Beren's World

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January 11, 2010
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Ah, the holidays! I love them, but they also bring a certain amount of stress into my life. There are only so many parties one can attend without being on the verge of collapse, only so many presents one has the patience to shop for, and only so many hours one can spend around family. Starting from Thanksgiving, which is traditionally a big deal in my family (big, as in up to 50 attendees at the evening dinner) and ending with the work holiday party, it seems as if the festivities are endless.

Not that I’m complaining. I spent part of December in Detroit, and attended a great Christmas party complete with a white elephant gift exchange. In a white elephant, everyone brings a gift and everyone gets a gift, and you play a game to figure out who gets what. I didn’t participate in the gift exchange because my number was 46 (there were a lot of people at the party), but did see some of the amazing gifts lovingly wrapped by the masses, including a stuffed deer head and painted picture of a can of PBR. It was a fantastic party.

The end of the long holiday season is signaled with the annual holiday party held by my boss, Mike, and typically held at a bowling alley. It too includes a gift exchange, and last year I was lucky enough to receive the Clapper, a devise from the '80s for turning on lights by clapping your hands. I also got everyone to gamble on the bowling game and ended up with cash as well. It was an excellent party. Tomorrow this event will be held and it remains to be seen who will hold the title of most unruly, although bets have been placed. Look here next month for a full recap. Happy New Year.

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October 28, 2009
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So I'm back at English, baby! after another two month break. Well, a two month tour to be more precise. Instead of Europe, it was the US this time. We went through the midwest, up to Canada, down the east coast, through the south, and up the west coast back to Portland. We played with many amazing bands, like Kid Congo and the Pink Monkeybirds, the Raincoats, and Wizzard Sleeve.

We had 5 days to check out NYC, 2 days to hang out in New Orleans, and I had my second birthday in a row on the road in Chattanooga, TN. We lost a man in New York, gained one for the night in Memphis, then were back to a four piece for our shows in Los Angeles and San Diego. We got flown from Austin, Texas to Montreal, Quebec for a single day to play a single show. We all had the flu, and played on questionable equipment, but pulled it off with aplomb. We also flew from San Francisco to Portland for our last show, a festival that included Roky Erikson and the Black Lips. But it's nice to be home, and back in the cast!

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August 6, 2009
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So, I realized I left out the end of the European tour, what with the flying back to the West Coast of the US only to fly back east a mere day later. 

Our second to last show was in Tours, France. It was a giant festival, and we played with a diverse range of acts including, inexplicably, Busdriver, the rapper from LA. We also played with a group of ladies and gents called the Vedettes. There were at least 14 people in the band, and all the ladies wore matching outfits and ended the evening wearing bridal gowns. I missed the last number because I was busy eating insanely good food in the catering tent, and it being our last night in France, we each had a whole baguette and carafe of red wine. 

After having played a few festivals in Europe, I've come to realize a few things:

1. Most people at festivals are there for one band and want to spend the rest of the time eating/drinking and talking through the sets of bands they are not familiar with.

2. European festivals (save Primavera) are typically set up in the middle of nowhere and run by two hippies and all structures/band tents set up have at least one mural with a "rasta" Homer Simpson.

3.  The food is always better than any food I have been served at venues in the US, without exception.

 After leaving France, we headed back to Amsterdam for our final show. We played at the Paradiso, the nicest venue in town. Unfortunately, we were also playing on the same night as a hip-hop label showcase, and the building got filled to capacity, which meant none of our Intelligence fans could get in! We played to three devoted fans who had snuck past security, and called it a night. We had many miles behind us and a few thousand ahead, and needed to get ready for the long trip home. 

All in all, I wouldn't have changed anything about the trip, and somewhere in France, there are two girls in France wearing English Baby bracelets, and an old man wearing an Ebaby t-shirt...

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