Miss Anthropy EU Tour

April 17, 2013 @ Hafen2

Heading out on the first date of the tour the sun was shining bright and the weather is perfect for touring, above 20 degrees. Windows down and dub reggae is the soundtrack to the start of our journey.

The venue itself is located in an industrial harbour and looks like a unique place to play.

After enjoying a nice meal we relaxed. With an ice cold beer in my hands, it feels good to be back in Germany.

After taking a nap, Miss Anthropy woke up fifteen minutes before stagetime! As we took to the stage all the people who were outside came in to listen to our performance.
We mixed up the set with songs from ‘Seeds’ and ‘New Leaves’, playing songs like Deep Underground and After It All for the very first time. The audience listened attentively, super quiet and drawn in to the performance.

After playing our regular set we were met with an enthusiastic applause, constant clapping and shouting “Zugabe”! So we went on to play “Green” and “My World” as an encore.

I then thanked the crowd for a wonderful start to our tour.
We hung out with some people after the show (including a journalist from The Offenbach Post, we look forward to the review!) and we’d like to thank everyone who bought a brand new ‘Seeds’ hessian fabric pack. We’d also like to thank everybody at the venue for a very warm welcome and an excellent night.

Tomorrow we head to Freiburg, we’re looking forward to it!

April 18, 2013 @ Freiburg

Traveling from Offenbach to Freiburg, it started to rain. As we drove down into the city the mountains started to appear in the distance, setting the scene for a beautiful evening. The club is uber cool, situated in an underground cellar with psychedelic visuals projected on the walls and soft red light illuminating the stage. A perfect cozy setting and atmosphere for a Miss Anthropy show.
We relaxed before the show with our wonderfully eclectic support band for the evening ‘The Nogood Sisters’, enjoying a great home cooked meal at the promoters house. After returning to the venue and watching a bewitching performance from our new friends, we then took to the stage at about 11.15pm. Again an attentive and appreciative audience sat before us. Some crossed legged on the floor and silent throughout our intimate set. We had a great reception to our new and old songs, and some new fans even sang along! After we had played til Miss Anthropy’s fingers were bleeding (literally!) we took to the merchandise stand where we were met with an enthusiastic reception to our brand new ‘Seeds’ album, some had even already downloaded their free digital copy from our bandcamp page, but still we sold even more physical copies than the night before. Miss Anthropy was even left a note by a (secret) admirer! After enjoying maybe one too many of the local beverages we retired to our accommodation for a well need sleep. We cannot thank everybody enough for their kindness and hospitality and for yet another fantastic show! After Day 2 on the road this really feels like home and we are ready and waiting for our next shows. Now on to Switzerland, for the very first time!

April 19, 2013 @ Cafe Bar Mokka

After having a fantastic show in Freiburg, we awoke the next day and walked into the city center. A really cool place, a student and alternative town. We walked around soaking up the vibe and hanging out with the promoter. I could not resist and had to sample the local currywurst, which was excellent!

In the afternoon we headed off to our next destination, in Switzerland. We were all very excited being that it is our first ever time in Swiss. Arriving across the border I was surprised (after seeing the mountains from Freiburg the previous day) just how industrial it was. Upon entering it reminded me driving to Antwerpen (belgium) but the further we drove the more picturesque things became. Suddenly we were surrounded by mountains with handfuls of houses dotted over them. Breathtakingly beautiful and picturesque.

Next we arrived at the club and we all agree it is honestly the strangest place we have ever played as Miss Anthropy. In fact, we would even say the strangest place ever, from any previous tours we have done around Europe with our other projects.
I think the photos (to come) still will never do it justice or my description but here goes…….

