Euro Tour June 2018: Eindhoven
I am sitting in a back garden in Eindhoven, Holland beside a small pool filled with koi fish doing lazy circles, the trickling water from its fountain spout creating a layer of sonic presence under the sound of a little guitarlele being played in the living room by Gab, my touring companion. The flowers in the garden seem to be listening to both layers—jazz and bubbling water—and their colours facing me are an attentive audience. This little backyard is a piece of paradise. Bamboo is growing along the perimeter, an apple tree stands at the back, and a trellis of grape vines reaches up over my head in its early stage of green burst.
The yard belongs to my lovely friends Theo and Diana with whom I stayed a few nights back in November. Theo has helped me to organize several of these Holland performances and he graciously invited us into his home to stay once again. He and Diana have generosity and kindness as overflowing as the life in this garden. I’m grateful to have landed here.
We have already completed two performances on this tour: one in Schvenigen and the other in Son—both Netherlands dates. The first was more of a warm-up in a chatty pub whereas the second was a lovely renovated church with beautiful high ceilings and an attentive crowd.
I am travelling with my guitarist (and friend) Gabriel Beaudoin. Only in early May did we begin to discuss the possibility of Gab coming with me on this tour. For the past two months, we have been doing duo weekly performances in Beijing and for a festival in Shandong (three days of two duo shows per day there). The result has been a tightening of the songs in such a way that I saw myself imagining I would miss the second guitar in Europe. He had been looking for a reason to get to Europe to repair some of his expensive German-made equipment and he jumped at the ideal timing of the trip. So here we are: a duo show has launched in Europe. From here, I see myself dreaming in constantly increasing layers. Next November: a trio. May of 2019: a four-piece. What can I say? I’m a dreamer!
On only the third full day of the tour, we have a day off and I am taking the luxurious opportunity to write this blog. Later, I have a trip to the post office to make and he has to ship his equipment to the German manufacturer (to which he will travel to collect the gear later in the week). I’m considering taking a train into Brussels for a day or so since I’ve never been to Belgium. Why not? The next gig is Wednesday, so it’s a completely open block of time and I haven’t experienced such a gap in my schedule since my *last* European tour in November. Yes, that’s how busy I am in my normal life. Kids, work, and the days become a blur and then suddenly more than six months have sped by…
The flowers looked at me when I glanced up from the computer just now. They seem to be nodding their heads in agreement. These precious moments of consideration for life, time, what matters, what doesn’t—they’re few and far between but must now be counted and held.
I’m holding.