Amsterdam, Holland, Tuesday, April 2, 2008

I really wish I could keep a daily log of happenings on this tour but we are literally running from place to place nonstop with little or no break. Plus there has been a lot of bullshit in the meantime. Where do I start?

First of all, our gig in Bucharest was a freakin circus. From the 8 hour wait at the Vienna airport for our incorrectly booked flight, to the crappy hotel the promoter booked which ran out of running water to the next hotel resembling a murder scene in which me and Jag ended up going to take showers, the entire experience was something I’d like to forget soon. I mean, no one on this tour is a diva believe it or not. But no running water at the hotel?!?!? Even though the promoter showed very little concern for us and even argued with Bahamadia outside the venue, we still chalked it up, did an extremely professional job and gave the audience in Romania exactly what they paid for; an amazing show. Immediately following the show, we headed to the airport which was a final nail in the coffin that was our trip to Bucharest. The entire airport was like a Chuckie Cheese on the busiest Saturday afternoon of the year. People everywhere, no order, everyone bumping us, stepping on feet, some girl fainted, people were throwing up, and none of the staff seemed to have any idea where we were supposed to go to catch our flight to Paris. It was a miracle that we made it out of that city on time. Unbelievable…

We made it to Paris, all feeling like zombies, after not sleeping or eating in over 24 hours. Not to mention that the hotel mishap prevented some of us from showering. Once we arrived at the hotel, there was some other issue and the rooms were not ready. I think this was pretty much the breaking point for most of us after so many hours of chaos. Thankfully our road manager, Gez is really level headed and knows how to get results quickly. The room situation got sorted out after about a half hour and we were on our way to sleep for a few hours before going out to dinner to laugh and joke about what we had just experienced a few hours ago. The show the following night was sold out and as usual extremely live. We even got the chance to catch up with some old friends and tear the sneaker shops up while in the city. Business as usual. Off to London…

The trip to the UK was pretty smooth and nearly got accomplished without a smudge. That is, until we got to border control. They gave us the ultimate run around because we didn’t have our working papers with us. The booking agent simply forgot to send them with all the other important information so we got stuck for about an hour at customs which caused us to miss our ferry to the UK. We then had to wait another 2 hours for the next boat and then drive another hour & a half to London. Again, straight to sound check followed by a 20 minute window to eat, shower, get dressed and get back to the venue to start spinning. This life is hectic but I wouldn’t trade it. Surprisingly the show at the Jazz Café wasn’t sold out as we expected but the decent crowd that did come out was really appreciative and not shy about expressing it. One guy even had Jag’s name tattooed on his back. We linked up with our friends Yarah Bravo who opened the show and DJ Vadim back stage and got the chance to have some laughs with them before it was time to head back to the hotel. I was so damn tired I made the mistake of leaving my laptop and all my serato stuff at the venue. Fortunately I realized it as soon as I got to the hotel lobby and was able to go back to retrieve it.

This morning we left the UK, made the ferry just in time and got to Holland after nearly 12 hours of traveling. Too bad the Amsterdam show ended up getting canceled. After some of the days we’ve had on this tour, a day off was nothing to complain about. Not to mention that our drummer got the chicken pox somewhere between Paris, London, and Holland. It’s been a challenge overall but mad fun. Will be seeing Philly in a few days. Chea…

Last 5 posts in Philly Freelance

• Icon The Mic King Tour Blog 4/28 - April 28th, 2008
• Icon The Mic King Tour Blog 4/11/08 - April 11th, 2008
• DJ Statik Tour Blog 4/9/08 - April 9th, 2008
• Icon The Mic King Tour Blog 4/4/08 - April 4th, 2008
• Hezekiah & DJ Statik Tour Blog 3/27/08 - March 27th, 2008