First day Rimini

red eye from NYC last night
and now in Stuttgart airport
exhausted and waiting to
get on a tiny plane to Rimini

how will i play the show tonight?
i can’t even make a sentence at this point
my brain feels like a fried egg
my soul feels like a steam roller flattened it
and reduced it to a measly crepe.
sleep sleep sleep sleep sleep sleep
i beg of the powers that be
that sleep be bestowed on us all

the Rimini airport is tiny
exactly the way i like it.
one baggage claim.
this is living.

it is warm and the sun is shining.
and there is a hotel bed waiting for me
somewhere over this rainbow.

the blistering sky
the chipping paint
the broken clay roofs
the pastel colors
those broccoli trees
the familiar chatter of italiano
from the front of the bus
i am home

the gates of Rimini
Augustus is on the guest list tonight
i wonder if he’ll show

venue is just sublime
it’s called Notte Rosa
folks putting on the show are absolutely lovely
we play in an open courtyard
the birds are singing
it’s idyllic
the sun is setting
if only every soundcheck were like this

and then of course the food…
i promised myself that i wouldn’t just
talk about the food while in italy,
BUT we DID have the most beautiful meal
but i am not even going to mention the details of it.

show was extraordinary
went off like a feather
beautiful crowd
i even forgot that i was tired
parker (kindred, drummer sent from the goddesses)
and rob (gentry, keyboard player sent from the gods)
were fantastic

the mayor of rimini was there
and of course he looked like a film star

italy is different than anywhere else in the world
and that’s good.