Climb the Highest Mountain
Ahhhhh, a midsummer night's scream high in the beautiful Austrian Alps, Gods and Monsters had the most amazing gig as part of the Salzkammergut Festival last Saturday night at the Ebensee Kino where I had last performed with "The Golem" many many years ago--beautiful, scenic Ebensee (just down the road apiece from Berchtesgaden)...
Getting there was half the fun (not) (but whatcha gonna do about it, it's all part of the load, and I am a road warrior), sitting on the ground at Newark airport for oh maybe 2 hours waiting for an incoming connecting flight to funnel passengers onto our jumbo jet, thus we of course ever so paradoxically missed our connecting flight in Frankfurt (a curiously newly smoke-free Frankfurt airport, which useta be the most fetid wheezebag in Europe with myriad choking smoke-filled corridors), and were re-routed to Munich, where Gary's gang (Jason, Ernie, Joey, and Billy--Jerry was MIA, family medical emergency over Carol's gammy leg--get well soon, Carol!) were soon trucked in an airport van over hill and dale on a bouncy 2 hour plus sun-dappled drive out of Germany into Ostereich to lovely Salzburg (Gisburg's ancestral home)-- we tried sleeping along the way but it was tough what with all the sunlight (I'm a photophiliac on the best of days but still), eventually made it to our hotel okay only about 3 hours past due, skipped the Lippizaner Stallion show (just kidding), and spent a hilarious night in the old town eating bratwurst and frankfurters and drinking the local weissbeer before it was time for coffee, brandy, and Sacher(masoch)tortes at the Hotel Sacher, Salzburg branch (the one in Vienna useta have a permanent 365 days a year suite reserved for the master, Leonard Bernstein--my original hero in music, my inspiration--"Music's Monarch" is how the NY Times described him in their front page lead upon his death some years ago--Lenny spoke very highly of my playing when I met him at the American ambassador's residence in Vienna in 1973, and encouraged me to "really wail" on my guitar at the European premiere of his "Mass" at the Vienna Konzerthaus (hi Eva), where I was holding down the electric guitar chair with the Yale Symphony Orchestra)...
Next day it was another drive 'oer the Alpine ridges up the mountain and past turquoise lakes so pure you can drink from them with impunity and we settled in at our pensione, really nice woman running it, then Ernie, Jason and I were driven over to a nearby lake by the propietoress and we sat lakeside taking in the views and sipped and supped on the local brew and more grilled bratz (ever since the 2000 European Gods and Monsters tour with Ernie and Jonathan Kane, Ernie and I have been on a quest in search of the perfect grilled brat--Thuringen probably has the best of the wurst) and later Ernie ventured a swim in the icy waters but soon retreated due to major shrinkage, we then slept for a few hours and around 5pm began loading the promoter's van (Klaus Wallinger, he and his brother Konrad were 2 of the nicest and most gracious promoters I've ever had the pleasure of meeting) in the middle of a sudden drenching rain bordering on hail (a meteorlogical phenomenon it's hard to describe, but I recall something similar once in Palermo where Jonathan, Rhys Chatham and I had to take cover on the veranda of an outdoor restaurant on one of the hottest days of the summer to dodge an icy douche of sudden incoming hail whizzing down as big as marbles--puries, poppers, all sizes, a sudden stop and the deadly crystals melted on the hot patio but only after piercing and wrecking several deckside table umbrellas, you want to get out of the way of these)...
When we loaded the van Billy was missing for a few tense minutes but happily was found walking down the road back to pensione a bit later by the promoter, he'd been caught out in the rain after a solitary stroll through the village and was thus delayed, no matter, we soundchecked together, went to dinner at a lovely local restaurant, and feasted on fresh grilled seibling, a happy surprise was the arrival of my friend Martin Tiefenthaler and his lady who had driven up for the gig all the way from Vienna (I played at Martin's 50th birthday party last year)...
we then went to the venue and hit the stage around 9pm to a very gratifying full house, folks of all ages...
