This weekend, we packed up the unit of three and took a trip to Northern Poland to perform at the Bydgoszcz Busker’s Festival. I’m pretty sure I was a special invite probably because of all the references to me and busking on the Internet. I never counted on that, but I never minded busking (aside from wedding gigs, bar mitzvahs, and teaching, it’s just one of those musician jobs to me). Besides, it was a paying gig. We got ready to leave and hit the train station in the early afternoon.
The organizers, being Polish, mainly communicated with Ania, so I never got a chance to really understand what I was getting into until I got to the North. In the end, it was simple — Julean Rai will be performing at three outdoor locations, one indoor location, and then one final special live performance at The Lizard King theatre and pub in the evening, all for one hour each (the live show would be 90 minutes onstage). This would be a total of 5 1/2 hours playing time, most of which without a mic, and though this gave me reason to wince I was never one to turn away from a show.
The overall day was tiring, but OK. During the first set we hit a spat of rain, during the second, I had to perform in way too large a space, the third was getting better, but we couldn’t stay, and we actually couldn’t find the fourth spot. The Lizard King went well, as I was working with a pro sound system and tech and had the stage all to myself which, wandering around Europe these days, I’m getting pretty used to.
In the end, it was a long day, starting at noon in Lodz and ending at eleven that evening many kilometers up North. And again, it was a paying gig plus tips and CDs, which were all sold, so Ania was happy.
On the way back home, we made a special stop in Torun just for fun, no performance needed. We relaxed, had some beers, looked at some old city walls, merged with the tourists, and ate, ate, ate, and ate. That’s just what you do.
We were invited to return to Bydgoszcz, and Torun as well, next month for more performaces at the Lizard King in both locations, so at least one of us will be making a stop in that direction, hopefully all three. Will update on that show soon.
Photo Gallery from the Show(s):
http://theraiband.com/2009/07/photos-from-the-bydgoszcz-street-festival/
http://theraiband.com/2009/07/photos-from-torun/
Photos (except for self-photos):
Ania Urban – http://www.aniaurban.com
Loading...