On entering the venue we felt instantly disorientated. The entire building outside and in was covered in bright decorations, posters toys, musical instruments, trays of sweets and cookies, a huge ET statue covered in tinsel, beads, dinosaurs, bright florescent colours all around. Just unbelievable, like some kind of psychedelic fun house. We had dinner in a room full of toys and plastic figures, served by staff members equally atoned to their surroundings. The stage was also brightly decorated complete with disco ball, lava lamps and a smoke machine and as we took to the stage we felt ready for an elaborate performance. The audience were again very attentive, intense and connecting with us on an emotional level through the music. We played for around an hour and were asked for several encores, and on the finale time we left the stage the crowd still clapped and asked for more so Miss Anthropy took to the stage and played one last song solo, “Pull” from her first album. We hung out with some of the audience who were very warm and friendly and we got good feedback on the show. We have been very lucky on this tour that every place we have played so far has gave such a positive reaction to us and we genuinely felt a connection with the people through the power of music. It is so truly incredible to be invited to perform in these wonderful countries because of the music we make and we enjoy it on such a simple and humble level. A different place everyday and people are so interested to talk to you and appreciated that you bother to come to their country to perform. Again the SEEDS fabric packs sold like hotcakes, we are so happy that people are enjoying them so much, and appreciated the special care put into presenting the new album.

To finish the evening we head downstairs for the funky disco that was happening and checked it out. Watched a mixed crowd of people dancing and having a great time, but, having to head to Venice the next day we decided to head back to the hotel early and get some food, shower and much needed sleep.

Thank you Switzerland we look forward to coming back to play here on Tuesday and Wednesday nest week!

April 20, 2013 @ MetriCubi

Woke up bright, early and refreshed in our picturesque hotel to a great continental breakfast. Eager to get to Venice we packed up and hit the road by 11am. Leaving Thun we entered the most stunning drive of our lives. We snaked up snow covered mountains, into vast sweeping valleys and past breathtaking bright blue lakes. During this drive we all fell in love with the grand beauty of Switzerland. After driving through the infamous gotthard tunnel and gawping at the waterfalls around us cutting through the rocks we reached the italian border.

Driving into italy we were welcomed by a thunderous rain storm. We could not see more than 2 metres unfront of us! This was far from the image of sun baked vineyards that we had anticipated and stretched our total drive to 9 hours. We managed just 2 short (wet) breaks and the weather, or the toll roads, did not give up until we reached Venice 1.5 hours behind schedule.

We were greeted into this famous city by a wonderful italian with the biggest smile and the smallest boat! We loaded all of our gear, climbed aboard and sailed into the city with our jaws on the floor. Venice really is even more beautiful and graceful than your imagination could expect and seems a city untouched by time. Arriving at the venue by water was the perfect entrance and we were welcomed as gracefully as the city itself by the beautiful people there.

We went straight into soundcheck and then were ushered to the bar area to eat the biggest 2 pizzas we had ever seen! The venue itself is an old untouched communist center complete with giant paintings and propoganda. An inspiring slice of history and a privilege to play inside. We listened intently to the ambient electronic soundscapes of the support act whilst we anxiously waited to play. We were very impressed, but became more nervous as it became very busy very quickly. We hit the stage to an audience seated on the floor on cushions infront if us. We played a full hour to a great reception, the crowd was clapping and whistling but the vibe was definitely different here in Italy.

After a long and intense day we finally relaxed. We were taken on an amazing midnight stroll through the labyrinth of the city by the people at the venue. At this hour on a Saturday night you would expect the streets to be alive but it felt like a ghost town. Eerie silence followed us and if it were not for our guides we would have been totally lost after 3 corners in these narrow ancient crumbling streets. We were all totally captivated by its character and vowed that we must return with more time to spare and explore. We retired for the night with a whirlwind of memories from the last 24 hours.

What could the next days hold to top all of this!

April 21, 2013 @ L'isola Condorito

We awake to, as expected, a beautiful Venice. We take another quick stroll around the city and grab some quick breakfast at a recommended traditional bakery. This is our first stereotypical taste of Italy and we try to mingle with the locals as they bellow over their cappuccinos, but not convinced we did a good job! Thank goodness the owner spoke a little English as we pointed at the gorgeous pastries and repeatedly said “Grazie!”

Our great guide Enrico from the previous day collected us and our gear again in order to sail us back to our car on the outskirts of the city. This time we took a slight detour and in the sunshine travelled through the grand canal and out onto the lagoon. We held on tight as we picked up some speed and rode the waves from the bigger boats sailing past us. A fantastic end to our surreal (and too short) time in Venice. We reluctantly said goodbye and hit the road for our 5 hour drive towards Margarita, Cuneo.

