An Important Message: Before we start, I want to thank everyone who helped us and made this adventure possible & all the people we met along the way...Paul, Gert - the loveable curmudgeon, Dylan, The Cheaters, Mario, Falk, Falco, Ann Marie, Lorena and The Bobbits, Gianni, Sharan and Alexander, Michele, Joe, The Masked Animals...everyone who came to see us...I'm sure I'm forgetting people, but you know who you are...and of course all of our friends and family!
Also, I (one, Anna Giuliani), am responsible for the majority of this diary, so if anything is inaccurate or offensive, I am to blame!
Apologies in advance for spelling and grammar errors...
(Text and pictures are intermingled -- to get the whole story, scroll down! To get to the next day, scroll to bottom.)
12-6-2001
Brussels/Utrecht, Belgium
After arriving at the Brussels airport at 8am, I’m very disoriented. Gert (our booking agent) is not around yet, so I sleep on top of my luggage on the floor. I wake up to someone taking my picture. Ages pass, it seems, before the rest of the girls arrive and Gert picks us up. We head to Lichtaart, Belgium, the location of the “Akkerhuisje” that will be home for the next few days while we play shows in Belgium and Holland.
A number of bands have stayed there before, as the guest book attests (The Asylum Street Spankers, Tijuana Bibles, and presumably most of the bands Gert has booked). We only have a few hours before leaving for our first show in Utrecht at Theater Kikker.
On the way to the show, Lisa spots a dead sheep. It must be an omen! But is it an omen of good or of unspeakable EVIL? Only time will tell us. We have some difficulty finding the club -- the streets in Utrecht are maze-like & primarily one way – and bikes dangerously whizz past and in front of us. The Kikker is situated in the lovely center of the city: the cobble streets, glow of lights and crisp air make us feeling like we have been transported into a Christmas card. We have time to kill, so Estelle, the very beautiful and cool booking agent for the Kikker, is sweet enough to take us on a shopping excursion.
Krista finds our poster at a local record store
Theater Kikker is amazing and the entire staff is extremely professional and helpful. The stage is rather large and rises about four feet from the floor. We are very nervous because the Kikker is much nicer than the places we are used to playing. I am both impressed and intimidated at the elaborateness of the system. There are actually monitors far all of us! We even have a dressing room with four lighted makeup mirrors, a refrigerator full of beer, water, soda…even fruit.
The Dressing Room at the Kikker
Lisa n' Anna lookin' fine
An Oblivians-y band, Surf Hell, opens. Then, strangely & surprisingly, despite the lack of sleep and everything else, we play pretty damned good and people seem to enjoy us!
It’s not a full house by any means, but an enthusiastic crowd nonetheless. They even ask us to play “Don’t You Ruin My Good Time” a second time. Encores are big here. Almost everyone is expected to play one or two encores (which is possible when you have only two bands rather than four, as is the norm in Austin). Sales of merch are strong and a Dutch guy asks us if we know the Hard Feelings. Do we ever!
2/3 of Surf Hell
Lisa and Her Dear Friend, Stiffie