Sep 12 to 22 - Clockwise around France
It started out with a few near-catastrophies,
but in the end nothing ever went wrong.


(doing our thing in Clermont-Ferrant)

Sep 14 - Paris to Clermont - off we go
They had loaded up the car when I arrived at Erwan's,
early on the morning of the big departure, and I saw it
there, parked in the street all by itself, with an enormous
tow truck next to it, about to lift it up into the air with
its gigantic mechanical arm. The car, the instruments
and all, right before my very eyes... Luckily I was able
to buy some time from the tow truck driver, get Ross
downstairs with the key, and off we drove before the
angry driver could do anything about it. The night
before, when Ross and I had gone to pick up the car,
we'd found out he had made the reservation for 2008
instead of 2007 and so the car wasn't available. That
had luckily also sorted itself out, though for a few very
long minutes we thought we were toast. After those two
incidents it was all gravy. Good weather, no car trouble,
and everyone getting along famously... Well except for
the punching.


(Danielle, mocking one of France's founding fathers)


(Micah adding some sweet melodica madness to our Pavement cover at the Pop In)

Sep 12th - Paris - Pop In.
This was a couple days before actually heading out.
Ross, Michelle & Micah had already flown in to the UK
and bused over to Paris and were staying at Erwan's.
This was June Madrona's first ever show in France. They
impressed the Pop In crowd with their sing-alongs, their
dance-alongs and their all acoustic magic. My own set felt
pretty horrible though nobody in the audience seemed to
notice. It was probably just the monitors or something.
I didn't let that first night worry me though. I was pretty
sure the rest of the tour would be more enjoyable...


(Ross checking out the sewn Kütu cd sleeves in the Puit de la Lune's fancy black light)


(the three musketeers in Clermont, waiting downstairs outside Damien's)

Sep 14th - Clermont-Ferrant - le Puit de la Lune.
We arrived with enough spare time to check out the local
record store (Spliff) and black-stoned cathedral. We were all
staying at Damien's (LeopOld Skin) who was himself staying
at François' (St Augustine) whom we met by chance in the
street, on his way to the doctor's. Damien played that night,
as did Derek Delano. Erwan and I were in familiar territory
having already met and played with the Kütu bunch.


(getting ready to leave Damien's the next "morning")


(Chillin' at Martin's and getting reaquainted with the Martin I sold him)

Sep 15th - Lyon - Grrrnd Zero.
Lyon brought more familiar faces, as well as some new ones.
There was Alexis who helped set everything up and knew
everyone from Olympia, François Virot who played with us
in the Grrrnd Zero space, (...).


(playing in near darkness in Grrrnd Zero's huge, windowless, carpeted, ferry-like room)


(only our second night away and already real beds. Lyon was good to us in more ways than one)

Sep 16th - Grenoble - Galway Pub.
More friends await in Grenoble as we were staying
with Martin (HitchcockGoHome!) who also helped set up
the show (...)


(Ross unpacking in front of the closed Grenoble pub)


(Erwan, Micah & Ross, pausing for gas and to soak up the scenery somewhere south of Grenoble)

Sep 17th - Barjols - Atelier de Martine Caris.
We reached the (rather expensive) end of the French Autoroute
and ventured onto the narrow winding roads of the Haut Var (...).


(June Madrona, playing at dusk, in front of a large open window, Barjols)


(singing in the hot hot heat of El Inca's crowded basement)

Sep 18th - Toulouse - la Médiathèque Associative.
more to come (...).


(sometimes stomping leads to tap dancing - Toulouse)


(the loudest crowd any of us had ever seen... I mean heard - Bordeaux)

Sep 19th - Bordeaux - El Inca.
and stuff about Squeeze Me I Squeak (...).


(Erwan, on his knees, in the grips of a heavy metal bass solo)


(J.F. Buy, I'll let you guess where)

Sep 20th - Rennes - Mondo Bizarro.
and Rennes venues (...) and bands.


(same place, different band - Rennes)


(Rum Tum Tiddles at the Violon Dingue in their full pirate shirt splendor - Nantes)

Sep 21th - Nantes - le Violon Dingue.
Not to forget Rum Tum Tiddles... etc.


(Micah time)

Sep 22th - Orléans - le Chiendent.
Yada yada yada... le Chiendent... bla bla.


(the cold I caught in Rennes, catching up with me in drizzly Orléans)