We took a short break from our drive by stopping off at great pen-pals of ours. Photographers, and also fellow musicians, we had never met them in person and couldn’t resist whilst in their country to swing by. We were treated to an amazing Italian lunch of pasta, espresso, local wine and traditional liquor (made by our host’s grandfather, made from nuts and called Nuchino!) We could have stayed all afternoon but soon again it was time to get back on the road. Thanks so much to our friends for a great afternoon and their wonderful hospitality!

We drove through the Italian countryside in search of our next venue. L`isola Condorito is an amazing place tucked into the corner of traditional Italy very close to the French border. The French Alps rose above us in the background, but yet again, the rain was intent on spoiling our view. In contrast the venue itself is full of colour and decorated amazingly with vibrant artwork and graffiti across the walls, sheet music across the chairs and trees across the ceiling. Every venue we have visited has such a unique feel and expression created by its owner, making each one unforgettable and this is something that has really struck us on this tour. We set up our gear and sat down to wait for dinner. We were spoilt with an Italian banquet and this great long table and joined by the venue staff and friends. The food was incredible. Pasta, grilled stuffed peppers, spinach tart, courgette bread and countless other nibbles prepared us for our performance. In line with our first impressions, the rest of the evening did not let us down. We went on at 11.45 and the audience was still very lively for a Sunday night. It felt like we played the entire set with our eyes closed, entranced in our sleepy mood from the food. The audience calmed with us as we relaxed into our set and we felt that we made an intense emotional connection with them. We played an encore of “My World” and finished the set with a bang.

The rest of the evening was spent hanging out with the wonderful staff that had welcomed us until it was just me and the owner at 5.30am playing each other various musical inspirations from Reggae to Jazz and experimental Electronica. What a great evening spent with the nicest people we could hope to meet.

What more could this fantastic tour bring us!

April 22, 2013 @ Gatto

After waking and being treated to a great home made breakfast we hit the road again.

Our drive took us from the beautiful countryside of Cuneo with stunning mountain backdrops to the rough edges of Milan. As we entered th city we observed the vibe. Milan seems to have a typical big city feeling similar to Amsterdam, London or Berlin. Graffitti littered the sandstone architecture and after the peaceful surroundings of Cuneo the hustle and Bustle of the city felt intimidating.

We arrived at the venue which looked like a cross between an antiques shop, art gallery and a traditional italian restaurant. After a quick espresso and soundcheck we sat down to a great italian meal. Before we knew it, it was time to take the stage. Playing for over an hour we felt at ease during the set. Over the tour we have really got tighter and Johan and myself have been developing a great chemistry. The crowd seemed to enjoy our set and we had a fantastic reception to Dark and Light in particular as well as Parasite and Deep Underground. We closed the show with You and Me, which seems to be our most popular song despite being a 9 minute epic and very dark! During the intense dynamic of the song, Johan and I really went for it. Johan hit the snare with such velocity that his brush snapped and flew up into the air! He continued to play one handed whilst scrabbling around for another stick. He picked up a maraca without missing a beat! This for me felt all in slow motion but a specific moment to remember! It made the performance feel even more powerful. (So rock and roll for Miss Anthropy!)

After putting our all into the last few songs we chilled out for a bit, hanging out with the locals. However, we had a close run in with some shady characters eyeballing our equipment, so we packed up and headed to our sleeping place pretty sharpish! After the adrenaline of playing and our near miss we had a pretty rough nights sleep. I wonder if our next stop in Berne will as anxious as our stay in Milan.

April 23, 2013 @ Prima Luna

The sun was shining bright as we got up and loaded around 11am. We stopped for breakfast just outside of the city and being our last few hours in Italy we couldn’t resist so we had espresso and pizza! Bellys full we continued our journey to Berne.

We reached the border pretty quickly and then into the intensity of the swiss mountains. This time we pulled over to get a closer look at the naural wonders around us. All 3 of us have become amazed and obsessed with them. We took a stroll down to the river flowing between them and i cupped my hands and drank the best water i have ever tasted! Pure, clean and fresh. Drinking my bottled mineral water after it tasted dull and dark in comparison. Being in the alps is like a surreal dream. The day was super sunny yet the top of the mountains were still snow capped. Waterfalls rushed from various points around us and into the river i had just drank from. We repeated ‘wow!’ over and over. We also took a big stone each from the river which were bright blue and clean, drying them on the bonnet of the car. It would be great to use them as percussion sounds on the next MA album! The peacefulness of our surroundings were the perfect come down after the big city of Milan.

