Finland

After a few weeks back in Austin we headed back across the pond,
this time to Finland as part of the Kiasma Festival.
We performed at Espoo City Theatre on October 11th and 12th.
Our first day after our tech they booked us on a little bus tour where we saw a monument to composer Jean Sibelius and Temppeliaukio Kirkko (Rock Church) that was created out from a rocky outcrop that rose about 40 feet above street level, and had it's walls blasted out the from the inside.
Although we stayed and performed in Espoo, nights were spent with the Kiasma staff in Helsinki, eating good food and drinking, at a couple of bars owned by the The Brothers Karamazov and then going to a bar that used to be a haunt of Hanoi Rocks!!!
The final day we went down to the harbor to see the last day of the Long Boat Festival and catch the end of the outdoor farmers market for the season.
Shawn and I decided to good to Suomenlinna, the large fort in the harbor, on this very cold, and rainy day.
The island fort was eerily empty as the rain and wind swept across it. And we soon felt as if we were in the middle of some weird horror movie (werewolf I think).
Somehow we made it out back for one last good dinner and the sad end to a wonderful tour. This was truly one of the greatest experiences of my life!

Bumbershoot

So now back to the USA and back to being treated like rock stars and were else would be better than at a music festival. The Bumbershoot 2007 Festival in Seattle was quite a treat for us. In addition to all of the of the natural beauty that the Seattle region has to offer, we also got to perform in the world class facilities of the Seattle Repertory Theatre in the Bagley Wright Theatre. The weather was amazing the people were generous, we stayed at the Crown Plaza Hotel along with John Legend and a host of other performers at the festival. I saw some amazing music including Devotchka, Barrington Levy, Andrew Bird, Honeycut, Gogol Bordello, and my personal favorite Zap Mama. Seeing Zap Mama was like watching the perfect blend of Bjork and Funkadelic, I think it has been years since I have seen a performance of that caliber. The festival took place at THe Seattle Center which is a 10 square block of land down town under the Space Needle and right next to the Frank Gehry Music and Sci Fi museum. We also went to the Pikes Place Market were there was miles of fresh fish, flowers and hand crafts, a feast for the senses, and yes I did watch them throw some fish around. All in all it was amazing trip but I am happy to be back in Austin for 3 weeks before we go off to Helsinki.

Edinburgh: week 4

So this was the final week in Edinburgh. The week were you run around like crazy trying to see everything you possibly can and buy as many gifts for people as you can still afford.  Train trips to Sterling Castle one day , Blackness Castle/ Linlithgow Palace and finally out to North Berwick to go swimming in the North Sea. It was also the week to see the last couple of performances that you could catch before the festival is over (there are over 1,000 different performances over the month!!!).  So I went to see the Aska Japanese drum troupe, The Soweto Gospel Choir from South Africa, a Brazilian dance company and finally an incredible sound installation by Ray Lee [UK] called Siren. This week was a time to be happy to return to our loved ones, even if only for one day, and a time to be sad as we said goodbye to some truly amazing people.
Week 4 was also the week to do all the things that had become a part of our everyday lives..... one last trip to The Mussel Inn, another pint of Belhavens Best and one last all nighter with our international group of cronies.
The Edinburgh Fringe Festival was truly one of the most amazing trips of my life and I only hope I will get to return some day.
Now off to Seattle.

Edinburgh: week 3

So week three is the one were you feel like you are in a real groove but also start becoming aware of the fact that the stay is slowly wrapping up. So Ron, Jose and I took a bus out to Cramdon Village to see some coast line and cast a view out to the North Sea, I also decided to try a local dish called chicken highlander: chicken breast stuffed with haggis and wraped in bacon (what was I thinking?). On our day off this week some of the Aurora Nova staff organized a pot luck at the theater. It was so great to hang out and talk to performers from all over the world, at one point I think I counted six different languages being spoken at one time. The night was full of fun, food, and drink and ended in a long musical jam session. I went to see Alan Cummings in a new reworking of Bacchae as part of the International Theatre Festival. It was really fun to watch, great special effects and fun R&B chorus. Jason, Jose and I hiked Arthur's Seat to get the most amazing view of the surrounding area. We also saw the Palace of Holyroodhouse, where the Queen stays when she is in Scotland, and the new Parliament building which I think is quite nice looking, but is evidently very controversial with locals. 

Edinburgh: week 2

So after a week of some tech problems and small houses we are up and running!
Our German crew is great and are putting in some insane hours to keep our venue going. I have already seen some really amazing work here, a beautiful puppet show form Georgia, some cabaret about death from France and an amazing table instrument from Poland (4 compositions, 4 players, 1 incredible table).
I must say that it is very strange to be in a city this size that is completely over run by theater and art people. This truly in the biggest arts festival I have ever seen!
Shawn, Jason and I went to Edinbrugh Castle. Uber tourist, but great history and wide view of the area. I think I found a family name in the historical records that are kept there.
We recieved a great local review and The London Times is doing a piece on the show this week, still waiting to here from the BBC...
So far everyone has been really great to us, and it looks like James Kelman old friend of the Rude Mechs and world renowned author is going to come to the show next week.

Edinburgh: week 1

We arrived in Scotland on Sunday evening and made our way to our respective flats (boys and girls). The women are about a block from the theater/church we are performing in, St. Stevens. Monday was a brutal day, we started it by walking all over downtown Edinburgh looking for a military drill hall were our Irish friends had sent our luggage so that we would not have to pay $1500 to bring our other equipment on the plane, than onto an 8 hour tech rehersal (our only one until opening) with an Isreali light board whos logic was so cryptic that felt like I might as well have been using Aramaic to program it. Anyway our german tech crew of Peter, Robert and Rico were awsome. Tuesday was fun Ron, Jose and I went to eat lunch at the Muscle Inn off of Rose Street..... Oh my God the food was out of this world a 1/2 kilo of shallot muscles later and I could have died a happy man. Next was food shopping and than a few chill hours at home. That evening Ron and I joined the ladies (Shawn, Lana, and Elizabeth) for the Haunted City tour, where they walk you around a graveyard were they buried some 200,000 people over the years in graves that were not always legal, and tel you stories off witch trials and plauges. Than we went and had a drink @ Whistle Inkies which was like an Edinbrugh version of Room 710 or Emos were we met our first bonifed ass hole of the trip.

Galway Arts Festival

Firts stop the 30th annual Galway Arts Festival.
Galway is a beautidul little town on the western coast of Ireland.
We performed at the lovely Town Hall Theatre which seats about 400 people. All four shows were packed and the audience seemed to really respond to the show, in fact the cast was constantly being stoped on the streets of the city and being thanked for doing the show. I think that lots of people want to like America in spite of our jack ass leaders and are happy to find out that we all just don't blindly agree with them.
Anyway the festival staff and crew were just amazingly nice and the whole thing ran like a well oiled machine. I guess 30 years and real government support can really make a difference.
Did a bus tour with the boys and had a really great tour guide named Billy who made lots of crude jokes. Seeing Moher Cliffs was amazing and playing Goonies in Aillwee Cave was pretty fun. Drank lots of Guinness and yes it is better in Ireland much, much better. In fact I do not think I will ever be able to drink it again in the States.
Now off to Scotland.

Get Your War On: Surge 2007

On tour with Rude Mechs in Ireland, Scotland, Finland with US stops in Seattle and Austin.
From July 22 - Oct. 14th
This is a staged production based on Davis Reeses internet comic Get Your War On