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44. Alone again or

Men On The Border: Jumpstart Redux. Cover by Ian Barrett.

Next week, Friday 14th June, Men On The Border will be at the Sandviken Kulturcentrum theatre to play the latest release, Jumpstart Redux – acoustically. We’ll be on the main stage like last time (in 2016), but with the significant difference that this time the audience will be on the stage with us – making it a smaller venue with a more intimate atmosphere. The auditorium will be sealed off with a curtain, perfect for projecting our film material to. There’ll even be a bar outside the stage entrance in the foyer and tables on the stage on which people can rest their glasses when their arms get tired. The show will also be streamed live on Facebook.

Seriously, it feels like I’m describing a hip event in London rather than Sandviken. But on second thoughts, recent experience assures me this will be better than London. The sticky floors and smelly toilets I experienced there in April will not be missed. Try dancing to Smiths songs on a floor covered with 100 layers of dried beer. I did, and it wasn’t easy.

We have some very special guests with us:  

Bertil

Bertil Fält will be playing soprano sax. As Bertil puts it himself, he’s from a completely different musical world (namely jazz), but that’s what makes it so exciting. His playing adds a new sonic dimension and feel to the songs.

Amanda

Amanda Örtenhag is a rising star who likes a challenge – and we’re very willing to provide one. Her projects include the band Different Cups with several prizes won.

Steven

Super-guitarist Steven Kautzky Andersson is active in progressive, metal and alternative rock, but has even delved into folk and world music.

A beatbox. Yes, we’ve been experimenting with programmed beats. And why not? All-in-all a varied bunch of people and styles which we’ll pull together and aim in the same general direction.       

We’ll also have the now quite famous Hero guitar (or The Beast as Yngwie Malmsteen dubbed it), built by my employer, Sandvik. The third guitar which was built has now been sold at auction, but I’ll bring along number one of the two prototypes and let Steven try it out. It’s a bit heavy and the scalloped frets feel strange, but sound-wise it’s perfect.

I’ve decided to wear my Indian gear again. Mostly because it’s nicer to look at than black jeans, but also because it reminds me of 1967 hippiedom, the summer of love, flower-power and psychedelia. A time when even a lot of hit music genuinely had something to say (unlike today). But at the beginning of 1967 you had both The Beatles (Strawberry Fields/Penny Lane) and Engelbert Humperdinck (Release Me) side-by-side in the charts. In other words, it wasn’t all roses back then.

Alone again or is the brilliant first track on Love’s 1967 album Forever changes. It didn’t reach my consciousness at the time – it was too obscure for me at age 14 and there were no hits. Also, Love stayed at home in San Francisco while the main competition, The Doors, toured the world and became big stars. It’s a shame it turned out that way.

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44. Alone again or

MOTB – Jumpstart Redux. Omslag av Ian Barrett.

Fredagen den 14 juni, kommer Men On The Border att stå på Sandviken Kulturcentrum teater för att spela senaste albumet, Jumpstart Redux – akustiskt. Vi kommer att vara på samma scen som 2016, men med den stora skillnaden att den här gången kommer publiken att vara på scenen med oss – vilket gör det till en mindre lokal och en mer intim atmosfär. Åhörarläktaren kommer att skärmas av med ett draperi, perfekt för att projicera vårt filmmaterial på. Det kommer även att finnas en bar utanför sceningången, i foajén, och bord på scenen där folk kan låta sina glas stå när armarna blir trötta. Konserten kommer också att streamas live på Facebook.

På riktigt känns det som att jag beskriver en händelse i London snarare än i Sandviken. Men när jag tanker efter, mina senaste erfarenheter säger mig att detta kommer att bli bättre än London. De klibbiga golven och illaluktande toaletter som jag upplevde där i april kommer jag inte att sakna. Försök dansa till Smiths låtar på ett golv täckt med 100 lager torkad öl. Det gjorde jag, och det var inte lätt.

Vi har några speciella gäster med oss:

Bertil

– Bertil Fält kommer att spela sopransax. Som Bertil uttrycker det själv är han från en helt annan musikalisk värld (jazzens), men det är det som gör det så spännande. Hans spel lägger till en ny dimension och känsla till låtarna.

