This is an account of our tour opening for De/Vision in January 2004. All the words are mine, and all of the photos were taken by either myself or Reagan. My recollection was fuzzy at times, so if there's any errors in names or places, please forgive...

- Andrew

DEPARTURE

The day finally arrives. Me and Reagan are taking seperate planes to Chicago, where we'll meet and continue to Frankfurt. Arrive at the Austin airport to discover that my flight to O'Hare is delayed over an hour. Not good. I call Reagan, turns out his plane is also delayed. Wonderful. We finally leave about an hour and a half late - at this point it's looking impossible to make the connection to Frankfurt. I finally land in Chicago, call Reagan, who says, "The plane's delayed, hurry you might make it!". So, I sprint half a mile through O'Hare, almost killing myself, finally arrive at the gate, and it turns out the plane has mechanical difficulties and won't be leaving for another hour. Higher powers are behind us...

1/22 FRANKFURT

After the 8 hour flight, we arrive at around 11 AM local time, and are picked up by our european label manager, Torben Schmidt. We load the gear into his spacious 5-series BMW and head to his place in Stockstadt. Everybody in Germany seems to drive BMW's or Mercedes. His studio is very nice, and it's almost all hardware! Torben was originally supposed to be with us for the entire tour, but he has to play keyboards for Suicide Commando for two shows that overlap ours, so his friend Markus will accompany us for the first part of the tour. We hang out for a while until Markus arrives, and we head out to dinner. Afterwards, we arrive at Markus's loft in Wiesbaden (a nice ritzy suburb of Frankfurt), drop off our things, and head out to check out a little club called the Cave in Frankfurt. They like hard-ass industrial beats in Frankfurt, and they have their own specific dance: make side to side stomping motions every 2 beats, lean backward a bit, and try to form a loose circle. Interesting fact: in most bars in Germany, they add a small surcharge when you order a beer, which you get back when you return the glass. Certainly keeps the bars clean. Another fact: There is NO parking in Wiesbaden. People park on the sidewalk, on the grass, and even IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. It's like everyone suddenly decided that the innermost lanes of the street might as well be a parking lot. The power of collective action!

We get back to Markus's place and go to bed. Reagan sleeps on a cot right next to Markus's record archives. Predictably, sometime in the middle of the night, there's this big crash as about 100 vinyl records fall on Reagan's head. Luckily, he wasn't injured..

1/23 FRANKFURT -> DRESDEN (Strasse E / Bunker)

Time for the long cross-Germany trip to Dresden for the first show. Markus is a German rep for Audio Technica so he's letting us use a brand new top-tier wireless microphone for the shows. People haul serious ass on the autobahn (150 mph is not uncommon at all). We cross into East Germany, and stop at a weird little McDonalds. Pretty much the same as the US version, except that there's no ice in the drinks (in Germany, it seems they don't like ice period), and some weird additions of fruit to the menu.

Finally we arrive in Dresden, a very Soviet-era industrial type of town. After driving around for a bit, we locate the venue, but not the bus, or anyone else. It's really, really cold. -10 C and dropping. Eventually we locate everyone and get acquainted. De/Vision has 4 people for this tour, Steffen (vocals), Thomas (keyboards), Lars (guitars), and Achim (drummer, also plays with Wolfsheim and Project Pitchfork). There's also the tour manager, Jan Winterfeld (from Pluswelt), two stagehands (Michael and Udo), the soundman (Axel), lighting tech (Daniel), and the merchandise person (Alex).

We finally get to see the tour bus, which is huge. Two-story, sleeping quarters up top, with small lounge (w/PS2, DVD). Downstairs is bathroom, large lounge, and the refridgerator. The beds are little tiny coffin-like affairs, barely enough to roll over once in, but they're functional. The outside door is controlled by a keycode, to keep valuables safe. A large trailer in the back holds all the serious gear, the soundboard, monitors, lighting rig, etc.

For each show, it takes a few hours to set up the PA and lighting systems, and then another 1-2 hours for De/Vision to soundcheck everything (the drums take the longest). After that, I set up our keyboards wherever there's room left (without disturbing their items). Then, we check vocals, run through a few songs, and we're ready to go.

