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El Lokal, Zürich 13.06.22
Typically beautiful poster design from El Lokal for this month’s set of concerts. Very happy to be heading back there
More info here.
Bandcamp today
I just decided to make the complete concert in Zürich last Friday available on my Bandcamp site here. For today only they are waiving their usual 10 / 15% payment fee so it’s a brilliant time to pick up some stuff and help musicians who would rather be out playing concerts.
This was a lovely little night and very relaxed - I played a couple of covers and a new song, drank some wine and listened to Flo Bauer play some beautiful blues guitar. A couple of days later I mixed this on a train coming back from Switzerland with some bluetooth headphones so perhaps it could sound better - a sound upgrade could be nice perhaps, let’s see.
Anyway, If you subscribe it’s in your collection to download already, otherwise here’s the link again and please share this stuff if you’re into it.
Be well and thanks everyone,
Stephen
Jazzkeller, Zürich last Friday
Here’s a couple of impressions from a night in Zürich last Friday. As with most of my concerts down there the original date was cancelled due to the Coronavirus so Marcel invited me to play a set before Flo Bauer. The audience was small but super enthusiastic, I ate like a king and Flo and his buddies played a tight set of imaginative blues. Was an easy fine night.
Here’s a cover of the blind Willie McTell song ‘Delia’ and a stomp through ‘I Do Wrong’ with Marcel spontaneously joining me on the drums. Thanks to him for the invitation, fine food and nice company - I hope to be back and see a few more of you there too.
Flo Bauer
Tomorrow, Friday, Bandcamp are waiving their 10 / 15% fee on all sales in an effort to highlight the losses a lot of musicians are having because of cancelled shows, cancelled travel and all this. If you were thinking of picking up some music from me or any other musician that uses Bandcamp to sell (and not only stream) music then tomorrow would be a fine time to do that. My page is here but you might also visit the Woodland Recordings page with other brilliant people here.
I’m also uploading a completely new song I played at this concert to my Bandcamp subscription here, so there’s that too.
Anyhow, stay well all.
Stephen
Free download from Zürich and Hamburg tomorrow.
I got home late Sunday night and will leave for Hamburg tomorrow, so just enough time here to put some washing through, change the guitar strings and import all the recordings from the last 10 days of concerts. I haven’t had a chance to listen to everything properly but here’s a very quickly mixed song from the concert Sophia and I played at the beautiful El Lokal in Zürich on the 27th of October.
We don’t get to play so often and our rehearsal was the 20 minute soundcheck we took. Fine, is what it is.
I may share the rest of this concert when I get the time, so please check back for that.
I have a return to the north and a concert in Hamburg tomorrow night at Fritzen. Wohlwillstrasse 20, free entry from 20:00. Happy to see some familiar faces there!
More later, kind of running…
Stephen
Zürich and Luzern
So I get to El Lokal, a beautiful old bar, restaurant and music venue in a military building in the centre of Zürich, surrounded on both sides by water and busy streets. I’m perfectly in time of course and we start an easy soundcheck. My friend Sophia arrives halfway through to join me on violin and then we sit upstairs and enjoy a fine dinner before the concert.
I’ve played here once before, a couple of years previously and the experience confirmed what I had long suspected - it’s one of the nicest places to play in the country as far as I’m concerned. It’s super friendly, nice and small, sounds brilliant and everyone there seems to do everything right. Their program is imaginative and brave and many people I respect and listen to have played there - Will Oldham, Damien Jurado, Jason Molina, Lambchop... This month Scarlet Rivera will bring her violin to the little stage, C.W. Stoneking is back - it goes on.
Anyway, I’m fortunate enough to have a nice audience this Sunday night and, although Sophia and I don’t play our greatest ever concert, it’s a super warm and friendly time on the island.
Later, I stay at Timo’s house and we sit up talking for a couple of hours before I sleep the sleep of death in a most comfortable bed. Delicious breakfast and then back to the venue for lunch - lunch too! It’s too much. I stagger out of the door to catch my train just as Maclcom Middleton turns up. Wish him a fun evening and then kind of skip down to the station.
I arrived in Luzern as the weather turned dark and the rain came. Opted for a bus ride up and over the hill to Nade’s house for a little Wohnzimmer concert she had arranged for me that night. Normally I’d be at her Phrontistery in town, but we thought we’d try something else and I think it was a change for her to invite people to her beautiful apartment.
We sat and talked before the guests came and then I played a kind of quiet set of songs, not all the usual things I rely on. Was refreshing and enjoyable. My buddy Karl turned up in time and was a fine evening.
Next day a wash out but also a day off so I kept warm and dry for as long as possible before making a dash for the station and a short ride back to Aarau for an evening off. Would be at Garage Bar the next night so this was a chance for stinky raclette and early to bed.
I realise normally I’d be uploading recordings from these shows and sharing them here. I have been taping everything and recordings will come but I haven’t quite managed an easy method to edit live recordings and get them up here without my laptop right now. I have everything I need except the desire to sit at my iPad for an hour importing and learning a good way of managing it. Perhaps tomorrow morning, let’s see what sort of a late night we have here in Bern. I’m at Zar bar, starts in an hour or so. Come quick.
Anyways, be well all, thanks for sticking with this.
Stephen
Kofferfabrik (free download)
Photo by Mina Reischer.
A lovely evening at the Kofferfabrik here in Fürth this last Saturday night. Geneva started with some sweet songs and then I played a long, slow set to a nice crowd. Some friends in the audience and Stefanie from Vivian Void joining me on stage for a couple too. Of course it turned into a long night so yesterday was lost in a lazy wander around the sunny town, talking and sitting by the riverside whilst the swimming club splashed about.
Anyway, here’s a free download of a song I had never played before but this evening turned up. I might follow with more from the night but right now I’m preparing for the shows and putting something else together for the newsletter exclusive series.
I know I said I would write about the new album yesterday but the simple thing to say is that it’s available for pre-order here and a massive thank you to everyone who has already bought it, especially as I’ve only posted a couple of things and people haven’t had a chance to hear much. Sight unseen, sound unheard or some such. Is very humbling, thank you all. The physical release turned out to be very simple and enjoyable to put together and hopefully I’ll find some more words to share before it comes out properly on the 24th of November.
This week I have concerts in Heidelberg, Darmstadt, Ulm and Zürich. Wowee.
See you soon?
S
El Lokal in Zürich this Sunday night.