Photo: Hairy Fairy press conference at the Festival Les Vieilles Charrues in Carhaix, France.
NICE, FRANCE: EXTREME BEFORE, BEFORE & AFTER
Upon rolling into Nice around 5pm after driving from Faernza, Italy, we immediately jumped in the unnaturally warm and clear Mediterranean Sea. The French Rivera, guys! I felt the itch to get in some body water after our super-hot times sans swimming in Italy and Sicily. Luckey got some tanning time before one of the most awe-inspiring moons I'd ever seen descended on us and we didn't know where to go from that. I tried man.. I tried.. but my camera just couldn't get it in its majesty. The moon was somehow too big and beautiful to fit inside my camera.
We played at the Nice Jazz Festival; another incredibly fancy festival that left us feeling like poor (in skill) musicians among amazing (in skill) and professional jazz and world musicians. Don't get me wrong, we were/are all incredibly gracious of the invitation and the once-in-a-lifetime chance to play at something like this, I just felt like we were sort of the outcasts or something of the festival. Did you see that picture?! Look at who played on that stage! Not to say that we played poorly or that we weren't well-recieved (we totally were, in all respects), I'm just sayin'... but I don't know what, exactly.
I will say this: Our hotel hosted nightly free improv jazz jam-sessions in the bar. All of the guests of the hotel were invited and many a jazz musician just so happened to be staying at the hotel. Devendra played a killer improv piano jam. I wish I'd seen it and video'd it..
I made sure to include some French Rivera and crazy moon footage in this post's video, and additionally, I submitted a video piece to Steve Schroeder's ever-growing Soothing Websites phenomenon.
CLERGOUX, FRANCE: BEFORE & AFTER
Clergoux is in the middle of nowhere in sort of a utopian countryside-magical-castle-land. Noah went missing up to 2 minutes before the show, then suddenly we felt his presence coming from the woods. We turned around and saw his body bobbing up and down slowly in stride on his way out of the woods and sunset, and towards us. It was a magical moment. I think this was our second-smallest show? We didn't know any of the bands we played with and it didn't seem like anyone knew us. We played first and after finishing we almost immediately headed on our journey to Carhaix where something massive awaited us.
CARHAIX, FRANCE: EXTREME BEFORE, BEFORE & AFTER
Did I really play in a show in front of the equivalent of the small town I grew up in... times TWO? 20,000 people? For reals? I guess this is what I wanted, right? Practicing drums to Stone Temple Pilots videos on MTV and covering countless Nirvana songs in bands from 5th grade to the present..
The Sound of 20,000 People
(1.5MB - MP3)
I wasn't even nervous. Festivals are so weird and surreal that you don't even realize what's actually happening. This festival was incredible. They had free massages, ping-pong, foosball, laundry.. everything we could ask for.. all backstage and ready for us. The entire staff was so incredibly warm to us. Thank you Carhaix! Thank you Festival Les Vieilles Charrues! We played on the crazy-large Kerouac Stage where Iggy Pop played a couple hours later. After our show had a press conference.. I'm trying to locate some photos or video from that.. it was the best thing we've ever done as a band. So much better than our shows..
Here's some stuff from those three shows:
Nice, Clergoux, & Carhaix
(12.7MB - VIDEO MP4)
Next I'll tell you about our horrible 19-hour ferry ride from France to Ireland and our night in Cork with Donovan. Mellow Yellow, dudes. Mellow EFFING Yellow.
Truly,
Jona
hey dood,
i'm truly enjoying living your rock star lifestyle vicariously through your blog. i don't want this tour to end! 8^)
what confuses me about some of these festivals is that they are called jazz festivals but they seem to be all over the map as far as who is actually playing and not being strictly jazz focused like you would find in america at a jazz festival.
oh, and we went to astoria on sunday. sarah and i had been saying forever that we wanted to get out to the lunar boy gallery, http://lunarboygallery.com , and we call molly and curt up to see if they want to go and they are already in astoria! totally randomness.
anyway, i can't believe how much astoria has changed since i was there last. growing up in longview i was always fascinated by the place because of short circuit and goonies but there wasn't really anything to do there it seemed. now it's becoming a real tourist spot, in a good way so far it seems.
i doubt longview will ever see that kind of revitalization. 8^)
För those of you who, like me, can't get enough of videos from this tour:
http://www.vieillescharrues.asso.fr/actualites/2005/samedi.php
wow - that photo up top had me wonderin'.. . and thinking.. . and held in awe.
then I gave up and wondered some more.
JONA! if you and khaela and anna aren't playing a portland show for the fall tour, you will be branded as crazy and i will draw with crayons all over my copy of mega. so you better do it.
i didnt want to email this because email is messy and you can get things lost easier. GOODBYE.
jona you and the guys were awesome at the empire. when devendra plays with a band its totally different but equally as amazing as without.
the cover of doo wop by lauren hill was sublime
cheers man
peace and love j
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Jona,
You are way too modest. I'm sure your talents and gifts we appreciated by the crowds.
We had an amazing moon this side of the world as well and many incredible low tides.
As I got up this morning and first saw the mysterious fog which quickly has burned off and another gorgeous day is upon us, it is increasingly more difficult for me to imagine leaving Astoria. ships plying the river , imagining all the fish swimming by, and the serenity of the blue waters..
Last night's paper headlined a Cali developer who is planning to build 90 condos right next to the old Cold Storage at Pier 39. Astoria has truly been discovered. though it is nothing close to the Eurpoe you are visiting.
Love,
Dad