Showtime approaches (too) quickly. De/Vision has a strong fanbase in East Germany. We are both very nervous. The first few songs are rough, but it gets better as the set goes on. Most of the people at our shows don't seem to know us, but we tend to convert quite a few people to our side during the course of the tour. Finally it's over, not our best performance, but they'll hopefully get better. De/Vision's performance was excellent, they are very consistent, and Steffen is an energetic frontman. On this tour they are playing about a 20-song set, with two new songs, "Dreaming of You" (which is definitely my new favorite D/V song), and "Six Feet Underground".

Afterparty happens in the side club (Bunker), which involves lots of drinking Jim Beam with Thomas and stumbling around in the dark until around 4 AM

1/24 BEHRINGEN (Kulturhaus)

Sleeping on the bus isn't bad, our driver is good and the hum of the engines is almost calming. We get to Behringen, which is a little town in the middle of nowhere in central/east Germany (sort of near Eisenach or Erfurt). "Kulturhaus" really means "American Legion", this place looks like they should be having a high school pep rally or something here. Lots of little kids running around for some weird unknown reason. Reagan decides to take a walk and explore the surroundings, even though it's boring and everything's closed. I'm starting to realize that touring really involves a lot of waiting around doing nothing. We arrive at 1 PM and don't really do anything of interest until our soundcheck which is around 6.

The show is good, rough start (again, *sigh*) but definitely gets better towards the end. We're getting a bit more into the groove. Crowd is stone cold, almost motionless at first, but by the end they were cheering. Germans are shy, they won't talk to you or ask for autographs unless they see someone else do it first. After the show all the lights go on, and everyone kind of migrates to this side room where there's another bar, and that't the afterparty. We meet some people that came to see us all the way from Munich, they were very nice. Reagan meets some girls from Erfurt who have been converted to the Iris cause. We proceed to get very drunk (especially Reagan, who had to visit a snowbank). Finally get back to the bus at around 2 AM.

1/25 BERLIN (Columbia Fritz)

It's getting hard to remember what day of the week it is.

The venue is excellent, it's small (800 cap) but really really nice, a lot of big bands play here. 2 dressing rooms, showers (!), nice kitchen, etc. More fascinating facts: All milk and juice in Germany comes in little rectangular boxes. The variety of meat products is amazing. It's shame that the venue is on the outskirts of town, we don't see to see Berlin at all.

Our sound check was great. Jan Winterfeld arrives with 3 British friends in tow, who flew from Britain to see *us*, including Wendy (the sister of Rich from Mesh). We have a very nice chat, and then it's almost showtime. German shows are very punctual. If the info says doors at 8, first band at 8:30, the place will often be 75% full by 8:15.

We go out and have what I consider to be a fantastic show. Reagan is perfect, the crowd is very energetic (some people even seem to know the words!). At the end they're wanting more, but our time limit is very strict so we have to refrain from an encore. I wander out to hang out by the merchandise booth, and drink a beer. We end up signing tons of autographs. Michael points out that two members of Camouflage are in attendance, I get to say hello to them briefly. I meet a girl from Salt Lake City who just moved to Berlin to be a 4th grade teacher. Afterparty happens backstage, it's crazy, but the security people kick everyone out after a few hours.

1/26 HANNOVER (Faust)

Today my digital camera decides to die. Very annoying. The venue is weird, kind of a punk-rock venue, but the backstage upstairs almost looks like an apartment. More sitting around, waiting. Catering is excellent, chicken with mashed potatoes. Germans know how to treat their bands, I tell you.

Torben shows up, a nice surprise, he's back from his gigs with Suicide Commando. Show is good, we sell a decent amount of merch. I get to meet Michael from Beborn Beton, who's there to see us. Also rumor is that one of the guys from Oomph (a huge band in Germany) is wandering around somewhere. D/V show is great as always, but there were a few audio problems with the house PA. The girls Reagan met in Behringen show up again (they are true fans now!). Went to bed early, to rest before Hamburg.

