#awakefest

It‘s a beautiful Saturday morning and I absolutely don‘t regret that I left the party earlier last night together with Jakob and Sebastian, our photographer.

Ok...that actually means while the other guys went to party at the 'Metal Sharks' club night at the 'Haifischbecken', we went home to Yannic‘s flat and ended up in a wild youtube session, binge-watching videos about famous musicians and plagarism until we were too tired to even hold our beers.

We've spent most of our time this last month in this flat, and it‘s wild and super appreciated that Yannic and his girlfriend Tabea are so open to letting us stay at their place on such a regular basis. I already feel like we should have to pay rent.

We‘re playing Münster tonight. A short drive. Loads of awesome bands and good friends are playing too and the most pre-sale tickets sold on this whole tour apart from our hometown show. A lot of good reasons to look forward to this.

We arrive at tonights venue 'Sputnikcafé', jump out of the van and fall right into the arms of our best friends in Shoreline and our good friend 'Smoky' who is putting on the show tonight. 'Smoky' did our sound for us a few times and he‘s also the sound engineer for 'Snareset' who are playing tonight as well. His official (!) Facebook name is 'Smoky McBongwater' which is why we call him that - Clearly the best fb name ever (and maybe the reason why he won‘t ever be able to work anywhere else other than the events industry and with bands, haha). His actual name is Michael, nickname Michi, whereas the guys in 'Snareset' use to call him 'Murph' for no real reason. Total confusion.

I think this is one of the only shows on this tour with real 'DIY' promoters and Münster is always really something else. I don‘t know why but the DIY Indie/Punk scene there is literally the best Germany has to offer these days. Every time I hang out here it feels like home away from home.

Everyone is trying their best to make the bands feel as welcome as they can. They even help us with settinf up our gear, providing snacks, dinner in the form of original and homemade vegan 'Neapolitan pizza' AND vegan waffles. What a treat! Everything is so chilled today compared to other shows.  

All the bands do their soundchecks and only minutes after doors 'Sputnikcafé' is already packed and it‘s only 6 pm.

There‘s a little issue at the door with two people who are bargaining for a discount on the entrance fee. They start a long discussion because they insist on getting a 1€ (!!!) discount on the box office price because they simply forgot (!!!!) to buy a ticket in advance. In the end they are forced to give in to our uncomprehending eyes, they pay the full price and enter the venue sulking.

Our new friends in 'Between Bodies' who just released the EP of the year kick off their show, followed by 'Cadet Carter', 'Swan Songs' and 'Snareset'. All the bands smash it and it‘s great to see people singing along and going crazy!

It‘s late when we start our set. It‘s day three of the tour, after the third song Jakob‘s bass rig breaks down, we can‘t really figure out the issue during the show. We just notice...nothing. No more bass on stage and it‘s hard to let the vibe not be killed by that.

I hate it that it‘s often the bad things that keep sticking in your mind. We actually play a long and super sick show and I‘m knackered, gasping and covered in sweat when we leave the stage.

We have the usual small talks after the show, hang around at the merch table, sign a few records and give numerous high-fives to good friends. On the stage that is now covered with curtains we desperately try to fix whatever‘s wrong with the bass all while there‘s a massive Alt Rock party going on in front of us. The DJ has a good taste regarding the tracklist but it sounds like either the speakers are broken or he's poured a beer over the equaliser knobs. The sound is horrible.

Load out takes way too long since our sound guy Rob thinks that NOW is the time to figure out the perfect loading technique for our van. He drives us mad especially because Jakob is still very down due to his broken bass amp. I‘m really tired and seeing Jakob being so pissed off makes me very emotional too. Furthermore I really start hating myself for getting so involved in this. It‘s been such a great day and I don‘t wanna end it feeling that way but I‘m already caught up in this downward spiral.

We've all had a few beers already so we can't drive - but our host, promoter and saviour of the human kind Hansol from 'Shoreline' drives our van for us at a steady walking pace safely through masses of drunk party people waiting in the queue to the club. It reminds me of herding sheep back to their farm

It‘s been a long day and it‘s been a huge family reunion. Thanks so much to all the legends that make our shows in Münster bigger and better every time we come back here. Can‘t wait to do it all over again! Hopefully soon!