The Unknown 2004 Euro Tour. Week Two.
Written by Ken.

Day Eight: Thursday May 20, 2004:
Cambridge, UK at the Portland Arms.
"I think you're 17..."

   Again we had a nice sleep and an easy morning. Cambridge wasn't too far away. We said our goodbyes and headed out. Our easy hour and a half trip ended up being about three hours. Damn British roadways.
   We stopped off at a Travelodge and got a room because we weren't sure we had one for the night. By the time we got to the Portland Arms it was already about 6. Cambridge is a college town, nice and pretty. There was the typical college things in and about the area where the club was. Wayne and I saw a rowing team going down the river.
   We got fed at the club and met up with Boss Tuneage head honcho, Aston. It was fun to catch up and talk about what was going on with the label. We hadn't seen Aston for a year, and it's always nice to see him.
   We were playing with two local teenage bands from the Cambridge area. They were young and energetic. They both turned in good sets. They brought a lot of kids out to the shows too. Pete was comparing the one band's lead singer to Moe from the Three Stooges.
   The set was: Never Be The Same - Postcard - Radio Lied To Me - Whiskey Romance - Disappear - Pretty Identical - Whether - Tongue Tied - Merry Go Round - She's Sorry - Femme Fatale - Seven - Give Me A Reason - Say Goodbye.
   After the set we hung out for a little bit at the Portland Arms and talked with Jazz, Aston and DS from Fracture. We finally encountered some English rain as we packed the gear up after the gig. We drove back to the Travelodge and pigged out on our daily rations of gas station sandwiches and Stella. We watched some crime show on the tube and passed out.

Day Nine: Friday, May 21, 2004.
Guildford, UK. Guildford Community Center
"Pick Me Up and take me to the top..."

   Today was a day we were all waiting for. Last year's show at the Guildford Youth Community Centre was a crazy night. The kids that put on these shows really go all out. We had a semi easy ride down to Guildford from Cambridge. The distance wasn't all tat far, but we got stuck in some London traffic for a little while. We got into Guildford around 1 and we had a few hours to kill in the city centre.
   Last year we played in Guildford twice and both days we were there too late to see or do anything. There were tons of markets and stores and Guildford turned out to be a nice quaint little town. They even had a shopping mall, the first we had seen, inside of a bus station. It was weird. Throughout the day we all saw some crazy things. Mainly, Lou and Brian saw an old woman walking down the street with a full white beard. Not a little fuzz, a full beard. ... yeah.

Ken and the crowd in Guildford.

   At about 5 or so we headed over to the community centre and started to see some people show up. As imagined, most of the crowd was kids and their friend's bands. Aston, Ed from K-Line and the usual Guildford kids were all at the show.
   K-Line was supposed to play this show as well but couldn't because Zac was in Portugal. Instead When All Else Fails was booked to take their place. Turns out they broke down on the motorway, and they didn't make it either. So tonight's show was Whose Army, their first show. They played screamo with a girl guitar player. Stowic played a good hardcore set and Pickled Dick played some excellent pop punk with good harmonies. It as good to see those guys again, we played with them last year.
   We got up and the chaos began. The community centre is just basically a hall where these kids put on shows and they go absolutely crazy when the bands play. I was hoisted in the air during at least three songs and we were sprayed with champagne and beer during the set. I remember distinctly being up in the air during Do You Know That Girl and actually hearing the vocals (the PA they had was working but I couldn't hear it from where I was standing during the set) and I could hear Pete laughing as he tried to sing his lines. Those guys were singing along to just about every song, even the ones they didn't know. Hell, they we pulling off the Whether screams just as well if not better than the Clevo crew.
   Set was: Listen To Me - Postcard - Disappear - Pretty Identical - Radio Lied To Me - Teenage Dream - Do You Know That Girl - Tongue Tied - Merry Go Round - She's Sorry - Whether - Seven - Give Me A Reason - Two Weeks - Femme Fatale - Group Think.
   When it was all said and done, we had a great show. Everyone had smiles on their faces. We sold a ton of merch. We headed off with Andy, one of the guys from the night, to stay at his flat for the night.

Day Ten: Saturday, May 22, 2004:
London, UK at the Verge.
"Your green Doc boots, cigarettes and leather strides..."

