day 76

it's day 76 of tour and i might be stuck in Bristol?

anyway, here's what happened between the last update and today, I think my memory is alright:

-Italy was so fucking sweet.  Francesco is a king and was our host/driver/ultimate friend for our week in Italy.  Highlights: eating a million pizza margheritas solo style, dauntaun squat gig in Milano, Gio's killer potato pesto, chilling hard with a million espressos at the Second Sleep HQ,  dodging greasy vespa shredders and mountains of trash in Napoli, sunday morning bells in Rossanna's room, wandering through an unbelievably heavy and gorgeous cemetery in Roma.  thanks to all our new friends in Italy, we are coming back ASAP and my compliments to the chefs.

oh yeah, one funny memory, when Charlie and I were walking in Rome I spotted a citrus tree just over the iron fence for some fancy housing for rich people.  I climbed the fence and plucked two fruits from the tree and dropped back to street level.  Man I felt like the slyest fox until I peeled and bit into one of the most bitter, sour grapefruits of all time.  Now I know what it feels like to literally become a goddamn Aesop fable.

After a really nice (and sunny??) day off in Rome, Charlie and I caught an early tram to the termini stazioni and we hugged and he even gave me one of those european double cheek face kisses and he flew back to Portland via Chicago and I flew to London.  Peace out and see you soon, Charlie.

So I got to London and thankfully did NOT get fucked with in customs and took a bus and the tube etc to Cafe Oto, found an amazing record shop near the Dalston Junction overland stop (it's close by, look for a red A-frame on Kingsland or Kingsway or whatever) then played a really nice show at Cafe Oto courtesy of Edward/Colour Ride and Pete Johnstone's exceptionally awesome hospitality.  The next day I took a bus to Brighton, got involved in a really enjoyable One Inch Badge xmas mp3-in-a-cracker show (?), scoped the night life and slept in the Muhammed Ali room at this wacky theme hotel (only hotel of the tour and it was in the Muhammed Ali room, fuckin' life).  next day, bus back to London for the last OxIx show of the tour and pumpkin/channa roti from the Caribbean joint down the cut.  it all felt right.

Next up nice day off in London, mostly searching for old Jamaican and African vinyl, ended up wandering all over Brixton, eating raw Scotch Bonnet chilies and drinking Columbian kiwi juice, dropping the majority of my minimal cash on some Studio One classics.  Yesterday the snow suddenly got INSANE and I took a bus to Bristol.  the driver was incredibly cautionary and intense and made it seem like we were all kinda fucked but it worked out alright.  Played the last show of the tour at the Croft and my tape machines got possessed and did the weirdest shit ever and I laughed and someone told a dirty French-related joke that I didn't quite hear and finished up with another totally fucked, ruined gear symphony before pulling the tapes apart and yelling TOUR'S OVER!  with the realest smile on my face and everyone was great.

So I am still in Bristol though I should be almost in Sheffield right now visiting a friend (I'm sorry Laura!!!!!!!!!).  Feels sad but the roads up there are fucked and my bus was canceled and I'm getting a bit worried that I won't make it back to London tomorrow in time for my Tuesday flight (and I hope my Tuesday flight actually happens).  oh and Tom and Nat in Bristol are THE BEST.

Next update will hopefully be from Charlie with his epic re-cap and hopefully tons of photos.  Either that or I'll be fucking "blogging" for fucking xmas from fucking England.

xo
gordon