Hamburg, Ostsee & Co.

“Hoch im Norden” – Up North is where I was from 8 -17 February. I was in the lucky position of being able to play support for Alex Behning & Band at four gigs in venues across Germany’s flatlands.

On Wednesday evening, we packed the car to the sound of the jingle jangle of the Butzenlauf – the “Narren” were getting ready for the start of the “Fasnet”, which loosely translates to carnival time in Konstanz. We wanted to be prepared to set off early on Thursday morning: to drive 830 km to Hamburg.

Villa im Park was the first gig. The bar was full of old friends and a few new faces! During the soundcheck, Sven and I played through the two songs Sven was accompanying me on piano/keyboard. And then it was already time to start! My little warm-up set began with a lullaby: Circles. This was followed by two-part medley made up of Hollow & Hill and True to Yourself. Next came Those that I’ve loved, accompanied by Sven on piano and some whistling by me on my Shaw A tin whistle. And then Turn the Land and finally My Darling, with Sven adding some Rhode Island sound from the keyboard!

That was Friday night. Saturday saw us all meet again at Defmusic – Detlev Marten’s music school. Detlev is the drummer in Alex Behning’s band. His school is a great place for people of all ages to learn and play music. Have a look! Fancy trying out the piano or a guitar, a bass or a drumset? It’s all there!

We had a few days off, which we took advantage of to take a trip to Sylt and be blown to bits by the strong North Sea “breeze” on the beach. Talk about bracing!

Reunited with Georg, Sven, Detlef and now Wulf, too, we met at the Strandhotel in Steinberghaff on the Baltic Coast for Currywurst, Schnitzel and then music. Sina joined the band to reinterpret three of Alex’s older songs together with Georg and Sven. It was a great evening thanks to the musical Dudek Family and the wonderful views of the sea from the windows of the room we were playing in.

Whenever I play My Darling, I talk a bit about Somerset and The Levels. I was gobsmacked after the gig to find out that a man in the audience was actually from Somerset! It was great talking to you!

The final gig was Wilster. Wilster’s Kulturhaus was a perfect setting for an evening full of friends, family, songs and home-coming. @ Astrid – I’m still amazed that we have met again!

Thanks to Alex, Georg, Detlev, Wulf and Sven for letting me be part of the team and doing support. I’m looking forward to more!