Outside of Cafe Vinyl, Wetzlar
Well, I could say that I've played at some pretty good venues before but never have I ever been greeted at a venue with champagne on arrival. As we arrive at Cafe Vinyl in Wetzlar, Siegmar Roscher, the promoter of the night enters the room holding a bottle of champagne and opens it to celebrate the arrival of The Left Outsides to Wetzlar. We all drink to Siegmar and Cafe Vinyl. We love the guy and this place already.
It was a spectacular journey on the train to Wetzlar, a historic city in the south west. I lost count of the amount of times I wanted to disembark the train and run away into another world to explore the enchanting castles that we passed by. But entering Wetzlar was almost like a fairytale in itself. Full of narrow, winding cobble-stoned streets with half-timbered houses it was so picturesque and striking.
Wetzlar
Cafe Vinyl is run by the lovely Jens and the charming Anita. Something that I just love about the places we visit on this tour is how venues are created as almost an extension to the owners personalities and this again is evident here. Jens is an avid vinyl collector, hence the name of the bar (as well as the record sleeves which adorn the place, everything played in this bar is on vinyl and there is also a stall of records for sale - Mike stocks up on his collection here!). There is also a shrine to his favourite football club in the corner.
After soundcheck, and a fantastic spread of food provided by Anita, Siegmar leads us up the steep, winding cobble-stoned streets to his house. On the way, he gives us a guided tour of Wetzlar, pointing out Goethe's house and the cathedral. So beautiful, I feel as if I am on holiday rather than on tour! His house is very much in keeping with the rest of the old town, a half timbered building, I feel almost giddy walking the stairs as it feels slightly uneven, with it's wood structure. We drink campari in Siegmar's beautiful house and then receive a frantic call from Jens at Cafe Vinyl. The venue is full of people awaiting our arrival and we should have taken to the stage half an hour ago.
With haste, we make our way back to the venue and are greeted by a packed out Cafe Vinyl. People enjoy the set and we speak to some lovely people after the show. Jens plays some great music after we play - It's a Beautiful Day, Syd Barrett and Kaleidoscope amongst others......fantastic!
On the main square
Mike and I talk about how it always inspires us to want to own a bar of our own when we visit some places. I think he was particularly inspired by this place and understandably so. Siegmar tells us that he has cooked a meal back at his house. Like I said, Siegmar is so instantly likeable. Our friend Andre Herman Dune (Stanley Brinks) noticed that we were playing at one of Siegmar's nights and had already told us what a lovely guy he was. Back at Siegmar's place we look at photos of previous gigs that he has put on and see that we are in good company, not only with Andre but also other bands like The Wave Pictures.
Anita and Siegmar
We sit down to a fabulous meal cooked by Siegmar, with his lovely partner Michaela and their friends who were great company. As we eat, we listen to Of Montreal and talk to Siegmar about music and discover to our astonishment that Jamie Oliver is very famous in Germany.
A great day and night was had by all.
Until next time,
Alison x
