These are the true tales of the rail and the wing, seen from the vantage point of train stations, dressing rooms, airports and the not-so-glamorous back of a cab. Buckle up in the jump seat for this caffeine-fueled 15-day tour of Italy, Austria, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, France, England and Ireland. Don’t forget your passport.
April 26: Berlin To Amsterdam
Bound for the Netherlands, the train barrels through the wet countryside, beads of rain streak the windows. The world outside is intensely green on the six-hour journey from Berlin to Amsterdam. I played to a packed house of smokers last night. My eyes are still bloodshot and burning, my throat is raw from the roomful of haze. I’m going on five hours of sleep and can’t quite find a relaxing position in my chair to alleviate the knot in my back. I’ve been drifting in and out for the last three hours or so. Although I’ve played Berlin a handful of times, until last night I had never seen the Berlin Wall, just never had a free minute. I place my hand upon it, wishing I had more time.
Fifteen years ago I appeared on a German TV show that was recorded at the studios where Fritz Lang made the film Metropolis. A silver statue of the film’s futuristic icon, Maria, stood overlooking the lot. That was the extent of my sightseeing in Berlin aside from playing about four shows. That memory has stuck with me. Ever since I became fascinated with German Expressionism, Bauhaus theater, Bertolt Brecht and along with that, the music that David Bowie created while in Berlin, I’ve been intrigued by the place. And yet time after time, my visits have always involved rushing to a soundcheck or a radio station—never once having a day to take in what the city has to offer, hardly time enough for a meal. Even on this trip it’s a mad dash from the train into a taxi to record an interview for Radio Deutschland before the show.
At the station, the staff are warm and welcoming. The engineer apologizes that the studio is due to be updated with the latest digital gear but we’ll have to make do with the old analogue desk and microphones today. A quick scan of the vintage Neumann U47s, and I assure our hosts, “We’ll be just fine.” I recorded a live acoustic performance of my song “Smoke And Sparks,” and those old microphones captured every nuance. I could have made a record there. Berlin, from my constantly moving POV, strikes me as being a very different city than any other in Europe. Some of it is ancient and imposing. There are Roman-inspired buildings and statues around every corner and the reminders of WW II, like the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church with its steeple blown off. Throughout the city one encounters small brass placards along the sidewalks that document the names of those whose lives were cut short in the madness of the Holocaust. Ethnic influences co-mingle today: the German, the Turkish. There’s a trendy Korean barbeque outside the youth hostel/hotel where the club has put me up for the night. It feels more like New York than any other city in Europe.
Berlin Hauptbahnhof, the train station, is a wondrous and sleek biosphere encased in glass and steel. In fact, Berlin has a very modern edge. Adventurous angular lines battle it out with the classical. One of these days I’ll come back and spend a day or two, but it’s onward to Amsterdam. We anticipate a good crowd tonight.