1/27 HAMBURG (Markthalle)

Very bumpy ride to Hamburg. It's the first time that I don't sleep very well on the bus. Or maybe it's because I didn't have very many drinks the night before?

Hamburg is excellent. Very cool town, and for the first time we're right downtown. Markthalle is huge, almost maze-like, very cool stage. Finally wander around a bit, find an internet cafe in the bottom of "Saturn", which is this huge Best Buy-esque kinda place. I spend half of my alloted time deleting spam mail. We wander around a bit more, eventually get back to the venue in time for sound check. We work through our new track a bit in sound check, try to get the vocals down a bit better.

Some people from "Crazy Clips TV" (?) arrive and we film a quick soundbite for them. Stefan Netschio from Beborn Beton shows up to say hello, he's very nice. I clean up a bit, Reagan goes to prepare for the show. Right afterward, Frank Spinath from Seabound arrives with his wife Birgit to say hello, they are charming people. We talk about the new record and general music biz stuff for a while, but then showtime arrives.

Achim introduces me to the tour manager for Wolfsheim, who's here to check out the show. We were hoping to do a show with them on their US tour, and Wolfsheim evidently is very picky about support bands, so hopefully we'll make a good impression.

Hamburg audiences have a reputation for being notoriously difficult. We arrive onstage to see the audience mostly sitting down, almost in a loose circle. Frank is the only person in front-center, standing as a show of support. But we rock 'em, and by the end they have filled in and seem very appreciative. By this point we have decided on the set we'll use for the rest of the tour: Whatever / Lose in Wanting / Sorrow Expert / Vacant / In Spite / Annie / Appetite (new song) / Unknown

After the show we meet Ronan from VNV Nation, who decided to stop by and chat for a bit, since he lives in Hamburg now. We talk for a long time. Reagan seems a bit ill, and heads back to the bus early. After a while, it's back to the bus, and off to the hotel (finally!)

1/28 HAMBURG - DAY OFF

I wake up to meet Markus for breakfast. At this point we start to have a problem - Reagan is really ill. He has a fever, and he's going to sleep all afternoon to try to shake it off. Jan stops by a pharmacy and brings back some meds, and I snag him some OJ from the grocery next door.

Me and Markus set off to explore Hamburg for a bit. This is the first real sightseeing I've had since we arrived. Hamburg is a very pretty town. We check out the big pedestrian shopping district, the harbor area near the Elbe river, a huge ancient church (St. Michaels) where C.P. Bach and Brahms were music directors, and a few other sights. Get back to the hotel and rest for a bit. Head out with Jan to a Spanish restaurant where we meet Stefan from BB again, and eat some very nice tapas. I have two really strong mojitos which almost instantly get me buzzed. Back to the hotel. The bus leaves for Mannheim very early (2 AM), so we don't get to stay the second night in the hotel. I make sure that Reagan's up, and we get on the bus.

1/29 MANNHEIM (Alte Feuerwache)

Very bumpy ride to Mannheim, and there's ice on the roads, so it's almost a bit slower than planned. Luckily I sleep through most of it. The venue is very large, it's an old firehouse converted into a concert venue. Looks like most of the acts that usually play here are of the drum and bass/trip-top/ragga variety. Reagan is still sick, and is asking if he can see a doctor just to make sure that nothing really serious is wrong. He heads off with Markus, and I go wander around the city a bit. It's a pretty boring town, but has a neat pedestrian main street with trolleys. I eat at a McDonalds (ugh) before heading back.

We manage to get through sound check surprisingly well. Reagan heads off to a back room where there's a bed to rest before the show. There's no catering tonight, so me and Torben head off to McDonalds (again) to get a quick bite. We come back, and nobody knows where Reagan is. Finally we find the room he was sleeping in, but it's locked, and we don't know who has a key. 10 minutes until stage. Still waiting for the key, we're banging on the door, no answer. Finally it's opened, and he's not there! We eventually locate him backstage, and do the show. Performance is remarkably good considering our singer's illness, and we get a good response. Turnout is a bit iffy for this one, hall is only half-full. Jan tells me that this is traditionally a tough town for D/V. I meet Simon Jarosch from Santorin Records (we were friends back in the demoscene days). I'm starting to feel a bit sick now myself. At this point, we have to bid adieu to the incredibly helpful Markus, who has to go back to work in Wiesbaden. We hand our passports to Jan for the border crossing tomorrow. Time to sleep.

