Our last show of the tour was at the The Irish Pub in Hilden, Germany which is a town just outside of Dusseldorf. Stephen Leech, our host for our few days in Germany is the proprietor. Of course we wanted to do well for him as well as close out our tour on a strong note. We’d be playing with the same groups we played with last night. This time it would be Hackmack Jackson starting things off (and they did! with all the solidity and power of this very together band), then it was our spot, and then closing things would be Bo & the Headhunters (and they rocked it tonight).
our host Stephen Leech and his lovely staff
Our time was off to a bumpy start: I couldn’t get the theremin to work. There was always the worry of the electricity—slightly different voltage and plugs than the UK. I tried both adapters, neither worked. This is never fun when the pressure of ‘the clock’ is tapping on your shoulder the whole time, and you don’t want to kill the momentum/energy of the night. The theremin had taken a fall; the mic stands in Europe don’t have the same girth that ours do—something in the water I suppose [har har], so we tried putting the thing on one of the bar tables…nothing. Had it died in the crash?…Finally, I picked it up and heard it’s heart-warming little whirring buzz. The table’s heavy metal stand or inside bracing must’ve been killing it. Not that an entire blog post about why-the-theremin-wasn’t-working wouldn’t be fascinating, but let’s get on with the story… Finally, things were ready, and the band shot off like a cannon–much like the busted string at Liverpool’s “Zanzibar” had made us bounce back with attitude and extra crunch. So, with my musical partners well-greased from the two week tour, we delivered a set worthy of a Last Night, and, I believe a suitable offering for Stephen, our most-awesome host. (If you read this Stephen, thank you for all you did for us!) The rest of the evening was spent celebrating, amongst ourselves and our new friends, a job happily and strongly done.
–and to quote John Shafer when he posted this pic on facebook: “We’ve been on the road together for two weeks and we still love one another. ‘magine that. Back to Fresno for more rockin’ and schemin’. See you all soon!” 
(If you’re reading this fellow Trike Shoppers, thank you for the power and skill you poured into every single gig.) And, except for the stumble home, that’s the end of our little tale. [I can't wait for it to be re-told by Doc--it'll be much more grand!]
p.s. maybe it’ll just be a good archive for the band, but if anyone is interested, the setlists from each gig will eventually be posted on this blog…probably under some other category or ‘page’ as to not clog up the works. cheers!–B.
trike shop + the awesome people of The Irish Pub, Hilden, Germany