MESSINA SUPPORT TOUR 20.05.22-03.06.22

Day 1: Ante Festival, Bäumlipark Winterthur

MESSINA support tour for Friska Viljor started! We got to play Ante Festival on a little hill in Winterthur. Home turf. Best way to start off an international tour. At one point it was so windy I was convinced the concert would be cancelled before we could play. Wouldn‘t have been the first time. Anyway having to say goodbye to friends, family and loved ones was easier by playing a show for them first. Plus we got to play in between Ginger And The Alchemists and Sirens Of Lesbos which made it all the more enjoyable.

Day 2: Journey up north

One last dinner with all the girlfriends before we head out on the road. During the dinner we get a mail, that because of a storm there’s been damage to the first venue and the first gig is cancelled. We leave at 22:00 from Winterthur and head up to Rostock. We arrive at 9:30. Mirco and Fabian drive us up and take the bus back and we get on the nightliner bus with Friska Viljor.

Day 3: Rostock - First show, but not really.

Because the venue was damaged by a storm, we had an off day in Rostock. What does one do in Rostock on a Sunday. Not much. Start drinking at noon, get forced into watching the liverpool wolverhampton match and eat at the Braugasthaus zum alten Fritz, where every meal is somehow beerinfused. Even the Crème Brûlée is made with dark beer.

Day 4: Hamburg - Evil and Dangerous, just like us.

Half asleep we pack, get into our bus and head to Hamburg. The venue is called Übel und Gefährlich. It’s inside a Flak tower. Built during world war two, it now finally fulfills a good purpose.

Day 5: Berlin - 1’000 single shoes on display

My first night sleeping in a nightliner was horrible. When i stretch myself, my head and feet touch my coffin like bed and the ceiling hight was constructed for tall people in the 1680s. Sleep deprived I zombie walked around Berlin, trying to get rid of my headache with pills and water bottle after water bottle. Raphi took the best picture of that day of me, in front of an abandoned football stadium. Gian and I also went to Pauls Boutique. The amount of clothes stuffed into this thrift store would make sardines in a crushed tin box feel claustrophobic.

Day 6: München - “I gotta get this pigeon to the vet!”

Well rested I woke up in Munich. Tour life is a constant back and forth of being tired and awake, happy and grumpy, focused and disorganised, social and antisocial. I had heard that there was an Alec Soth exhibition at the kunstfoyer, so Raphi and I headed over there. All 5 of his Projects were on display. Afterwards we met a man bringing a pigeon to the vet. I love the tourlife.

Day 7: Köln “He could’ve been killed…BY MIKA“

Mika, our driver nearly tore my head off today. As we were parking infront of Gloria (an old movie theatre turned into a concert club), Raphi suggested I go outside to document the arrival. I thought it was a great idea, so I carefully opened the side door of the nightliner to get outside and take pictures. Suddenly the nightliner stopped and Mika ran out, yelling at me. Later I was told, the two cardinal sins in a nightliner are getting out while it’s moving (because it is actually dangerous. you can’t really see if cars are driving by while exiting) and pooping in the toilet, because it won’t flush. The rest of the group where laughing their asses off on the bus. Some where jolted out of their sleeps by Mikas screaming. One of the Friskas remarked “he could’ve been killed…BY MIKA“. After an hour we were fine again and I think utimately it was a bonding experience.

After the concert we went to a bar with an open jam session. Sadly by the time we got there it was over, but that didn’t stop Nicola and Joachim from getting up on stage and starting to play. The staff made them stop and told them it was over, but that didn’t stop them from trying to play again. Sadly we couldn’t cross getting kicked out of a bar from our tour bucketlist.

Day 8: Darmstadt - 404 page not found

Footage missing. I was told, a rather small italian man was seen sneaking into the tourbus and erased all the photos of that day from my computer.

Day 9: Zürich - Udo Jürgens used to live in this backstage

What’s the difference between swimming laps in a pool and swimming from one side of a lake to another. It’s the same distance. The difference is the little rest after every lap, even if it’s just inside your head. It’s the same way with a tour. You never have that little rest of being at home. After a while where you are, what day it is and even what time of day it is disolves to an extent. So it was incredibly comforting to get home for a few hours. Lie down in an actual bed, repack (I had packed two cameras and about six lenses and realized I only needed the Fuji X100V), shave, shower, shit etc.

