Durham England: Day One

We arrived in Amsterdam at about 10:30 am Friday morning. (4:30 am Minneapolis Standard Time) Three of the guys in the band (myself included) did not handle the approach to the airport very well. It was a longer than normal decent due to weather and runways being shut down. At any rate, the cabin began to feel very stuffy and the wonderful airplane cocktails from the night before were considering using the emergency exit. I think for the others it may have been a legitimate case of motion sickness, mine was most likely a legitimate case of sleep deprivation crossed with cheap red wine. (Who would have guessed that 2006 was such a fine vintage. Thanks Northwest Airlines!)

From Amsterdam we took a "city hopper" to Newcastle, about a 1 and a half hour flight. The hospitality on these international flights has been incredible! We received 3 meals over the course of both flights as well as free beverages of our choice on the flight from MPLS. The other thing I noticed is that on the KLH flight from Amsterdam the stewardesses were very polite to everyone and even telling jokes. I have not noticed this as much on other flights. Due to turbulence and smaller aircraft I would liken the flight to Mr. Toads Wild Ride. Overall, an outstanding experience.

Upon arriving at Newcastle we would soon discover that our bass drum and tuba didn't make it with us. As far as I know they are still enjoying the comfy confines of the Netherlands. All is well though, as soon as we arrived in Durham we were able to line up a bass drum and tuba for our Saturday shows should our equipment not arrive. Luckily, tubas and bass drums are used to some degree by every band at the festival.

Durham is a very beautiful town. It is almost exactly what I think of when someone says "small town in England". The streets make very little sense, there are long winding alleys, abundant dead ends and a giant castle. Today I will be taking pictures and posting them, I am sure they will do no justice.

So far we are all pretty wiped out. It has been a brutal 30 or so hours of travel and we are in much need of a rest. Tomorrow we play three 45 minute sets at different locations around town as part of the "Streets of Brass" I can't wait to see peoples reaction to what we do and meet some of the other musicians involved with the festival.

Lost instruments, cellar temperature pub ales, motion sickness striking down two thirds of the band, an incredible concert and my first international library card. All in all an incredible day!