I don't even know what day it is

I think we are at the low point on the tour, but I'm glad we're getting it out of the way early. After 4 straight days of shows, we now have 3 days off. The reasons for this are complicated, but the easiest thing to say is that I think the promoter over here dropped the ball. Some of the things that have happened aren't his fault (he was in the hospital for 2 weeks), but we can't fix any of these things now, so we're pressing on. And drinking. Alot. In Europe, the beer is good and cheap, so this is not necessarily a bad thing. Again, it's a real Godsend that we like each other so well, or else we'd be at each other's throats.

We're all taking it pretty well, trying to keep ourselves occupied and not dwell on the fact that we're haven't played in 3 fucking days. Leipzig is absolutley beautiful, and we've been having a good time just walking around seeing the sights, then checking out the local clubs and bars until dawn. Leipzig is a college town, so there's alot of that youthful vitality, and plenty of hot young chicks. But the fact that they can't speak English and we speak little German has essentially rendered us celibate (well, maybe not Noli and Jerry). Travis' "how you doin'?" hasn't been well received.
This is the clocktower of the Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall) in Leipzig. It was built in the 16th century.
More of the area around the Altes Rathaus and Neues Rathaus. Just gorgeous.
The guy on the left is a street performer playing a xylophone. He was playing "La Cucaracha". His technique was flawless.
We decided to go to Dresden on Wednesday because we were getting a little stir crazy, and Dresden is closer to our Thursday show in Zitta. On the way, we stopped at the Battle of Leipzig memorial. This is where Napolean was defeated by a mutli-national coalition of European forces. It was an impressive monument, but most interesting was that the official literature handed out to tourists brought up the philosophical notion that war memorials may not be a good idea. It said that wars might be something we should forget about, and not glamorize with memorials. The literature clearly left it up to the visitor to make his own conclusion. I thought it was interesting that they didn't dumb it down like they do in the US.
L'il old me in front of the Battle of Leipzig memorial.
Alles zusammen (all of us together) at the Battle of Leipzig memorial.
Somber looking guys inside the memorial.
The view of an old crematorium and a nuclear power plant in the background from the top of the monument. The climb up was via a 300-plus step spiral staircase that was extremely tight and narrow. I didn't think I was claustrophobic, but, hoo boy, that was a tough ascent.

We're in Zittau now, getting ready for a show (finally!). It should be smooth sailing here on out. We do have the looming specter of 2 days off early next week, but Freddie is still working to fill those up for us.

Best,
Shambo