Resistance Tour 2009 Report
After playing on the Got punk tour we decided to go abroad. We have been planning this for some time and after releasing our debut album in january we contacted Máteja from In-sane, asking him if he could help us with booking gigs. It is never good to try book a tour 3 months in advance for it is difficult to find venues that have free slots in their schedule, but we wanted to do it anyway.
Day 1: 6th april in Ajdovscina (SLO):
First gig of the tour was in Kiel in Germany, which is 1500km away from our
hometown. Therefore we decided to hit the road a whole day in advance, so that
we could check out the Baltic sea and get some rest after a long drive through
half a Europe. We arranged some last minute paperwork and rented a van for the
whole tour (we are thinking about buying a van ourselves as it is cheaper if you use it often). The meeting place was as ussually at our rehearsing place just after lunch (yeah, nobody cooks better than our mothers!:) ).We made an inventory of the all the stuff we took with us, so we could check if we had everything daily
On the tour we were joined by our friends, Luka who is our sound engineer and Ram, who was responsible for merchandise and financial stuff. We played some gear tetris for an hour or two, trying to figure out how to squezze everything at the back of the van, so that we could have enough space in the last row of seats for sleeping. Before we hit the road we went to the mall to buy some supplies, food and drinks (mostly beer) and programed the GPS (she had many names through the tour – Nevemka, Franceska, prasica, sinica…:)) for the destination Kiel. We took the road through Italy and Austria as it was the quickest and shortest. The weather was great and the scenery was breath-taking going through the Alps. We traveled at a quite slow pace, looking forward to the week ahead.
Day 2: 7th april in Kiel (GER):
Finally, morning in Kiel. What a long drive (and too many pit-stops, becouse of beer consumption in the van)! The drive through the Germany was smooth thanks to good roads and Autobahn, but endless highways were quite exhausting. We drove in shifts, so that we didnt fall asleep behind the wheel.
We arrived at the venue at 6am in the morning, checked it out and decided to hit the nearby beach at the Baltic sea, to make a breakfast and get some rest before the gig in the evening. We found a nice, secluded coastline outside the city, near some old lighthouse and quickly set the portable table and seats like a proper tourists, having a breakfast on the beach 
. It was very cold, with a constant breeze blowing from the sea, but we were also hungy and sleepless which contributed to the feeling of chilliness. Most of us slept through the morning until the sun showed itself through the overcast skies and forcasted a beautiful shiny day ahead of us.
We checked out the coast and the lighthouse, absorbing the scenes of an unfamiliar landscape, far away from our home. Jernej our singer proved to be the clumsy one, as he managed to fall into the water when climbing on some rocks – I wish I had a camera ready at that moment! It was a good idea to take an acoustic guitar with us and some percussion as we were steaming with ideas and made some great acoustic versions of our songs (maybe we will records some of these in the future). In the afternoon we went to the venue in Kiel – Die Alte Meirei, a nice small squat in the middle of the town. When we arrived there were a few people there painting the outside walls of the squat, but there was no other bands or the promoter there, so we decided to cook some pasta as we hadnt eaten anything since breakfast.
We checked out the venue inside and meet some girl who lived in the squat and she said that she knew nothing about the gig, so we were a bit worried if we will even play tonight or not (a lecture on problems of nacism and activities of Antifa in the region was scheduled on the same day, but no gig). Just as we thought that we
drove 1500km for nothing the other bands arrived, Vouge from Belgium and the local band Short Round. We talked about the tour and played some table football with them (Jay and Ram were unbeatbable, until me and Luka stepped to the table 
).
