CRUMBS in Mannheim

 

Finally we are in Germany. We return to Mannheim, which is the second oldest place we've been. Let me clarify what that means. Mannheim is the second city we ever toured to, so for us, Berlin is the oldest city and Mannheim is number two. Anyways, we played our shows at the TiG7, which is a wonderful little theatre that we love so much, it is always comfortable and relaxed, while the audiences are always so loud and into what we are doing. Great!

 Us CRUMBS just hanging out before the show.

 Hunnicutt's gear all set up.

 Lee and Tyler kissing a pitbull on the streets of Mannheim.

The Shows

The story of a man who only eats sandwiches, and embarrasses himself and a friend at a Chinese Food Restaurant. He just cannot handle the spicy soup. We also follow an amateur model who refuses to be paid for the work she does, she feels as though it would spoil the purity of modelling to accept money. The sandwich addict realizes that sandwiches are getting in the way of his relationship and must do something to cure himself, and he sets on a mission to create the most disgusting sandwich ever to make him lose his desire. The model falls for a photographer who takes the “perfect” picture of her. This picture causes world peace. She unfortunately gets disfigured while in the darkroom with the harsh developing chemicals. The sandwich man makes a spicy soup sandwich and it works, saving his marriage.

We also did a mixed show with Drama Light which we saw us all explore: -The dangers of choosing Fanta over Coca-Cola.

-Getting trapped in a treasure chest.

-The super hero “The Typist” defeat “The Flooder”.

-An unlikely romance between a lumberjack and a belly dancer.

Oh shows, must you always be a crazy delight? Yes, yes you must.

Next stop? Off days in Amsterdam.

CRUMBS shows in Switzerland

 

Yes, we also did some kick ass shows.

Here is a little list of the storylines we weaved in Zurich...

-a computer who becomes real by being downloaded into a book.

-an crabby old bookstore owner who has to close because nobody reads anymore.

-coincidentally, a brand new apple store opening (the day before Jobs passes away).

-a hairstylist that realizes that beauty makes people shallow, she learns the hard way of course.

-a person addicted to IKEA

Then there is the show we did in Baden...

Story #1 involves a pet store owner who hates animals. Little boy who wants a turtle. Turns out the turtle is the only animal the old store owner actually likes. The boy wants a pet to teach him about death (because his father will probably die and his father wants him to be prepared). He loses the turtle and it finds its way back to the old man. The young boy gets a job at the pet store to pay his dad back for all the fuck ups he has caused and ends up sharing the turtle with the old man.

Story #2 involves a couple is moving up in the world and have bought a new house that makes them sophisticated... she redecorates and buys an old tapestry. The tapestry, and like all old tapestries, it is highly flammable. A fire happens and they use a fire extinguisher together to put out the flames, but it is too late. They are forced to move back into their old house and their old life. Not before helping in a sting operation to take down the crooked tapestry dealer who has been using extra flammable tapestries as a tool for arson.

Next stop? Back to Germany!

 

CRUMBS in Switzerland

 Tyler and Lee enjoying some food in Zurich.

 Tyler window shopping for the most expensive watches.

 Looking down the mountain of Zurich.

 The Zurich Apple store after the passing of Steve Jobs.

 The lobby of the new venue we played in Baden. And below, is the back stage antics we get up to (We have fun don't we).

And then we continue on from one EXPENSIVE city to another! Oslo and Zurich are two of the most expensive cities in the world. (see http://www.citymayors.com/features/cost_survey.html). But both are such lovely cities that it is worth it.

Our second stop was in Zurich with shows at the Miller's studio thanks to EIT. We haven't played at the Miller's Studio in years and it was just as beautiful and professional as we remember it. Zurich is often in the running, along with Vancouver, as the best city to live in. We can see why, what with the amazing lake and mountains and all the bankers walking along the streets... Okay, maybe the bankers aren't quite so captivating. But yes, as always, the food was amazing. It seems that the older I get, the more food is what I care about most.

 

Oh Zurich, why do you have to be so expensive? Well, we then set off to a little town just outside of Zurich called Baden.

 

We did our show at a new spot. RIP the Ventil and hello to Stanzerei. While we will miss the cozy Ventil and the wonderful staff there, our new home in Baden is pretty damn good, they even named some drinks after us...

Well, goodbye Switzerland, you were great. Now we head into Germany.

The Naked Statue Park

There is a park in Oslo that is called "The Naked Statue Park". Everyone goes there from all over the world so that they can get their picture taken while touching one of the statue's genitalia. People are so strange when they're at the naked park.

CRUMBS in Oslo. The tour begins.

So the tour has begun and CRUMBS with Dj in tow are in Europe on this fall tour of 2011. Is Europe that much different in the fall than it is in the spring? Well, for one it starts off really sunny and warm and then slowly gets all rainy and cold. I guess just like fall in North America. We are more the same than I realized.

Our tour began in Oslo, lovely Oslo. The first time we ever went to Oslo it was cold, rainy and crappy. Every time we have been back since, Oslo has improved. This year when we arrived they were just starting the warmest late September ever. Weather is huge when you're on tour.

Oslo also has just opened their very own improv theatre called Der Anere Teater (which translates into “The Other Theatre”). This theate is.... BEAUTIFUL! When we stepped into the space it immediately felt comfy, familiar and warm. Its the same as when you eat a meal and you can taste the love. You can feel the love put into building this theatre.

We played two shows, one was a CRUMBS classic and the other was a mixed show with our friends in Oslo. The shows involved “plumber” (a classic suggestion, thanks Oslo) and “pizza place” (another classic suggestion). We played with a rich girl who bought everything she needed, the story behind why you never wave anything white at Northern Lights, Alberto's Pizza Shop and how it is the most romantic place for a date.

We had great shows and great times in Oslo. We wondered the streets, we found out where the good coffee was and we were fed the most amazing food at the theatre (sandwiches with three layers drizzled with olive oil... mmmm). But like anywhere and everywhere on our tour, it came time to move on. We went to the airport (the correct airport... not like that one time...) and waved goodbye to Norway and hello to Zurich.