The Beggars

Renee's view of the Neuchatel gig

The gigs in the City Hotel are last Minuit ones that our Swiss agent pulled to fill for the cancelled dates. The venue is a large restaurant in Brunnen, because of the size of the room we have to put in the pa system we are carrying and do a full mic up. The shows remind me of shows I use to do back in Australia, folks are smoking like they use to in Aus years ago, we play fairly loud and everyone talks over the top of our three or four sets. I am impressed that some of the folks who came to the Friday gig come back and bring their friends to the Saturday show and these tables all buy CDs. On Saturday the weather turns to cold rain and snow and we are all stuck inside for the day the weather has been really good till now but I can see how this could get tedious really quick. I resolve that for future tours  I will get contracts with guarantees whether we play or not and to will tour in the warmer months next time. Today is Sunday and a day off for us

Cellar gig in Neuchatel

The Neuchatel concert was really good both the sound and the audience lived up to my expectations. The band feels really solid now and I think all these acoustic concerts are toughening us up. We have to sing and play with balance, strength and sensitivity as well as really listening to one another. I really like the honest nowhere to hide style of the acoustic show and the low volume means everyone must listen and not talk. Its ironic that the quieter we play the more the audience hear. On Tuesday morning we travelled in to the Wallis and to Brig where the Wednesday concert is. The accommodation is a hotel run by nuns. The hotel manager Fabien describes them as kind of nuns I think they are the catholic kind. It is clean and the wifi is free so I am happy. The Londres Bar where we play is an ancient underground vault and a lot like a smaller version of the Neuchatel venue, the very first customers in the place is a loud drunk ACDC and Rose Tattoo fan. They are both great Aust bands but worlds apart from where we are. By the end of the first set he is our best mate and gets us to autograph his arm and back. He left in a hurry during the second set and I believe he may have had a personal hygiene crisis. On Thursday we took the cable car up to the glacier on way above Naters and I decided to walk down the mountain. The walk was a lot steeper than I had expected and my legs and knees got pretty tired good fun though. The next stop is Brunnen for gigs on Friday and Saturday.