Some time later the promoter Bolle arrived and we were releaved that the concert
would take place. We unloaded the gear and agreed to lend our drumkit and guitar cabinets to the other two bands. We did a quick soundcheck, having a lot of trouble with the faulty microphone cables, so we miced just the snare and kick. Just as we finished, the food was ready and we had another portion of rice and vegetables (and some very spicy stuff). Slowly people started gathering for the lecture, maybe there was 70-80 people, so the place filled quite nicely. I dont remember in what order we played, becouse we were all exhausted from a long drive to remember. I think we were all a bit nervous as it was our first gig in another country, but as soon as the first chord was struck we switched to rock mode . We were a bit sloppy, but the reactions of the crowd were very positive, so we were satisifed with the first gig. The rest two bands were more old-school hardcore oriented, but I really enjoyed listening to them as they both reminded me of some bands I used to listen to a lot a few years ago. Unfortunately we found out that we wouldnt get payed much (although we lent all the equipment and everything), so we were in a big minus after the first day. If we knew this would be one of the better payed gigs we wouldn complain! After the gig we went to the Bolles apartment where some of us slept over (we made an agreement before the tour that at aleast two people would sleep in the van, so that our gear wouldnt get stolen).
Day 3: 8th april a day off in Berlin (GER):
We slept until 10am in the morning and luckily we had a chance to take a shower – thank you for that! Later we all gathered at the van on the parking place in the middle of a busy street in Kiel, therefore we decided to hit the road to Berlin and stop somewhere quiet to have something to eat. I was checking the scar on my forehead, which was a gift from Jani who threw a can of chips through the van and it landed on my face !Anyway we had a nice sunny day and about 400 km to travel, so we took it easy.
There were many wind farms with numerous wind turbines on the way which were quite fascinanting as nobody of us has has seen them in such a number and scale. Anyway, after a 100km we stopped at the rest station to make a breakfast and lunch in one. This time I cooked the pasta with the help of Nejc. We used up all the bottled water we had with us, so Jernej went to the WC on the gas station to get some water for cooking. Well he made a stupid mistake and drank that water through the day – he was paying the price the next few days. Ram took some footbags with him and we were playing with those throughout the tour wherever we stopped, it certainly was a good exercise. We werent quite sure where we would sleep this night so Jay called our friend Jasmina, who is on student exchange program in Berlin if some of us could sleep at her place.
She was very excited to hear from us and couldnt wait to meet us after being away from home for more than half a year and she unreluctandly agreed to put us up at her place. We continued the journey to Berlin with me, Jani and Luka in the first row and the rest of the crew making jungle sounds in the back seats (except for Jernej who probably slept 70% of the tour). Elvis Jackson, Propagandhi and Iron Maiden were the music of choice for this day, which complemnted a very nice drive through German countryside towards its capitol city. Nevemka/Franceska, or whaterever our GPS was called this day was very helpful in guiding us through the maze of roads and highways in Berlin and we made it to the agreed spot in students district berfore the sunset. We parked right next to the field hockey stadium where some local female team was training for the game :).
Later we switched back to tourist mode and set out table and chairs on the parking lot to have a snack before Jasmina would arrive. Nejc found out that there was a wireless internet conection available so it was nice to check all the e-mails, get in touch with our families at home etc. Soon we meet with our dear friend Jasmina, we were really happy to see her after all this time! It was a good reason to celebrate so she took us to a nearby store, where we purchased some bread and fruits and most imporantly some local german beer. We returned to the parking lot, pulled out the acoustic guitar and congo drum and had a great evening. Jernejs stomach was starting to complain (the contaminated water from the gas station) and he had a rough hour or two, but being as he is, he didnt want to miss the party and joined in after every puking session. After a considerable amount of consumed beer we found out that it is possible to play a song by Iron maiden called Tropper on one guitar (bass line on top and harmonised melody on the higher strings)…:) at least it sounded OK to our drunk ears. After a few hours we decided to go to sleep if we wanted to check out Berlin next morning, so me Jay and Neco went to Jasminas place to sleep and the rest of the crew slept in the van.
Day 4: 9th april in Berlin (GER):
I set my alarm clock to 8pm, but totally ignored it when it went off. Luckily Jasmina woke us all up and we took a shower before meeting with the rest of the guys at the parking lot. The place where we slept at (a students dorm) was really neat, each student had his own room, and each floor shared a big bathroom and restroom. Jasmina told us, that this place is right next to the woods sorrounding this part of Berlin, so it is not unusuall to come across wild boars and deer arround the dorms (there were also many signs of wild life throughout the area). We had no clue what we wanted to see in Berlin (apart from the Berliner Mauer), so we said to Jasmina to take us to the most interesting places.
