WROCLAW, WARSAW & LODZ:
We drove through Czech towards Wroclaw and realized very quickly that there isn't really a "highway" once you get into Poland. The last time I toured in Poland, it was by train, so I was not prepared for very, very slow-going rural roads. We stopped to get some picnic stuff & buy some cheap groceries in Poland. I was stoked on low prices and stocked up on some stuff, thinking I was really getting a good deal. Immediately after checking out, the bag holding our 3 beers bottomed out and they smashed on the floor of the grocery store. I really, really, really felt like a dick. Sorry, small town grocery store somewhere near the Czech border.
When we finally got to Wroclaw, we were late & folks were waiting around for us. The show was booked right when we left town, so it was all last minute anyway. It ended up being a really great gig at a theater. Everyone was super nice & Rafaele was an amazing host. I really like this city & met some great people. I wanted to visit the incredibly well organized and inspiring C.R.K. squat, but it is being renovated until early 2012 (with help from a hefty grant from the city of Wroclaw, which is absolutely amazing and the kind of thing that never really happens in the US). Keep in up, Wroclaw. But please, please, please stop inciting violence because of football. It is very, very, very stupid.
When we finally got to Wroclaw, we were late & folks were waiting around for us. The show was booked right when we left town, so it was all last minute anyway. It ended up being a really great gig at a theater. Everyone was super nice & Rafaele was an amazing host. I really like this city & met some great people. I wanted to visit the incredibly well organized and inspiring C.R.K. squat, but it is being renovated until early 2012 (with help from a hefty grant from the city of Wroclaw, which is absolutely amazing and the kind of thing that never really happens in the US). Keep in up, Wroclaw. But please, please, please stop inciting violence because of football. It is very, very, very stupid.
The next day we drove to Warsaw. It took fucking HOURS, again. Apparently, Warsaw is hosting some sort of massive football match in June 2012, and they are apparently working on a new highway system that appears to be nowhere near completion. Good luck guys. So the path to Warsaw was the same kind of rural roads passing through small towns, no highways, very pretty but painfully slow & often gridlocked. We even got pulled over by the police. It was the weirdest cop experience I have ever had. Basically, we were cruising down this country road (after being gridlocked for ages), and a man in a police uniform hopped out with this flashing paddle thing, apparently signifying that we needed to pull over. Sure. Thankfully Giuseppe speaks passable German (not the first, nor last time this will come in handy), because none of us speak Polish and the cops did not speak English or Italian. Apparently they were extremely friendly and just wanted a bribe. They took our 50 euros and let us go with a "warning." I hope they enjoyed their 50 euros and every single beer bottle they bought with it embarrassingly smashed on the floor of their local grocer. Fuckers.
So of course it took 8 hours to drive 300 km and we were late to the Warsaw gig. Thankfully it wasn't a big deal and we even got to eat some soup and drink a beer while the first few performances went down. The show was at Eufemia, again where Charlie & I performed last year. Still great, still seems the same, please keep up the good work dudes. It was an awesome show, no problems, great sets, nothing more to say other than THANKS. We stayed with Sergei (aka MAAA, one of the best contemporary harsh noise acts), his wife Rena, and their brand new baby boy, Roman Sampo. Man, what a treat it was to not only see Sergei & Rena again, but to meet their three-week old baby. I haven't had a lot of baby experience, but I must say, Roman seemed extremely well behaved.
In the morning, we headed to Lodz, now accompanied by both Sergei & Stas (aka Nyctalops), who came from Russia to perform the Warsaw & Lodz gigs, as well as Berlin. Nyctalops is a great harsh noise project which I highly encourage checking out. The car was packed as we get a very early start in anticipation of the sssssllllooowwww Polish roadways. Thankfully it was a shorter distance and wasn't as harsh. We got into Lodz early, loaded our gear into Justynia's house, chilled with her cat, and went out for some awesome Polish food. I ate something called a CRIPSY ROLLER (the anglicized version of the Polish term), which was AWESOME. And also a killer potato pancake with green mushroom sauce (see photo above). Very nice. I haven't been able to do laundry since leaving home, so I was keen on buying some fresh boxer shorts to freshen up until we have the chance to wash our clothes. Buying underwear at a massive department store in Poland is very funny but not really recommended. I walked away with one really hilarious pair that seems to fit fine, and two other pairs that I am pretty sure will be way too snug. Not a bad way to spend $2.00 and 10 minutes of life, though. Then we went to the gig, in a(nother) industrial, weathered part of Lodz, at the venue DOM. It's a very nice place and the show started on a very promising tip. Then it got really rough and I will spare the details. Regardless, thank you Lodz. We were sad to part ways with Sergei this morning, but he had to get back to his family. Today we drove back to Wroclaw (it surprisingly, took a really long time), for a night off to hang with Rafaele, take it easy, and get some rest before a weekend in Berlin.
Thank you, Poland.
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