Hamburg, Mayday & Lübeck, Rider's Café:   on tour  with Rebel Storm

1.: Rebel Storm "Stormin’ Europe 2002" Tour Diary: Tour Notes (www.rebelstorm.com) 7 Previous 1 2 3 [4] The next morning, we bid farewell to Cologne, and headed for Lübeck, where we would play the first of two shows with Nocturn. Rebel Storm’s affiliation with Nocturn goes way back. Billy Moss and I have been emailing with Lutz Melzer (Nocturn’s bassist) for about a year, and we were all looking forward to the last two shows of the tour! We found Rider’s Café without too much hassle (finding our hotel for the night was another story!), and fell in love with the stage! This place is incredible! What a great club! We went to the hotel, got some rest, headed back to Rider’s, and caught Nocturn’s set. I’ll tell you what…. for a bunch of young guys from Germany, they sure have their southern rock act together! Here are a few shots of Nocturn blasting out some great tunes at Rider’s.     Nocturn gives ‘em hell at Rider’s Café in Lübeck When it was our turn to take the stage, we knew we had to put on a good show, even if we were tired as hell, and I was sick as a dog! So, that’s what we did! The Rider’s stage was exactly what we had been waiting for…lots of room and great lighting! We played our asses off, and gave the small (another word on this in a minute) crowd what they’d come for…. 2 hours of non-stop southern rock!  There were a few folks here that had driven 400km to see us, and to have us sign their copy of our CD. I’ll tell you…the fans in Germany are nothing, if not dedicated!       Rebel Storm on stage at Rider’s Café in Lübeck                                                                                 (So, the crowd was a bit sparse at Rider’s. Why? Well, a lesson for all bands thinking of touring Europe: Make sure that there is some level of promotion going on for each and every show! All the other shows, with the exception of the last minute show in Cologne, were packed! That’s because the clubs and the other bands, worked with us to make sure that the shows were adequately promoted. That didn’t happen at Rider’s. When we returned from the trip, Jeanne Comaskey emailed each person and venue, to express our thanks for their help on the tour, and one of the most interesting return comments was from Rider’s Café. They said "The Rebel Storm show was probably the best show we’ve EVER had at Rider’s! They can come back anytime!" Well, you can bet that next time, we’ll be working the promotion side a lot harder! This venue has immense potential! You could probably put 500+ people in there! We played for about the same size crowd that Lizard and Doc Holliday played for during their show at Rider’s. Oh well…. live and learn!) So…off to Hamburg for the final show! We found the Mayday in Hamburg without any trouble, thanks to the excellent directions from Lutz. We met Arne, the owner, and he got us hooked up with our hotel. We came back to the club around 8pm, and had a great dinner that Arne had prepared, and got ready to see Nocturn’s show. This time, Nocturn came loaded for bear! They played an awesome set! Rockin’ hard, and really worked the packed house into a frenzy! When we took the stage, we knew that this was going to be the best show of the tour! Not only was the crowd there and ready, we were pumped to make our final European performance the most outstanding of all!               Nocturn rocks their hometown                                                        Bobby & Joe in a rare double photo Apparently, a local radio station had been playing our CD for 2 weeks before we got there, and there was even a guy in the crowd who’d won tickets to the show, from that radio station! We thought that was pretty damn cool! Well, to paraphrase an old Latin saying…."We came, We saw, We kicked ass!" What a great show! We sold a bunch more CD’s, signed an unbelievable amount of other stuff, like drum sticks, set lists, posters, clothing, even a car! That’s right! The guy who won the tickets, brought his car up to the front of the club after the show, and we all signed his car!         Our ticket winner before the show                                                  Autographing a car! (right)      Lutz Melzer (Nocturn) sits in on "Takin’ All I Can" (left)                                Nocturn & Rebel Storm (right) So, the final show was over, and we had a great time! Thanks to all the guys in Nocturn for making our last two shows such an incredible experience! You guys rock! With all the shows done, it was time to head back to Amsterdam, for one last night in that town, before catching our flight home. All in all, we feel that the tour was a success. It had it’s ups & downs, but mostly it was "up". We met some wonderful people. Saw some fantastic sights. Played with some awesome musicians, and came away with an experience we’ll never forget! Thanks Europe! We’re already getting set for the next time! Thanks to all of you, who have been reading along in GRITZ, and via our website. Without you, the whole thing would be meaningless. I know there are a bunch of people that I’ve forgotten to mention and to thank. It wasn’t because you didn’t matter…it’s purely a case of sleep deprivation, and sensory overload! Something that everyone thinking about touring Europe better be prepared for! Watch for the complete picture set (full size pictures)…. coming soon to our website at:(..) And the final "thank you" must go to Michael Buffalo Smith, and the folks at GRITZ, for helping us with this tour diary, and being such good and loyal friends from the "get-go". Thanks GRITZ!!! Until next time……..keep Rockin’! -Big D (for Rebel Storm) P.S. Please visit our website for links to the venues, bands and special places of Europe, and additional pictures from other photographers. We loved Europe…we think you will too! 7 Previous 1 2 3 [ 4]"     2. Gritz Tourdiary   http://www.gritz.net/new_gritz/features/rebelstorm.html (partly the same...here's an excerpt with content about Nocturn:) "...Billy Moss here.. We are back in Amsterdam after playing in Hamburg with Nocturn last night.. What a good