There are dozens of songs out there with the word “fool” in the lyrics … one of which we Jukes fans know pretty well. But, when sitting down to write my thoughts about the recent Southside Johnny and the Poor Fools shows, that old tune by Ricky Nelson kept coming to mind — the one with the lines “fools rush in where angels fear to tread … fools rush in where wise men never, never go.” It just seemed to fit this project perfectly.
Osnabrück is the town where grew up and which I called home for almost 30 years. Osnabrück is the town, where my parents live, where I work and where I have seen the Jukes for the first time in 2003. They came back in 2004 (and ever since played only in Melle, which is nearby, but a different thing). It’s been at the Jukes convention in Osnabrück, where I’ve met a guy at the Unikeller, who , just a couple of years later, made me a Jukes T-Shirt as a Christmas present (actually, he has made me a whole set…). I always love to wear these shirts, because they really are unique. So I did last night. I was excited about seeing the Jukes at the Rosenhof, back in my town. I didn’t expect the trouble I should get into, just for a T-Shirt.
…and the wheels keep on turning…
My fourth stop on this tour was the port city of Bristol, where I had actually spent a whole 20 hours last June when Bon Jovi had performed here on their tour. This visit, unfortunately, didn’t last much longer than that one.
That is always the case when you’re following some crazy band around the world. You end up seeing the train station (or airport), the hotel, the venue and whatever sights may be on the way to/from any of those three destinations. Luckily, I ended up with a very friendly taxi driver from the train station who gave me a brief history of the region and any “places of interest” we passed while en route to the hotel.
…and continuing on our journey…
I learned a number of things on this trip – of both personal and practical nature. For example, how to cross the street without dying (thank goodness for the “look right” and “look left” directions painted on the curb.) And, that Cardiff is in Wales and Wales is not England.
So, off I went on the train to Wales. After missing my connection in Westbury — three trains and one shuttle bus later — I arrived in the waterfront city of Caerdydd (that would be Cardiff in Welsh *wink*) I had completely lucked out with hotel accommodations and was staying for two nights at the absolutely gorgeous St. David Hotel and Spa (thank you Asbury Jukes for touring during the off-season!) Surprisingly, the weather was quite nice, encouraging me to just sit on my balcony for a while with a glass of wine and one of my biggest obsessions, the UK edition of Vogue magazine. *smile*
Day two of this trip brings us to Southampton, only a short bus ride from London. (oh, c’mon … you knew I had to work a bus ride in there somewhere, right? LOL)
After not nearly enough sleep the night before and still feeling a bit jet-lagged, Sandy and I decided to forgo the whole queueing thing and just enjoy a nice, quiet meal (I love tapas!) at a cafe near our hotel.
Greetings from the UK! What a whirlwind couple of days it has been so far!
After a suprisingly enjoyable ”crossing” (row to myself, upgraded with extra leg room, unlimited wine and some very nice salmon. Thank you, Virgin Atlantic.) I landed at Heathrow at the crack of dawn Friday morning ready to see the Jukes rock London.
Well, considering I’m now home and the laundry has been done and life has reverted back to normal (whatever that may be) I figure I should try to wrap up the rest of my mini-tour through the Northeast.
So, day two of our sojourn brought us to Freeport, Maine.
Ahh, Maine. Love that state. Spent a summer there as a fellow at the Bowdoin Music Festival. All I remember is blowing out my knee playing basketball on the second day of the festival (a viola player landed on me … there MUST be a joke there somewhere. LOL) Oh, and LOBSTER! I remember lobster. Lots of lobster.
Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes – L. L. Bean Discovery Park – Freeport, Maine, USA – 08/26/11
It felt like quite a while since I had seen the Jukes … and in reality, I guess it was … as the last time was way back in early July at the Stone Pony. Even though we had all just experienced the super-rare earthquake in the Northeast … and Hurricane Irene had her sights set on pounding the area, Tasha and I decided to take to the road for this slew of shows. *currently humming Riders on the Storm*
celticchef commented on the post, Southside Johnny & Jeff Kazee: Hearts Of Stone Mountain 4 days, 12 hours ago
Nevenka Sever (via Facebook) commented on the blog post Southside Johnny & Jeff Kazee: Hearts Of Stone Mountain 5 days, 1 hour ago
YouTube wrote a new post, Southside Johnny & Jeff Kazee: Hearts Of Stone Mountain 5 days, 4 hours ago
YouTube wrote a new post, Southside Johnny & The Poor Fools Couldn’t Let the Flying Monkey Go 1 week ago
uncle vinny became a registered member 1 week, 3 days ago
JUKES.NET wrote a new post, Tantalized: Everybody was singing… 1 week, 6 days ago
celticchef likes klaus‘s update 2 weeks, 1 day ago
celticchef likes ‘s update 2 weeks, 1 day ago
celticchef posted an update 2 weeks, 6 days ago
klaus posted an update 3 weeks ago
celticchef commented on the post, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down – Tribute To Levon Helm 3 weeks, 4 days ago
klaus commented on the post, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down – Tribute To Levon Helm 3 weeks, 5 days ago
klaus likes Sue Hammond‘s update 3 weeks, 5 days ago
Sue Hammond wrote a new post, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down – Tribute To Levon Helm 3 weeks, 5 days ago
celticchef posted an update 1 month ago
celticchef likes ‘s update 1 month ago
JUKES.NET posted an update 1 month, 1 week ago
JUKES.NET wrote a new post, Serving up blues rock, Jersey style 1 month, 1 week ago
YouTube wrote a new post, The Poor Fools Mind Their Own Business 1 month, 1 week ago
klaus likes celticchef‘s update 1 month, 1 week ago