July 2009 European Tour went really well. No one got lost or left behind, stuck at any airports or gas stations. We were all really happy with the shows especially the collaborations with Vinicio Capossela, Lambchop, Chris Cacavas and Depedro. Italy was the biggest surprise with some of the most amazing venues; 8th Century Benedictine Abbey of St Mary in Sesto al Reghena and the Villa Arconati in Milano were sublime and left us speechless.

Best bands on the festival circuit goes out to The Notwist at Cactus Festival in Brugges, Portugal The Man in Feldkirch Austria’s Poolbar and TV on the Radio at Benicassim Festival in Spain. Best food hands down goes to Milano’s Arconati. One of the most impressive festivals was Duisburg’s Traumzeit set in a 19th Century factory compound beautifully converted into some of the most stunning visual settings we’ve seen.

The shows in Finland and Poland were also really special since we rarely, if ever, get to play there. On that note, we are all really looking forward to playing Budhapest and Tel Aviv in August. Thanks to all the people who came out, said hello at the merchandise stand and took photos. Here’s to a glorious end of July and see you all in August.

Salud,
Joey

John and I are here in Seattle enjoying a day off with our booking agent, Ali Hedrick and her family. The Neko Case tour has gotten off to a great start. All of the crowds have been very receptive to the two piece version. I wish we could do more dates as we’ve been having a blast hanging with Neko and the whole band and crew. The last time we did the two piece two was in 1998 opening for the Dirty Three across The States. There’s an openness with playing as a two piece that allows for room to improvise that feels really good. You learn to appreciate the space and elasticity of time with phrasing, segues and tempo. I feel like we are just now finding our sea legs and sadly the portion of dates is coming to an end this evening at the beautiful Pantages Theatre in Tacoma. John has been sitting on ‘Red Tide’ and I have been playing some 12 string acoustic guitar on ‘This Tornado Loves’ you every night. The visuals on this tour have been stellar and all coordinated by the lovely Kathleen Judge. Hey does everyone know that Neko deisgned all the t shirt art? I try to help Kelly at the end of every night at the merch booth. Jon Rauhouse designed the tractor shirt. All in all an amazing touring team and super fun to hang with.

I hope we can all meet up again on the road with band and crew again soon. Thanks to Neko, Amy Lombardi, Ali Hedrick, Kong, Kathleen, Tim, Shelley, Kelly, Barry, Tom V Ray, Paul Rigby, Kelly Hogan (come to record at Wavelab!!) and Jon Rauhouse.

p.s. Go Lakers!!

setlist for the neko dates

01. All The Pretty Horses
02. Not Even Stevie Nicks…
03. Spokes
04. Man Made Lake
05. Bisbee Blue
05. Bend To The Road
06. Slowness or Quattro
07. Two Silver Trees
08. Fractured Air
09. Scout
+Slowness and Bend To The Road (w/ Craig Schumacher- harmonica) Denver
+In The Reins (with Jon Rauhouse – pedal steel) Salt Lake City and Tacoma

I sent some photos from Torino, Luzern and Ulm today to Josh at TGREC. Thanks Josh and Celia at casadecalexico.com for helping transfer the transmissions. Tour is going really well. Torino was a dream and a welcomed change from the chill of Bologna. Thanks to Francesco for being our guide to all that is beautiful about touring in Italia. Happy Birthday to Valentina P as well. Nice comments from the folks after the show and the dinner moments before at the ristorante across the street from the Teatro Colloseo was sublime. Spaghetti vongole, vino rosso, espresso…boom! Run back to the Teatro to play to an enthusiastic and warm audience.

Serious partying on the bus leaving Torino thanks to Oliver and Jelle’s bartending prowress. Slammer = vodka and champagne mixed spells disjointed dancing on the bus and queezy sleep across the border and into Switzerland. We survived and there are photos on Valerie’s camera. Should we post them?

Better stick to the lofi cell phone shots for now.

Luzern’s KKL Theatre is super modern and kickass. In the adjacent hall under the same roof Mischa Maisky is rehearsing a Haydn cello concerto with small ensemble. I am blown away and taken to a deeper level of inspiration. Later that day we rehearse with violinist, Anna-Sophie Mahler who we’ve been playing with in Europe for about ten years. She brings a whole different vibe to songs like “The News About William” and “Minas de Cobre”. John and I recently recorded some original material for a verison of Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie” that she is directing in Biel Switzerland (www.theater-biel.ch and www.theater-solothurn.ch). After the show Anna-Sophie and the whole cast present with us a gift of wine, cheese, olives, flowers as a thank you.

We arrive in cold, grey Ulm the next day. Time for laundry at the nearby washerei. Paul goes to the Apotheke for some supplies for Katja back home. Martin is on the street talking with his birthday gal Lena. Jelle rents a bike and rides of in search of crackers for our wine tasting night off. Patrick and I meet our friend Guni for espresso and pretzels. I sent some photos from the walk around town as the sun began to finally break from the clouds. We saw some old gates and buildings from the 1100’s and 1400’s. A man was taking his three greyhounds on a walk. There were decorations being hung for Mardi Gras. Tomorrow I will try to climb the gothic cathedral and get a bird’s eye view of what the legendary Schneider von Ulm might have seen. Apparently, recent scientists figured out that he would have succeeded in flying across the Donau if he had tried flying 200 meters south from his original point of departure.

wishing you all a safe flight
all those winged and webbed
a good night and sweet dream
joey

It´s cold outside. We are playing at Estragon outside of the city of Bologna. It´s even colder inside the industrial style hangar. Spirits are up. I stock up on vitamins and honey-lemon hot liquids. Seems like we are far away from everyone and everything. Where are we? Bologna? Italy? I think about the times when people ask us, what we see when we are on tour. I would love to have gone into town, but energy is low, and we are far from the city center. So we huddle round a spaceheater and do our best to stay warm. Hoping the show tonight brings some good kinetic energy and direction. Missing the old streets and small shops, ristorantes, cafes, etc. Jacob just sneezed himself awake. Jairo is waiting for a call from home to wish his son a Happy Birthday. John looks ready to connect with his Italian roots, Martin was online and is now missing, Volker on the bus? Paul is laying low. Late night show and hours to wait around. Best wishes to all.