Leipzig 2. So after breakfast in our nice hotel in Leipzig, I thought I would go for a swim in the hotel pool. There is a lot of sitting around on tour waiting for things to happen, so a bit of exercise is always a good idea. And I like swimming. So I go to the hotel pool and when I walk into the fitness centre, a severe and disapproving lady frowns at me and points at my shoes. You cant wear those in here! Oh, I say, I just wanted to see the pool. No, you cant see the pool. Then she points to a TV monitor where she implies I can see the pool, but after five minutes of changing screens with lists of fitness and well-being options, pictures of pine trees and smiling beauties having massages with pebbles on their backs still no picture of the pool. Oh...and you have to pay for it too. The grumpy lady is still staring at me in my scruffy jeans, so I think Sod this. Im off . Adam had mentioned going to the Bach museum so I call him to check he has not left and then meet him in the lobby. The museum is just past the main market square and opposite the St Thomas church where he played the organ, was Kapellmeister and I believe is buried. There is a big statue of him too. The museum is great. It is incredible how prolific he was. Not just a great composer, but leading organist, teacher, improviser and at the forefront of instrument development and the development of scale temperament (tuning concepts). He also had 20 kids! There was a great room full of instruments including some baroque recorders and flutes of all sizes. We walked back to the hotel via the main square and happened to pass a jazz club where Adam had played and a poster is still in the window of him and his band. Cool. At the hotel, I call home and hear some surprising and unsettling news that some family friends have separated. The backstage of the Leipzig gig was kind of weird. A huge very white room and long white corridors with bright white lights hanging from meccano like metal strips. No graffiti anywhere and lots of rooms off the corridors with not much in them. Someone commented that the main backstage room was more like a gymnasium. Our gig that evening went well. The stage was small, so on the songs I dont play on, I just sat on a chair at the side of the stage. The gigs seem to be at a consistently very high level now even when there are new songs in the set. After the gig some of us went out to sign some autographs while Steven played Guthrie some amazing Aphex Twin and Squarepusher tracks (eg first track of his first album). Then snack, more Breaking Bad on the bus and bed. Have the bumpiest night on the bus I can remember so not a great nights sleep. When I get up, it is Good morning, Vienna (means nothing to me...).
Posted on: Sat, 02 Nov 2013 13:14:26 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015