Gods and Monsters at the Salzkammergut Festival, Ebensee Austria 7/12/08
photos by Werner Haider | Click to enlarge
and yes we did kill 'em, no lie...we were on fire...such a good rush of energy and group cameraderie, I love to play with these guys, and we really excel on the road--highlights were the horn and guitar interplay on "Foggy Road" and "One Man's Meat" ( Joe Hendel was all over the keys and bone, Jason Candler the incendiary sax maniac played a beautiful unaccompanied solo with fx before my solo version of "Hellhound on my Trail", the rhythm section of Ernie and Billy never sounded more locked and grooving), also the howls of delight from the crowd at the conclusion of our journey into the pre-Raphaelite mystic "The Lady of Shalott", and the rapturous reception we received after we closed with a newie called "Climb the Highest Mountain" which we dedicated (natch) to the people of Ebensee surrounded as they are by such sumptuous misty alpine vistas, the rain had tapered off and the crowd was so super enthusiastic we could have played for them all night, we cut it short though after the 3rd encore though (always leave 'em wanting more my father once told me, and damn good advice), plus Ernie had broken a string, always a sign of a great gig for us...I sold all the merch I'd brought with me, people were clamoring too for "the cd with the last song on it" (we're still putting finishing touches on that one), the fans were so warm and friendly afterwards and the promoters called it "the most brilliant concert there in years" (yes) (blush blush)...this was one of the Great gigs for us--I am more determined than ever to get our band in front of a whole lot more people in the next year--step out of New Yawk and play and it's a whole other world out there (ie, not jaded)...
Off in a few hours with Caroline to New Orleans, heading down there to record a new album with producer Mark Bingham as The Du-Tels with my longtime friend and pardner the great Peter Stampfel an American treasure...
Speaking of American treasures check out the writings of my pal the fantastic Nick Tosches, who I've been hanging with lately--Nick's latest "The King of the Jews" (Ecco/HarperCollins) about fabled NYC crime boss Arnold Rothstein is an incredible read, one of the best damn book I've read in years...
My friend Dusty Wright (major domo of Culturecatch.com) and I are hooking up with cellist Matt Goeke next Tuesday when I get back in town for a new roots collaboration called GDM (I'm the G, he's the D, Matt is the M) which we are debuting at the Lakeside Lounge over on Ave. B and 10th in the East Village-- stay tuned...
And if you're in NYC, run don't walk to see "Expatriate", a new two woman drama about race, friendship, sexuality and fame which opened last night at the Culture Project's theater in Tribeca on lower Broome--presented by the Culture Project's Women Center Stage and artistic director Allen Buchman, the play stars the writer/composer Lenelle Moise and Karla Mosley who are both simply phenomenal presences on stage, such fresh talent delivering a live word-jazz-rap-and-otherwise a capella electronic score brimming with ideas and vitality--a real find, this pair, and this production...
xxLove
Gary
Getting there was half the fun (not) (but whatcha gonna do about it, it's all part of the load, and I am a road warrior), sitting on the ground at Newark airport for oh maybe 2 hours waiting for an incoming connecting flight to funnel passengers onto our jumbo jet, thus we of course ever so paradoxically missed our connecting flight in Frankfurt (a curiously newly smoke-free Frankfurt airport, which useta be the most fetid wheezebag in Europe with myriad choking smoke-filled corridors), and were re-routed to Munich, where Gary's gang (Jason, Ernie, Joey, and Billy--Jerry was MIA, family medical emergency over Carol's gammy leg--get well soon, Carol!) were soon trucked in an airport van over hill and dale on a bouncy 2 hour plus sun-dappled drive out of Germany into Ostereich to lovely Salzburg (Gisburg's ancestral home)-- we tried sleeping along the way but it was tough what with all the sunlight (I'm a photophiliac on the best of days but still), eventually made it to our hotel okay only about 3 hours past due, skipped the Lippizaner Stallion show (just kidding), and spent a hilarious night in the old town eating bratwurst and frankfurters and drinking the local weissbeer before it was time for coffee, brandy, and Sacher(masoch)tortes at the Hotel Sacher, Salzburg branch (the one in Vienna useta have a permanent 365 days a year suite reserved for the master, Leonard Bernstein--my original hero in music, my inspiration--"Music's Monarch" is how the NY Times described him in their front page lead upon his death some years ago--Lenny spoke very highly of my playing when I met him at the American ambassador's residence in Vienna in 1973, and encouraged me to "really wail" on my guitar at the European premiere of his "Mass" at the Vienna Konzerthaus (hi Eva), where I was holding down the electric guitar chair with the Yale Symphony Orchestra)...