Amanda

– Amanda Örtenhag är en stigande stjärna som gillar en utmaning – och vi är väldigt villiga att ge henne en sådan. Bland hennes projekt finns bandet Different Cups, med ett flertal priser i bagaget.

Steven

– Supergitarristen Steven Kautzky Andersson är aktiv i progressiv, metall och alternativ rock, men har till och med fördjupat sig i folkmusik och världsmusik.

– En beatbox. Ja, vi har experimenterat med programmerade beats. Och varför inte?

Ett varierat gäng och olika stilar som vi kommer att dra ihop och peka i samma generella riktning.

Vi kommer även att ha med oss den nu ganska kända hjältegitarren (eller The Beast som Yngwie Malmsteen kallade det), byggt av min arbetsgivare, Sandvik. Den tredje gitarren som byggdes har sålts på auktion, men jag kommer att ta med nummer ett av de två prototyperna och låta Steven provaspela den. Den är aningen tung och halsen känns ovant, men ljudmässigt är den perfekt.

Jag har även bestämt mig för att bära mina indiska kläder igen. Huvudsakligen för att dom är trevligare att se på än svarta jeans, men också för att det påminner mig om 1967, hippies, the summer of love, flower-power och psykedelia. En tid då till och med pop-hits ofta hade något att säga (till skillnad från de flesta hits idag). Men i början av 1967 fanns både The Beatles (Strawberry Fields / Penny Lane) och Engelbert Humperdinck (Release Me) sida vid sida på hitlistan. Det var med andra ord inte bara rosor då.

Alone again or är det briljanta första spåret på Love’s 1967-album Forever changes. Det nådde inte mitt medvetande då – det var för obskyr för mig vid 14 års ålder och det fanns inga hits. Love stannade också hemma i San Francisco medan huvudkonkurrenterna, The Doors, turnerade världen och blev stora stjärnor. Lite synd var det, kan jag tycka.

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42. Echöes

Pünk Flöyd: Echöes.

Ljusdal is a small town about 200 km north of here (Kungsgården) and last December Men On The Border supported our good friends Pünk Flöyd on the release gig for their latest album, Echöes. December was a very cold month in Ljusdal. Odd and I got to the venue, The Glass House Rosehills in mid-afternoon and we already knew we were to play in a very large greenhouse but were not really prepared for the reality of -18°C outside and -10°C inside. There was a good-sized wood burning stove which almost glowed red and what looked like a mini jet-engine pumping heat into the room – heat which was quickly sucked out into the freezing air through the glass walls and roof. It was a bit worrying, but nobody else seemed concerned. Later they even brought out some smaller heaters which were great if you stood directly in front of them.

Håkan Nilsson to the left and Simon Ahlgren to the right at Rosehills.

During late afternoon and early evening, the temperature in the greenhouse gradually crept up above zero and was it almost warm by the time we got to play. Nobody in the audience took their coats off though, which says a lot. Stupidly I didn’t put mine on while later watching Pünk Flöyd and was basically a bit bloody cold the whole evening.

After the audience had gone home, we hung around playing songs just for the fun of it, before most of us headed back to drummer Håkan’s place for a bite to eat, a drink and a session in his basement studio. Together we recorded a seriously wicked version of Bowie’s Starman while sampling various exotic alcoholic beverages. Well, maybe it wasn’t the best version of that song I’ve ever heard, but it was a lot of fun to play. Göran had gone back to the hotel early, but Odd and I hung out with PF until 4 in the morning when we finally headed in the direction of central Ljusdal, about 2 kilometers away. We walked and froze the whole way as it was still -18°C. I don’t know why we didn’t take a taxi as that would have been a lot wiser. The outcome of that stroll was a week in bed with the worst cold I’ve had in years. But no regrets, it was a great weekend.

Samuel and Simon onstage at Rosehills.