We set the GPS for the Berlin wall, Brandenburg gate, Tiergarten and a squat on Oranienburger Strasse where many independent artists are putting their work on display. Again we were very lucky with the weather as it was shinny and warm. We didnt feel like walking through the city so we went sightseeing with our van. We stopped and checked the Berliner Mauer by foot and Nejc and Jernej managed to get a piece of it to have as memorabilia. We all really liked the city, there is so much going on on every step, but it all gets much better when you go to poorer eastern part of the city (former communist rule), where you have many squats, bars, building covered with graphities etc. Finally we reached the squat at Oranienburger Strasse where we parked our van and checked it out. This place was huge, with many artists working, displaying their works of art and many nice people you can have an intelligent conversation with. Jasmina let us know that she invited a few of her friends from France and Italy (Alice, Clem, Tanina and Sarah) that she met here Berlin so we decided to get something to eat before they arrived.
This was a big deal, as we couldnt decide where nor what to eat. Me, Jay, Jani, Ram and Neco went to a nearby pizzeria, while Luka and Jernej went to a nearby Kebab joint or something similar…just as we finished eating we bumped into Jasminas friends and introduced eachother. Being hot as it was, we decided to go back to the squat for some beer. The girls were very friendly and talkative and we made them promise that they would come to the gig in the evening. After a few beers and a quick check of our financial situation we came to an idea, that it would be good to try and earn some money playing and singing on the street…it didnt take much contemplation and in a few minutes we were on the busiest street in Berlin playing to the people. Soon a big crowd gathered arround us and we acctually got some money…well in the end it was on of the best payed gigs on the tour – we got 14,95 euros! YEAH! :) Well, it was time to go to the venue which was called Lokal. This was a last minute show and we werent on the flyer, so we didnt expect to get payed much…it didnt really mather to us, becouse we got to
play with two awesome band – Tiny ghosts (GER) and one of my/our favourite bands Bridge and Tunnel (USA).
We had to unload our equipment quickly, for the venue didnt have a parking place and we were parked in the middle of a busy street. Luckily we found a cheap parking spot near the venue. Lokal is great and the promoters Randy and Jan were very friendly and hospitable. Soon all bands arrived and it was time to eat – we were served with a very tasty burrito-ish dish with vegetables and some other stuff we didnt recognise, but it tasted good – add a quality german beer and we were like kings. Ram set up the merch and we set up the gear and did a soundcheck. Luka worked his magic and it was perfect! Guys and girls from Bridge and Tunnel really liked the music and we got into conversation with them about many different issues…they are awesome people, we hope to meet you again soon! Soon, Jasmina and our French friends arrived, just before we hit the stage. There were maybe 100-120 people there and we had a great set, the sound was perfect this night. Next up were Tiny ghosts, whose music reminded me of Placebo…their set was quite long, but far from boring!
Next were the stars of the night Bridge and Tunnel…we lent them our drumkit and guitar cabs, but their guitarist Rachel was having problems with the amplifier, so Jay offered her to use his amp. We quickly set everything and the show started. What a band…I can easily say this was one of the best bands I have seem live in the last five year, pure awesomeness! After the gig we were hanging arround a bit and exchanged contacts for the future. In the meantime Luka got really drunk, so it was time to go to bed soon. We said goodbye to Jasmina and the girls, we miss you! Randy, the promoter, took us to his place where all of us could sleep on their own matresses…nice!
Day 5: 10th april in Tabor (CZ):
We got up early, becouse we had another 500 km ahead of us and the GPS wasnt up-to-date for Czech Republic, so we wanted to go earlier in case we got lost somewhere. We had a shower available to us and we needed it, becouse we were soaked in sweat at the gig the previous night. Randy made us a wonderful breakfast in the morning, it was like we were in a five star hotel, thank you for that!