show we had! First up Nocturn who the night before had come hunting some Rebel Storm ass in Lubek.. I really like the competitive nature of those guys. A band after our own hearts. On this night in Hamburg, they put on a really good show! Nocturn are from Hamburg and the packed to the gills Maday club was very receptive to them. These guys are the best band I saw in Germany! All of the guys are really super good at what they do and a damn nice bunch of guys! My favorite Nocturn song "Good as Gone" never sounded better, and the live performance of "Carolina" is a lesson in "Jamology". Those guys need to put their sails up and go because I understand they haven't done any gigs since June which is a shame cause they are such a great band...Quick somebody help those guys!"     3. yet another Rebel Storm tour report http://www.hellchick.net/content/europediary_05.shtml "October 4, 2002 Once again, we all got up early, had our breakfast, loaded the gear into the cars (well, Johnny did most of that, and for that we thank him!), and headed off to the next gig. The band was really looking forward to this one because the opening act was Nocturn, a local southern rock band (you know, it's still funny saying that because I don't mean southern Germany), and they were looking forward to a little friendly rivalry. A battle of the bands! We found Rider's Cafe without a problem. We all walked in and were immediately impressed with the place. Of all the gigs, this one probably had the coolest look about it - a huge stage that rose a few feet from the floor, and a second level to the club that you could go up in to see down onto the stage. Very nice! The one problem (well, two - the second would be finding the hotel!) was going to be the equipment. The guys had to quickly acquire some amps as there was some confusion about who was supplying what. The bigger problem would be Bobby's: the Nocturn drummer was really concerned about Bobby breaking a cymbal. It was probably a valid concern - Bobby's a fantastic but hard drummer. Bobby was a bit worried about the guy himself being worried, so we would see what would happen. The next problem was finding the hotel. Once again, we saw that vein on our dad's forehead. Now, no offense to Europe, but Europe, your signage is terrible. You have signs for something on a road that points down the road, and then the place turns out to be miles away after four lefts and a right and there was no sign to tell you that! We finally got to the hotel, got showered, and went back to the club. Nocturn went on - these guys are great! They've got the whole southern rock flair down really well - the long dusters, the hats, the Confederate flag, the scarves. I swear to God that the lead singer, Alfie Mizrahi, even had a southern accent when he spoke German. It was great listening to him switch, too, back and forth from speaking German to saying the song titles in English with a southern accent. The guys got a chance to meet Lutz Melzer, Nocturn's bassist, someone they'd really wanted to meet since Billy Moss and he had been exchanging emails. We noticed that the drummer for Nocturn was pretty low-key - he had a really jazzy style about him. Good stuff. Problem was, Bobby was about to take his drumset out back, have his way with it, and not even give it a kiss. Bobby was really worried about the guy's drumheads, especially with his solo. At every show, Bobby does a really rockin' drum solo where he just beats on those drums. We were sure that Nocturn's drummer was going to have a heart attack when he saw that. Fortunately, Bobby didn't break anything but he did pit the heads pretty badly, so he tried to compensate the guy for the damage he'd get that night and the following night. The turnout for the show wasn't as high as the others - it was too bad, too, as this club looked like it could really pack them in, and with a stage like that it would have been awesome to see the floor jammed with people. Still, the guys sounded good and the folks from the Rider's Cafe said it was one of their best shows ever! October 5, 2002 This morning it was off to the final show in Hamburg at Mayday. This time we were able to find the place pretty well (and we didn't have to abduct any local citizens this time - cool!). The club was moderately sized and just felt really nice - warm and inviting, if you can call a bar that. The guy in charge, Detlef, was a great guy - very friendly, and as he served us coffee and beer he gave us quite a lesson on local history. He told us a bit about the Black Church that we'd driven past (the church was left standing as is after it had been partially destroyed in WWII) and about the city of Koln and how ancient it was (since we'd told him we'd been there two days before). Fascinating stuff! He even produced a historical atlas from below the bar to point things out to us. Wow. (...) Back at the club, Nocturn went on once again and totally rocked the place. Just before the show, Lutz, Billy Moss, and my dad were talking and Lutz said that he'd love to play bass on "Takin' All I Can". Sure! The guys said that would be great. The place was packed, and this would turn out to be a terrific show to end the tour on. Everyone was excited, and lots of people were dancing. The show sounded great and the guys played - in my opinion - even better than they'd played at every other show on the tour (and they played great at every show!). People bought CDs and the guys signed like mad, and one guy who showed up even had the guys sign his car! You know when you've signed huge hunks of steel that you've really come into your own."   4. Southern News No. 17 (German Fanzine): review in German language...excerpt: "...Setlist: Maydell (Haynes/Neel) White Knuckle Ride (Lynyrd Skynyrd) Ain't no fool (Doc Holliday) Good as gone (Nocturn) Wild-eyed southern boys (38 Special) Voodoo Edge (John Campbell) Shadow hunter (Nocturn) Atlanta (Nocturn) Trouble (Nocturn) T-Bird (Nocturn) Bounty Hunter (Molly Hatchet) Carolina (long version) (Nocturn) Doin' it again (Doc Holliday) Lady's Blues (Nocturn)..."

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