day 57

day 57 (or thereabouts):

word up from CRK squat in Wroclawwww

-Warsaw was one of the best shows of the tour so far, punk and noise bands tag-teaming all night on two performances areas in a sweet basement cafe.  every performance was great and at the end of the night Charlie and I borrowed drums, guitar, etc and did the first (last?) ever BACKPATCH set.  so much fun.  we met and stayed with our new friends (forever) Sergei and Renata (from the excellent harsh noise project MAAAA!).  Sergei showed us around the beautiful old city and we ate perogies and drank a cup of hot wine (???) and there was no fucking sadness allowed.

-we then went to Poznan and there was tons of snow and everything was beautiful and bright white and man, Poznan is a nice looking city.  Lubomir and Frederic put on a great show for us complete with an endearingly enthused and wasted elderly man dancing and making a weird hand swirling gesture and totally loving harsh noise and dance beats.  After the show we went to a house party and met some rad people and in the morning we went to a small, eerily emptyd zoo.  It was mostly vacant, snowy cages and looked like some post-civilization Omega Man shit, which was actually very nice since I generally find zoos to be cruel and depressing.

-our growing crew of Polish bros and ladies took a train to Wroclaw and we walked from central station to CRK.  CRK is an incredible squat that has existed for 10 years and it is one of the most inspiring places I have had the pleasure of visiting.  As soon as we walked in, we were given an amazing, hot vegan meal and shown the room we'd be staying in for the next two nights.  Unreal.

The guy who "organized" the show here totally ghosted out and dropped all contact with me about 2 months ago, and sent a text message to someone at CRK yesterday morning saying he was in fucking Holland and asking if they could handle the show instead of him.  So, so shitty.  The folks at CRK debated on whether or not they would still do the show (as it was an understandably frustrating and sudden responsibility that was dropped on them at the last minute) and much to our gratitude, borrowed a PA and made it happen.  It was a really great show and one of my favorites of the tour.  Everyone was extremely happy, friendly and generally it was just an awesome vibe.  CRK and everyone here is the best.  Thanks a million guys.

-This morning I woke up early and went with Sergei and Rena to the university, a cafe and the train station to say goodbye (the saddest part of our time in Poland).  Then I walked around Wroclaw alone for 3-4 hours, collecting icicles in my beard and eyebrows and generally having a really good day.  I really, really love Poland and I've seriously been considering just staying and starting my new life here.

This is significantly intensified by the fact that I am painfully, painfully attracted to Polish women.

Charlie and I are spending the day in and around CRK tomorrow then getting on an overnight train to Budapest, Hungary.  Fuck yeah.

noise/love not war/pain,
-g.w.a.29.11.MMX.C.E.