Pünk Flöyd do covers of Pink Floyd songs, but they do them in their own humourous and extremely personal way. Like “The Wall” played in waltz time (the album is called “The Waltz”). They went down a storm at the Cambridge Corn Exchange in 2016 with Men On The Border. That was followed up in 2017 by a gig at the 1815 Union Bar and then the prestigious Cambridge Folk Festival in 2018. The film of that event shows a couple of thousand very enthusiastic new fans.

They are an entirely acoustic band and even Johan Barreby’s organ has a foot pump. For the Corn Exchange gig, it was not possible to ship the organ from Sweden, but Göran searched for an organ on sale locally in Cambridge and incredibly he found one. It was perfectly functional and cost only £30, about 400 SEK. As soon as the gig was over, an offer to buy the organ was made by one of the girls from Strawberry Switchblade who was in the audience. It was hilarious to see her, Texas Bob Juarez and various members of PF trying to get that heavy organ in the back of a car which was far too small for it at one in the morning. In the end the organ had to be left at the Corn Exchange and was apparently still there a year later.

Pünk Flöyd unfortunately don’t play so often and are spread out over half the country, but if you get the chance – see them! And if we get the chance, we’ll play with them again.

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42. Echöes

Pünk Flöyd: Echöes.

Ljusdal är en liten stad ca 200 km norr om Kungsgården och i december i år spelade Men On The Border som förband till våra goda vänner Pünk Flöyd på release-partyn för deras senaste album, Echöes. December var en mycket kall månad i Ljusdal. Odd och jag kom till platsen, Glashuset Rosehills på eftermiddagen och vi visste redan att vi skulle spela i ett mycket stort växthus men var inte riktigt beredda på verkligheten på -18°C utanför och -10°C inuti. Det fanns en stor vedspis som nästan glödde rött och vad som såg ut som en mini-jetmotor som pumpade värmen in i rummet – värme som snabbt sögs ut i den kalla luften genom glasväggarna och taket. Det var lite oroande, men ingen annan verkade orolig. Senare togs det ut några mindre elektriska värmare som funkade bra om man stod direkt framför dem.

Till vänster: Håkan Nilsson, till höger: Simon Ahlgren, på Rosehills.

Under sen eftermiddag och tidig kväll kröp temperaturen i växthuset gradvis upp över noll och det var nästan varmt när det var dags för oss att spela. Ingen i publiken tog ytterkläderna av sig, vilket säger en hel del om läget. Dumt nog satte jag inte på mig mina när jag senare kollade på Pünk Flöyd och kände mig aningen kall hela kvällen.

Efter publiken hade gått hem hängde vi kvar någon timme och spelade för skojs skull, innan de flesta av oss gick hem till trummisen Håkan för en bit mat, nåt att dricka och en session i hans källarstudio. Tillsammans spelade vi in en grym version av Bowies Starman medan vi samplade olika exotiska alkoholhaltiga drycker. Tja, kanske var det inte den bästa versionen av den låten jag någonsin har hört, men det var väldigt kul att spela. Göran hade gått tillbaka till hotellet tidigt, men Odd och jag hängde med PF fram till 4 på morgonen när vi till slut gick i riktning mot centrala Ljusdal, ca 2 kilometer bort. Vi frös förstås hela vägen eftersom det fortfarande var -18°C. Det hade varit klokare att ta en taxi. Resultatet av den promenaden var en vecka i sängen med den värsta förkylning jag haft i många år. Men jag ångrar ingenting, det var en fantastisk helg.

Samuel och Simon på scen, Rosehills.

Pünk Flöyd gör covers av Pink Floyd-låtar, men de gör dem på sin egen humoristiska och extremt personliga sätt. Liksom “The Wall” spelat i valstakt (och albumet heter ”The Waltz”). Det gick hem mycket bra på Cambridge Corn Exchange i 2016, följdes upp i 2017 av en konsert på 1815 Union Bar och igen på prestigefyllda Cambridge Folk Festival, 2018. Filmen från den konserten visar ett par tusen mycket entusiastiska nya fans.

