This was my first gig in the former DDR. Well, except for shows in East Berlin of course, but that’s different, it is, after all, still Berlin. The venue in Dresden, Kunsthof Gohlis, is a really cool open art space on the outskirts of town. At first I was a little nervous that attendance would be thin, as the only audience half an hour before show time were two cats and a confused little dog. Everybody seemed to come in at once about 10 minutes before advertised stage time – the audience a good 15 years older than the average age of the last couple of shows, not that that matters, just an observation, but also perhaps a reason why this was the first gig I’ve ever played where nobody in the audience spoke much English (most of these folk having learnt Russian in school in stead of English). So I tried the best I could to compensate by explaining the motivations and story arcs of the songs beforehand. The audience here was incredibly attentive and appreciative – a really wonderful and comfortable two hours for me! Thanks very much for having me and for being so nice!
One thing that always gets me – It doesn’t matter where in the world you are, whether you’re in a multicultural capitol or in a little village, whenever you play a Beatles song everybody sings along. A little more poignant in a town where just over 20 ago people where illegally and at own personal risk listening to west radio and TV stations to hear what songs live in the west.