CRUMBS in Bremen

CRUMBS again had a stop in Bremen on our tour. Last time we were here we had the amazing time at a 1200 year old fair. It was like a better version of the Red River Ex. We ate great food (corn on the cob, fried mushrooms, crepes, potato pancakes) we won prizes (for shooting guns at targets. Lee happens to be a sharpshooter). This year however, there was no fair while we were there. So we had to just do a show and not have the fun of a 1200 year old fair. Good thing our hosts Gunter and Nicole are so nice. Next time though, we're gonna try and make sure there's a fair going on.

The show was inspired by “Washroom Attendant” (AKA Toilet Lady) and “Wedding Ring” (AKA Marriage Hole... Just kidding, that's a totally different thing that I should probably not even mention).

The first story involved two buddies (Hank and Darryl). Darryl goes on lot's of dates because of the internet dating sites and has recently met someone special after having a lot of dates that didn't work out.

 

Hank, feeling lonely, and never having been on a date asks for Darryl's help. In fact, he figures that because Darryl has had so much experience, he should just have a date with the lady that Darryl has just dated. Hank doesn't really understand how these things work. After some hilariously disastrous dates and some hilarious misunderstandings about a number of things (his fear of horses, his opinion about blind people) he and Darryl have a fight.

 

It turns out that Darryl actually has a fear of his own, a fear of numbers. He and his lady break up (her name is Princess) and he checks himself into a number rehabilitation facility. When he gets out, cured, he finds that Princess and Hank have gotten engaged... with a wedding ring... a WEDDING RING!

*Some audience members maight have complained before the encore that wedding ring, while hinted at, wasn't ACTUALLY mentioned. Well, we made up for that in the encore.

The second story followed a couple of Washroom Attendants. In Europe it is quite common for public washrooms to have attendants. It is quite common for you to have to pay 50 cents to use the facilities. And it is quite common that the washrooms are just as dirty as if there was no such attendant.

Anyways, the attendants (Maureen and Barry) are just starting to get to know each other, which it turns out is against the rules of the washroom attendant book of conduct. Maureen it turns out is a bit of a rebel and attends to the needs of the public at washrooms out of a natural and intuitive instinct. Barry it turns out is actually studying Micro-Nuclear-Physics, actually trying to develop really tiny nuclear bombs to fight against insects.

 

Barry turns down Maureen's obvious advances, but then when she is threatened with losing her job for not following the rules, he stands up for her and they both get fired. Barry and Maureen end up running away together. Him to start a nuclear program in a small Middle Eastern country, and her to open up her own washroom business there.

Bremen. Good times.

CRUMBS in the middle of nowhere

Arhoena is in Mansbach.
Mansbach is in the middle of Germany.
It is a hidden jewel.

Arhoena is a place for natural horsemanship. I have written about it in the past. I could write more about it now, but then the past would be without meaning.


The show in Arhoena is always the most atypical of shows. The audience is usually made up of some children and parents that are at the horse ranch, plus we have some of the town folk show up. The english isn't the strongest, the attention span in the country is different than that of the cosmopolitan cities we usually play. But we had and have a fun show regardless. We please the children by playing animals and we please the adults with a love story. If there isn't a love story, why tell a story anyways.

Two monkeys in the jungle, one wants to leave the jungle and escape to adventure, one doesn't want to leave the jungle.


We also have a tailor who's store is in trouble with the bank.


Both monkeys escape the jungle, one likes it in the city and gets a good job. The other misses the jungle and his love, so he returns to the jungle. The tailor makes the bank worker an amazing suit that sparks success for both the bank worker and the tailor.

Did I mention the jaguar stalking through the jungle who just loves the taste of monkey?

CRUMBS in Arhoena

Oh Arhoena!
What can I say about Arhoena that I haven't already said before in older blogs? We go there every year on our tour. It is a mythical and magical land in a very small village in the middle of Germany. Uwe is the Konig (king) or maybe even Kaiser (emperor) of this horse ranch. He spreads the word of "Natural Horsemanship" and he is just an amazing person, filled with energy that is addicting and contagious. He is old friends with our good friend Christoph from Berlin and was the person who first believed in CRUMBS and started this whole "euro touro" thing we do every year. Back in the day Uwe would do Kabarett (which is German stand-up but more political and of course involves singing songs).

This year in Arhoena, not only did we do our show (again with a great musician, thank you Sasha) but there was an extra little thing. Uwe had been inspired for the first time in 10 years to put together a Kabarettt show. He brought in a Dutch band (called Bird which again brings back the Joe Bird parallel) and wrote some text. The show was crazy and strange and in German. We played a little set at the end as part of the encore (kind of like a teaser or trailer for our show the next day).

So we hung out with happy horse, a dutch band and recharged our batteries in the German countryside.

Next Stop: Marburg