Det är ett helt akustiskt band och även Johan Barrebys orgel har en fotpump. För Corn Exchange-konserten med MOTB var det inte möjligt att skicka orgeln från Sverige, men Göran letade efter en till salu lokalt i Cambridge och otroligt nog fann han en. Den var helt funktionell och kostade bara £30, ca 400 SEK. Så snart konserten var över, en av tjejerna från Strawberry Switchblade, som fanns i publiken, ville köpa den. Det var riktigt kul att se henne, Texas Bob Juarez och några medlemmar av PF försöka få den tunga orgeln i skuffen på en bil som var alldeles för liten, klockan ett på morgonen. Till slut blev orgeln kvar på Corn Exchange och var tydligen fortfarande där ett år senare.

Pünk Flöyd spelar tyvärr inte så ofta och är utspridda över halva landet, men om du får chansen – se dem! Och om vi får chansen, spelar vi med dem igen.

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37. Rain

MOTB, acoustic guitars and the psychedelic faction of Sandvikens Symphony Orchestra at Dalhalla. Photo by Anders Hanola.

Men On The Border were invited to play as guests when P-Floyd played Dalhalla two nights in the summer of 2016. For those that don’t know Dalhalla, it’s a fantastic 4000-seat amphitheater in the heart of the county of Dalarna, Sweden and close to the town of Rättvik and lake Siljan. For this concert, we were also very fortunate to have 10 great musicians from the Sandviken Symphony Orchestra with us on stage. The psychedelic faction.

In the afternoon before the first gig, we set up our equipment on our own special stage at the side of the main stage, did a sound check, then left to play an acoustic set, together with the orchestra. We had promised to play for the P-Floyd fans (Floydians) at their campsite, where we were also staying. The stage at the campsite was small, but big enough for all fifteen of us.

Three fully grown, naked men swimming in the backstage pool at Dalhalla: Nyström, Westby and Hammarberg.

After we had played, we packed and prepared to drive back to Dalhalla. While we were packing it rained heavily, but that didn’t bother us as we had a roof over our heads. Getting back to Dalhalla bothered us though. It turned out that the heavy rain fell also on Dalhalla and our stage was not covered. All the equipment got soaked. Not just ours, but all the monitors and microphones too. Nothing was usable, and the first thing we were told was: “you can’t play this evening.”

What a disaster! Fifteen of us, plus friends, had travelled to Rättvik for nothing. Our amps and pedals had water dripping from them, as if they’d been dipped in the pool behind the stage. Everything had been taken to the sauna to dry out for at least 24 hours, but there was salvation at hand. We were offered a few microphones and a couple of monitors and could play acoustically. Of course, we grabbed that chance as we had played an acoustic gig just that afternoon and we were prepared. Miking up the orchestra was not a problem as none of their equipment was onstage when the rain fell. Two microphones on the drums were all that could be provided. But it was enough, and the gig went well.

MOTB rented a tent. Dalhalla in the rain. Photo Anders Hanola.

The following afternoon we fetched our equipment from the sauna and I felt physically ill when I turned on my GT100 pedal. I had no back-up for the extensive programming I had made on it and if it didn’t work I was in deep shit. But to my great relief it was OK, and we could play the evening’s concert with electric instruments as planned. We had to play under smallish tents as naturally it poured with rain right up until minutes before we went on stage. Those were the tents we were supposed to set up the day before but didn’t.

And I still haven’t backed up my GT100. Some people just never learn.

Rain, The Beatles. A great song from 1966 and an early example of where they would go with psychedelia. This was the B-side of Paperback Writer, at least in the UK, though judging by the cover photo, it was an A-side in some countries.

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37. Rain

MOTB akustiskt på Dalhalla med Sandvikens Symfoniorkester (den psychedeliska fractionen). Foto: Anders Hanola.

Men On The Border var inbjudna att spela som gäster när P-Floyd spelade Dalhalla två kvällar på sommaren 2016. För dem som inte känner till Dalhalla är det en fantastisk 4000-sits amfiteater i hjärtat av Dalarnas län och nära till Rättvik och Siljan. För denna konsert var vi mycket glada att ha med 10 av våra vänner från Sandvikens Symfoniorkester med oss på scenen. Den psykedeliska fraktionen.