   Finally London. We got in early enough this time to really get a chance to walk around Camden town. It was a freekin crazy mess. There were a billion people walking through the shops and markets. I felt like I was home. There were tons of people and it was fun to get lost in the markets at Camden. There were tons of punks on the streets and tons of shops to get cool shit. We all split up and ended up coming back with tons of crap we didnąt need from the awesome stores in Camden.
   Wayne and I were relaxing at Costo coffee shop when Aston strolled in. Amazing how you can run into someone you know when there's a million people outside. Key Production, the CD plant where he works, was just down the street, and he usually frequents the coffee shop we were in.

Brian, Ellis, Ken and Matt in London

   The verge was the smallest place we have payed at in our three trips to London. But as usual, the club had a good amount of people in it for our show. Salt Union as the first band up. They were the same guys we played with in Southampton, Ben the singer was who put us up. They sounded good through a real sound system. Luna Suit played next and they were great. We played with them in 2000 and it was cool to see them with Unknown stickers on their gear. They have an album coming out soon. Should be great. Blocko was next and they rocked out as well. It was a classic night of Boss Tuneage presents at the Verge. Shortcut to Newark was supposed to play but their singer lost his voice and couldn't make it. We were next and the place was about half full for our set. Ellis and Matt from Guildford came down. Aston, Ed from K-Line and Dave from Shortcut to Newark were also there for the show.
   We had a rough sound on stage, but we played well. The set was: Never Be The Same - Postcard - Radio Lied To Me - Whether - Do You Know That Girl - Tongue Tied - Disappear - Pretty Identical - Cyclone - Seven - Merry Go Round - She's Sorry - Femme Fatale - Group Think - Leave Me Now. We had the whole clan up for Group Think at the end, and it was a big party. We did Leave Me Now as an encore. And thus, the UK shows of the trip were over. But the night wasn't over....
   After the show was over and we got packed up, we headed off toward the ferry in Dover. A couple hours of driving we made it to the ferry at 3 AM. We had a 4 Am ticket but we got to get on the earlier boat at 3. We pigged out on the ferry as we headed to Calais, France. After we got off the boat we kept on toward Belgium and some much needed rest at Martine's house in Sint Niklaus.

Day Eleven: Sunday May 23, 2004:
Den Helder, The Netherlands at the De Engel.
"Standing here and staring out on the edge of forever..."

   We got into Martine's house and hit the hay. Pete and Rita went with Martine to see a doctor. Pete had gotten a lot worse over the last few days. It got some antibiotics for a respiratory infection. 100 Euros down the drain. Around 1 or so we got our butts up and headed north into the Netherlands. Den Helder was about an hour north of Amsterdam.
   So we saw a nice scenic view of the Netherlands from the van. We got into the small town of Den Helder, and it was like a ghost town. There were tons of strips of shops and whatnot, but there were very few people around. The ones that were were all riding bikes. It looked liked a very bike oriented city.
   De Engel was a really small bar that puts on shows in the back corner of the bar. Mike and Leek, the people running the show met us as we drove up. We would be staying with Leek who lived upstairs from De Engel.
   We unloaded and did a sound check and realized we were the only band playing that evening. That was expected for a small city like Den Helder. Mike made us a fantastic dinner of vegetarian pasta.

Lou in Viking gear for De Engel.

   After some cleaning up we all took a look around the city. I just happened to run into our friend Brian Walsh who took a train up from Amsterdam from the show. He was standing across the street, and I thought I recognized him. He walked over to the map on the corner, and I figured it was him. It was the second time on tour where I just ran into someone I knew in a foreign city. Brian and Lou took a walk all the way to the beach on the North Sea. It was cool to see that particular sea and realize how far away and how far North we really were.
   We hung out at De Engel til around 10:15, and it was showtime. The Den Helder set was Never Be The Same - Postcard - Radio Lied To Me - Whether - Do You Know That Girl - Tongue Tied - Disappear - Pretty Identical - Cyclone - Seven - Merry Go Round - She's Sorry - Femme Fatale - Puzzles - Give Me A Reason - Say Goodbye - Stare - Whiskey Romance - Leave Me Now.
   We played a tight set and got decent response from the 15 or so people that were there. We encored with Stare, Whiskey and Leave Me Now. It was a fun night.
   Since we were staying just upstairs from the bar we got to hang out all night and chill with the locals. There was one crazy double jointed guy hanging out with us who was showing off his ability to climb through and put his arms all the way around his body while keeping them connected at the hands. It was a late night, to say the least...

