don't think we disappointed anyone. Or did we? No... We were tight and in a good mood all the time, which ended the dutch trip in a good way. After loading up, we went to Nijmegen again, and got some falafel before hitting the Bijstand again for ten nightcaps... THANK YOU ARNHEM!
/Geir
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