*some photos were shot by Olivia Kurz

Day 10: Salzburg - Hiding in a 2 x 1 x 0.60 meter box.

I always want to be honest and open with the people who take the time to actually look at the things I do and say. It’s not a given and I am greatful. So I will tell you that this was the hardest day. I was drained. Being more sensitive than average, always being around people, always being on the road and performing every night I hit a wall. I talked to raphi about something and tears started forming or no reason. So I spent every minute I could in my little bed, watching the fourth season of stranger things to just distract myself. At the end of the day I was fine again. Just needed to recharge my batteries.

*some photos were shot by Olivia Kurz

Day 11: Wien - “you’re coming out of THAT shower dirtier, than when you went in!”

Wien is beautiful place. Very clean and big. Which is the opposite of where we played that night. After spending the night on the bus you arrive at the location sweaty and hungry. You feel dirty most of the time on tour. The priorities on tour are (in order): Good buffet, good shower and a pleasant staff to make you feel welcome. So we were off to a bad start when we saw how dirty the shower was at flex. It was the architectual equivalent to syphilis and I wouldn’t have been surprized if there were trace amounts of syphilis scattered around the “room“.

One of the most important things to do as a support act is to move all of your stuff out of the way as quickly as possible, the minute your concert is over. And that is quite the challenge when you’re playing in a tiny venue with an even tinier backstage.

Because we were gonna spend the next day in wien, we decided to splurge on an airbnb and enjoy a real bed for a change.

Day 12: Off Day in Wien

It was a welldeserved and badly needed break from tour. When the budget is big enough you can afford more offdays on tour. John Mayer once said in an interview he likes to have an off day every other day to get to know the city and get some rest. Today was our only off day of the entire tour. We did what all hipster musicians do with too much time: Go thriftshopping, spend too much money on food because we went to the wrong place and I once again dragged the rest along to a museum. There was an Ai Wei Wei Exhibition at the Albertina Modern

Day 13: Dornbirn - “We’ll all give you 50 bucks if you go in the river”

Dornbirn is a special place, because it is right next to Switzerland. The dialect is closer to how the swiss speak german, than most parts of Austria. Also because Dornbirn is so close to home some of our friends and girlfriends decided to carpool to our show. Having people you know at shows away from home gives you a little bit of home. A valuable commodity on tour.

Day 14: Linz - It was 4am and I thought I might die.

After each show we drank, had a good time and got into the bus inorder to fall asleep and wake up at the next location. So it’s odd when you wake up because you think the bus made a wrong turn and acidentally drove onto a mechanical bull. We actually did drive the wrong way and were driving up a mountain pass that kept getting narrower. After a while of arguing we managed to get out of the bus and detach the trailer. The bus drove up the hill without us to turn. We all tried to make light of the situation and joke about it but inside we were all scared. Eventually the bus came back and we managed to get back onto safer roads.

Day 15: Aflenz - all good things come to an end

It was our last show with Friska. I was sad and wanted to enjoy every bit of the last show. The town was somewhat of a resort. It must’ve been the off season because it felt more like a ghost town. The day went by fast and suddenly it was time to get on stage. Walking out onto the stage, my heart sank for a brief moment. The club was empty. It was the last show and we would only be playing for about six people. But out of nowhere my mood changed and I had realized something for the first time in my musical career. It doesn’t matter. I told myself I will enjoy this concert and give it my all and not give a fuck if ten or ten thousand people watch. It was a blast. It was exciting. It was entertaining and after a while more people arrived at the location. Towards the end of the show we had a decent crowd. It wasn’t what we had expected, but I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way!

Day 16: Way Home, back to reality

There’s not much more to say. It ended like all things end and it was a good ending. It was a quiet ending. Everyone hugged and smiled and wished the best and most of all wish to do it again, in some way or another. For me it was clear from the beginning, this is something that very few people get to experience. And I made sure to enjoy every bit of it. I wanted to enjoy it, knowing it might never happen again. But I would do it again. In a heartbeat!