Eutin, Germany Blues Fest by Robert "Nighthawk" Tooms
Posted on 1/04/2010 by Robert "Nighthawk" Tooms
(Memphis, TN) Here's the author blowing harp through friend Ludo's 1959 Bassman at the Eutin Bluesfest last May. This festival and our Reba Russell Band European tour was the highlight of the past year so I have gone back with pictures, a little prose and a little video from YouTube to take you to the scene of some splendid times, great music and the most beautiful vistas I have countenanced.
Photos of author by Aigars Lapsa
Aigars Lapsa's photos are some of the best photos of BLUES performers you will ever see...seriously.
Visit Aigars' site. You will be truly glad you did. Click here:
Visit Aigars' site. You will be truly glad you did. Click here:
It became apparent, after some time, that some white-knuckled vehicle occupants felt the author drove too close to the other drivers on the road. Of course, this was by no means true.
the trusty unscathed Ford Transit brimming with gear and luggage
brings us to the hotel just as Wayne comes up for oxygen
Josh Roberts, on left, ponders best strategy for the high jump, up and over,
onto the stage...
a bit later we showed him the stage steps.
Shirts for sale to a interesting mix of shoppers, blues fans...
and a rather large contingent of pirates evidently. Who knew?
Nick feeds us all, yet again, a stunning lunch, cafe style with fresh pickled herring...outstanding!
The view out my eastern window
canola fields, yellow blooms in full force
View outside my northern window
Running into this room after much food and drink, this would be your view
Walking outside my hotel door...
and down these steps...
then down the hall...
out the hotel door...
past this lantern to...
the courtyard (I was told repeatedly no guests over 120 kilos should get on the slide) and then down...
this flight of steps...
to the foot of the hill south of the hotel...
where down the path... lies the beautiful lake! Sweet, eh?
a Silvan wonderland
hotel at night, peaceful and quiet...no carjackings, not a one
Josh cases the place. For several days, Nick had provided us with a carte blanche at the Old Windmill, which, with me being in the band, was an extraordinarily brave move on his part.
Everyone needs one of these
Lurking outside of the Old Windmill at sunset, I am hungry and the grillteller awaits! The grillteller (literally "grilled platter") consists of quantities of every meat in the universe...grilled to perfection. That, some calamari, and a few dozen Bitburgers made for a lovely repast and a most pleasantly sated evening in northern Germany.
As an added boon and blessing, there was absolutely no English television in our hotel rooms. I read, pressed up a few gallons of canola oil, and set my alarm so as to avoid missing breakfast which included several kilo-tons of fresh bread, rolls, and muffins, multiple jams and marmalades, eggs prepared in all ways humanly possible, sausages, delicious braunschweiger, salami and carpaccio, fresh fruits and fruit juices, cereal and no grits. I drank lots of coffee, went really heavy on the pig's liver and carpaccio and always had a huge nap after breakfast...always.
As an added boon and blessing, there was absolutely no English television in our hotel rooms. I read, pressed up a few gallons of canola oil, and set my alarm so as to avoid missing breakfast which included several kilo-tons of fresh bread, rolls, and muffins, multiple jams and marmalades, eggs prepared in all ways humanly possible, sausages, delicious braunschweiger, salami and carpaccio, fresh fruits and fruit juices, cereal and no grits. I drank lots of coffee, went really heavy on the pig's liver and carpaccio and always had a huge nap after breakfast...always.
A quick sprint in the door...
Now we're talkin'!
Josh Robert's heavy metal guitar for serious shredders only.
Please, bring your own doily.
Josh Robert's heavy metal guitar for serious shredders only.
Please, bring your own doily.
one of over forty seven thousand pictures I have of Wayne Russell eating,
over 38.7 thousand are dessert shots
most impressive in presentation and flavor
flowers outside the Old Mill
The next day we are honored to sign the Golden Guest Book at the town hall in Eutin, where many dignitaries were assembled and champagne was served to all. It was a great moment for the band to be shown such love and kindness. Later we go for a bit of shopping in the town square before the vendors depart and the music begins.
Josh Roberts and Doug McMinn, who appears in his new Spiderman line of garments
There was a small undercurrent of giggling and speculation that this was an earlier painting of the band's keyboardist.
my dear friend Horst, who helped us all immeasurably and was the kindest and most considerate of hosts
James Harmon signs the Golden Book in the midst of a host of local dignitaries
Gettin' down to bidness... in the rain. These stalwart BLUES fans stood in the rain for over 3 hours to hear the music! God, I love BLUES fans!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFtzf8zBKkMVideo time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEMFpp42B-U
And here's Robert "Nighthawk" Tooms blowing some of Little Walter's "Juke":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEMFpp42B-U
And here's Robert "Nighthawk" Tooms blowing some of Little Walter's "Juke":
Later, we jam at the Old Mill...still later, Josh and Wayne discuss wearing plaids and laugh at the keyboard player who has been suckered into taking pictures of these drunken friendly souls...
Doug and Amanda McMinn, Wayne and Reba Russell, Josh Roberts
catch the breeze from the windmill
This elephant, while not on the menu, was a prominent topiary feature of the beer garden at the the multi-national Zum Farmer. That's zum pachyderm shrubbery you got there, farmer.
