Day 23: Brussels
Welcome
Yesterday we visited the Belgian capital and played a show at Ancienne Belgique.
I ate a quick breakfast at our hostel before getting into the van. Some of the classics returned to my plate such as tomato, cucumber, cheese, an egg, and brown bread, while the cream cheese and cheesecake took me slightly further from the beaten track.
It was a mere 200-kilometre journey to Brussels and after a couple of very pleasant hours cruising west on European Route 40, we arrived in the dense and highly stimulating city that is known as the geographic, economic, and cultural crossroads of Europe. When we pulled into the loading dock at Ancienne Belgique we were met by thirty strong men who didn’t need any invitation to get stuck into moving our heavy road cases out of the van and into the venue. The whole operation was very professional and we completed our tasks ahead of schedule and feeling good about the night ahead.
Sometimes trying to put these road cases back together properly can be a puzzle.
Although we are a serious band, we do like to have fun and are not above inconveniencing each other in the form of a good prank. If I’m honest I was pretty vexed when I came on to the stage at soundcheck and found this assortment of power adaptors attached to my pedal board power cable but writing this a day later, I can see that they do look quite funny and I am ready to forgive and accept the prank.
Jonathan loves electricity and he especially loves getting to see it in large quantities. This pipe can carry 125A of electricity at a time – enough to power 17 rolling trams, or accelerate 1/4 of a tram from standstill, or capable of transmitting 71% of the hydrological power of Auckland’s Oakley Creek.
My post dinner walk took me around the city centre and I quickly tried to see all of Brussels’ best shit. I started at Grand Place, a historic square that is lined with flamboyant Baroque buildings, the grandest of which is the townhall, and the second grandest, the King’s House.
In the far left of the picture is the King’s House.
Brussels Town Hall.
A walk up the Coudenberg hill afforded me a spectacular view of the city and it’s many spires, quite a breathtaking sight at this beautiful hour of the evening. I then continued to the Royal Palace with vast gardens and facade that is 50% longer than the facade of Buckingham Palace.
Constructed between 1783 and 1934 the Royal Palace of Brussels is where the King of Belgium exercises his prerogatives as Head of State, grants audiences and deals with affairs of state. While it is the official palace of the Belgian Royal Family it is not used as a royal residence, and while you would be forgiven for thinking that the royal residence is at King’s House in Grand Place, it is actually the at the Royal Palace of Laeken in northern Brussels.
Plenty of room to manoeuvre on this broad street in front of the palace.
We had an extremely enjoyable experience playing to this Brussels crowd, although to call them that is perhaps incorrect as our mid-show audience survey indicated that less than 15% of the attendees were from Brussels and more than 50% from outside of Belgium altogether. They showed unrelenting enthusiasm, impressive stamina, and had a great respect for the comfort and safety of the individual – an attitude that was fully demonstrated when we witnessed a expertly executed crowd surf where the individual calculated a proper launch trajectory and then landed on a consenting group of support people.
The end of the night saw us again helped by the thirty burly men who trundled our cases back out of the venue and into the cargo compartment of our van to which we said goodnight and walked the few blocks to our hotel.
I’ll leave you with a small treat for making it so far through this season of Breakfast and Travel Updates.
Our drummer Tristan is a modest man and doesn’t like to show off his chops too much on the gig. But behind the scenes he sometimes lets rip and yesterday’s soundcheck was one such occasion.