Back to Belgium

After the fantastic show in Nijmegen it was always going to be difficult to carry that energy and excitement into the next show. Somehow we find the energy to keep the momentum going. We had a lovely morning in Nijmegen. Eating breakfast. Talking with some of our new friends who seemed to be carrying on the previous nights party. We pack up and leave about 1pm to head to our next destination Gent in Belgium. It was a more difficult drive than we had anticipated. We hit major traffic in both Antwerp and Gent. Also a few other places along the way. We’re all a little tired and restless as we reach Cafe Molotov in Gent. As we enter the venue Joel, Vince, and David think it might be best to do a Yallas acoustic show. I strongly disagree. I want to give the full show. We set up accordingly. This room is tiny. Seppe from Zoersel has come to see us again. I ask him to help with the sound. The show wasn’t as wild as the Nijmegen show but it was equally as special. A Deliveroo man walked in the bar during Rock n Roll Kid. I write a new verse live on stage.

“He rides around on his bicycle delivering food.

He’s the man, he’s the man from Deliveroo”

Afterwards there is a frenzy of people buying T Shirts and CD’s from us. Including the bar manager. He buys the CD and plays it in the bar start to finish. I talk to him at length at the bar and pours me plenty of his homebrew rum and honey. Lovely stuff. When we leave the venue we head to the promoters house and eat pasta whilst watching Logan’s Run. We decide to drive through the night to Den Bosch because we wanted to wake up there to explore the city.


We park up about 4am at De Graafse Akker. A piece of urban squatted farmland just outside the city centre. I had stayed here during my tour in July. Around 10am one of the guys behind the project knocks on our van and invites us in for coffee. I show the guys around the grounds. They are all impressed.


We finish our coffees and make a move. News comes in that we have been invited back to Nijmegen to perform in a Street Rave tomorrow. We will play on the back of a truck and be driven around the city. We accept the invite. In the meantime Dave and Vince take the van to tonight’s venue Knoflook. I take the rest of the guys into Den Bosch. Me and Will buy some records. We actually leave Will in the store. He could be a while. I take Joel and Pete to the Bosch Exhibition. I have seen it before so I head to my friends vegan cafe Hap. Along the way I have a little catch up with my friends Annet and Sven. They are food shopping with their newborn baby Ole. He is lovely. 



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