In 1998, we toured Australia for the first time, wrapping things up on this night at the Annandale Hotel in Sydney. We purchase a Casio keyboard up the street (if you saw us at the Sydney Opera House yesterday? last week? a month from now?–I can’t make head or tail of this time zone–you heard that very organ in action). The tour’s been a success by the only meaningful yardstick: we’re nearly out of t-shirts. When it’s time for our set, we announce that we’ve got about a dozen shirts left, come to the front of the stage and buy one from us if you care to, and I hope you do, because we’re not playing till they’re gone. Business is brisk. We encore with “Always Something,” requested by our promoter Aaron, “Time Fades Away” for co-promoter Dave, and the Saints’ “Know Your Product.”
When WFMU announced that their 2013 fundraising marathon would take place while we were touring Europe, it appeared that our string of consecutive years of taking part would end at 17. Bruce Bennett had another idea. What if he flew over to meet us–was there any way we could do the show from Europe? Turned out there was, in Berlin to be precise, thanks in no small measure to our German pals Christof Ellinghaus and Martin Wenk, not to mention Schneider TM, who donated his studio and expertise. Danke schoen to one and all.
