Miss Massive Snowflake
Queen’s Headache European Tour
April 4, 2008
In a soft bed in Weikersheim, Germany

Hi, the time is around noon and I am laying in a wonderful bed in my own apartment in Weikersheim. I have already been to the table where fresh bread, cold cuts, cheese, jams and coffees were put into my mouth. I came back to bed because neither Stefania or Nicoletta are awake yet and this bed is very wonderful. We have a short drive to Frankfurt today so we are going to walk around this beautiful little town and hang out with Felix and the crew from W71.

Since last I wrote, we arrived in Leipzig and went directly to Noch Besser Leben. This was the first show of the tour where the hospitality was not excellent. There was no soundman and no one to really let us know what was going on. The club itself was an apartment on the third floor of a beautiful old building. You can tell that Leipzig is in former East Germany because lots of the buildings are gray boxes but this building was much older. Stefania and I helped each other with our sound checks and even though I had asked for a beamer (projector) in my rider, the only person we could find (a guy named Georg) didn’t know anything about it. He was kind enough to track one down, though. The show started at 9:30 pm and Stefania was completely engrossing as usual. When it was my turn to play, the club was packed from front to back. During my last song, “The New Dark Pope,” I took off my shoes and shirt, which I then tried to stuff into my mouth. Stefania’s performance is pushing me to be extremely theatrical. I am doing lots of popping and locking as well as some floor moves. I have loved break dancing since I was around 12 years old and my name was “Lightning.” Jeff Rotvold or “Jet” and I would go down to our local grocery store, Kon’s, in Billings, Montana, put out cardboard and play Grandmaster Flash or Nucleus and put out a hat. I don’t think we really ever made much, but I am still using those moves and I am almost 40.

Even though smoking is illegal in bars in Germany, everywhere we’ve been becomes engulfed in a dense cloud by the end of the night. I was really tired and, since we were sleeping in the same building, I went to our cold room and got under two down comforters and called Marley and Meredith back in Portland. Meredith was at work but I got to talk to Marley for a bit. I wished her good luck on her first soccer game which I was going to miss and told her I loved her. I then promptly passed out.

I awoke the next morning and took an excellent hot shower and then when Stefania and Nicoletta were up we left and went out for breakfast at Café Mule which was recommended by the bartender, Fatima, the previous night. She was right; it was excellent. We then piled in the van and headed off to Weikersheim. We arrived around 7 and Felix was there to meet us. It was completely opposite from the show in Leipzig: He instantly gave us sandwiches, beer and coffee, and made us feel at home. W71 stands for Weikersheim 1971, which is where and when the club began. They do lots of great shows like Peter Brotzmann, Han Bennink, and now us.

Weikersheim is a town of 3,500 people. It’s on the Rommantischer Strasse in Germany, which is a famous highway that winds through Germany’s many vineyards, past old castles and churches, and into lots of small romantic towns just brimming with old world charm. Felix and the other people who run the club have made it their mission to bring world class bands and unknown artists to their town. The woman who made us an unbelievably good dinner of asparagus soup and tortellini with spinach has been working at the club since 1972. It is an incredible community of people who have definitely impacted the culture of their small town. In fact, it’s a model that should be replicated world wide. If you’re ever touring Europe you should most definitely play at Stubnitz and W71 when you are in Germany.

?Alos was even better than at her previous shows, which is pretty amazing considering she’s always outstanding. Her bobbin on the sewing machine ran out of thread, but—just like when a guitarist has to change a string on stage—she simply wound new string on the bobbin and continued her performance. The puppet that she made last night was so cute that I asked if I could have it. She usually keeps the performance puppets and sells ones that she has made at home, but since we are so freaking tight she said “yes.” Thanks, Ste.

I began my set with ten minutes of babbling and jokes in German. I am able to have quite good conversations now, but my German tour is nearly done. Then Italy comes and my brain needs to switch gears—my tongue gets all tangled. The crowd was extremely into my set and when I had finished I sold tons of CDs and shirts. The back of my tour shirt has all the cities I am playing in listed on it, and they were so excited to see Weikersheim listed with Rome, Vienna, Berlin, and Milan. I totally love this place. Once again I drank to much and I am thankful to Stefania for getting us safely to our apartments late last night. I barely remember leaving W71 and the drive here.

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Photo: Weikersheim’s architectural charm, courtesy of the band.