Stockholm - Lisbon - Moscow - Prague

Wow, where do I begin? Well we haven't had any internet until now in Prague, so a lot has happened since I posted last. Ok, here' we go.

Stockholm, Sweden - The show in Stockholm was great. About 400-500 people came out and made it a great time with sing alongs and other fun stuff. Afterward we crashed in a hostel where I slept until probably 3am, woke up, and couldn't fall back asleep again until probably 7am. We woke in the morning and got a ride form our Swedish friends to the airport for our flight to Stuggart, Germany for a day off.

Lisbon, Portugal - I was excited to hang out in Lisbon not only because I had never been there before, but also because it was warm and sunny which would have been a nice change from the dark and cold of Sweden and Finland. Alas, a day in the sun was not meant to be. Not only was our flight to Lisbon delayed, but we had to wait to wait at the airport for a couple of hours because British Airways had lost our luggage - including all of our instruments! Long story short, we yelled at a british airways employee for a couple of hours and then we were rushed to the venue where the show had already started. We had to borrow clothes, guitars, drums, amps, everything in order to play the show. The show was incredible so that made up for things a little. Afterward we went to our hotel and crashed, very worn out from the stress of the day.

Stuttggart, Germany, Day off - We started off the day at the Lisbon airport with the bad news that the airline still hadn't found our luggage yet. So we argued with birtish airways again and demanded compensation, for which they gave us 50 euro a piece (about 72 dollars U.S.). So with that we were able to buy some new toiletries so we could quell the stench emitting from our bodies. We then boarded our flight to Stuttgart, landed, caught a cab to our hotel, and chilled. We finished out the night be eating some italian food across the street from our hotel and then buying clothes from a sport shop down the street. Casey and I fell asleep this night while watching Knocked Up.

Moscow, Russia - Today was the day of days, the big one - we were going to Russia. None of us had any idea what to expect before we entered Russia. Would they even allow us in? Would there be anyone at the show? Would we die at the hands of surly cab drivers that drove 100 mph through the streets of Moscow? Well all those questions and more were answered. Yes, we did get in with no troubles. The show was easily one of the funnest shows Comeback Kid has ever played. And yes, the cab drivers are surly and do, in fact, drive 100 mph through the city. At the end of our first night, I was convinced that Russia was the most terrifying place on planet earth, but that view would be changed very quickly. Our flight to Russia was, like everything else - delayed. After passing through customs we met with Nikoli and Roman, the promoters of the show. We caught a cab to the venue where the show had already started. We were escorted through a labryinth of back hallways that eventually led to our lovely dressing room. The show was packed at about 550 people in a small club. This show was amazing. Kids falling all over us, singing alongs, high fives, stage dives, hugs, blood, sweat, tears - everything a hardcore show should be. Incredible. Afterwards we crawled into the most dilapitated "taxi" ever and were driven to our hotel at the hands of a man that made Stalin himself look like a cute teddy bear. We crashed hard that night, some of us drunk on exhaustion and the rest drunk on Russian vodka.

Moscow, Russia, day off - We started our day the same way all great days start - with crepes! Before embarking on our sightseeing in Moscow, we got come crepes from a little shack on the corner. From there we made a long, but fun trek to Red Square with our tour guides Roman, and Roman's friend Sasha. It didn't fully hit me that I was in Moscow until I gazed upon the Cremlin, Lennins mausoleum, and St. Basil's Cathedral. I was blown away. So much history, such amazing buildings. It was fanstastic. After the red square and some shopping, we ate some Russian food and man was it very ok. Something about the food in that place messed with my stomach. Even though we mostly ate bread, potatoes, and borscht - nothing exotic - it just felt kind of weird. Anyway, after eating we went back to the club that we had played the previous night for a Halloween party night. It was....interesting. Just ask me for the story in person. I don't know if I can write about it here, haha. We had a fun night at the club - sharing drinks and laughs, telling stories, etc. It was a great night. We toasted to a successful show and fun day in Moscow and to the fact that "we are still alive." After drinks and food, we called it a night and said goodbye to some of our new friends, went back to our hotel and crashed.

Prague, Czech Republic - I woke up today fresh as a daisy after a 3 hour sleep, got ready, and caught a cab to the airport. We arrived at the airport and said goodbye to our other Russian promoter and friend, Timor, and thanked him for a great time. I was definitely a little uncomfortable in Russia at first, but I ended up having a great time. I made some new friends and memories that I won' be forgetting anytime soon. So we boarded our plane and flew to Budapest to catch our connection to Prague. We had a few hours before our flight to Prague, so we chilled out and slept and relaxed. With 25 minutes to go before our flight depature, we decided the head to our gate only to be greated by an airline employee who informed us that were too late and our flight was already leaving. Long story short, we freaked out on the guy and told him we were going to make this flight. What airline leaves 25 minutes before the scheduled departure? Unreal. So after going back and forth with the guy we finally forced him to radio the plane, which stopped on the tarmac for us and we were rushed by bus onto the plane. Pretty hilarious. Man, i'm so over flying it's unreal. I think i've done enough flying for two lifetimes in this past week. Never again.

So now we're in Prague and we are playing in twenty minutes. I'm tired of typing as i'm sure you're tired of reading. See you later. Pics to come soon.

-Kevin