colleen

23 FEBRUARY 2024: ALBUM LISTENING SESSION IN CHIQUITA ROOM, BARCELONA

On 23rd February, we will hold a listening session of Le jour et la nuit du réel at art gallery Chiquita Room in Barcelona and you can book your ticket here. I will be there to present the album, show you the scores and patch sheets so you can see some of my process up close, and we will hold a Q and A afterwards, all in a relaxed and cozy atmosphere! :-))))

REFLECTIONS ON GOING BACK TO TOURING – PART VI: TOURING MY WAY, OR SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE
The ability to accept the two sides of the coin inherent to most life situations is a newfound strength for me, one that allows me to go past my more rigid black-or-white views of the past and see with utter clarity that yes, I do love playing live, yes, travelling for shows has enabled me to see more places and meet more people than I could ever have dreamt of, and yes, live shows are and always will be the only way we have of being present in a room with our audience via what unites us, so that I am now fully re-committed to this in the (hopefully) long run and can act accordingly.
Because a balanced view is the necessary start, but it then needs to be implemented into an equally balanced action plan. In my case, I now fully, unapologetically take into account the specifics of my life and the standards I want. So, given I’m 47, need a lot of rest (always did, but even more now that I’m older and my health is more fragile) and have 2 cats, including one (Sol) that I would describe as “high needs”, the action plan rests on 4 pillars, the first 2 non-negotiable, the last 2 mostly-non-negotiable.
1) Except for the US, where the nature of the territory and its distance from where I live forces me to go in concentrated bursts, I don’t “do touring” the traditional way: I play one-off shows or 2 shows on 2 consecutive days, spread over the year at intervals I consider reasonable (obviously it’d be exhausting if I played one-offs every week).
2) I only play shows I’m really excited about (although sometimes I have to turn down a show because it is just too hard to get there or my plate is already too full). This is made easier by decision 1: traditional touring involves filling gaps, which can mean playing shows you wouldn’t have played otherwise.
3) I don’t play shows in the middle of winter or summer, especially not North in the winter and South in the summer: extreme climatic events are becoming more and more frequent, and it is counter-nature and dangerous to play (or even attend events) in extreme weather conditions.
4) I don’t play outdoors shows – see decision 3.

Pictures are of another favourite concert of last year, @le_guess_who in Utrecht on 11 November 2023 at beautiful Janskerk with amazing lighting, the last ever Le Guess Who show in that church, and I got my first standing ovation – I was so moved 😍

📷🙏🙏🙏❤😍 1,2,5,9 @tristtristanstan; 3,4,6,7,8 @mherlow ;10 @annebakkermusic

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