Have you ever done some childish stuff … just because you wanted to do it? You know, the kind of silly thing that will be lead by terrible consequences, as an earthquake, an insects rain, a tsunami, a growl of Mr Grizzly???
Well, I DID IT ! I did my whim of the year! And to reach my goal, I stomped, I waved my little fists, I sulked, I even invoked feminist arguments (what a shame!), dealing with Mr Grizzly, exceeded by the disappearance of the rest of my neurons, and my unwavering determination …
I must admit, he has a lot of merit, Mr Grizzly. Hooooo yes! And I’m very lucky to share my life with such an understanding man (sometimes he has some moment of lucidity). Because yes, he let me do my little teenage crisis, and drive to Germany, more precisely to Cologne, just to see a gig in a small club … Usually I don’t ask permission ( Fucking GirlPower!), but this is always better to inform your loving husband about what you are going to do on your Sunday , just in order to avoid further crisis (which I did get anyway ...). Yes, I drove so far, because it was the nearest place to see a gig of Andreas Moe … Do you remember him? I already talked about him here. And of course human being is what it is, for Mr Grizzly, I did not go to see the artist because I enjoyed his music, but « because he was handsome and he looked like Julien Doré « …
Well, not entirely wrong, but more complicated than that! I knew him through his likeness, and I then appreciated his music (he is a singer and a songwriter, this is important to know), and I think this was a real chance to see him, approach him, at the beginning of his career. You know, I’m sure he will not stop there and 2016 is going to be the year of Andreas! A couple of weeks ago, on Dutch radio, the presenter was just telling him that his new song « Borderline » is going to be his worldwide breakthrough, and a few days before, Fearne Cotton, one of the most popular uk presenter ,tuned his song on BBC Radio1!
So of course I did not decide to go on this adventure on my own! Nath (also known as ZeBeaver), was delighted to climb on the bandwagon. I must say she is a pure traveller, and I thought that, with her ,nothing could happened and we could deal with all kind of situations (make a fire, get water , build a raft, go to see a gig) … But that was not counting with her fucking GPS … and some gaps in her motorized vehicle driving skills!
3rd of May: Everything went perfectly, well ,until our arrival in Cologne, where a slight hint of panic coud be felt when she had to find a carpark. At first, we wanted to visit the Ludwig Museum (my article here) and which is in the old town. I had my little map and god bless my knowledge of German, we managed to find the right direction.
For the carpark, I explained to my driver that the museum was located next to the Cathedral and the Philharmonic … « haaaa but what direction then? » Ho … Carpark Cathedral or Philharmonic, … that sounds good… don’t you think?! Phew we found it. Express visit of the Museum (exceptional) … Then restaurant.
7:30 departure for the club, the Blue Shell, which is about 10 minutes away, and well reported on my map. We have plenty of time! Enter the address in the GPS. 22mn … well, it may be that some streets are one way or there are some roadworks??? Either. Here we go! I began to doubt when we passed over the Rhine. I explained to Madame that the club was on the same side as the cathedral, waving my little map. Answer: « GPS knows where it goes, don’t worry, it may be just around … » … Around what? Germany?
When we went out of the town, and we took the highway, I reiterated my concern … « We will go through to see if it’s really not the right way, okay? … » . Yeah … approaching a quite unwelcoming neighbourhood and seeing the time passing by (doors opening at 8pm, beginning of the show 9pm, and it was already 8pm …), I asked « Do you really think that a club can be placed here in the middle of all this mess? ». Answer: « we are almost there, let’s see »… perfect but if we are attacked to be stolen our tires, our water bottles or our Haribo candies, don’t expect me to resist the assailants! Arrival … in a stalemate, with no club, in the middle of nowhere.
