European Tour

photo by kat

A Post Card From Europe.....
Due to a busy schedule, and limited access to e-mail, I was unable to stay in touch during my time in Europe. However, I was able to chronicle the wonders and idiosyncracies (whether natural or man made) of both Germany and Italy during long train trips and the occasional afternoon spent immersing myself in the local kaffeekultur. I don't expect my illustrious editors to indulge the musings of a wayward contributor, however, for all who've expressed interest, I'll be posting a photo gallery and travelogue on my web site soon. In the meantime, here are some highlights: 

My Italian dates actually kicked off in the Alpine town of Biaggio, Switzerland. From there I made my way through the scenic Lakes Region of northern Italy. There we had a welcome layover amidst the cobblestone, granite and marble-lined streets of medievel Como. In Milan, a hastily arranged rhythm section did a bang-up job recreating most of UNDER MY SKIN. For an encore, we ripped through Southern Man and Like a Rolling Stone. Those Italianos sho' can rock. The Italy dates culminated in the Only A Hobo Festival, where I was on the bill with Michelle Shocked, Victoria Williams and Mark Olsen. Impessario Carlo Carlini's annual festival has featured the likes of Townes Van Zandt, Joe Henry, Greg Brown and Ani DiFranco---among others---and I was downright honored and humbled to be a part of this year's festivities. By show's end, Michelle had the entire Americano entourage onstage belting out southern gospel standards. 

From there, I moved on to Berlin, where I made my live performance debut for the folks at ulfTone Music (the German label responsible for the European release of Solstice). I was quite flattered by the warm reception I recieved, and perhaps even more taken by the fact that the venue was located on the east side of the last remaining stretch of the Berlin Wall---which is now a sanctioned forum for Berlin's wildly expressive graffiti artists. Every stop yielded some unexpected wonder: from an eye-opening stroll down The Reeperbahn (an early stomping ground of The Beatles) before the gig at The Fabrik (a converted WWII munitions factory) in Hamburg, to the mountain village of Greiz where I played my final show in an 800 year old castle. I'll miss the cafes, and the rail travel especially, but it's good to be back. 

See You Around, 

David