I quickly checked the email and myspace to see what was new about the tour and if we got all the contacts of the promoters. Randy told us that the Bridge and Tunnel would be having an acoustic show in the afternoon on the terrace where we were staying, so we were a little sad that we could catch it. But we were looking forward to go to Tabor where we could play with two awesome bands from Finnland – Part Time Killer and One Hidden Frame. After we loaded all the sleeping bags in the van we said goodbye to Randy and departured towards Tabor. Unfortunately our GPS »prasica« decided she would not work, so we tried to talk nicely to her and voila…no problems anymore. Again we had such a nice weather, not a single cloud was on the sky and the spitirs were high. It took quite some time to get out of Berlin, but soon we were on the way to a new country. When we were closing to the German-Czech border we saw a german police patrol driving slowly on the highway and we just knew they would stop us, becouse they looked bored…and they did. Well it turned out they were
really nice – and older guy and a lady, who could speak some english (my german is not good enough and I esspecially wouldnt want to use it talking to the cop
in case I said something stupid). Anyway they were just doing a routine check, but later we found out that Jernej had some weed with him…that was so fucking
stupid, esspecially becouse one of the rules for the tour was to have no drugs in the van at any time. Fortunately we were lucky and Ram went to buy a vignette for the Czech highways and we were on the way. Czech Republic was very nice, finally the landscape was a bit more diverse, since we had been driving on the flatlands in eastern Germany. We also entered the country famous for the finest beer and the first thing we did there was of course to buy some beer – Pilsner-Urquell=very good.
The roads to Prague were very good and we wished we had some time to check out the czech capitol city, but we were running a bit late already. There was a huge traffic congestion just ouside Prague and it took us almost two hours to cover 20km. We got a bit lost near Tabor, becouse there was a new road, which wasnt programed in the GPS, but we eventually found the way. When we arrived in Tabor, the Part Time Killer and One Hidden Frame were already there. We talked a bit and agreed what gear to use, becouse the club was small and it would be pointless to lug all the cabs in the venue.
We also met with Radim, the promoter and the rest of Bad boys crew, again great
people! We were very hungry, for we havent eaten anything yet, so the pizza and
pasta that they made for us disappeared in a few moments. Radim told us, that
they have a permit fot the concert until 11pm, so we had to go on stage half an hour after our arrival. We quickly set everything up and did a quick soundcheck before doing our set. We were very exhausted from the long way and at one point I felt like I was gonna faint from being so tired…but we had a good gig and we felt great when guys from Part Time Killer and One Hidden Frame said they really liked our music…it is nice to hear a positive compliment from such great bands. They also bought our merch which really helped us financially, esspecially becouse we found out that we probably wouldnt get paid (usually they only book two bands at MC Orion and we were booked in a last minute) After that we sat down at the table to finish our dinner and we ordered some fine czech beer. We couldnt wait to see both bands play and they delivered…both were just awesome so we supported them by buying their merch and we exchanged some CDs with them. After the gig, there was an afterparty where we talked with both bands about various things and agreed that we should stay in contact in the future. They were also so kind, that they said that we can use the place where they were to sleep over, that was so nice of you guys, thank you!
Day 6: 11th april in Rožnov pod Radhoštem (CZ):
Radims friend provided us with accommodation (I am sorry I forgot the name) in his apartment where it was warm and cosy. In the morning his mother surprised us with coffee, tea and some strudel/apple pie which was delicious. A few of us took a shower, before we decided it was a time to go – we had quite a distance to cover. We stopped at a local store to buy some bread and water. The weather was sunny again so we said we should go to some country road and have a breakfast in a peaceful environment.
We found the spot and enjoyed the scenery. At this point we couldnt ignore our bad financial situation as we got 70 euros in 6 days, which was a huge blow. We had to make a decision whether to go home while we were not so far away or to carry on, not knowing what was ahead of us. After a long and heated conversation we decided to carry on and just worry about the money issues when we got home…afterall touring should be fun, right? Everybody felt we made a right decision and we couldnt wait to hit the road again. We went back to the town to fill up the gas tank, but unfortunately none of them would accept euros, so we gambled and went further, hoping to reach a gas station that would take euros…well eventually we had to use Rams credit card (we were lucky that he had it with him).