På eftermiddagen före den första spelningen ställde vi ut vår utrustning på den lilla scenen bredvid huvudscenen, gjorde en ljudkontroll och sedan stack vi för att göra en akustisk spelning tillsammans med orkestern. Vi hade lovat att spela för P-Floyd fansen (Floydianer) på campingplatsen, där vi också bodde. Scenen på dansbanan campingen var rätt liten, men alla 15 fick plats.

Tre vuxna Men simmar naken i poolen bakom scenen på Dalhalla: Nyström, Westby och Hammarberg.

Efter spelningen packade vi ihop grejorna och beredde oss att köra tillbaka till Dalhalla. Medan vi packade regnade det tungt, men det störde oss inte särskilt. Vi hade ett tak över huvudet. Att komma tillbaka till Dalhalla störde oss dock. Det visade sig att det regnet också föll på Dalhalla och vår scen var inte täckt. All utrustning dränktes. Inklusive alla monitorer och mikrofoner. Ingenting var användbart, och vi fick veta att vi inte kunde spela.

Vilken katastrof! Femton musiker, plus vänner hade rest till Rättvik för ingenting. Det rann vatten från våra förstärkare och pedaler, som om de hade doppats i poolen bakom scenen. Allt lades i bastun för att torka ut i minst 24 timmar, men det fanns frälsning till hands. Vi erbjöds några mikrofoner och ett par monitorer och kunde spela akustiskt. Naturligtvis tog vi den chansen. Vi hade spelat akustiskt under eftermiddagen och var förberedda. Att micka upp orkestern var inte ett problem eftersom ingen av deras utrustning var på scen när regnet föll. Två mikrofoner på trummorna var allt som kunde tillhandahållas. Men det räckte, och spelningen gick bra. Det var läckert med en stor skärm bakom oss som visade våra videos under spelningen.

MOTB elektriskt under ett tält på Dalhalla. Foto: Anders Hanola.

Följande eftermiddag hämtade vi vår utrustning från bastun och jag kände mig fysiskt sjuk innan jag tryckte på knappen på min GT100 pedal. Jag hade ingen säkerhetskopia av den omfattande programmering jag hade gjort och om det inte fungerade var jag i djup skit. Till min stora lättnad funkade pedalen, och vi kunde spela med elektriska instrument som planerat. Vi var tvungna att spela under tält eftersom det naturligtvis regnade ända fram till några minuter innan vi gick på scenen. Vi fick sopa vattnet från scenen med sopkvastar. Det var dessa tält som vi skulle sätta upp dagen före men gjorde det inte.

Och jag har fortfarande inte backat upp min GT100. Vissa lär sig aldrig.

Rain – The Beatles. En kanon låt från 1966 och B-sidan av Paperback Writer, i alla fall i UK. Paul McCartney utmärker sig och spelar en bas solo genom hela låten.

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36. Jumpstart Redux

Men On The Border: Jumpstart Redux. Cover art by Ian Barrett. ianbarrettart.com/

During the winter of 2018/2019 I remixed and remastered the Men On The Border Jumpstart album, even going so far as to remove a few songs. And new sequencing of the tracks. The album, renamed Jumpstart Redux, will be out on streaming sites from today, Thursday 11th April. The objective was to improve the dynamics, get more clarity in the vocals and to shorten the album. This is one of the pitfalls of doing everything yourself. All the important decisions are made by people too close to the project. There’s no “steering committee” or record label A&R, offering objective advice.

YouTube is great for learning new stuff and I spent a lot of time there looking for tips during the mixing and mastering of Jumpstart. But by following doubtful advice I managed to reduce the dynamics of the album. The result was a disappointment after maybe five hundred hours spent putting it together in the studio. I’m still out on YouTube quite a lot (where else?), but these days I trust my ears more than my eyes.

Don’t miss Jumpstart Redux – out on most streaming sites on Thursday 11th April.

