Phil's Review of 2009
2009 – Some year!
Wow, 2010 here already. They always told me that life went quicker the older you got, and of course, I always mocked the idea when I was a young tyke. Well ‘they’, whoever ‘they’ were, were absolutely right, and now I’m saying the same thing to my kids,
What can I say about 2009? What a year? A curate’s egg of a year. The good parts were very good, but the bad parts ....absolutely horrendous. Losing our dear friend, Kelly, was absolutely the worst thing to happen for a very long time. The sense of loss I feel has not in any way lessened, even 12 months later.
Everone who knew him experiences a world somehow a little darker now he is not around to light up our lives in that unique way. For me, I have lost my best tour buddy, sometime confidante, the bloke I have always felt most comfortable next to on any stage any time, any where, and so many other things that I find it impossible to articulate ...and of course, we have all lost that inimitable sense of humour (bad jokes and all), and that unique view of the world. Thankfully, Kelly’s last gig was a great one .... AdmiralsPalast, Berlin. He was an absolute star, even though he was really struggling. But then, when wasn’t he an absolute star? I will ALWAYS miss him.
Musically, it was almost business as usual for most of the year. The Orchestra was pretty busy with one and a half UK tours, a rare but successful US date in Michigan, a trip to Israel, and our now annual tour of eastern Europe. One of the best things about 2009 was my youngest daughter, Sarah, beconing one of the Orchestra’s biggest fans, and her coming on tour with us.
I did less with ELB in Germany, largely because the Orchestra was so busy, I only did around half a dozen solo gigs, and just one with my Hammond Organ Trio.
Mik, Tina and I did two short tours with our project, Beatles, Blues and Blue Violin, and we were very encouraged at how well most of the concerts were attended and how well-received it seemed to be. We will be doing the same again in 2010, and maybe more.
Travel-wise, it was more interesting. In February I went to the Yukon Territories in northern Canada, only a few miles south of the Arctic Circle. My German band, ELB, played a corporate event for German tyre company, Fulda. We were there for 5 days and played just one hour on the last night. Still, I got to spend some time on a frozen lake messing around with snow vehicles and eating moose along with other strange and exotic meats. I also got to spend some time in Husky Centre – hundreds of the things, and learned about how to survive in -50 celsius. The temperature is usually minus 30/35 celsius at this time of year, but for some freak reason, in 2009 it was pretty mild, and just hovered around zero, with the occasional drop to minus 5, or so. Spent a fortune on an Arctic coat which I didn’t need.
The 12-hour flight from Frankfurt to Whitehorse was interesting only because we made a fuel stop in Greenland on an airstrip that represented the only pice of real estate that was not white and frozen over for thousands of miles. And on the journey back I got to go into the cockpit and see the Northern Lights. That was pretty amazing.
In June the Orchestra played two concerts in Israel ...first time any of us had been there. They were fantastic concerts ...the second was perhaps the best reception from an audience I have ever experienced. Unlike Eric, I didn’t get to do much culturally. He had an extra day there so he went to Jerusalem, which I would have loved to do.
In November, we played Poland, Czech Republic and three concerts in Russia. The audiences, as usual, were fantastic. We have played Russia quite a lot in the past, but this time I got to visit the fantastic Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg for the first time, with Eric and Glen. Then we got to experience -20 celsius temperatures in Ufa.
I also got to visit Vienna for the first time. I played another corporate gig with ELB, but the trip was made SO much better by Rosie, my eldest daughter, coming with me. As part of her 18 th birthday celebrations I took her to the Freud Museum. She has just started a Psychology degree at university, so it keyed in nicely with that. It was a great experience ... the museum, AND having her with me. On the way back I stopped off in Berlin to play the Bergmannstrasse Festival with the Hammond Trio, and Rosie got up to sing three or four songs there with me. I’ve wanted her to do that for years, so it felt fantastic to finally manage it.
I also want to say a big welcome to Glen Burtnik, who joined the Orchestra after Kelly’s death. Glen is a fantastic musician, songwriter and vocalist. It is an absolute pleasure to play, sing and spend time with him. He is a complete fruitcake, of course, but that is definitely an asset in the Orchestra, if not compulsory.
I also want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who supported me in my various pursuits this past year. It is an absolute pleasure to play to you and get to meet you, which is now easier because of FaceBook. Keep on rocking and I’ll see you all in 2010, hopefully.
Overall, though, the best thing about 2009 was Jo being so well after being seriously ill in 2008.
Love and thanks
Phil