After that we drove through beautiful czech countyside and got to Rožnov quite early. We had some problems finding the venue – Vrah, as it was on the outskirts of the city in a remote area, but with a help of some locals we eventually got there. We had a few hours left to the load-in, so we went to a nearby forrest/field overlooking the city and had a late lunch. At 6pm we went back to Vrah where we met with the promoter Martin and a band Inner Conflict from Germany who were already there. Well things soon got creepy. There were maybe five people at the venue and they started bringing out clubs, crowbars, sticks with nails and stones, so we started wondering what the hell was going on…one of the guys said that there are a few nazis on bikes patroling through town (there was an Antifa evening with lectures and a concert planned for this evening). After a few minutes some guy came up from town and said that there are a dozen nazis blocking the roads to the venue and beating up people trying to get here. Well at this point we thought we better get ready to fight, but the guys said that we and the other band should move the van and all other stuff to some other, safe place. A few minutes later we got a report, that there are already three vans full of nazis coming in our direction so we and the Inner Conflict decided it would be the best to get away from here. We drove on some strange narrow roads and got ourselves trapped on a road with no escape route. Soon there were some guys checking us out on motorcycles so we decided to get out of the town, becouse we didnt want our van/gear to get fucked up or even worse ourselves. Jernej was pissed off and was just looking to kick some nazi ass, but Luka and Jani who were in a similar sitations a couple of times and almost got stabbed with a knife said they didnt want to fuck arround so we decided to get as far away as possible and not take a risk so far away from home.
We called Máteja to inform him about the situation and he said it is better not fuck with nazis in eastern Europe, becouse you can get hurt bad in no time…so we got arround the city and headed for Poland. Maybe two hour later we got a call from Martin, that the situation is calming down, becouse the police forces were called in to handle the mess, but we were too far away at this point to turn arround. We apologised to him and agreed to come back next time…
Day 7: 12th april in Biala Podlaska (POL):
We drove all night through Poland…700 km. Before we left Czech Republic we bought a map of Poland, becouse GPS was becoming more useless by a mile…moreover we were stopped by a czech police at the czech-polish border, but it was just a routine check again…no weed rule was inforced so we didnt fear if we got stopped anymore. They were polite and not troublesome, so we continued the way through Poland without any problems.
The impression of Poland was great, the roads were nice (well at least to Warszawa) and there was so much wildlife right next to the road that we had to be extra careful not to hit a deer of a wild boar. I slept almost all the way from Krakow to Biala Podlaska where we arrived at 6am in the morning. Thanks to the promoter Mike who gave us instructions how to find the squat Zakazny we had no probelms getting there. Well you can notice that we were up north near Belarus as it was very cold in the morning. We were tired from the long journey and fell a sleep in the van, except Jernej who slept outside in the open (and caught a cold). At noon Ram, Nejc and me went to town to buy some water and bread, but all the stores were closed becouse this day was Easter monday and all you could hear were the prayers from the churches – or Vatican provinces as I call them.
Well we eventually managed to find a gas station where we bought two packs of
water…well only to find out that they were mineral water which if you are a
singer you know you cant use on the stage + you cant cook pasta or tea/coffe in mineral water…ahh, fuck it…it was to far away too walk back to buy water. We ate some canned tuna and stuff like that and played footbag, which we still sucked at after a week. Later we checked out the squat (Zakazny) and soon Mike, the promoter arrived. He is a really nice person, he was just holding his head when we said what happened to us and that we were here from 6am in the morning. He said we should have called him, but we didnt want to bother anyone so early. Soon more people arrived and they were all very friendly and hospitable we felt welcome. We took all our gear to the venue which was quite big and old-school with a small stage which we prefer (better contact with the audience).
Mike said that he would also be playing with his band this day (Life scars + Anemia). There are three girls with him in the band and they know how to play, we loved it…as a mather of fact both bands were great, really energetic! After a quick meet and greet with everybody we went to the guest room where we were served a tasty meal and had a chance to rest for a while…soon the show started and we went down to the basement to check out the bands…the crowd was crazy and the atmosphere was electric, we couldnt wait to hit the stage. We played last and although it was gettin late a lot of people stayed. We played a very good set and the audinces feedback confirmed it. What a show! Malik from Decentrum Records also liked what he heard and said he would like to include our song(s) in his next project. There was an afterparty scheduled after the gig, so we looked forward to party a bit. Our singer Jernej found a fan..she was very fond of him…let me just use Stanley Kubrick words – he had some old in-and-out with a young devotchka . While he was having fun we were destroying our livers with some polish beer and homemade liquor that we brought from home. We played guitar and sang song with people that stayed there, we even learned some of the polsih songs…hehe – next day: A bad hangover .
