7 June 2009

The final date of the tour took place in Linz on the 30th, a free concert at the Stadtwerkstatt that started at midnight, the band would have to wait for nearly 6 hours after our setup/sound check to start the gig, and everyone was pretty wiped out from the stress, work, and traveling we’d been through since arriving in Rudersdorf on the 22nd. All was not bad, however. Laurence (Wawrzyn) Makinia and Marek Wajda had arrived to see the concert, driving 10 hours from Poland, to hear the group and to show me the artwork for the duo/solo recordings I did with Tim Daisy, called “Light on the Wall.” Marek’s design for the Resonance lp was outstanding, and he did another beautiful, though quite different, job on the layout of the double lp (one of duo music recorded in concert at the Dragon Club in Posnan, one of solo material by Tim and myself, a side each). These guys were then going to get back into their car and drive the 10 hours back home directly after the show. Something is just different about the people in Poland, and it’s wonderful. Also in the audience that night were members of the Wels crew, and Lisi from Vienna. Seeing all of them lifted my spirits and gave me the motivation to find the energy to focus on the gig. The Tentet walked on stage to a room filled wall to wall with people, who cheered us on before we had played our first note. And, once again, the band rose to the occasion, playing another strong, yet completely different, gig. The frustrations we faced off stage in the last days fell away, with all of the musicians were working together as we have done for so many years. My feeling that night was that, despite the recent non-musical setbacks, there were still years of work left to do together. And already, changes were being made to insure that the music of the Tentet would continue, with 2 tours planned for next year. But these trips would be organized in a completely different, and more effective fashion.

There was almost no time to say goodbye to the friends who made it to the show, or to Mats, Per-Ake, and Joe who left for Vienna immediately after the concert. I’d head to Vienna with Jeb and Fred at 4:30am; basically, there was time to get back to the hotel, have a nightcap with the rest of the band and say goodbye, then take a shower and pack before the driver arrived. We threw our things into the back of the van, and pulled away from the hotel. Moments later, as driving along the streets that head out of Linz, a tune from Monty Python’s “Life Of Brian,” came on the radio. It was “Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life,” I kid you not.