Bye Bye Italy - Final Day/Show

we're in Berlin now, great city but just winding down from the epic time that was ITALY. We have a few days break here to recover before starting a string of show throughout Germany

We played with this great band Le Harmacy (+ many other GREAT acts) on our last night!

Northern Italy

Ian: Sorry if these photos are too small? Are they too small? Holiday technology is my enemy. The above photo is a picture of me playing some Ambrose Chapel in a garden in Italy. During my set someone sparked up an epic joint, I could smell it from where I was playing. Afterwards a guy came up to me and told me my set reminded him of Stars of the Lid...but I'm pretty sure it was the stoned guy. (NB: The following night, the same guy pulled his laptop out at a 30th birthday party - that Tom and I went to - and jacked it into house sound system and played an impromptu and brutal drone metal set. Wild.

Ian: Enrico playing the drums at the same show as above (in Angela's Garden). Enrico had the best heckle so far 'You are in Italy, please speak Italian.' Good guy.

Ian: Gay icon?

Ian: Italian people feel the Demon Dog as well. Respect.

Ian: This is Ricardo. Our host for the first two nights, experimental turntablist and all round radical dude. Respect.

Ian: Old ladies on the street outside Ricardo's.

Ian: Even the dogs here speak better Italian than us.

Ian: Mandatory gear shot. Musicians take photos of their gear for the same reason people make home pornography. Weird isn't it.

Ian: When we're not photographing our equipment which we've seen 10,000 times before - we occasionally go to exotic buildings and take photos of stuff there.

Ian: People occasionally ask me what Tom's vice is. Opinions vary. Until now. Know this: Tom's true vice is chocolate milk. It's an ongoing, unhealthy love affair. To the point that my own beer intake seems moderate and considered.

Ian: Nice handbag Jesus. And he can't even say he's holding it for his missus.

Ian: Last night's venue. This is pretty much the point where I couldn't really deal with how beautiful and amazing Italy is. I started that day with a swim in a mountain river and then ended it with a show in a peach farm. In this shot, I'm just having a beer and trying not to feel over-stimulated. Upper shot features Diego in the brown shirt - his family owns the place.

Ian: Dance Lorenzo Dance! This is the man responsible for all our Italian shows. He's a funny guy. He fired up his OWN set last night with the following speech to the crowd 'We are the Tom Hall band. We are a gay band as you can see by this shirt.' BTW: his shirt was a white skin tight Godspeed You Black Emperor tee. His band Sportswear Revenge slayed it.

Ian: Three Euros bought you entry, some beer and some eats + three bands. People paid willingly via a donation box. No one got max wasted or started any trouble. No one drank all the beer. No one didn't pay. And by result we all had an amazing show in an amazing place. Australians, we have a lot to learn. The middle shot is Ally - hi Ally! The final shot is Diego's family house lit up with Tom's projection work.

AXXONN hits the beach......

Today was our first full day in Italy. We complied by allowing our amazing hosts to take us to the beach where we could relax, drink, eat, swim and soak up some rays....perfect.

1st Italian show...

Tom: THE most funnest video we have from any of our shows to date...

We'll make you dance

Lugo, Italy

Bye Bye Glasgow

What a great last day in Glasgow (well actually it's now not our last as we've been invited back to play a show at the end of August)

We hit the studio with a great Glasgow two piece Tacoma Narrows Bridge it was HEAPS of fun and got us super pumped for our first AXXONN show in Glasgow - it was actually our first show after 2 days break, the first two days break since we started this tour. Tomorrow = Italy!

13th Note - tonight, Glasgow

Afterwards Neil, Michelle and Ian indulged in a yummy £3 3 litre bottle of Frosty Jacks cider, hi-brow ;-)

Epics Days...

Ian: These were taken by Leigh from Scul Hazards / The Entire Asian Population. It was sweet to catch up with some Brisbane folks and this show was a lot of fun. Thanks to Liam and Dave from Hired Geeks for putting it together. PS: The Entire Asian Population is a must, they're recording at the moment.

Ian: These are pictures of Tom playing at Cafe Oto. Good spot.

Ian: Here's Jodi Cave playing some minimal jams at Cafe Oto.

Ian: We stayed up all night to go to Birmingham's Supersonic Festival. On the upside: we saw Sunn O)), Kylie Minoise, Drum Eyes and Venetian Snares. On the downside: we stayed up all night and two sleeps later we're still feeling it.

Ian: A cathedral in Birmingham. They do good cathedrals in the UK.

Ian: I expected the worst from UK cuisine - mainly because everyone in bigger bands complain about it in interviews and docos. Guess what? They're all a bunch of whiney fucks. UK food IS stodgy but it's also heartwarming and fun. The above meals were consumed in a cosy pub just around the corner from Supersonic. Stephen O'Malley was sitting at the next table.

Ian: Rank Australians killing time before Sunn O)).

Ian: Birmingham does good train stuff.

Ian: Tom on coffee: 'Sometimes I just want a dirty one in a styro cup with a paddle pop stick to stir it'. His wish was granted by a lovely woman outside of Supersonic.

Ian: Our elaborate guest passes to Supersonic.

Ian: Drum Eyes blazing.

Ian: Sunn O)) geekery. It was loud. Duh. But also mildly rockin', not exactly what I expected. Greg Anderson moved around quite a bit. I love these guys but it did feel weird watching them rock a mega festival crowd with something that sounds - to me - like those improvised Melvins tracks they used to annoy unfriendly audiences in middle America.

Ian: Sunn O)) setlist. No shit. Not sure how they saw it - or whether listing 'drone' on there is entirely necessary but a good keepsake for Tom.

Ian: Our first Glasgow show. We both did solo sets. It was a good time; how could it not be seeing it was in a disused barber shop. Thanks to Jodi Cave for putting this on.