Reprogramming the damn Yugoslavian GPS translated into Moldovian to a route that seems more logical to me. 25mn … ok. At the same time, there is no idea of several « Alexander Strasse » in the same city, and in different districts …! Triumphant arrival in the neighborhood clubs, bustling, crowded everywhere, great! Turn left, you are arrived in 40m, turn left, turn left, you are arrived in 150m, turn left, turn left. Fuck ooooooooff! Shut your mouth! After 10 minutes, we finally understood that in fact, turn left means go straight … GPS was set with a mode for blonde girl …
8.40 Club … visual, we are saved! A blue shell, you can’t miss it! Nooooooo but, it was not counting with the inability of ZeBeaver / ZePilote to find a place to park, or make a niche! You know, that girl, she toured the world in caravans pulled by donkeys with husband and children, she went on vacation in the middle of nowhere with the sole view of pebbles, toured Iceland by unicycling and she cannot make a fucking niche (with a backup camera!)? I love you a lot Nath, but are you serious ????? I think she caught my annoyance when we went back for the 7th time at the club and I yelled, « park heeeeeeeeeeeeere! » … « Yes but you know there is… « I don’t caaaaaare, don’t talk anymore, and park heeeeeere » … swerve, handbrake … 8.58! The pressure falls down when we give our tickets at the entrance of the Blue Shell.
Why did I want to arrive earlier? Because, I’m short, I‘m 1m64 and in Germany it’s even smaller than in Luxembourg and France, do you understand my problem? … And Nath? She doesn’t care she’s 2m10 and wearing heels … and I have no heels on my Converses. Soft drink (because we still have to come back to France, and GPS is not gonna help us! ), folk music evening can start, finally!
The first part was provided by the excellent Joel Ney. This young man is a native of Cologne, which probably explains some familiar songs! Acoustic guitar, pretty voice, a very pleasant moment.
Here is what he does:
Soft drink bis… sad but no choice!
Almost 10pm, beginning of the concert Andreas Moe. And it‘s amazing what you can do with just a guitar and a voice (well, what he can do, because Miss Grumpy already tried it, my ears still remember it!). He says a word before every song, speaks with us, feels almost embarrassed sometimes by some questions or reactions. I must confess that it should not be easy to play in these conditions … small space public, at his feet (literally, this is not a pun!), and people not necessarily there for him (but rather more for the bar). But he managed, from the beginning to the end.
The audience knew almost all his songs, so it was very animated. We loved it, we were conquered, and we did take our souvenir pic at the end of the show. Ok, we are not teenagers anymore, we are respected mums (yes , we are!), but we wanted our picture and our autograph! We were able to exchange a few words. In fact … Nath was able… because I suddently lost all my English vocabulary … (and I don’t speak Swedish yet). When he learnt that we came from so far, he gaves us a small bracelet as a gift and a souvenir. Sooo cute! And I think that the teens in the club all became jealous! And that’s how we learnt that he was trying to find some places to play in France in September! Scream of Joy!
Soft drink ter… Soooooooooo sad!
Here is my little video, where you can’t see much, but you hear very well! Please Watch till the end, really! The public was so good!
He also made a cover of Kodaline. I love this song! Here it is:
Departure almost midnight … restarting the GPS, we never know, with a little luck, it sobered up. Direction: home! you win 45 minutes drive and almost 100km … Why not … We no longer have the strength to fight. We probebly asked for the underground tourism option through the industrial area of Cologne. It’s pretty, there are plenty of small lights, small caravans on the roadside. Old but nicely decorated with small colored lamps … and girls in… underwears inside … ??? ha … these are not sedentary people…! 2:30, with Andreas’ music of course! A beautiful moment with a great friend! Thank you Nath! And thank you Andreas, we were 15 years old that night!!!
At home, someone did not like our getaway: Miss Grumpy. She wanted to come with us (already a mini fan …) and by revenge she stole all our trophies… what an ungrateful child!
To discover the new EP of Andreas Moe, click on the picture!
Have a nice listening and perhaps see you soon for the French concerts!
TEA DOG & ROCK'N'ROLL 