15 July 2010

In typical tour fashion Paal and I get to bed at 4am in Tampere, motel
room like a prison cell from Soylent Green, then a bus to Helsinki
airport (sleep) where we discuss tour plans for next year, flight to
Vienna (sleep) and car to Nickelsdorf where we arrive just in time for
me to miss the Ex & Brass Unbound soundcheck/rehearsal.
The festival starts with a bang: Oren Ambarchi; a trio with Guenter
Christmann, Christian Munthe, Raymond Strid (excellent); Ex & Brass
Unbound get onstage after a brief talk through of the set, and play a
charged and loose concert- crowd on their feet and dancing. We finish
and lightning is ripping across the sky, encore happens as rain POURS
down, a brief respite from the heat, nature hitting the skies as the
band charged through “Konono.” Paal winds out the evening playing great
cuts from South America, Africa, and Funk! Bed at 6am. Film of
Ex&Brass on tour in the UK: http://vimeo.com/13313556