Sat., May 2, Ducsaal, Freudenburg, Germany-- After a couple of very rainy and cold days at the Village, we were ready to hit the ol' road again for some change of scenery--gee, it doesn't take long for the wanderlust to set in, eh? It was about a five-hour trip to the tiny, scenic country town of Freudenburg. Unless you have a professional strength map, it won't show up, but the Ducsaal club is regionally very popular with its clientele who journey up to an hour to see a show. When we arrived, around six p.m., I could see why. The place is the very epitome of an intimate live music venue. The stage takes up about a third of the main room, and is raised up about two feet. There's seating space in a balcony above where a DJ spins dance tunes during band breaks, who also happens to be the owner of the joint--who also happens to be the chef and promoter--a jolly fellow, and damn it if I can't remember his name. His sister is the restaurant manager, and although she is about the sternest looking woman I've ever seen, when she smiles it almost takes you by surprise. The bar is opposite the stage serving an open space with about a 250-person capacity packed in. The sound system features hanging monitors serving a dual purpose as mains to the people behind the band in the balcony, and is state of the art, along with theatrical strength par lights. We were served some scrumptous peach pie and tea and then made our way to our groovy rooms upstairs. Each room was different, with very hip and artistic decor, and of course, each was spotless. I shared a snoring chamber with Tony. The low-pressure weather was causing Dede's fibromyalgia to flare up, so she was really feeling impacted by the long ride. Vic was becoming increasingly distant and sour, managing only a critical remark or two to me. What the hell was bugging him? The owner/chef/DJ/promoter served us an absolutely delightful German supper with a choice of turkey or pork slabs served with mixed veggies sauteed in butter and some wonderfully seasoned boiled potatoes, and of course, the stable of crusty white bread, cheese, and tall steins of beer. Having eaten to satiation, I headed up for a nap before the show. Baby Maryam was cranky and Dede was having a lot of pain, so the decision was made to do the nannying in Dede's room, avoiding the sure-to-be-noisy green room right behind the stage. As showtime approached Tony and I headed down to the main room, but were met by a sea of people between us and the stage. We elbowed our way forward, fending off frowns with smiles, making it, finally, to the green room. It turned out Petra had just left the green room to go let us know the back way, directly from the hotel part of the building to green room. Oh well, a little personal contact with the audience is always good... People were literally leaning over the balcony in crowds, so we were completely surrounded by enthusiastic Joanna fans. Vic had already spotted his female prey and so was overly animated during the show, and distracted enough to miss the beginning note on three songs. The first set was extremely well received, and I managed to pound a rip into the snare drum head during the last number. Busy finding a new head for the snare in the van, I also visited Dede in her room to see how it was going. She was not doing too well, but making the best of it. I got her a glass of wine and a candle from the restaurant, and then sprinted down to the green room to replace the snare head before the next set. I had forgotten to put some duct tape on the snare head as we started up the second set, causing a distinct ring in the PA. I motioned to Petra and tried to communicate my need for the tape. She thought I meant the back-up snare drum and dutifully brought that to t the century, as I came back to present time. Tony, Petra and I loaded the van, with Vic conspicuously missing again. I refused to put his amp in the van, while Petra went to go get him out of his room where he'd been doing god knows what. With everyone finally in the van we resumed our tour of the ancient German countryside on our way back to the Village...