Day Twelve: Monday May 24, 2004:
Hamburg, Germany at the Scandia Bar.
"Play it loud and play it fast..."

   We had a pretty long drive into Germany. The early Europe drives turned out to be a little longer than expected.
   Driving into Hamburg was a first for most of us. Pete and Wayne got to drive to Germany last year to pick up gear but the rest of us had never been to Germany.
   Well Germany was something else. We didn't know what to expect and I'm sure Hamburg is just one city and not indicative of what the rest of the country is like. The Scandia Bar was located in the red light district of Hamburg. We drove up to the club, and we were literally across the street from the alleyway that housed all the whores in the window. It was blocked off by red gates proclaiming no men below 18 or women allowed. Hmm. We'd have to check that out later.
   The people putting on the show arrived and the opening band the Varones showed up as well. We unpacked the gear and got situated. Martine and I took a long walk through the city looking for an open pharmacy to buy Wayne some medicine. He was the latest to come down with some sort of sickness. He had his usual sinus infection and fever. After about an hour of walking and looking at like 6 closed pharmacies we found the one that was open, well sort of. You had to walk to the closed gates and talk to the guy through the bars and explain what the ailment was you needed to take care of. Walking through the rest of the city you can see why this was the case. This was the dirtiest town we had ever been too. There was dog crap and piss all over the streets, and there were tons of junkies walking all over. Not to mention the whores that came out once it got dark. It was weird all the girls standing on the corners had the same outfits on; Tight pants and ski jackets. They were all tall thin blondes too.
   We were supposed to get fed at this one, but we ended up having to go for some Kebabs again. We did find a clean shop. It was a good kebab day. We took a stroll through the red light part of the street that was blocked off by the red doors and it was just like when we were in Amsterdam. The girls sit in the windows all whored out in lingerie and try to get you to come to the window to talk. Martine walked through with us and got told "Bitch get out of here!" It was funny.

Guess what's behind this door...

   The Varones played before us, and they were a real tight punk rock n roll band. It was cool. They had some good players, and they even covered and old American rock n roll song...
   While they were playing the police showed up and told the club to turn down the music because it was too loud. It was amazing to us. There were whores everywhere and the cops were bothering this tiny bar for noise. Apparently a few months before, the cops showed up and took the gear from the bands when they wouldn't turn down. This was not a good sign.
   All along Lou was having a nice night listening to a drunk German in the corner spouting off things like "Hey Police I'll blow you're fucking head off," when the cops showed up. And "Fuck you Americans," "What don't you drink beer?" When Lou was getting us water for the show. This was when he wasn't looking at the whores in the streets form the windows!
   The Varones finished out their set without incident, and we were up.
   Since the cops already showed once, we had to play at a retardedly low level. It was the weirdest sounding show we have played. We did OK, but it was just odd. The set was: Never Be The Same - Postcard - Radio Lied To Me - Listen To Me - Do You Know That Girl - Tongue Tied - Disappear - Pretty Identical - Merry Go Round - She's Sorry - Femme Fatale - Puzzles - Say Goodbye - Leave Me Now.
   After the show we split up in two groups and stayed with Ritchy and Pohl, two of the guys in the Varones. Brian and Lou stayed with Ritchy and Pete, Rita, Wayne and I stayed with Pohl. Martine and Paolo guarded the van all night. Troopers they were. It was cold.
   Wayne, Rita and Pete crashed quick while I stayed up with Pohl for hours talking about his amazing career over the last 20 years in the punk scene.
   We were drinking whiskey called Glendronach, and I couldn't get enough of his life stories. Pohl has gone from playing in simple local bands to playing in Gagu, a band that opened regularly for the likes of the Backstreet Boys and the Sex Pistols on European tours, back to local bands again. His career has made him tons of money over his life. At 37, I found out that other than all the money he has made, we are pretty similar. Sometimes on tour you get a chance to sit back and chill out with someone that is essentially the same as you but you have never met, don't speak the same language and don't have any idea about the other's life. We shared a lot of things politically, socially and musically. It was hard to make myself go to sleep even at 4 AM.

