On the Road to Ghent

Feb 11th, 2017

On the road to Ghent. David Bowie on the radio. My good friend Mac back at the wheel. A wet fog on the lowlands makes the roadside scenery comically dull.. I really enjoyed the gig last night at Cafe le Parc in Liege. I struggled with the jet lag and lack of sleep. At least 99% of my attempts at humour were completely lost in translation. Or completely shit. Or both. The songs went down well. And Belgians are really great at making beer. In the interest of accurate reportage Orval, Moinet and Jupelier were consumed by this writer. There was a great turnout and the audience were extremely attentive. I did two forty five minute sets without a setlist. Instead, trying to read the room as the night went on. This is one of the luxuries of playing solo. I sang Leonard Cohen’s ‘So Long Marianne’ as my encore.

I stayed with my friends Brian et Julie and their 7 and ½ year old son Leo. In their lovely home in the Valley Under Goat Hill. A contender for the best address of the tour. I slept like a proverbial jetlagged log baby on a pull out couch by the warmth of a wood burning stove. Oh how I slept.

This morning I fullfilled Leo’s request for ‘70,000 words’ as he and his parents helped me with the roads. “But you wrote it, it is possible to forget?” Oh yes, it is possible.

Best answer to worst job ever question: “I was Santa Claus.”