Back in Munich

My quick trip to Düsseldorf is over – and what a trip it was. We got into town and were picked up at the airport by Vroni’s cousin. He was a cool dude and showed us around town before taking us to lunch at a traditional local restaurant. Afterwards, he drove us to the Phillipshalle where the concert was taking place to drop us off. It was kind of funny though: we were heading to the show and we encountered concert traffic. He (and Vroni) refused to believe that all the traffic was for the Tool show. They kept saying stuff like, “there must be an accident up there or something…” but little did they know…

So anyway, we arrive at the concert hall and the cousin is finally a believer because of the assembled crowd outside. We got dropped off, headed in and secured a place to watch the show. For those that are interested, I can definitely say that Adam is NOT using an EBow during “Lost Keys.” I can say that with certainty because Justin is the one doing the feedback part and he didn’t always get the pitch he wanted so it wasn’t exactly like it is on the album. It was still a cool intro though, especially after “Rosetta Stoned” kicked in. After that, I would have to say that “Jambi” was the highlight of the show. Outside of “Right in Two,” the rest of their setlist consisted of songs that I’ve heard several times live already. It was still a great show though. And, for the record, the arena was packed. Top to bottom, front to back.

The next day we had lunch with another cousin of Vroni’s and had a chance to check the city out. Then we went back to the first cousin’s house (where we were staying) and kicked back in the back yard with his neighbor and his assembled guests to watch Germany v. Costa Rica to officially kick off the World Cup. The neighbor cooked up some awesome food on the grill and we ate like medieval kings. We drank like Irishmen though. Beer after beer after beer were had along with some shots of some Eastern European liquor whose name I remember but can’t spell. I also remember that the shots were of the same consistency, taste and burn that one might expect from doing shots of straight gasoline. Thankfully, I woke up this morning without a hangover and we headed back out to the harbor for lunch and some relaxation before the flight to Munich.

I still haven’t gotten a good night’s sleep here though and hell will break loose again tomorrow as Bryan and I head off to the first US game. After all, to paraphrase Jack Edwards, “That’s why we’re here!!”