a little hiya aus Trier Exhaus

I'm in Trier right now at an internet cafe next door to the Exhaus, which I've just realised, after 6 years of coming here to play, that it's actually called the 'Excellenzhaus'! I'm no german but I reckon that means 'House of Excellence' in English. I got to Trier last night after a delayed flight from Berlin and I realised that since the last Ryanair flight I took, which nearly freakin' crashed upon landing, that I'm now terrified of landing. This one was fine but the last 30 seconds before we hit the ground I was gripped with fear.

My head stinks. I've had my big dear stalker hat on for hours now because I refuse to take it off in public once it's gone on. The hat smells a bit wrong now because of this mad rule I've bestowed upon myself.

I just soundchecked and I think it sounds really good...I'm using Alex's lovely telecaster instead of the usual acoustic and it sounds dead sparkly and crisp and different. Infact it sounds exactly like Billy Bragg's guitar does which is gonna be weird when I cover St. Swithen's day later - I'll have to try and sing it differently. An octave higher maybe? Like a young girl. Or me when I was 7 singing 'We're walking in the air' or whatever it was called off The Snowman. I used to have a brown Fisher-Price tape recorder, probably like most kids my age then, and I captured many a glorious moment on it. From that song, which I remember recording, walking around the house in Hartsbourne Avenue, to a recording of The Clash's 'Should I Stay or Should I Go' which I was obssessed by even at that age due to the fact it was on that Levi's commercial at the time. It consisted of one of the preset drum beats and one finger on the dirtiest sound the keyboard had (probably something like harpsichord) doing the chord bits. Oh yeah and me singing like a posh girl over the top of it. I even hit the '16ths' drum pattern in the should i stay or should i go now bits. I brought it into school on the Monday too and showed everyone.

Marius and Hanso have been cooking up some delicious vegetarian tucker nextdoor so I'm going to go and eat that now and then play the show. I'm really nervous - this is the first gig I've ever done where I haven't got anyone else with me, no band, no girlfriend etc. I'm 29 years old so I know that's totally stupid, but I am all the same.