Arriving at the venue in the picturesque city of Berne was also magical for us all. We really fell in love with this place. I sat on the terrace of the venue in the sun and watched the world go by. After soundcheck and some gorgeous food we took to the stage at 20.30, an earlier show for us. We planned to play x2 30 minute sets with a short break but after the second set we played for s further 40 minutes! The crowd was small, warm and receptive and we felt their hearts connect with the music. MA work very well within this setting. As the audience and ourselves enjoyed the sets so much, this is why we played for much longer than planned, pulling out many old songs from previous tours and playing ‘seeds’ (the title track of the new album) for the very first time. As we felt so comfortable we even jammed / wrote a brand new song on the spot! This was a very special show for us.

After the show we were exhilarated, tired and exhausted. Miss Anthropy’s fingers were bleeding, injured and sore but it was worth every minute of playing! After many hugs with the owners of the venue we retired to our unusual sleeping place for the evening, the cellar of the venue itself! We took the opportunity to type up our tour diaries and upload some pictures making it 3.30am before we climbed into our sleeping bags and drifted off to sleep with great memories of the day.

April 24, 2013 @ Bar Rossi

We awoke to another sunny day! We had to wake early to pay the parking meter at 8am so we grabbed some coffee and cake and rushed out to see the “Barengraben” a Bear pit in the city. The city name “Bern” translates to “Bears” and it has strong connections to the animals rooted in its history. There are many symbols of bears all across the city and legend has it that Duke Berthold V of Zhringen killed a bear here back in 1191, thus the city was named in its honour. The live bears have been on public display here for hundreds of years and they have recently been re-housed from their original pit to a nice new park where they have more room to move around. When we arrived most of the bears were sleeping and there were many people gathered in the Sun observing them. The new enclosure is situated next to a stunning clear and powerful river, with forests in the background, it was breathtakingly immense and the photographs cannot do it real justice.

Loving and leaving the bears we went on and explored more of the local area with its rich, clean architecture complete with a clock tower dating from 1530. The sun was so burning hot I had to make an emergency impromptu stop at a This&That budget store selling all tourist items with Swiss flags and bears to buy some Bug eye sun glasses. Next we visited a bakery and ate fresh giant pretzels whilst watching the busy street and trams, but all too soon it was time to head off on the road to Zurich for our next show.

Thankfully the drive was short so we arrived, unloaded and headed straight out to make the most of the rest of the afternoon. What better way to see a new place then with a local guide, a staff member kindly offered to show us around Zurich. It felt more like the capital city then the city we had just come from (which is actually the capital!). Again we were all totally gobsmacked and blown away by the place, so beautiful, picturesque and clean. We walked through super rich high-end shopping streets, into old squares, we felt like we were in a film. Everything seemed too perfect and with the disorientation of touring and the combination of sleep deprivation, traveling, strange diet and body clock and playing every night we really started to feel a little strange, hazy and dizzy. We visited some grand old churches with the most vibrant and deep acoustics and natural reverb inside including the Grossmnster. This church was particularly striking and we climbed all the way to the top of the church’s steeple to catch a shockingly amazing panoramic view of the whole of the city. Across the sky lines you can see the snow-capped mountains in the distance, they look like a mirage, like they have been painted as a background into the sky. This left an impression for the rest of the day and in our daze we headed over to chill by lake awaiting our sound-check time. It seemed that all the locals were also enjoying the sun and the beautiful lake. We had some drinks and talked with our guide, he showed us our listing in the local Zurich post! We sat amongst the big crowds, stalls selling food, buskers and performers for a little while and we all felt great soaking up the atmosphere, moments like this on tour are golden and cherished!

Sound-check time came soon enough; we had a good one with a really nice sound. I was super happy with the big bass amp! We headed backstage to relax, enjoying the luxury of a nice sofa and a private toilet! We had some showers and changed and before we knew it was time to play! We spontaneously mixed up the set tonight, picking and choosing what we wanted to play instead of following our sets. We felt free, relaxed and open. There is a close and warm feeling to this cozy venue. People were quiet and listened, as we continued to play more and more people came into the venue and we were happy to see some people we had met and invited from earlier! The sound was fantastic, our engineer was creative with the vocal and instrument delays which we were all buzzing from! In the middle of our x2 45 minute sets tonight I headed out on the the street for some air and someone kindly thrust an ice cold beer and a spliff in my hand! (Marijuana is decriminalized here) I felt so blessed to have so many warm vibes and so many positive comments from audience members during the interval and this spurred us all on to put all we had left into the last set of the night.

