Schaan, Lichtenstein 7/5/14

Sometimes the moments and situations mix and tumble together and details get lost. This typically happens later in the tour when you’ve been in city after city and had bus ride after bus ride. So I’m surprised to feel it happening so early on tour. Maybe it’s because some recent appearances at home are actually, in fact, part of the bigger picture and jig saw puzzle.

Anyway, any artist should be really pleased at being able to visit a far away strange sounding location called Lichtenstein. If you look it up, you’ll find it to be smaller than Los Angeles. It’s population is a drop in the bucket by comparison. But they walk and talk and have homes and cars and children and dreams of a good health and a good life. And these guys as a nation have refused to take part in war. I hope you’re getting a sense of how satisfying it is to find an audience here and be invited to perform.

Maybe I’ve played Lichtenstein one other time. Certainly not more than twice. And so to be welcomed as though we were frequent visitors was quite remarkable. And when I addressed them as Schaan and Schaan-ettes, there was an audible chuckle.

We’re still tiptoeing and picking our way through our new program but it’s working even at this early moment. People from Chicago, Atlanta, and Houston would be real surprised to see this audience over here respond to “PARTY”. With deep bows and big thanks in German…danke…we jump on the bus and head off to Saarbrucken.

But you should have seen their wide eyes glow when I sang a little bit of the Lichtensteiner polka.

Thanks again, y’all. Until next time…

Love,
Al