In addition to this release, Men On The Border have also been invited to contribute to a compilation album being produced in Italy. Great fun! We sent them Milky Way/I Never Lied to You, originally released as a single in 2015, and they accepted it. Yippee! Seven minutes of progressive overload and always a mainstay of our live show. We even played the whole song in both concerts in St. Petersburg, on acoustic guitars. Including the weird bit in the middle, though without all the special effects. I’m looking forward to the “Appears on” heading on Spotify.

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36. Jumpstart Redux

Men On The Border: Jumpstart Redux. Omslag av Ian Barrett. rhttp://ianbarrettart.com

Under vintern 2018/2019, remixade jag Men On The Border albumet Jumpstart. Jag till och med skippade några låtar och la om ordningen på dom som var kvar. Albumet heter nu Jumpstart Redux och släpps idag, torsdag 11 april, på Spotify, iTunes och ett gäng andra streamingsajter. Syftet var att förbättra dynamiken, få bättre klarhet på sången och reducera längden på albumet. Det är en av dom värsta fallgroparna när man gör allt själv. De viktigaste besluten görs av folk som är för nära projektet. Det finns ingen utomstående som kan ge objektiv råd.

YouTube är riktigt bra om man vill lära sig något nytt och jag tillbringade mycket tid med att leta efter tips när jag mixade och mastrade Jumpstart för 6 år sen. Genom att följa tveksam råd lyckades jag reducera dynamiken på albumet och resultatet var en besvikelse efter ca 500 timmars arbete i studion. Jag är fortfarande ute på YouTube och söker (var annars?), men nuförtiden litar jag mer på mina öron än på mina ögon.

Missa inte Jumpstart Redux!

Utöver det här släppet, har Men On The Border ombetts att bidra till en kompilation av Barrett låtar som görs i Italien under sommaren. Och det är riktigt kul! Vi skickade Milky Way/I Never Lied To You, som vi släppte som singel 2015 tillsammans med Scream Thy Last Scream. Och den kommer med. Sju minuter proggrock, som är alltid med när vi spelar live. Den spelade vi i St. Petersburg i november, på akustiska gitarrer – t.o.m. med den skumma instrumentala delen i mitten. Fast utan alla effekter som finns på inspelningen. Jag ser verkligen fram emot ”Appears on…” rubriken på Spotify.

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21. Garden

We spent a couple of days in Cambridge in 2015 for a gig at the Rathmore Club on Cherry Hinton Lane. Göran, Niklas and I were to meet with some people at the Cambridge University Botanic Gardens, not far from the Rathmore. The small group of specially invited people, from Germany, Italy, Holland, the USA and other parts of the UK, were all in Cambridge for the gig and had rented a coach for a tour of the town. So after breakfast we walked the kilometer or so to the Botanic Gardens, taking in the sights along the way, possibly including a Waitrose supermarket and definitely the iconic Flying Pig pub. We were a bit late, but not too much.

We approached the booth at the garden where a young woman sat selling tickets and Göran pulled out his credit card and asked nicely for three.

Park bench in the Botanic Garden, dedicated to RKB (Roger Keith “Syd” Barrett).

The woman enquired, “Are you with the group that’s just gone in?” to which Göran and I answered joyfully in unison, “Yes, that’s right”.

“Well, in that case I can’t let you in”, she replied.

“What? Why not?”, we asked, more than a little shocked.

“Because groups of more than ten people must be registered at least a week in advance“, she snapped.

“But there are only three of us!” we explained.

“You just told me you were part of that large group” said the gatekeeper. 

“No, no! We have absolutely nothing to do with them”, Göran insisted. “Look, we’re just three ordinary tourists on holiday who want to see the garden!”

“But you’ve already told me, so now I know you’re part of that group.”

“No, we’re really not!”

“Yes, you are!”

“No, we’re not!”

We argued back and forth with her for a few minutes, but it was a waste of time and in the end we gave it up. If she hadn’t asked us if we were part of a group, we wouldn’t have said anything, as it wasn’t relevant and in fact we were anyway not with them, just meeting them. We were planning on simply walking through the gardens, looking at the trees, flowers and a park bench or two and if we met up with the group, fine. If not, also fine. Instead we were forced to silly-walk away from the booth talking about Kafka and Monty Python. The whole thing was completely bizarre.

