Munich

We arrived in Munich around dusk

The plan was to have a nice dinner with some old friends.

But we were at the Augustiner Brewery and a free keg got tapped.

oops?!

Later that evening we found ourselves at The Kaktus Bar. It's tends to be a place where bad ideas are conceived and worse decisions are made.....like... 

Getting the band back together!

The next day Doug took all his art to the Gallery.

And tossed it straight into the dumpster.

Well, not quite. Instead we spent the next day nursing slight hangovers and hanging Doug's show.

Some people...

...were are little more helpful than others

Eventually we got all the stuff on the walls.

Didn't look half bad either.

The next day Michl took the crew on a historic tour of Munich.

On February 18th, 1943, while classes were in session, a group of students known as The Order of the White Rose tossed hundreds of anti Nazi leaflets from the top of this atrium at the University of Munich. A janitor caught them and turned them into the authorities. The students were found guilty of treason and executed by guillotine.

This is Alter Simpl. Artists, authors and even Lenin hung out in this bar during the 1920's and 30's.

That evening we celebrated the marriage of Sue and Robert.

Doug's band started off the evening with an acoustic set.

Then they went electric.

That's when everyone started dancing.

Here's a sample of what it was like.

After the band finished playing, Daniel (the hardest working man in show business) kept the beats pumping...well not actually on drums but with his IPOD.

and the dancing never stopped!

What does it take to convince the Red Dons to play at your wedding? Well, having a giant Red Dons tattoo like Robert tends to make the guys feel a bit obligated.

The next night, the band played another acoustic set at Doug's art opening.

Even the soundcheck was eventful.

The set itself went well.

As did the rest of the night.

People seemed to enjoyed the music

and the art

Some engaged in deep conversations about the work. 

Others quietly contemplated its meaning.

Ultimately, there's always a critic!

As the night went on

People slowly filtered out

Which left us only one choice.

More dancing!!!

Then next morning we celebrated a job well done at Weisses Brauhaus.

Then we did a little more site seeing.

Michl took us to the center of town

Well, won'tcha look at that.

Somebody's making a scene again.

A few days later TV Smith came through town. His band the Adverts released one of the first Punk singles in 1977. He's one of Doug's music idols. They recently recorded a song together for the Red Dons. So, it was a great coincidence that Doug and him were able to meet up for a bit.

Another coincidence was that more of our friends from Portland happened to be touring through Munich that same night.

At the end of their set, they surprised Michl by having him sing a song by one of his favorite bands.

He was a natural.

Then they got Doug on stage to sing a couple of his old songs too.

Everyone was VERY impressed... Oh well, at least it was another excuse to dress up.

In the morning we fed the band a good American breakfast with "American Sandwich" bread.

Made sure they took a bath...

And sent them on their way. Just one stop of many for a touring band.

What an exhausting week.

Time to celebrate with some style.

Treat yo' self