(Publisher’s Note: Audiodamn! is a new band from Germany. They’re touring the U.S. for the first time and have agreed to send Best New Bands exclusive updates on their experiences. Their debut EP will be out on January 8th on Epic Records.)
Chicago - The first statement that came to mind when we arrived in Chicago was “very impressive”. Driving over that one bridge into downtown at night was spectacularly amazing. Our second thought probably was “pizza”. I actually don’t know why – and this has been confirmed by various individuals living here – everybody, regardless of culture, nationality, hair length and personal bathroom schedule thinks to him/herself: “I have to try this sh*t”. Well, we did. But I’ll get to that later…Wait, no, I’m gonna get to it now. We tried it just across the street from our hotel and my first impression was: “This is no pizza!” or more like “this-a-not-a-pizza”(Italian accent). Tomato sauce on top and the cheese stuffed in there. Exciting times, fellas. It was actually very good, though I don’t think I would fit through any backstage-door, even if I only ate it twice a week.
Ok, moving on…
We visited a few radio stations – WTMX, WKSC, B96 – right around the corner from our hotel and just wanna say: “Thanks for being so welcoming and nice!” and sorry for getting the liners wrong like every time. But as we and y’all (hell yeah the Austrian just used it) these little mistakes sometimes add more character. Or sometimes they don’t. Haha. But we’re practicing our English right now while writing this journal! How about that…
Before and after our show at Schubas we actually met a couple of friends of ours whom we studied with in Germany. They – as a matter of fact – last saw us at the Popakademie(our university).
After doing a couple of interviews with “BestNewBands”, FOX 32 and UIC we got ready for our show by dry-rehearsing our songs (it was one of our few longer shows these days). I bumped my head against the ceiling a couple times backstage..I actually don’t know why I’m telling you this, maybe it’s because I bumped my head against the ceiling a couple times…
So we got on stage and started playing “Give It Up”. Right around the 5th song “Higher” I thought to myself: “well this is more exhausting than I thought”. As I’ve said – before I bumped my head against something – it’s been some time since we’ve played a longer show. But so fun, nonetheless.
A short excursion at this point…Don’t you think “nonetheless” is a weird word? It’s not as bad as the German version of it, “Nichtsdestotrotz” which sounds like a mixture of a hungry pelican and a fax machine having intercourse with a raccoon.
Nichtsdestotrotz, it was an amazingly spectacular feeling playing a longer set for a cool bunch of people. We’re feeling blessed to be able to do this…
Schubas is a great venue. Check it out!
Written by Oliver
Thanks to the band for the top photo.
Photo of Audiodamn! live by Sarah Hess for BestNewBands.com