Thankfully we had a breakfast and a warm tea, thank you Mike and the rest of the crew for that. This was a great gig and we also got payed as we agreed which gave helped us a lot!
Day 8: 13th april in Krakow (POL):
We went to Krakow right after the breakfast in Biala Podlaska and we had another beautiful sunny day. Poland is a nice country! We had to make a lot of pit-stops becouse everyone had to pee every couple of kilometres. We were listening to CDs from One Hidden frame and Flippin beans (now Part Time Killer) all the way to Krakow and really enjoyed it!
This night we would be the only band and we would play in Kawarnia Naukowa in the middle of Krakow. We had no problems finding the venue, becouse the GPS had all the big cities covered. We meet with the bar owners and later with Kuba who was the promoter of the gig. Yet again, we were surprised how warmly welcomed we were, everybody was so supportive and friendly. After we set all our gear we went to a pizzeria nearby to get something to eat (we were surved a delicious dinner later, but we were so hungry we couldnt wait another minute). After the dinner we went for a walk through the city and there was some great scenery and beautful arhitecture to see. When we got back there were more and more people gathering and soon it was enough to fill the small concert room at the venue. We started playing just before 11pm and from the first song on people went crazy.
This was easily the best show on the tour, we were all being carried in the air, Jani smashed my forehead again with his bass and I almost broke the neck on my guitar when flying through the air and landing on something…not sure what or whom. Wow, Krakow rules! After we finished the set we had to play encore (like in Zakazny) and we had to repeat a song we had already played.The feedback was great and we felt like we acomplished something. Unfortunately we werent payed any money (again we have to start booking the tour at least 6 monts in advace next time), but Kuba, Matevz, Michal, Adam and the rest of the crew gave so much effort to make the show happen that we didnt care about the money at this point…this night was pure rocknroll.
After the show we got drunk again and partied with all who stayed at Kawiarnia Naukowa. We got a great place to sleep, a shower and a hot tea/coffee in the morning! We are infinitely grateful for everything guys! Well at his point we had another two gigs scheduled in Germany and Switzerland, but we had to cancel both becouse we had to pay for the van and gas and we were already in debt.
Day 9: 14th april in Ljubljana (SLO):
Well, we made a decision to go home…but the good news was, that we could catch a gig by our friends Part Time Killer and One Hidden Frame at Rog in Ljubljana. We woke up early in the morning and hit the road to get to Ljubljana in time. We called Máteja, that we were coming and that we want to surprise them! We went through Czech Republic and stopped at some mall to buy some finest czech beer for them to thank them for all the support. We felt a bit bitter that we had to cancel the last part of the tour, but closser we got to home more happy we felt. Soon we had a party in the van, I had a sore throath from all the yelling and cheering! Finally we arrived at Rog, where we meet with our friend Máteja and thanked him for all the help and support…he said that the guys are just having a sound check so we waited a bit and then went in to surprise them…Alex was like: what the fuck are you doing here, you should be on tour? We told them what happened and surpised them with our gift from the Czech Republic. Again this concert was pure awesomness, great preformances from both bands and it is nice to be friends with such talented bands and warm people. We partied a little after the gig and then went to bad, after a long drive from Krakow.
We would like to thank everybody who came to our gigs and those who helped us with the shows. Special thanks goes to Máteja from Insane Booking who gave his heart in soul helping us with the tour, we cant express how grateful we are. Thanks to Bolle, Jan and Randy (the best breakfast ever, you were too kind our friend). Big thanks to Jasmina, Alice, Clem, Tanina and Sarah, Radim and Bad boys crew for a great evening and accommodation, thanks to Martin (hope to see you soon, sorry about the situation), to everybody in Biala Podlaska, Malik and esspecially Mike and the girls, you were also so kind to us, we have to return you a favour someday! Thanks to everyone at Kawiarnia Naukowa, esspecially Kuba, Matevz, Michal, Adam…sorry if I forgot anyone!