Next day it was another drive 'oer the Alpine ridges up the mountain and past turquoise lakes so pure you can drink from them with impunity and we settled in at our pensione, really nice woman running it, then Ernie, Jason and I were driven over to a nearby lake by the propietoress and we sat lakeside taking in the views and sipped and supped on the local brew and more grilled bratz (ever since the 2000 European Gods and Monsters tour with Ernie and Jonathan Kane, Ernie and I have been on a quest in search of the perfect grilled brat--Thuringen probably has the best of the wurst) and later Ernie ventured a swim in the icy waters but soon retreated due to major shrinkage, we then slept for a few hours and around 5pm began loading the promoter's van (Klaus Wallinger, he and his brother Konrad were 2 of the nicest and most gracious promoters I've ever had the pleasure of meeting) in the middle of a sudden drenching rain bordering on hail (a meteorlogical phenomenon it's hard to describe, but I recall something similar once in Palermo where Jonathan, Rhys Chatham and I had to take cover on the veranda of an outdoor restaurant on one of the hottest days of the summer to dodge an icy douche of sudden incoming hail whizzing down as big as marbles--puries, poppers, all sizes, a sudden stop and the deadly crystals melted on the hot patio but only after piercing and wrecking several deckside table umbrellas, you want to get out of the way of these)...
When we loaded the van Billy was missing for a few tense minutes but happily was found walking down the road back to pensione a bit later by the promoter, he'd been caught out in the rain after a solitary stroll through the village and was thus delayed, no matter, we soundchecked together, went to dinner at a lovely local restaurant, and feasted on fresh grilled seibling, a happy surprise was the arrival of my friend Martin Tiefenthaler and his lady who had driven up for the gig all the way from Vienna (I played at Martin's 50th birthday party last year)...
we then went to the venue and hit the stage around 9pm to a very gratifying full house, folks of all ages...
Gods and Monsters at the Salzkammergut Festival, Ebensee Austria 7/12/08
photos by Werner Haider | Click to enlarge
and yes we did kill 'em, no lie...we were on fire...such a good rush of energy and group cameraderie, I love to play with these guys, and we really excel on the road--highlights were the horn and guitar interplay on "Foggy Road" and "One Man's Meat" ( Joe Hendel was all over the keys and bone, Jason Candler the incendiary sax maniac played a beautiful unaccompanied solo with fx before my solo version of "Hellhound on my Trail", the rhythm section of Ernie and Billy never sounded more locked and grooving), also the howls of delight from the crowd at the conclusion of our journey into the pre-Raphaelite mystic "The Lady of Shalott", and the rapturous reception we received after we closed with a newie called "Climb the Highest Mountain" which we dedicated (natch) to the people of Ebensee surrounded as they are by such sumptuous misty alpine vistas, the rain had tapered off and the crowd was so super enthusiastic we could have played for them all night, we cut it short though after the 3rd encore though (always leave 'em wanting more my father once told me, and damn good advice), plus Ernie had broken a string, always a sign of a great gig for us...I sold all the merch I'd brought with me, people were clamoring too for "the cd with the last song on it" (we're still putting finishing touches on that one), the fans were so warm and friendly afterwards and the promoters called it "the most brilliant concert there in years" (yes) (blush blush)...this was one of the Great gigs for us--I am more determined than ever to get our band in front of a whole lot more people in the next year--step out of New Yawk and play and it's a whole other world out there (ie, not jaded)...
Off in a few hours with Caroline to New Orleans, heading down there to record a new album with producer Mark Bingham as The Du-Tels with my longtime friend and pardner the great Peter Stampfel an American treasure...
Speaking of American treasures check out the writings of my pal the fantastic Nick Tosches, who I've been hanging with lately--Nick's latest "The King of the Jews" (Ecco/HarperCollins) about fabled NYC crime boss Arnold Rothstein is an incredible read, one of the best damn book I've read in years...
My friend Dusty Wright (major domo of Culturecatch.com) and I are hooking up with cellist Matt Goeke next Tuesday when I get back in town for a new roots collaboration called GDM (I'm the G, he's the D, Matt is the M) which we are debuting at the Lakeside Lounge over on Ave. B and 10th in the East Village-- stay tuned...
And if you're in NYC, run don't walk to see "Expatriate", a new two woman drama about race, friendship, sexuality and fame which opened last night at the Culture Project's theater in Tribeca on lower Broome--presented by the Culture Project's Women Center Stage and artistic director Allen Buchman, the play stars the writer/composer Lenelle Moise and Karla Mosley who are both simply phenomenal presences on stage, such fresh talent delivering a live word-jazz-rap-and-otherwise a capella electronic score brimming with ideas and vitality--a real find, this pair, and this production...
xxLove
Gary
posted by Gary Lucas at 9:38 AM
1 comments
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1 Comments:
Hi Gary.
i saw your concert in Ebensee which was great! I was the guy who saw Golem Concert as well in ebensee! I wrote the Concert in my blog and includede two pictures of you as well: http://pulse-and-spirit.blogspot.com/2008/07/gods-and-monsters-ebensee-1272008.html
bye and all the best
Werner
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