Day Thirteen: Tuesday May 25, 2004:
Sint-Genesius-Rode, Belgium at the JH Animoro.
"I want to go back there..."

   After some cleaning up, the six of us at Pohl's went over and got Brian and Lou from Ritchy's. We got out of Hamburg early. We drove in to Sint Genius Rode in Belgium for tonight's show at around 6.
   We knew tonight was gonna be good when we saw a car load of old friends parked near the club waiting to meet up with us. Phillip, Tonia and Innerface (Paolo's band) met us with open arms and smiles. The JH Animoro was another youth club similar to De NArtist that gets money from the city to have events. This was our first time there, and it was a great vibe rom the minute we got in. The food we were fed was fantastic as well. Europe is good for the meals. That's for sure.
   Sasha and Johan from Demzel came by for this show, and it was good to see them. Demzel couldn't play because their drummer was off on a honey moon ... ironic.

After the show at JH Animoro.

   Innerface tore it up. They played a set of 10 originals and covers of the Descendents' We and All System Go's All I Want. We had to be good to play after these guys.
   I was feeling a bit tired and my voice for the first time on the trip was a bit hoarse. That was good for me not to get hoarse until the thirteenth day. The miracle of ear plugs while playing ... We ended up doing a pretty long set that included: Never Be The Same - Postcard - Radio Lied To Me - 2 Weeks - Do You Know That Girl - Tongue Tied - Disappear - Pretty Identical - Merry Go Round - She's Sorry - Seven - Femme Fatale - Listen To Me - Give Me A Reason - Group Think - (Encores: Cyclone - Stare - Leave Me Now).
   The last three were encores. The third time this trip, and the crowd response from the packed club was great. We had a killer night in merch selling like 12 cds and 8 shirts. We wanted to stay and talk with everyone but the show went later than expected and we had to drive an hour to Temse to De Nartist.
   We ended the evening at De Nartist, the youth center we stayed at last year when we had all those days off early in the tour. It wasn't quite how we remembered it, but still familiar nonetheless.

Day Fourteen: Wednesday May 26, 2004:
Beauvais, France at La Mine
"We've made some friends, but we're still on our own..."

   We woke up at De Nartist and got some things done like laundry and calls home. We make another quick stop at Martine's to pick up some stuff we had left there early in the tour and we headed out.
   Ah France. Yep. France looks particularly like nothing as you drive down the motorway toward Paris. The city of Beauvais was about 60 miles north of Paris. And it seemed like forever to get to where we were going. Chris from Walked In Line was putting on the show. He got us on the festival in Muoy last year.
   We drove into town and had a little trouble finding the bar, but we got to see this old church in the center of town for a few minutes. It was falling down from being centuries old, and it was way cool. The gargoyles were sweet. Most of the town was shut down by the time we rolled in. But, we did finally see something we have been trying to see the whole three tours to Europe. McDonald's. Not just any McDonald's. A McDonald's with the famous Royale with Cheese on the menu. It really does exist like they say in Pulp Fiction. Oh, we didn't go into Burger King.
   La Mine was a small bar with a balcony for the band. It wasn't a club or anything just an area where you could set up and play. We were told that we would play as soon as the football match between Monacco and Portugal was over. Monacco lost, which was the team they were rooting for. The second the clock ticked down we blasted into our set.
   Never Be The Same - Postcard - Radio Lied To Me - Whiskey Romance - Do You Know That Girl - Tongue Tied - Pretty Identical - Merry Go Round - She's Sorry - Seven - Listen To Me - Stare - Puzzles - Give Me A Reason - Femme Fatale - Say Goodbye - Leave Me Now (encore).
   My voice was shot after the show. The whole time we were playing, I was unable to hit anything high at all. I expected to have some sort of voice problems at some point, but I didn't think it would take 14 days. So that's a pretty good tour for the most part. We'll see how bad it is tomorrow...
   After the show Wayne got mobbed by a bunch of French kids who loved his drumming during the night. We retired to the flat of the owners of La Mine. They were super nice and gave us all sleeping places. Wayne, Pete, Rita and I stayed in the kids room on bunk beds and Lou and Brian got a pullout couch.
   It was comfy.