Somebody left me in charge…

Written by Keith on June 21, 2009

It’s hard to believe, but since that last post (“Harp Ye, Harp Ye”) was written, much has changed.  In case you haven’t heard, Bishop Allen have left the United States and, in a hope to gain more listeners all over the world, established ourselves as a European-based rock band.  In the last week we have morphed from an up-and-coming Netherlands blog band, to a Belgium indiepop supergroup and are currently testing the waters as a full-fledged German krautpoprock band.  So far, so good.  (Note:  We are secretly planning a return to our roots as a Brooklyn-based indie rock band sometime in mid-May)

Yes, we are about a week into our 20-something date European tour with our friend Andy/Electric Owls.  It has been a lot of fun.  This is the first time I have traveled to Europe with the band, and here are some things I have noticed in Europe:
- Most of the people I have met have been very nice and generous.  The venues are wonderful hosts.  They have free foods, chocolates and coca colas that we get to eat and drink.
-  A lot of caucasian males have dreadlocks.
-  The drives from city to city are very short in comparison to the United States.  Less van time = more sleep and wandering time.  Wonderful.
-  Toilets and bathrooms in general can be pretty strange/counterintuitive/confusing.
-  The Autobahn is fun
-  The van that we have is a European sprinter van with the word Fahrtwind on the side of it.  Laugh it up, people.
-  There isn’t a lot of fireworks or excitement when you go from one country to another one.  Going from The Netherlands to Belgium to Germany was about as exciting as going from one town to another.  Buuuuut, still cool to have been in four countries in under a week.
-  Europeans often times speak in languages that are not English.

Highlights of the tour so far:
The best hotel we have stayed in so far, in my opinion, was in Amsterdam at the Backstage Hotel.  Really nice rooms, good view, easy walk to the venue (the amazing Paradiso), fresh fruit in the morning, etc.
The best venue so far, in my opinion, was in Groningen.  The venue, Vera, has an awesome history to it, the staff is very helpful, there is a great apartment attached to it where bands stay, good vibes in the room.
The best walk I have had so far, in my opinion, was in Ghent, Belgium.  Castles, cathedrals, cool streets, good cafe, on a rainy day was very peaceful.
The best song written on tour so far, in my opinion, was in Utrecht, Netherlands.  Our friend Andy from Electric Owls(with some help from Michael) wrote a new song about a red camera that is amazing.  Just wait til you hear it.
The best hostel we have stayed in so far, in my opinion, was in Hamburg.  Though, to be fair, it’s the only hostel we have stayed in.  Late night drunks stumbling into your room!  Hard to beat. (unless you stay in a room where late night drunk don’t stumble into your room, i suppose)
The best friends at any show so far, in my opinion, was in Berlin.  My friends Charles and Caitlin came and it was nice.  Berlin is as good as people make it out to be.
The best show so far, in my opinion, was last night’s show in Cologne (Koln)at King Georg.  It was a great, tiny venue.  No stage.  Super hot, fun, sweaty.  It felt like we were playing a house party in the best way.
The best dinner we have had at a venue so far, in my opinion, was tonight in Gleis 22 (where I am typing this) the venue in Munster.  The lovely people at the venue gave us great salad, bread, pizza, soup.  Delicious

Those are the highlights, now here are some pics of some of the lowlifes.

Will post more pics soon.  Have a lot of good ones of the beautiful cities, people and buildings.  Seriously, Europe is a great place to be if you enjoy seeing beautiful nouns (which are capitalized in German).

We are all very excited to be here and are looking forward to the next few weeks of shows.  Onward march.
-keith