| rothko |
The plan had been hatched. Arising at 04:00 on Friday morning, gave us time to shower, have a cup of coffee and generally try to wake up, before loading the van to set off at 05:00. Myself, Crawford and Jon departed at the crack of 05:15 from Highgate to rendezvous with Mark on a street corner just down the road in Archway. It was then off to Dover for the ferry crossing. Travelling through London at this time in the morning was almost a pleasant experience, and we made good time for the port to catch the 07:45 sailing. With half an hour to spare I decided to pay a visit to the shop for some essential items for the journey (chocolate, sweets etc) and to pay a visit to the toilet. The queue in the shop was huge, due to the influx of coaches with kids (damn those school holidays) so I put all my purchases back and ventured to the loo. Again, teeming with kids, and the lovely sight of an earlier punter having deposited his stool in one of the urinals - not a small one either! - A true feat of engineering, considering the amount of people around. Nice! This was just what was needed to start a boat trip. Once onboard the breakfast was uninspiring, but eaten all the same - you never know where the next meal is coming from. Most of the journey was spent on the rear deck, clocking Frank, the ships seagull, who followed us for the whole crossing without a single flap of his wings. At last on European soil and hassle free motoring. Clear and well maintained roads, with drivers who know how to use lane control. (I hate UK drivers). We had arranged to meet Johan at a service station just before Gent. He had told us that he was driving a green VW Passat, which he had brought from the "royalties" of the 'Storm Cycle' EP that they had released a few months ago. We arrived on time and retired to the café for a cup of coffee. Far superior to the crap we had served on the boat - they even had free refills. Johan arrived ten minutes later, and after getting himself a coffee announced that it was crap - we thought it was excellent - there is no accounting for the British sense of taste! On then to Amsterdam for the VPRO session, it was a hassle free drive until we hit on the city itself. Luckily Johan was adept at navigating this city - through numerous tiny roads, trying to avoid all the cyclists with a death wish, and we eventually found a parking spot 50 metres from the radio stations studio. We were parked in disabled bays of course, but with foreign plates you can get away with a few 'accidental' flouts with the law. After unloading the van Johan advised that parking underground would be the safest bet, as there would have a high chance of theft in the streets. The car park had a height limit of two metres and the van is 1.98 metres high - mmm seems a little tight, but it managed to negotiate the pipe work and speed ramps without scraping the roof- just! It took 15 minutes to drive to the car park but only five minutes to walk back to the studio - bizarre place! Here we met Wade Iverson from Chicago, aka Fatalists, who was also to do a session and join the lads at the gig in Belgium. While Rothko tuned up and generally set things up in the studio, which incidentally was nicer than most of the London venues, both ascetically and aurally, Wade went into a smaller studio to record his session. Drinks were laid on and the session got underway. Johan pulled up a chair with a beer and indulged himself in the music being played. After the sound session was complete, we were treated to a Thai takeaway, and very nice it was too. It was then off to a searching interview with another member of the staff, which would later be cut into the music recorded when broadcast. The main man Maurice couldn't have looked us after better! As the session went on longer than expected, we didn't, unfortunately, have a chance to get away and catch Seafood at the Paradiso down the road (sorry Kevin). Then the long drive back to Gent with the customary McDonalds break halfway, for coffee and ice cream - well I was driving and needed to keep awake! We finally reached Johan's house in Gent at 02:00, after 22 hours of being awake, and 700 kms later. I was asleep within seconds of my head hitting the floor on the second story of his partly re-built house. The next day, and it's raining - must be Belgium then. There is a consistency with this country. If there are twenty metres of straight road, then the motorists will drive it at one hundred miles per hour. If we are in Belgium - it must be raining. We awake to the sound of Johan playing the dub mix of Bananarama's 'Venus', while simultaneously mixing it with an obscure Belgium art noise band!! He makes up for this by getting a huge continental breakfast in for us. Ahhh - fooood! After a twenty minute walk to the local record shop, it starts to rain... there is definitely a pattern emerging here. We depart for the 40-minute drive to the 4AD club in Diksmuide, but have to travel via the drummer from Toss' house (Toss being the other band playing that evening) to pick up the drum kit. Parked next to a railway line that travels for miles on a straight line is too much of a photographic temptation for me, and I jump the ditch, only to fall flat on my face into a pile of stinging nettles. There follows much laughter and cursing, just for a couple of photographs. Well at least the tinging sensation will keep me awake for a few hours! We arrive in Diksmuide late afternoon and unload the total contents of the van. The town resembles Trumpton, super clean streets without a flaw or crack, a railway station next to the venue with an uncomplicated clock tower, and hardly any people. (It's Saturday for goodness sake!) I swear I saw Mrs. Honneyman walking her dog later on! Sound check done, we were told by Patrick the main man here that dinner would be at 19:00 prompt. We retired to our temporary accommodation above the venue. Ten bunk beds around a table that looked out onto "Trumpton's" railway station. The toilet was, well, a toilet on the stairs with a curtain around it to conceal the person doing the business. The dinner was better than you would get in some cafés in London! First on the bill was Fatalists review here Next up were Toss. We had been warned that they either had very good gigs or very bad gigs, due to the fact that they only played a couple of times a year. Tonight, unfortunately, would be one of the latter. Click here to see the review of Rothko. We were well looked after by Patrick, with free drink plied all night long followed by a breakfast in the morning. Johan had told us that they would treat us like princess, and he wasn't wrong. London venues take note! We managed to struggle to bed by 03:00 - another long day. After breakfast we packed and loaded the van, said our goodbyes and left for Calais. We got straight onto an earlier ferry at 13:15, with ten minutes to spare, and managed to find some seats this time. This had been a great trip, and one that we ended up only paying for the ferry crossing and petrol for the van. (The money paid for by the VPRO session and the gig at the 4AD Club covered this). All food, drink and accommodation had been laid on, and we had been looked after to the extreme. Can't wait to go back! Thanks must go out to the following people. skippy |