We walked around the outside of the garden and met the group at the other end as they were loading themselves onto the coach, joining them for the tour of Cambridge. Next stop: Grantchester Meadows. The group of thirteen had also been refused entry earlier because of the “more than ten” rule and had become frustrated and angry, as of course none of them were aware of the rule. Not even the organizer of the tour, born in and still living in Cambridge, knew of it. Finally they had paid for ten tickets and the remaining three had walked in without paying anything at all. That must have stung the irrascible gatekeeper, who probably spent the rest of the day asking visitors if they were part of a group and refusing them entry if they were. Thank you, Cambridge University Botanic Garden. It’s great to feel welcome!

https://open.spotify.com/track/3EbIvnhugoPe9xLI8HfYDE?si=bX33gYc_Ro285-Tsooc_xQ
This song is actually about the Cambridge University Botanic Garden.

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18. Baby Lemonade

Baby Lemonade, by Syd Barrett.

Last weekend I was in Russia for a couple of gigs, in St. Petersburg. When I was first asked I had some doubts, but I went along with it. The visa application process was not fun, there was plenty to do and it took a few weeks, what with chopping and changing the dates, but got done in the end. Finally, for various reasons I ended up travelling on my own, which was also a source of anxiety, though I’ve travelled most of the world alone. But it was just because it was Russia; a typical cliché. Anyway, after getting through the various checkpoints at the airport I met up with Sergey, the driver I’d booked online. I had quite a conversation with him the evening before on Whats App, we exchanged selfies, but it turned out he couldn’t actually speak a word of English. Not that it mattered. Sign language worked and when we reached his car, he used his phone to translate spoken words to script. This was no backwater.

A 35 minute drive later we were at the Baby Lemonade Hostel. For those that don’t know their Syd Barrett, the hostel is named after one of Syd’s songs, the first song on his second solo album “Barrett”. All the rooms are different, newly renovated and each has an album theme. For example, Ziggy Stardust, See Emily Play, Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds, Abbey Road, Sgt. Pepper’s, Dark Side of the Moon etc. The Ziggy room was stunning, though they’re all good and all painted by artist Maria (Masha). And the desk in the reception area is a pink replica of Battersea power station in London (Pink Floyd’s “Animals”). The flying pig will be added in a week or so. Madcap, the owner of the hostel (and designer of all the rooms), is hoping for like-minded guests, meaning people interested in both good music and the philosophical mind-set from the 60s and 70s.

Reception room at the Baby Lemonade Hostel.

When I arrived “in the evening, sun going down”, the reception area was still a building site and we were supposed to play there the following day, but that ended up being postponed for two days. The Saturday night gig, though, was at a bar in a fairly large adjacent room. Between 50 and 100 guests were expected, but about 150 turned up, which filled the room. They were attentive, sat or stood through 90 minutes of music and thanked us afterwards with hugs and hand-shakes. I even got to sign a couple of arms.

I last visited St. Petersburg in 1993, when it was more or less a lawless city and run by the mafia. My travelling companion and I were instructed by the travel company to “dress down” if we went out, wear no jewelry or watches and keep a close eye out for pickpockets and the like. But now it feels like any big city, with the exception of the unique architecture and significant museums, which definitely need a visit. The Hermitage Museum, currently with an exhibition of Dutch masters (Gerrit Dou!) and the New Museum of Modern Art where there’s even a mini-exhibition of Annie Leibovitz photographs, are both well worth seeing. And the buildings themselves are works of art. I could easily have spent another couple of hours wandering around the Museum of Political History, but an Armenian lunch and the airport called.

In the last four or five years a new revolution has taken place in St Petersburg and the town is bouncing. According to Madcap, 30 or more bars and restaurants are opening (or closing) every month and there’s now quite a cool nightlife in this city of 6.5 million, if you count the sound of the suburbs. There’ll be a repeat visit for sure.