Miss Massive Snowflake
Queen’s Headache European Tour
April 4, 2008
On Board Stubnitz, Rostock, Germany

Miss Massive Snowflake Euro Video 4 from localcut on Vimeo.

I am sitting at an oval table across from two girls and a guy who are smoking cigarettes at 10:20 a.m. We are all on board Stubnitz which I think is probably the most unique and interesting club I have ever had the experience of playing at. As I mentioned yesterday, Stubnitz is a large sea worthy vessel that is sometimes in Rostock and sometimes in Amsterdam.

We arrived around 5 pm last night and came on board. The CJ Boyd Sexxxtet was soundchecking and if I thought that their instrumentation was interesting, (Cello, Bass Clarinet, tiny drum kit, and bass) it was nothing compared to their performance later. We were greeted by, Anna, the local promoter and she showed us our cabins and made us feel very comfortable. We explored the ship and took lots of photos. Stubnitz is a completely contained club. The crew made us an excellent dinner of stuffed red peppers, potatoes, and a splendid cucumber salad. While we were waiting for the show to begin the crew completely transformed the room we were to play in. The stage was in the middle of the room, sort of like a catwalk, that could be viewed from all sides. The Stubnitz crew draped fabric, and wove flowers all around the stage, multiple projectors and lights were arranged and the feel of the ship went from industrial to very homey quickly. The people began to show up around 10 and Tizio began his set as Bob Corn around 10:30. He is completely magical. He has a shy demeanor but smiles and introduces each song with a quick description. I have always enjoyed the lyrics that people write when English is not their first language. Tizio is no exception. The phrases he puts together are improper but to an English speaker like me they really give new meaning to what he is saying.

?Alos took to the stage next. I have only seen Stefania perform in OVO and so I was excited to see what she would do by herself. Her costume was a sort of cosmopolitan woman of the 1920’s except she has drawn scars on her face. She enters the room to the sound of a train over the PA. Her stage set up is a sewing machine with a contact microphone attached. She uses prerecorded tracks and a some loop stations to tell her story of a woman arriving in a town and finding work at a sewing factory. She puts on a work shirt over her dress sits at the sewing machine and sews a small stuffed figurine with a heart attached to it. The sewing machine provides rhythm and she raises and lowers the arm to make a large clunk in time with her abstract chanting and singing. I was completely engrossed with her performance. She finishes the stuffed figure and then rises from her sewing machine to cuddle the doll and sing a song of love for it. She takes off the work jacket, reattaches her shawl and leaves the stage with the doll. You can purchase her dolls as well as cds and underwear that she has sewn at her merchandise area. ?Alos is performance as well as music and that is straight up my alley.

So now the CJ Boyd Sexxxtet took the stage and after making sure that all the instruments were tuned and mic’d up. The three men and one woman completely stripped off all of their clothes. They then proceeded to play an improvised set of beautiful music. They were listening to each other so intently and playing such intense music I would close my eyes and when I opened them I would notice that they were totally naked and this was really a unique experience. I have been naked on the stage before in the midst of some sort of frantic freak out, but this was a different presentation. The nudity did not seem to be for the audience but for them as performers to be open and raw and immediate. It is an experience and band that I hope all people get to have. Find them and see them.

I will not give a recount of my set because as usual, I was the jam. I entertain, I make people laugh, and I give the people confusion and drama. Stubnitz was no exception except that Stubnitz is completely exceptional.

All of the bands and the Stubnitz crew hung out after the show until around 4 and then Tizio and I went to our cabin and I got into my bed which was way to small for me. I slept poorly and arose around nine. I went to the front of the boat and like in the Titanic movie I raised my arms and smiled. What a wonderful experience and club this is. I hope that everyone has the chance to come to Stubnitz and ciao!!!

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Photos: Drunk drawing, Anna on the Stubnitz, Shane rocking a cap. All courtesy of the band