ok - Euro debriefing I guess - PART ONE

Apologies for the scarcity of posts here and elsewhere. At one point I was putting out a lot more. Throwing words and opinions out carelessly into the wind. A few things have affected the flow. Firstly it was a lot of time over the last few years trying to write a longer piece of fiction. That may go on for years! Sometimes it reads great - other times...... And I like an easy flow with writing. When it gets down to doing mechanical or engineering type things, I lose my place. And I'm the one WITH the place and IN the place. Actually that's exactly what I've been writing about.
 Also, been very busy being a musician. This, of course, involves 95% of your time involved in admin. ADMIN. Balls to that.
And then there's the inherently fragile nature of being an Australian musician. The best I can say to younger musicians who come up to me and start to sing their blues is "get used to the undignified situations- and get to like them!"
Of course it was great being in Europe again. People like music there. I'd forgotten.
We flew out of Melbourne on China Southern and sat in cramped seats for 12 or so hours watching the most terrible movies on screens about a foot away from our faces. My favourite - in it's awfulness- was "Olympus has fallen", where the North Koreans take over the Pentagon and kidnap THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!
We stopped in Guangzhou for a few hours and then hopped back on board for another dozen or more hours and then fell out of the plane in London and then caught a flight to Paris. I love Paris.

 (I wore this jacket for 5 weeks and tossed it in a  bin upon returning. It had lots of accessible pockets)

We hired a 10 seater van which I drove gingerly out of the airport and into Montmarte on a Saturday night. Madness, but we were dumb lucky and survived.

FRANCE. 24 SEPT - Binic, LE CHALON QUI PASSE
This joint was cute- like a Jacques Tati film set. I kept trying out my bad French on the villagers.

25 SEPT - Lorient, LE GALLION
 This was beautiful in a different way. A post war , re-built city.

 Here there was a working port and lots of stray cats.

The venue was quite beautiful.We stayed at the promoters apartment. They all loved Jeffrey lee Pierce here in Brittany.

26 SEPT - Renne, LE MONDO BIZARRO 
This was the city where Beats Records, who released Harrys album PRETTY, on vinyl is located. Seb drove us to the record shop which is located in a 12th century building. All crooked and lopsided but still occupied and living! We gawped like hicks. The hospitality, generosity  and warmth of the Bretons was outstanding.

30 SEPT - dave graney and clare moore at LA Cantine, Belleville - "Synchrony + Opium Dream Estate

This was a date at a tiny underground club in Paris. Paris is not a  real rock town and , like other big cities such as New York and London , is very difficult to get around. Still, it's fucking Paris. The other acts were very nice young people and the venue was a claustrophobic cavern underneath a nice big restaurant. Music must be locked away here, as elsewhere, for fear of the noise upsetting people.
It was daft when people started to smoke down there, though.

Paris was a real trip to be in. Staying in an apartment in the 18th. Very African/Parisian ambience. I loved it. These are tourist shots.

That's Jims grave- next door to Mme Gambier!

That'sa false ass you can get with your wig...



 01 OCT - Paris, FELINE – w/ Dave Graney+Clare Moore as support
This was a real rock'n'roll joint.  And we rocked it.Looks lovely without people though....

02 OCT - Lille, LA DIABOLIQUE
 This was a show with a  French player by the name of Dominique Sonic. Great food and venue.

 inside the club were many cultural signs...

that's "Msr 100,000 charmes vs Msr 100,000 volts" ! Sasha Distel is one of them ...

In France, they sell tobacco in bulk...cans of it...

to be continued....

Come to  a show!

Dave Graney - solo show - 3pm at the Republic Bar Hobart November 23rd

November 25th Dave Graney reading and talk at the Prahran Library

Wed 3rd Dec - Brass Monkey, Cronulla
Thur 4th Dec - Camelot Lounge - Marrickville-Sydney
Fri 5th Dec - Gearin Hotel Katoomba
Sat 6th Dec - Royal Exchange Newcastle
Sun 7th Dec - Royal Exchange - Newcastle - matinee show - 2pm start

Dec 14th - The DAMES playing the Post Office Hotel Sydney rd Coburg

Dec 15th "an afternoon with dave graney" at Chapel Off Chapel 12 Little Chapel St
Prahran, Melbourne

Friday Feb 5th and Saturday 6th dave graney solo at the Junk Bar in Brisbane