Josh re-assembles the GPS and sets our course for water.
catch the breeze from the windmill
The next day we strike out for the Baltic Sea and I, having been unfairly prohibited from taking the wheel, sample some of the case of hot beer, labeled "Best Beer," I kid you not, which was given to us by our good friends in Enschede, Netherlands, where we played earlier at the Nix BBBlues Club. this club is also know by the band as the "wall of amps" because they have a ton of ancient old tube amps stacked on one wall. This year I played a 1946 Montgomery Ward amp which I took off the wall and put up on stage. There are no clubs this cool in the United States...none.
Zum Farmer,the home of tasty snacks found on our Baltic Sea journey. German, Chinese, Vietnamese food all under the same roof.
Wayne Russell appears to intensely study blueprints for an atom collider or perhaps is at least acting interested in the GPS before handing it over to the more technologically savvy Josh. I was not consulted on this matter as I made it clear I strictly had dining and libations on my mind. What's that behind Reba's head?
Ah, the origins of the chef become clear now.This elephant, while not on the menu, was a prominent topiary feature of the beer garden at the the multi-national Zum Farmer. That's zum pachyderm shrubbery you got there, farmer.
Josh re-assembles the GPS and sets our course for water.
Wayne finds the seaside to be sac freezing and retreats forthwith.
Conversely, Josh is either ok with it or protecting himself with a hands-on stance.
Germany was really too good to be true and our hosts so kind as to feed us in their homes and luxuriate us in magnificent surroundings. This is a magic place full of very kind people and my most sincere hope is that I get an opportunity to return as soon as possible. Thank you all so much.
Here's a link to the festival:
http://www.bluesfest-eutin.de/
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©2009, Robert "Nighthawk" Tooms
Here's a link to the festival:
http://www.bluesfest-eutin.de/
Please bookmark us and come back often American Blues News!
All the news that is BLUES!
Click here: http://Ameriblues.com
©2009, Robert "Nighthawk" Tooms
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What makes American Blues News unique is our coverage across America. Here is our lineup:
Mon: Memphis Correspondent - Robert "Nighthawk" Tooms
Nighthawk is our resident globetrotter and man behind the scenes, as he tours with the Reba Russell Band.
Tues: New York Correspondent - J. Blake
Blake is the American Blues News review and interview guru. You may catch him out and about in NY playing the blues.
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Monica is our executive director and artist interview specialist. You can catch Monica singing the blues around Pittsburgh or working on some country music songs in Nashville.
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Geraldo offers inteviews and reviews. You may have seen him at an Ana Popovic concert or conversed with him on her websites, as he offers administrative support with her music.
Fri: Northeast Photographer - Nelson Onofre
Nelson offers a Friday column of blues photography and pictorial support for the interviews covered by the team.
Jim Stick in Colorado
Jim will be focusing on the Blues Festivals in the beautiful state of Colorado, and the artists that live and visit there.
Maureen Elizabeth, our resident art correspondent, will be focusing on blues art as she explores the creation of CD covers, or speaking with artists who also have a love of creating pictorial art in addition to their music! She may also feature some of her good friends in the Pittsburgh area. In her love of art, you may find Maureen's photography accompanying writer's articles on our pages. Maureen is also our marketing director.
Pittsburgh correspondent and photographer, CR Bennett, will share the Pittsburgh scene with all of you. You may also see CR's pictures accompanying other writer's articles.
We head to the big state of Texas! Abby Owen, our Texas correspondent.
Another big area to cover, the West Coast with Casey Reagan, Casey will feature many artists and events on this ocean's shores.
Lastly, we have our roving blues entertainment writer,
Chef Jimi.
And of course, we will surprise you sometimes!
Mon: Memphis Correspondent - Robert "Nighthawk" Tooms
Nighthawk is our resident globetrotter and man behind the scenes, as he tours with the Reba Russell Band.
Tues: New York Correspondent - J. Blake
Blake is the American Blues News review and interview guru. You may catch him out and about in NY playing the blues.
Wed: National Correspondent - Monica Yasher
Monica is our executive director and artist interview specialist. You can catch Monica singing the blues around Pittsburgh or working on some country music songs in Nashville.
Thurs: Washington, DC Correspondent - Virginiabluesman
Geraldo offers inteviews and reviews. You may have seen him at an Ana Popovic concert or conversed with him on her websites, as he offers administrative support with her music.
Fri: Northeast Photographer - Nelson Onofre
Nelson offers a Friday column of blues photography and pictorial support for the interviews covered by the team.
Jim Stick in Colorado
Jim will be focusing on the Blues Festivals in the beautiful state of Colorado, and the artists that live and visit there.
Maureen Elizabeth, our resident art correspondent, will be focusing on blues art as she explores the creation of CD covers, or speaking with artists who also have a love of creating pictorial art in addition to their music! She may also feature some of her good friends in the Pittsburgh area. In her love of art, you may find Maureen's photography accompanying writer's articles on our pages. Maureen is also our marketing director.
Pittsburgh correspondent and photographer, CR Bennett, will share the Pittsburgh scene with all of you. You may also see CR's pictures accompanying other writer's articles.
We head to the big state of Texas! Abby Owen, our Texas correspondent.
Another big area to cover, the West Coast with Casey Reagan, Casey will feature many artists and events on this ocean's shores.
Lastly, we have our roving blues entertainment writer,
Chef Jimi.
And of course, we will surprise you sometimes!