Exhausted but loving every minute we hung out with the people after the show meeting, people from Switzerland, England, Canada, France, Netherlands, USA, Serbia and Italy, a truly international vibe! Thanks to you all, and everyone who bought a fabric pack (we hope you are reading this, greetings!) for making us feel so welcome. Eventually we packed down and retired to our hostel for some much needed sleep.

April 25, 2013 @ JUZ

In the morning we woke early for breakfast and watched the characters on the street. Zurich is a very colourful place, with transvestites, sex clubs, dealers, prostitutes and a lot of police! The area didn’t feel intimidating or seedy, even the street dealers politely offer you cocaine in 6 different languages! We found this busy street corner fascinating but it was time to say our goodbyes to Zurich and head north to Germany, goodbye Switzerland, we will miss you!

We were on the road by 11am. The drive today will take us around 5 hours as we kept pulling over to take lots of breaks and take it easy. The heat of the sun beating down on the car was becoming unbearable and we were all starting to feel the fatigue by now. We reached the city and were hit by the industrialization and traffic. We arrived at the venue and were instantly intrigued. The building is covered in art, graffiti, political and social slogans all over the walls and comes complete with a bookshop and information centre. It is a squat and a social centre, mixed with anarchist, communists, anti-fascists, artists and musicians. The centre is about to celebrate its 40th birthday so there was a hive of activity. Frustrated by the sticky and sweaty journey we unloaded our gear and then chilled outside, drinking fritz kola and white wheat beers in the sun. I took the time to update the diary and at the same time people where busy making placards for an upcoming political demonstration. We were then invited to have dinner with some people of the group at a local apartment, eating great home-made falafel and humus.

Then we headed back to the squat where we sound-checked and waited for our stage time. The sound was difficult tonight, which left us feeling less confidence in our performance. We were also disappointed with the turnout as many of the people decided to stay outside in the warm summer air. The people who did come in and watch we thank them for their support, but it was a shame for the rest that their taste in music was not as open-minded and varied as their views on social and political issues. We played for only 45 minutes and left the stage feeling a little deflated after playing 8 great and receptive shows in a row. We thank the booker and other people who were involved for putting us on and trying something different for this environment. After all of our good shows, we had to expect a bad one sooner or later!

April 26, 2013 @ Eureka

Waking up in the morning with (typically German) no curtains, the sun beamed in on us! We had time to grab some coffee, say our thanks and goodbyes and then loaded up the car to hit the road for the Netherlands. The promise of another sunny day soon disappeared and hard rain beat down on the windscreen of the car so hard that in-between the strokes of the windscreen wipers you could not see a thing on the roads. The scenery soon changed and we could recognize the flat green fields of the Netherlands.

Arriving early at the venue we sat in the car and waited a short while, but when I got out of the car we realized just how cold it was here! We loaded into a wonderful old Dutch building and had to climb all the way to the top floor to get to our stage! We had some proper strong Dutch coffee to recover, the stuff that makes your heart race! I changed my clothes for something warmer and then hung out with some of the locals outside. Of course in no time at all pipes and joints were being passed around, some elder guys filled us in on the history of the building, where I learned that this too is actually a squat/social centre. In contrast to Germany though this place is bright and cool, it could just as easily be an alternative venue with lots of art everywhere, but no political overtones. I sat back inside and within 5 minutes I heard a voice say “special delivery” and I looked up to see a Dutch guy with a huge smile on his face holding his hands out with a big bag containing homemade, “space cakes” (marijuana cakes). “Wow, thanks so much!” I said, “what a pleasant surprise!” I stashed the cakes for after the show!

Our stage time was not until 11:30am, so we decided to hang out with the locals, lots of Punky alternative people, another thing we love about being on the road is meeting new and interesting people. I met an extremely talented tattoo artist from Brazil, who was a super sweet guy, we bonded over a mutual love of the Brazilian metal band “Sepultura”. He was covered in tattoos all over his body, face and neck and he was also on tour himself traveling around tattooing people across Europe!