1/30 ZURICH (Dynamo)

It takes a LONG time to get to Zurich, including an extended stop at the border crossing. We're traveling in a bus with probably $100k+ in great, and they want to know about everything. Reagan is feeling better, I'm feeling worse, and now I have the dreaded cough which heralds the oncoming fever. I take a bunch of meds to try to head it off and wander around. Zurich is very pretty, cobblestone streets, rivers cutting through the city. Lots of little advertising and design companies, weird merchants, etc. The place where we're playing (Dynamo) is a multi-story building which seems to be some sort of arts collective. On the bottom floor there's a bunch of people doing metalwork.

We meet Dennis from In Strict Confidence who will be joining us for this show. They have Nadine (who sang on their new record "Holy") doing guest vocals for this show. Sound checks go well, if a bit late. Everyone warns me about how stiff Swiss audiences are.

The show is good, we warm them up quite a bit. We were supposed to cut a song for this set, but I don't, and nobody complains. Afterwards we meet Henrik and Vasi from NamNamBulu, very nice guys. We also meet two fans from Norway who flew all the way to see us but arrived five minutes after our set was *over*. Ugh. ISC puts on a great show. They were using our microphone for Nadine's vocals, and it decides to turn itself off right before the last song, there's a bit of confusion as to how to turn it on, so they start the song over and everything's great again. De/Vision rocks the house as always, with 2 encores.

1/31 KREFELD (Kulturfabrik)

The last time sleeping on the bus! This show is the Pluswelt festival, with us, D/V, ISC, and a band called the Eternal Afflict. I'm now seriously feeling pretty bad. Taking more pills to hold on for the last show. Venue is very nice and big, with a sizable side club. Sound check is all out of order because ISC has to attend an autograph signing, so we check before they do. But it all works somehow. I'm a bit worried because there is some confusion on the posters about the start times, and we start very soon after doors open.

Showtime arrives, and we rock the god damned house. Our set is very short this time (30 minutes), but we make the best of it. In the middle of "In Spite", a lot of our crew comes onstage with this big "Applaus" sign they stole from the Berlin show, it was a very sweet gesture. A surprising number of people seem to know the words. We meet a bunch of people from Holland that came to the show, including Marco (from Angels and Agony) who is setting up our Rotterdam show in March. I also have a nice chat with Volker from T.O.Y., and bunch of other people in the side-club. Reagan makes a sneaky surprise appearance onstage singing backup during D/V's "Hands on my skin". De/Vision ends their last encore with one of their prettiest and most emotional songs, "The day's not done", and it's a great note to end on. We sell a lot of merch, get pretty lit at the afterparty. I say goodbye to our friends in the crew, and we load the gear into Torben's car in preparation to head back from Frankfurt. Jan gives me a big hug and then tries to pick me up and carry me around, upside down (he's surprisingly strong). We say the rest of our goodbyes and settle in for the 2 hour drive back.

2/01 FRANKFURT --> BACK IN THE USA

We relax in Frankfurt the next day, trying to make sense of it all. Torben takes us out to check out some sights in Aschaffenburg and Stockstadt, we see some cool churches and castles. Unfortunately it starts to rain, so we head back to the house for a nice home-cooked meal and sleep. The next day, we head off to the airport and say goodbye. The flight from Frankfurt to Chicago goes smooth, but once we get to Chicago, the pain begins. There's a huge blizzard hitting the area and all flights are messed up. It takes an hour to get through immigration, and then we find out that Reagan's flight is delayed, and mine is cancelled. Eventually Reagan leaves, and I get a new flight, but it doesn't leave until 10 PM. Then there's another delay as they de-ice the plane, and finally we take off. Get back into Austin about 1 AM local time after almost 20 hours of travel, say hi to April, and crash, hard.