The time came and we played a punchy and assertive set, banging through our more energised songs. We put our all into an aggressive performance of “Seeds”, but the sound was awkward again on stage so we felt a little disconnected. The room of the venue itself was big and dark and we felt it hard to initially connect with the crowd. Johan broke another drum stick during the final chorus of “You and Me” and by the end of our set we felt exhausted but had won most of the audience over.

The usual post gig hangout commenced, Dub reggae was blasted out of the speakers and I skanked around the venue, it would be a long night finishing at around 5:45 am. We stayed up socialising playing dub and talking tattoos and art and eventually retired to our sofa in an UV art covered room to sleep! Again we thank everybody at the venue for showing us such a great time!

April 27, 2013 @ Huiskamer

We woke up to see the Brazilian tattoo artist from the night before greeting his clients for the day. He started hand drawing a design onto transfer before tattooing it on the skin and this guy has some truly amazing skill and his own style! We would have loved to stay all day (and get some new tattoos!) but after some strong coffee we felt it was time to give him the space to complete his work.

We headed to the beautiful city of Utrecht. The house was located in a sleepy suburb and we arrived on empty spiritually and mentally. The road can be tough on your mind, body and well being and unfortunately our drummer, due to sickness couldn’t play the last 2 shows with us and so left for home. We sound-checked and built up our equipment in the small living room / kitchen and waited for what would be an intimate show. We were joined last minute by a good friend who managed to fill in and play drums for us on 2 songs “After it all” and “Fall”. But the set was hard for us without our usual drummer. Feeling spaced out and drunk from the whole trip we played a soft and sad set, despite feeling worn out we really focused hard and the audience listened beautifully for us. The Dutch band that played after us was absolutely stunning, akin to Jeff Buckley, they had the whole place mesmerized and it was an honour for us to see them live after enjoying their music online.

After that DJs began and a full scale party broke out! The beers went down and the volume went up and despite several neighbors complaining the music continued. I even jumped behind the turntables myself to spin a few tunes! Eventually the police came and the party was defused in a calm manner. In the UK we all would have been coshed over the head, arrested and our equipment confiscated! Exhausted we got to sleep around 5am.

April 28, 2013 @ Ruigoord Church

Waking up early and feeling “hammered” by exhaustion we tried to make sense of everything! A good friend from the UK arrived to join the last day of the tour. We had an early show in Amsterdam and we knew we just had to get through one last push before we could attempt to recover!

We arrived at the venue which is in a big old squatted church used as a living art-space, a miniature “Christiana Town” (Denmark). Many hippies and alternative types are chilling in and around the church, this place has been like this since the early 70s and some people look like they arrived then and never left! Everyone was super friendly and “far out” and within 5 minutes someone had put some “herbs” in my hand. They were genuinely concerned that I had something to chill with!

We watched the other folk and acoustic acts, who were participating in a song-writing competition; we were scheduled after them, to close the festival. It was really nice to see a fan from Rotterdam who had come all the way to say hello to us and hang out! It was cool to hear that she had been following the tour diary online, and was quoting things I had forgotten I had written! She really understands our music and the connection it can have, so we felt blessed to have her there as support. Unfortunately the stage times ran on and on and by the time we had our line-check, our new friend had to leave early, but she grabbed a copy of “Seeds” to take home with her.

A little while later we took to the stage. Again we were a drummer down so we played a very low energy set with many of our quieter songs. It seemed to fit the mood, but it was a shame the sun was still shining outside as people were reluctant to come in and watch. We felt like we squeezed the last of our energy into the final show and before we knew it our set was over and so was the tour. We had some drinks, food and reflected.

Wow! What a tour, what a mind blowing time.. this was the last day of a tour of playing for 12 days in a row over spread over 4 countries and this was quite literally the end of the road for us. We were worn out, exhilarated yet exhausted, high but low. Soon enough it will all feel like a dream that never happened. We would like to thank every single person we worked with and met during the “Seeds” tour 2013, thanks for making it so special for us, for your support, we look forward to doing this again soon. We were so lucky to play for and meet such wonderful people, it means so much that the music connected and touched so many peopleâ??s hearts and souls, until next timeâ?¦â?¦THANK YOU X.

Tour Photos